Ernest Giles ( 1835 - 1897)

English explorer who moved to Australia in 1850, initially settling in Adelaide and later in Victoria, where he worked as a post office clerk in Melbourne after an unsuccessful stint on the goldfields.

In 1861, he began exploring western New South Wales, conducting expeditions to assess pastoral land beyond the Darling River. These journeys fueled his passion for exploration. In 1872, Giles led an expedition organized by Dr. Mueller to explore central Australia west of the new overland telegraph line. Facing lack of water and impassable salt-pans, Giles’s ambition to find a route to the coast of Western Australia was snot successful. However, this ambition inspired his subsequent expeditions, including his successful 1875 overland crossing from South to Western Australia, aided by camels provided by Thomas Elder.

Giles’s expeditions significantly contributed to European knowledge of central Australia, despite finding little good grazing land. He published several accounts of his journeys, including “Geographic Travels in Central Australia from 1872 to 1874” and “Australia Twice Traversed.”

For his explorations, Giles received recognition, including being made a knight of the crown of Italy and a fellow and gold medallist of the Royal Geographical Society, London.

After his explorations, Giles worked as a land classifier in Victoria, briefly revisited the Musgrave Ranges, and was involved in prospecting in the Kimberley region. He later joined the rush to Coolgardie, where he worked as a clerk in the warden’s office until his death from bronchial pneumonia in 1897.