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Mr. Stuart's Track: The Forgotten Life of Australia's Greatest Explorer
On 14 May 1858, an expedition of discovery led by John McDouall Stuart departed from a copper mine located on the very edge of the known world in the North Flinders Ranges. The Australian continent stretched for another 2,000 kilometres to the north and 2,500 to the west and no white man had the slightest idea of what was there. It was to be the first of six expeditions mounted by Stuart, then aged 42, as he sought to uncover the mysteries of the interior and forge a path to the north.Ultimately he was to become part of a race across the continent, his rivals being the Burke and Wills expedition. In the end Stuart was to be the first European to cross Australia from south to north and return again, as the cumbersome expedition of Burke and Wills turned from farce to tragedy. Yet his hero's homecoming was to be shortlived.Mr Stuart's Track is a fascinating study of a loner, an explorer of no fixed abode, who battled alcoholism and ill-health to push himself to the limits of endurance in crossing straight through the red centre to the northern seas.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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September 29, 2021Very well-written and has a good sense of narrative and flow. I liked that Bailey gave little character sketches to the prominent figures surrounding Stuart, and I was impressed with how he weaved in Stuart's story within the broader context of South Australia, colonisation, and the consequences of Stuart's expeditions on Indigenous peoples. I also thought Bailey did a really good job with scrutinising the historical sources where appropriate (especially in the 'Attack Creek' chapter).
August 26, 2021
Very well written. A good and honest portrait of an underrated man. I also liked how John Bailey put the actions of Stuart and others into the context of the 1800s and how he mentions the impact on the Aboriginal population ongoing to this day.
March 4, 2012
John Bailey's Mr Stuart's Track is an interesting and readable account of the journeys of one of Australia's most famous European explorers.
They don't breed them like John McDouall Stuart anymore. In fact, they didn't breed many of them back then either. Stuart was hardly the dashing life of the party. He was short, reserved to the point of awkardness, and not a very inspirational leader. What he did possess was uncommon persistence in the face of hardship, and superb navigational skills. Like most famous figures of the past, events shaped him, rather than the other way round. When Charles Todd decided that the final link in the telegraph chain from London to Australia would go from Darwin to Adelaide, not Sydney or, worst of all, Melbourne, he needed the right man for the job. Stuart knew more about the northern part of South Australia than any other person, and was so uncomfortable with the comforts of Adelaide that he couldn't wait to get back there. But he knew nothing of what was beyond, and the Red Centre wasn't prepared to give up its secrets easily.
In the end, however, he prevailed over the the setbacks of disasters, the resistance of Aborigines, and above all the need to never be more than two days away from a reliable water supply.
A few months ago I motored in my boat down the Mary River to its mouth and out into Chambers Bay. To the right at the mouth in the distance is Point Stuart, the place where the plucky, half-blind Scotsman stumbled through the scrub out onto the beach, and became the first European to successfully go across the continent from south to north. It is a hot, lonely and forbidding place now. It would have changed little since July 1862 when Stuart soaked his blistered feet in the warm water, lit his pipe and cursed the fact that there was now nowhere further to travel.
They don't breed them like John McDouall Stuart anymore. In fact, they didn't breed many of them back then either. Stuart was hardly the dashing life of the party. He was short, reserved to the point of awkardness, and not a very inspirational leader. What he did possess was uncommon persistence in the face of hardship, and superb navigational skills. Like most famous figures of the past, events shaped him, rather than the other way round. When Charles Todd decided that the final link in the telegraph chain from London to Australia would go from Darwin to Adelaide, not Sydney or, worst of all, Melbourne, he needed the right man for the job. Stuart knew more about the northern part of South Australia than any other person, and was so uncomfortable with the comforts of Adelaide that he couldn't wait to get back there. But he knew nothing of what was beyond, and the Red Centre wasn't prepared to give up its secrets easily.
