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Top 10 Astonishing facts about Edward John Eyre

Edward John Eyre was an English explorer greatly known as the first man to ever cross the southern Australia from east to west, traveling across the coastline between Streaky Bay on South Australia’s west coast, and King George’s Sound – present day Albany – in Western Australia.  

He mainly led two expeditions in Australia where he traveled to at the young age of 17 years in March 1833. He purposed to open up a route to the center of Australia. Edward John Eyre was born on August 5, 1815, Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, England and later died on the 30^th of November, 1901.

1.He took charge of an 1840 attempt to find a land route (South Australia and Swan River on Australia’s west coast)

Map of the Eyre’s route in Australia. Photo by unknown,

Eyre took charge of an 1840 attempt to find a land route between the settlements of South Australia and Swan River on Australia’s west coast. Traveling north from the head of Spencer’s Gulf, near Adelaide, Eyre was blocked by South Australia’s great lakes, his feelings reflected in the names he gave to the landmarks Mount Deception and Mount Hopeless.

Eyre returned to Spencer’s Gulf and decided to forge westward to the coast of the Great Australian Bight. They were hoping to find good land and to open up a route to take cattle overland from Adelaide to Western Australia.

2. He had a lake and sand patch named after him

lake Eyre Photo by USGS on

In Australia, Lake Eyre and the Eyre Peninsula (both in South Australia) are named after him. He had Emigrated from England for reasons of health in March 1833. A sand patch was also named after him and to date, the residents of the Nullarbor know the area as Eyre’s Sand patch; a site located 50 kilometers southeast of the present township of Cocklebiddy.

As a site of historical significance Eyre’s Sand patch is of considerable importance. In the past Eyre’s Sand patch has been the site of a major repeater station for the telegraph line linking the eastern states and Western Australia. The old telegraph line was abandoned in 1927 however, and today the area is a major Bird Observatory and site for a remote meteorological station.

3. He served as a magistrate and protector of Aborigines

Eyre was appointed magistrate and protector of Aborigines at Moorundie, where for three years he sensitively quelled the frontier violence that persisted in the region. Upon returning to Adelaide Eyre was hailed as a hero, and given his deep humanity and respect towards aboriginal people, he was rewarded with a position as The Protector of Aborigines at Moorundie Reach.

4. Eyre served as a Lieutenant Governor

Photo by Henry Hering.

After leaving Australia in 1845, Eyre was lieutenant governor of New Zealand (1846–53) and of St. Vincent, in the West Indies (1854–60). His service as acting governor of the Leeward Islands (1860–61) and of Jamaica (1861–64) was rewarded with his permanent appointment as governor of Jamaica.

A measure of this esteem is perhaps reflected in the fact that during his appointment as the Lieutenant Governor of New Zealand, Eyre sent Wylie the gift of a double barrelled shot gun. Wylie was apparently very pleased to receive this gift.

5. He crushed a rebellion

On the11th of October, 1865, a revolt by blacks began at Morant Bay, and, in the repression that followed, the total of executions passed 400. In the next year he caused the island’s legislature to abolish itself and the Jamaican constitution, leading Jamaica to become a crown colony.

Eyre’s actions created a lot of controversy among prominent British intellectuals; John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, and Thomas Henry Huxley advocated his trial for murder, while his side was taken by Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. This occurred after the rebellion was crushed and he was then recalled in July 1866 by the British government.

6. He traveled for days without any water

The party used sponges to collect early morning dew from leaves as the access to water was quite difficult and Food was becoming scarce. By the time the expedition reached the top of the Great Australian Bight, they had no water and were saved by friendly aborigines who showed Eyre how to find water by digging behind the sand dunes on the shore.

They traveled along the Great Australian Bight for five days, the suffered terrible hardship since they were unable to find water. To the north of them lay the Nullarbor Plain, Water once again became scarce and the aborigines showed them how to break off the roots of gum trees and suck them to relieve their thirst.

7. He instructed his pack to leave behind their firearms, horseshoes, spare water bags and even clothing

The pack horses found it difficult traveling through the sand and so Eyre was forced to leave behind their firearms, horseshoes, spare water bags and even clothing.

One by one the pack horses had to be left behind. Soon their water was finished. In all a total of 200 pounds of items were discarded – including clothes, buckets, water kegs, pack saddles, some firearms and a quantity of ammunition.

8. He was awarded a gold medal of the Royal Geographic Society

Eyre was awarded a gold medal of the Royal Geographic Society for this incredible journey. Despite his hardship, Eyre lived to be 86. In 1846, he was made Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand.

He was also made governor in various parts of the West Indies. Eyre retired to England, where he lived until his death in 1901.Wylie was rewarded with a pension, and he remained in Albany, happy to be among his own people once again.

9. He was very creative in creating food supplies

The party did not solely depend on hunting for fish, sting rays and wallabies as a source of food, Eyre resorted to roasting bark from the roots of young Eucalyptus trees. He also learnt how to roast the bark to a crisp and pounding it between rocks then eating it.

By April 16 the food situation was as desperate as ever, and Eyre ordered Baxter to butcher a horse that was more dead than alive. For a few days horse meat provided the expedition with its main source of food. By May 8 Eyre was forced to butcher another of his horses. Eyre’s companion Wylie was ecstatic with delight, and that night he roasted and ate over 20 pounds of meat and entrails. For Wylie it was a veritable feast.

10. He was rescued By a French Whaling Ship

Photo by Austin Neill on

As Eyre was traveling with Wylie, spotted masts of a ship poking above an island and they began making a large fire. They managed to get the attention of the French sailors who were cleaning ship’s cables. The two were able to get their attention and eventually got on board.

They had so much relief as they were starving from lack of water and food. For them it was more than that as they were no longer subject to starvation but exposed to the elements, and the intense cold of an Australian winter. Eyre had renewed his physical strength and restored his stock which gave him the momentum to finish  the goal of King George’s even if it was still 300 miles away.

Despite being strictly educated for a military career he ended up pursuing land exploration. He has accomplished a lot during his lifetime among them being a colonial administrator, land explorer of the Australian continent and the governor of Jamaica.