Biographical entry Gosse, William Christie (1842 - 1881)

Summary

William Gosse was the first white man to discover Ayers Rock (now known as Uluru). This find was made during a South Australian government-backed exploration to find a crossing between Alice Springs and Perth. His party had to turn back before reaching Perth, but still managed to open up and map over 60,000 square miles of previously uncharted land. Prior to this trip, Gosse worked for the surveyor-general's office surveying the far north and south-eastern districts of South Australia.

Details

Events

1850

Life event - Migrated to Australia (Adelaide) with family

1859 - 1874

Career position - Surveyor in the Surveyor-General's Office of South Australia

1872 - 1873

Career position - Leader of an expedition from Alice Springs to Perth

1873

Career position - Discovered and named Ayers Rock

1875 - 1881

Career position - Deputy Surveyor-General for South Australia

Published resources

Book Sections

• Gosse, Fayette, 'Gosse, William Christie (1842-1881), explorer and surveyor', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 4, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1972, p. 276. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040312b.htm. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Gosse, William Christie', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-477920. Details