In the end, however, he prevailed over the the setbacks of disasters, the resistance of Aborigines, and above all the need to never be more than two days away from a reliable water supply.
A few months ago I motored in my boat down the Mary River to its mouth and out into Chambers Bay. To the right at the mouth in the distance is Point Stuart, the place where the plucky, half-blind Scotsman stumbled through the scrub out onto the beach, and became the first European to successfully go across the continent from south to north. It is a hot, lonely and forbidding place now. It would have changed little since July 1862 when Stuart soaked his blistered feet in the warm water, lit his pipe and cursed the fact that there was now nowhere further to travel.
October 17, 2019
Great insight into John MacDouall Stuart. Hardly any gaps left in his life in Australia. Those there may seem to be, Bailey weaves in concurrent events, in enough relevant detail to bring early Australia to the forefront and the reader interested to see what happens next through the sheer determination of this man. Very clever bushman, but with flaws in his character make you want to see what unfolds at every stage.
Great.
Great.
February 25, 2023
John McDouall Stuart was Australia's greatest explorer and if you had any doubt, this book will prove it to you. After enduring incredible hardship, and six expeditions, he eventually completed the route to cross the nation (in the middle) from north to south. He was a difficult man in poor health, with a love of the demon rum and went largely unrewarded for his efforts - no knighthood, no pension, no grants of land - as a result of an unsypathetic Government. One sad aspect of these journeys of exploration is that Stuart found water in the inland and some rich pasture, but the cattle trampled the springs and the aboriginal people who had lived in harmony with the land with thousands of years were forced out to live on the fringes of society, which stilkl exists today. The ignorance of the English and the age, meant that they were still writing articles on the superiority of evolution of the European as compared to the native peoples of the world. Stuart was Scottish-born and after his time in Australia returned to the United Kingdom. where his health broken, he lived in poverty until he died in London, aged 50. A sad end to a courageous man who left a profound impact on Australia, which still being felt today.
April 9, 2021
What a tough character John McDouall Stuart must have been! Author John Bailey paints a picture of a remarkable misfit of a man who found his calling in life wandering across the arid wastes of Central Australia. Each time Stuart returned to civilisation (usually Adelaide) he proved to all and sundry that he was indeed a hopeless alcoholic who would be of no use to any employer looking for a reliable chap. And then he'd please everyone by leaving to discover more waterholes, more trails north.
The other remarkable thing about Stuart was his minimalism. He carried very little water with him, trusting on finding some each day. And he preferred a small party to go with him, with absolutely the minimal number of provisions packed onto his horses. Each expedition proved to be an almost deadly ordeal, and yet he returned, drank, recovered then went back out there again.
Bailey makes the case for Stuart being our greatest explorer. It's a good one, too. I'd like to read a biography of anyone who could knock him off that perch.
The other remarkable thing about Stuart was his minimalism. He carried very little water with him, trusting on finding some each day. And he preferred a small party to go with him, with absolutely the minimal number of provisions packed onto his horses. Each expedition proved to be an almost deadly ordeal, and yet he returned, drank, recovered then went back out there again.
Bailey makes the case for Stuart being our greatest explorer. It's a good one, too. I'd like to read a biography of anyone who could knock him off that perch.
November 5, 2025
A very enjoyable and well researched biography of Scottish born Australian explorer, John McDouall Stuart and his dogged determination to cross Australia from South to North.
Bailey serves up Stuart as a contradiction - a misfit and a taciturn drunk when in the ‘settled districts’ and yet a natural bushman who came into his own when forging a trail in extremely inhospitable country where ‘no white man’ had set foot.
A remarkable man with willpower enough to keep on going while suffering horribly from his ailments in a harsh environment, but unable to control is drinking when back in ‘civilisation’ and who ultimately ended up back in ‘the old country’ poor, forgotten and dead at 50.
