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STUART, John McDouallBiblio.com
An unrecorded manuscript journal of the first seven weeks of John McDouall Stuart's second exploring expedition likely the earliest surviving document relating to the expedition with an addendum in the hand of the explorer
réf. 135288Fair. Quarto 12 pages last two blank. A saddle-sewn gathering of blue paper; two holes to each leaf apparently insect damage with some minor loss to the text; some marks and short edge tears; nevertheless an extraordinary relic in decent condition overall. The first nine pages closely written in ink in a single hand which we know to be that of pastoralist Alfred Barker 1812-1880 contain a version of Stuart's journal for the period from 31 March the beginning of the expedition to 17 May 1859 with some significant variation from the published versions. Importantly the final half-page of text is unmistakably in the hand of John McDouall Stuart himself. This passage - an addendum written in pencil and comprising material not included in published versions of the journal - describes the extent of Stuart's claims of pastoral land at Chambers Creek. The journal is accompanied by a loose bifolium containing manuscript directions to Chambers Creek quarto 2 pages also in Barker's hand with a small diagram of Hummock Hill. The journal ends after the entry for 17 May 1859. Published accounts of the expedition indicate that Stuart spent the following three days in camp finalising his report on the survey of Chambers Creek which was sent back to his patrons James and John Chambers and William Finke on 20 May by way of one of the expeditioners Campbell. The specific nature of the variations from the published versions leads us to conclude that Stuart sent with this material an edited version of his field journal to that date the originals of both manuscripts are now lost. Barker brother-in-law and business partner of the Chambers brothers would have copied the present manuscript directly from Stuart's original manuscript. It pays scant attention to the daily happenings of the expedition but records detailed information about the country with a particular regard to its suitability for pastoral use precisely the information most valuable to patrons intent on building a pastoral empire. Stuart's manuscript addendum to Barker's copy of his report must have been written in the short period between his return on 3 July 1859 and the departure in August of the same year of his third expedition into the interior. He had given John Chambers power of attorney in relation to his claims on the runs at Chambers Creek where he had claimed a staggering 1500 square miles of land. The matter had still not been settled at his departure and Stuart's precise description of the extent of his claim were evidently intended to allow his patrons to consolidate it in his absence. The detailed manuscript text on the separate bifolium also supports a date from the middle of 1859. It gives a set of straightforward directions to Chambers Creek via the crucial series of waterholes that Stuart had identified as well as some details of the surrounding country. Barker was soon to follow this route north to stock Stuart's empty cattle runs the explorer lacking the resources to do so himself. While these instructions are in Barker's hand they must have been prepared in consultation with Stuart in preparation for the cattle drive north. Returning from his third expedition Stuart was pleased to find Barker's cattle thriving on the saltbush on his land. After great difficulty and scandal the grant was finally made for an unprecedented area of 1000 square miles but many suspected that the beneficiary of the vast territory would be Chambers and Finke not the explorer Barker's contribution going unremarked in newspaper accounts of the time. This would be borne out in the coming years. The textual history of the journal of Stuart's second expedition makes the survival of this document all the more important. In her introduction to the edition of the journal published by the Friends of the State Library of South Australia 2002 Valmai Hankel writes: 'This expedition is the only one for which no manuscript diary or fair copy survives. As it was regarded as a private venture unlike the five other expeditions its results were not reported to Parliament so its journal was not published as a parliamentary paper. The only known versions are those published in the "Journal" of the Royal Geographical Society RGS vol.31 1861 pp.65-83 and in "Explorations in Australia. The Journals of John McDouall Stuart during the years 1858 1859 1860 1861 & 1862" edited by William Hardman London: Saunders Otley 1864 .'. The RGS and Hardman versions of the text are generally more discursive but both are the result of editing by third parties and would have been based on fair copies of the journals. Hardman in particular was an unsympathetic editor 'Stuart seems to be almost an illiterate person .' and often redrafted Stuart's matter-of-fact observations to fit more closely the mould of a Victorian travel narrative. Our manuscript on the other hand is not only contemporaneous with the expedition but also likely closer in content to the lost field journals before editorial intervention and judicious redaction and revisions for political and commercial considerations. A full transcription of the journal is available as are a list of variations from the published version. One example will suffice to indicate the significance of this manuscript. Hankel's introduction states that 'The expedition's main aims were to survey the Chambers Creek lease and to prospect for gold . Stuart's major discovery was more links in the chain of springs later known as mound springs which Warburton and Babbage had found in 1858. Hergott found the first on 13 April; although Stuart named them after their discoverer he does not say so in either version of his journal' page x. The manuscript states that 'on the 13th Hergott after finding St Stephens Pool dry and no water in the Range - discovered a batch of Springs South of the Pool - abundance of Water - distance from this camp to Hergotts Springs 30 Miles - Native Cucumbers found here'. These documents were purchased together with an important archive relating to Alfred Barker's pastoral properties offered separately and now sold. The archive contains letters that substantiate serious irregularities in the handling of Stuart's pastoral lease at Chambers Creek which when read in conjunction with the above material make the story of his final years even more distressing. Copies of the relevant letters are included with the manuscript. unknown
