This is the first in a serial story of an overland crossing of Australia.The story first appeared the The Age newspaper on 11th June 1932, but this version is from the original manuscript by Ethel M. Tiegs held by the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (our thanks to the Society for allowing this publication).
Ethel was the daughter of the main protagonist - William David Hamilton. And William...William was born in New Zealand in 1857, he came to Victoria in 1867, and at the age of 15 years, he accompanied his uncle Thomas Gibson Hamilton (1844-1875) from Bringalbert near Apsley to Darwin.
William was a member of the well-known pioneer family, immoralised in his uncle James Charles Hamilton's book "Pioneering days in Western Victoria", this episode of their story is less well-known, but deserves a wider audience.
More on this remarkable historic journey in the next post.