Bailey serves up Stuart as a contradiction - a misfit and a taciturn drunk when in the ‘settled districts’ and yet a natural bushman who came into his own when forging a trail in extremely inhospitable country where ‘no white man’ had set foot.
A remarkable man with willpower enough to keep on going while suffering horribly from his ailments in a harsh environment, but unable to control is drinking when back in ‘civilisation’ and who ultimately ended up back in ‘the old country’ poor, forgotten and dead at 50.
January 9, 2018
An excellent book, well written and hard to put down. It’s scope only limited by JMS’s lack of interest in recording anything approaching philosophical indeed JMS apparently disdaining any insights on the indigenes. Hearing the authors (not JMS’s) thoughts about what the indigenes experienced as their sacred places were turned into cow pens and their water caches drunken and fouled by horses and cattle as a results of this and other explorers makes one very sad
April 22, 2021
Great overview of Stuart's life and explorations throughout central Australia. Informative and easy to follow, it made following the life of this great explorer easy. Definitely worth reading if you're interested in the history of the exploration of Central Australia.
July 3, 2021
Excellently written. An extraordinary tale told with clarity.
February 13, 2017
The writing of a biography on John Stuart would be no easy task, considering how much of a self-contained, repressed character he was. His journals rarely contained anything other than pure documentation, and when he was in civilisation would become a reclusive drunk, shirking any kind of public presence. Nonetheless South Australia adored him and considered him a hero. He really was an intriguing man; not seeking fame or grandeur, but it seems running away from himself with a kind of self-flagellating repentance. Like a drug he constantly needed to escalate his habit, and once he'd reached the pinnacle- crossing the continent- he didn't find salvation. The meaninglessness he was evading stared back at him.
This struggle is something that we can all relate to. But what Stuart put himself through, his absolute fearlessness, is spectacular. Each time he would return from expeditions a complete wreck, riddled with scurvy and half dead. His methods were severe compared to many other explorers who would head expeditions loaded down with vast amounts of provisions, and therefore travel slowly. Stuart would exist on a starvation diet for several months or over a year (flour, sugar, tea and dried beef, no water) to lighten the load enough to make rapid dashes across brutal landscapes to find that one little trickle of water so that they could continue, leap frogging across the continent. His men often despised him for what he put them through.
I really appreciate how Bailey characterises Stuart's interactions with first nations people. It is always with a strong sense of consternation, providing cultural context for encounters that Stuart completely misinterprets. It is kind of an uncomfortable place to be in, enjoying stories of extreme courageousness and intrepid spirit in a country that I am deeply connected to, but also being fully aware of how this paved the way for colonial violence to penetrate every corner of Australia. The very last uncontacted tribe left the Gibson desert in 1984, just over a century after Stuart completed his last stint.
Understanding the history of your country or region is important, and I found this book to provide a sharp, engaging snapshot of that colonial frontier, when there were more unknowns than knowns, and ofcourse an excellent portrait of tortured old John McDouall Stewart.
This struggle is something that we can all relate to. But what Stuart put himself through, his absolute fearlessness, is spectacular. Each time he would return from expeditions a complete wreck, riddled with scurvy and half dead. His methods were severe compared to many other explorers who would head expeditions loaded down with vast amounts of provisions, and therefore travel slowly. Stuart would exist on a starvation diet for several months or over a year (flour, sugar, tea and dried beef, no water) to lighten the load enough to make rapid dashes across brutal landscapes to find that one little trickle of water so that they could continue, leap frogging across the continent. His men often despised him for what he put them through.
I really appreciate how Bailey characterises Stuart's interactions with first nations people. It is always with a strong sense of consternation, providing cultural context for encounters that Stuart completely misinterprets. It is kind of an uncomfortable place to be in, enjoying stories of extreme courageousness and intrepid spirit in a country that I am deeply connected to, but also being fully aware of how this paved the way for colonial violence to penetrate every corner of Australia. The very last uncontacted tribe left the Gibson desert in 1984, just over a century after Stuart completed his last stint.
