William Gosse
William Christie Gosse (born December 11, 1842 in Hoddesdon , England , † August 12, 1881 in Adelaide , Australia ) was a British-Australian naturalist and explorer. He discovered and named Ayers Rock (Uluṟu) on an expedition .
Private life
William Christie Gosse was the second son of William Gosse, a practicing physician, and his wife Agnes, nee Grant. His father was the cousin of the naturalist Philip Henry Gosse (1850–1888). William Gosse emigrated and arrived in Adelaide with his family and children in 1850.
In 1868 William Christie Gosse married Gertrude Ritchie, who died a year later. In 1874 he married Agnes Hay, with whom he had three children. William Goose accepted a job in the Land Survey Office in 1859 and was posted to northern Australia for trigonometric measurements.
Researcher life
In 1872 the government of South Australia commissioned him to conduct an expedition to find a way through central Australia to Perth . The eminent explorer Egerton Warburton also applied as a guide for this expedition, which was turned down because of his age of 58 years. Thereupon Thomas Elder (1818-1897) commissioned Warburton to pursue an expedition with the same goal. The rival expedition groups started in April 1873 from Alice Springs Station ; only one should reach the Indian Ocean.
Gosse's expedition consisted of five whites (including his brother Henry), three Afghans, and one Aboriginal . They had camels and horses and provisions for eight months. The expedition moved westward for four months. On July 19, Gosse set up camp on Ayers Rock, which he had reached as the first white man. On September 17th, Gosse turned back as water was scarce and supplies were running low. His expedition was unsuccessful. But Gosse had mapped an area of about 160,000 square kilometers and thus provided the basis for John Forrest's successful expedition in 1874 on the same route from east to west. In 1875 he was appointed Deputy Land Surveyor of South Australia.
Web links
- Dr Gosse and Family - Flinders Ranges Research
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Fayette Gosse: Gosse, William Christie (1842-1881). In: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved January 15, 2015 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gutter, William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gosse, William Christie |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British-Australian naturalist and explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 11, 1842 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hoddesdon |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 12, 1881 |
| Place of death | Adelaide |