Charles Napier Sturt was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia.
56 Facts About Charles Sturt
2.
Charles Sturt led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from Sydney and later from Adelaide.
3.
Charles Sturt's expeditions traced several of the westward-flowing rivers, establishing that they all merged into the Murray River, which flows into the Southern Ocean.
4.
Charles Sturt was searching to prove his own passionately held belief that an "inland sea" was located at the centre of the continent.
5.
Charles Sturt reached the rank of Captain, served in several appointed posts, and on the Legislative Council.
6.
Charles Sturt was placed in the British Army because his father was not wealthy enough to pay for Cambridge.
7.
Charles Sturt was born in Bengal, British India, the eldest son of Thomas Lenox Napier Sturt, a judge under the British East India Company, and his wife.
8.
At the age of five, Charles Sturt was sent to live with relatives in England to be educated, as was customary for the children of the colonial upper class.
9.
In 1812, Charles Sturt went to read with a Mr Preston near Cambridge, but his father was not wealthy and had difficulty finding the money to send him to Cambridge University, or to establish him in a profession.
10.
An aunt appealed to the Prince Regent and, on 9 September 1813, Charles Sturt was gazetted as an ensign with the 39th Regiment of Foot in the British Army.
11.
Charles Sturt saw action with the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War and against the Americans in Canada during the War of 1812.
12.
Charles Sturt returned to Europe a few days after the Battle of Waterloo.
13.
Charles Sturt was gazetted lieutenant on 7 April 1823 and promoted captain on 15 December 1825.
14.
Charles Sturt was a cousin of the wife of Henry Dumaresq, brother-in-law of Governor Ralph Darling, which was later to complicate his relationship with Sir Thomas Mitchell, who resented those whom he judged were treated favourably by Darling.
15.
Charles Sturt found the conditions and climate in New South Wales much better than he expected, and he developed a great interest in the country.
16.
The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Ralph Darling, formed a high opinion of Charles Sturt and appointed him major of brigade and military secretary.
17.
Charles Sturt became friendly with John Oxley, Allan Cunningham, Hamilton Hume, and other explorers.
18.
Charles Sturt was keen to explore the Australian interior, especially its rivers.
19.
Charles Sturt received approval from Governor Darling on 4 November 1828 to explore the area of the Macquarie River in western New South Wales.
20.
Charles Sturt proposed to travel down the Murrumbidgee River, whose upper reaches had been seen by the Hume and Hovell expedition.
21.
In January 1830 Charles Sturt's party reached the confluence of the Murrumbidgee and a much larger river, which Charles Sturt named the Murray River.
22.
Several times the party was in danger from Aborigines but Charles Sturt always succeeded in propitiating them.
23.
Charles Sturt proceeded down the Murray, until he reached the river's confluence with the Darling.
24.
Charles Sturt had now proved that all the western-flowing rivers eventually flow into the Murray.
25.
In February 1830, the party reached a large lake, which Charles Sturt called Lake Alexandrina.
26.
Charles Sturt sent two men overland in search of supplies and they returned in time to save the party from starvation.
27.
Charles Sturt briefly served as Commander on Norfolk Island, where mutiny was brewing among the convicts.
28.
Governor Darling's somewhat tardy but appreciative dispatch of 14 April 1831, and his request for Charles Sturt's promotion, had had no result.
29.
Charles Sturt chose South Australia for a new settlement then being contemplated by the government.
30.
In May 1834, based on his services, Charles Sturt applied for a grant of land in Australia, intending to settle on it.
31.
On 20 September 1834, Charles Sturt married Charlotte Christiana Greene, daughter of a longtime family friend.
32.
Charles Sturt returned to Australia in mid-1835 to begin farming on his own 20 square kilometres of land, granted to him by the New South Wales government on the lower reaches of Ginninderra Creek, near present-day Canberra.
33.
In September 1838, Charles Sturt led an expedition to the mouth of the Murray, which settled all dispute as to the suitability of Adelaide for the colony's capital.
34.
Charles Sturt served briefly as the Registrar-General, but he soon proposed a major expedition with Henry Bryan into the interior of Australia as a way of restoring his reputation in the colony and London.
35.
Charles Sturt's body was never recovered, although a massive search was conducted over eight days to find him.
36.
In September 1841, Charles Sturt chaired a Bench of Magistrates that conducted an official inquiry into the circumstances of the Rufus River massacre.
37.
Charles Sturt made a second attempt to reach the centre of Australia, but he developed scurvy in the extreme conditions.
38.
Charles Sturt's health broke down and he was forced to abandon the attempt.
39.
John Harris Browne, surgeon on the expedition, assisted Charles Sturt, took over leadership of the party and, after travelling a total of 3,000 miles, brought it back to safety.
40.
Charles Sturt prepared his Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia for publication; however, it was not published until early in 1849.
41.
Charles Sturt returned to Adelaide with his family, arriving in August 1849.
42.
Charles Sturt was immediately appointed Colonial Secretary with a seat in the legislative council.
43.
However Charles Sturt had renewed trouble with his eyes, which limited his ability to perform these duties.
44.
Charles Sturt settled on 200 hectares of land close to Adelaide and the sea.
45.
Charles Sturt lived at Cheltenham and devoted himself to the education of his children.
46.
In 1855 Charles Sturt applied unsuccessfully for the positions of Governor of Victoria and in 1858 for Governor of Queensland.
47.
In 1864 Charles Sturt suffered great grief in the death of one of his sons in India.
48.
In March 1869 Charles Sturt attended the inaugural dinner of the Colonial Society, at which Lord Granville mentioned that it was the intention of the government to extend the Order of St Michael and St George to the colonies.
49.
Charles Sturt allowed himself to be persuaded by his friends to apply for a knighthood, but afterwards regretted he had done so, when he heard there were innumerable applications.
50.
Charles Sturt's health had been very variable and on 16 June 1869, he died suddenly.
51.
Charles Sturt's life is summarised in the Australian Dictionary of Biography as follows:.
52.
Charles Sturt was a careful and accurate observer and an intelligent interpreter of what he saw, and it was unfortunate that much of his work revealed nothing but desolation.
53.
Charles Sturt prided himself with some justice on his impeccable treatment of the Aboriginals, and earned the respect and liking of his men by his courtesy and care for their well-being.
54.
Charles Sturt remained throughout his life an English Tory gentleman with an unshakeable faith in God and Jesus the true kings.
55.
The Charles Sturt Museum is based in Sturt's former home "The Grange", in the Adelaide suburb of Grange.
56.
The Australian-born American actor Rod Taylor, whose middle name is Charles Sturt, was his great-great grand-nephew.