Understanding the history of your country or region is important, and I found this book to provide a sharp, engaging snapshot of that colonial frontier, when there were more unknowns than knowns, and ofcourse an excellent portrait of tortured old John McDouall Stewart.
December 11, 2015
John McDouall Stuart is interesting and attractive in his way. Somehow being brought up in a small town in Scotland gave him the skills and bushcraft to explore the harshest desert country of central Australia. The country he trecked through was never rich agricultural or even mining land. There was no wealth and little fame attached to his discoveries. He was often employed by business men who paid him for his journeys but were in no position to keep him employed and once back in civilisation he disappeared in a fog of alcohol and ill health. In this he compared to Forrest in Western Australia whose exploration was far less skilled or gruelling but who was rewarded with fame and a Premiership of the new state.
Stuart treated his horses and dogs better than most explorers. He travelled lighter and followed the water rather than keeping to a predetermined route. He succeeded in this sort of country where the more famous explorer Charles Sturt failed. Sturt travelled with a large flock of sheep for provisions and could only move as fast as his sheep who had to be watered. Stuart kept to two or three men and their horses. He would zig zag across the desert watching bird and animal movements to find out where he could get water. And he only needed enough for his small party.
The story of the opening up of Australia by the C19th explorers is also the story of the dispossession of the people who lived there and I always feel a sadness when I think of what was about to happen. I have lived in the country that Stuart explored and I love its desert and harsh colours.
John Bailey writes well and tells Stuart's story well. It was good to put some flesh on names like Finke and Chambers (business men) and Babbage (toffy Englishman) whose names are still used for street names in Alice Springs and the ancient Finke river.
Stuart treated his horses and dogs better than most explorers. He travelled lighter and followed the water rather than keeping to a predetermined route. He succeeded in this sort of country where the more famous explorer Charles Sturt failed. Sturt travelled with a large flock of sheep for provisions and could only move as fast as his sheep who had to be watered. Stuart kept to two or three men and their horses. He would zig zag across the desert watching bird and animal movements to find out where he could get water. And he only needed enough for his small party.
The story of the opening up of Australia by the C19th explorers is also the story of the dispossession of the people who lived there and I always feel a sadness when I think of what was about to happen. I have lived in the country that Stuart explored and I love its desert and harsh colours.
John Bailey writes well and tells Stuart's story well. It was good to put some flesh on names like Finke and Chambers (business men) and Babbage (toffy Englishman) whose names are still used for street names in Alice Springs and the ancient Finke river.
August 27, 2014
An easy & enjoyable read about Stuart's life & explorations. Times have obviously changed because Bailey constantly complains throughout the book that Stuart is the forgotten explorer & I distinctly remember him being taught in primary school along with Burke & Wills, & Leichhardt.
However, there were lots I didn't know about him & this book covers much. I did enjoy his honesty in not shying from Stuart's chronic alcoholism - the man was never sober when he was in town. Bailey also highlights his brilliance in finding water and in not getting lost. I have had the pleasure of travelling through most of the places he explored and it would be so easy to lose one's way; and definitely, the climate and land is harsh and dangerous.
My thoughts about Stuart are - when using horses, his methods were the best in crossing arid Australia: travel light & fast. But it isn't the smartest one and the opportunities for death or severe health problems (as experienced by Stuart - scurvy and malnutrition)are likely. It just showed that camels were the animal best suited for travelling through this harsh landscape.
So what did I think about Stuart? Bailey although doesn't hold back punches, but also doesn't give you his personal opinion of his subject (apart from an aside at the end & I still don't truly know his personal feelings regarding his subject). This is interesting as Bailey readily adds dialogue and thoughts to his historical figures (without being based on fact, rather on supposition). I admired Stuart & his fortitude, but I don't think I would want him as a house guest or friend.
