The Austin expedition of 1854 was an expedition of

exploration Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

undertaken in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

by Robert Austin in 1854. Members of Austin's party comprised John Hardey, Kenneth Brown, James Tatton Brockman Fraser (artist), Thomas Whitfield, James Guerin, Richard Buck, J. Edwards, W. Cant, Charles Farmer, and J. Woodward; and aboriginals Narryer, Wambinning, Wooddang and Souper. The expedition left Mumberkine, north of Northam, on 10 July 1854, exploring the large lakes northeast of Northam known as ''Cow-Cowing'', before heading north through the interior, where

Mount Magnet Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

was discovered and named. They intended to reach the coast at

Shark Bay Shark Bay () is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The area is located approximately north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage S ...

, but were driven back by heat, fatigue, lack of water, and the loss of a number of their horses at Poison Rock. They were eventually forced to return to the coast along the Murchison River, arriving at Port Gregory on 25 November. The expedition reported large areas of land that were potentially

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

-bearing, but nothing suitable for

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

settlement. Austin was asked by the Colonial Secretary, William Ayshford Sanford, to make observations and collections of birds. Within the report of the expedition is a note on a "Ground Parrot", referring to Sanford's labelling of a bird skin that is assumed to be the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

of '' Pezoporus occidentalis'', a cryptic and elusive species known as the night parrot.

References

1854 in Australia Exploration of Western Australia 19th century in Western Australia Australian expeditions {{WesternAustralia-stub