However, there were lots I didn't know about him & this book covers much. I did enjoy his honesty in not shying from Stuart's chronic alcoholism - the man was never sober when he was in town. Bailey also highlights his brilliance in finding water and in not getting lost. I have had the pleasure of travelling through most of the places he explored and it would be so easy to lose one's way; and definitely, the climate and land is harsh and dangerous.
My thoughts about Stuart are - when using horses, his methods were the best in crossing arid Australia: travel light & fast. But it isn't the smartest one and the opportunities for death or severe health problems (as experienced by Stuart - scurvy and malnutrition)are likely. It just showed that camels were the animal best suited for travelling through this harsh landscape.
So what did I think about Stuart? Bailey although doesn't hold back punches, but also doesn't give you his personal opinion of his subject (apart from an aside at the end & I still don't truly know his personal feelings regarding his subject). This is interesting as Bailey readily adds dialogue and thoughts to his historical figures (without being based on fact, rather on supposition). I admired Stuart & his fortitude, but I don't think I would want him as a house guest or friend.
June 21, 2013
This is a competent and engaging biography of Australia's greatest explorer. But that raises the issue of what is a "great" explorer, and so let me rephrase to say, the most accomplished Australian explorer. I wish the author had been more exacting in attribution and scrupulous in interpreting sources, but he certainly gets across two things: the magnitude of Stuart's accomplishments, and the sad state of his personal life, or lack thereof. I happened to read this biography while traveling between Darwin and Alice Springs, and so Bailey's blow-by-blow accounts of Stuart's struggle to the Top End made an impression on me.
August 24, 2014
Wow, this man was amazing. Far from perfect but the very best of explorers who managed to survive deprivations we could not begin to imagine. He kept going back time after time to suffer those deprivations again and again.
He was not appreciated, he was not paid what he was worth and his sponsors made no provision for him in their wills. The task of building the Overland Telegraph was made possible by his detailed maps and journals, "...there was timber where Stuart said there would be timber. There was permanent water where he said it would be and cairns where he said he had placed them". His explorations had ruined his health and he ended his life as a half blind, broken man.
He was not appreciated, he was not paid what he was worth and his sponsors made no provision for him in their wills. The task of building the Overland Telegraph was made possible by his detailed maps and journals, "...there was timber where Stuart said there would be timber. There was permanent water where he said it would be and cairns where he said he had placed them". His explorations had ruined his health and he ended his life as a half blind, broken man.
May 7, 2015
An excellent, engaging read about one of Australia's greatest and most persistent explorers. This very personal biography of John McDouall Stuart should be essential reading for all Australian students. It portray's Stuart not as a mythical being from Australian classical history, but as a real and complex individual torn between his insatiable desire to tread across a continent and his personal challenges of alcoholism and deep introvertism.
July 11, 2017
This story of Stuart's expeditions is very well told. A very interesting account of all Stuart's expeditions from Adelaide. It was a fast read. If you are interested in learning about the trials and tribulations of tracking into unknown country this book provides a very good account. Highly recommended.
August 3, 2010
This is a well researched, well written, compelling story of John McDouall Stuart's explorations of the Central Australia and his final expedition to the North Coast of Australia. For a comprehensive and enjoyable view of this little remembered Australian hero, you can't go past this book.
April 27, 2016
A vivid story of exploration and resilience. I couldn't put it down. Bailey delves deep into the actions, and more interestingly motivations, of a deeply tortured yet successful man. A brilliant read.
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November 23, 2013Another must for all Australians.
June 14, 2014
This is the story of one very focused man. What an interesting, but very hard life. How he survived in the middle of Australia, with the heat and lack of water is incredible.
February 27, 2016
Read this book whilst touring roughly Stuart's track. Made this historic fiction alive! It's a fabulous read!!
March 27, 2016
Great Book
November 25, 2011
I like this. Good story telling and I like the comparisons with the Burke and Wills expeditions.
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