Lawrence Wells
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Allen Wells was an Australia
n explorer.
Wells grew up in the Mount Gambier, South Australia
district, and after a short stint in a merchants office, joined the South Australian Survey Department in October 1878. In 1883 the surveyor General, G.W. Goyder, offered him the Assistant Surveyor position to the Northern Territory and Queensland Border Survey Expedition, under Augustus Poeppel. This task took almost three years to complete, and Wells spent the next couple of years working in the far north of S.A. and the N.T., surveying pastoral boundaries.
In 1891 he was appointed surveyor to the Elder Scientific Exploration Expedition, under David Lindsay. Lindsay's instructions were to investigate the remaining "blanks on the map" of Australia
, (essentially the Great Victoria
, Little Sandy
, Great Sandy
, Tanami
, and the Simpson
Desert
s). After a good start, the expedition suffered hardship and psychological problems, which saw Lindsay returning to Adelaide
to explain the situation, leaving Wells in charge of the remants of the expedition. It was disbanded in March 1892, after Wells had discovered evidence of gold at what became Wiluna. Only Wells and the cook, Warren, came away with a "clean slate".
Returning to the Survey Department, Wells married Alice Marion Woods on 22 September 1892.
In 1896 Albert Calvert, a London
mining engineer, proposed through his Adelaide
Agent, A.T. Magarey, to finance an expedition to complete the task of the Elder Expedition, again supervised by the South Australian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. Wells was selected to lead the Calvert Exploring Expedition of seven men and twenty camels, which left Lake Way, near present day Wiluna
, on 16 July 1896, and headed northeast into uncharted country.
After a substantial reconnaissance trip, October found the party just over halfway through the two Sandy Deserts, when it was decided that Wells's older cousin Charles Wells (2IC) and George Jones, (the 18y.o. nephew of David Lindsay) would make a 'flying trip' to the west, and then rendezvous with the main party at Warburton's Joanna Spring, some 300 km further north. The increasing heat of the advancing summer, lack of feed for the camels, and scant water, caused both parties incredible hardship - the main party was soon only travelling at night, and were forced to abandon virtually everything at Adverse Well, and the remainder the following day. Low on water and unable to locate Joanna Spring, innocently missmapped by Warburton, they made a desperate dash for the Fitzroy River.
Charles Wells and Jones abandoned the flying trip, and following the main party by about twelve days, perished. Their sun dried bodies were finally found on 27 May 1897, 26 km south west of Joanna Spring, after five search expeditions by Larry Wells.
From August 1897, Wells transferred to the Pastoral Board, but from March to September 1903 led the Government North-West Prospecting Expedition. Returning to the Surveyor General's Office, Wells spent three years till September 1908 on a trigonometrical survey in the north west of the N.T.
In 1909 Wells joined the State Taxation Department, and the following year became the Federal Deputy Commissioner of Land Tax for S.A., rejoining the Land Board as chairman in 1918, until his retirement in 1930.
Again pulling on his explorers boots, he led the (private) Quest (1930), Endeavour (1932) and Tarcoola (1933) Expeditions.
Wells was not the only one referred to as "the last Australian Explorer", but he did stand out as one of the few who attempted to treat Aboriginal
s with an unprecedented level of humanity.
In 1935 Wells received the Jubilee Medal, and in 1937 the O.B.E.
Wells died after being struck by a rail car near Blackwood Railway Station on 11 May 1938, and was buried at the Mitcham Cemetery.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n explorer.
Wells grew up in the Mount Gambier, South Australia
Mount Gambier, South Australia
Mount Gambier is the largest regional city in South Australia located approximately 450 kilometres south of the capital Adelaide and just 17 kilometres from the Victorian border....
district, and after a short stint in a merchants office, joined the South Australian Survey Department in October 1878. In 1883 the surveyor General, G.W. Goyder, offered him the Assistant Surveyor position to the Northern Territory and Queensland Border Survey Expedition, under Augustus Poeppel. This task took almost three years to complete, and Wells spent the next couple of years working in the far north of S.A. and the N.T., surveying pastoral boundaries.
In 1891 he was appointed surveyor to the Elder Scientific Exploration Expedition, under David Lindsay. Lindsay's instructions were to investigate the remaining "blanks on the map" of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, (essentially the Great Victoria
Great Victoria Desert
The Great Victoria Desert is a barren and sparsely populated desert area of southern Australia.-Location and description:The Great Victoria is the biggest desert in Australia and consists of many small sandhills, grassland plains, areas with a closely packed surface of pebbles and salt lakes...
, Little Sandy
Little Sandy Desert
The Little Sandy Desert is a desert located in Western Australia south of the Great Sandy Desert and west of the Gibson Desert. It is to the east of Great Northern Highway south of Newman and approximately 200 kilometres north of Wiluna...
, Great Sandy
Great Sandy Desert
The Great Sandy Desert is a desert located in the North West of Western Australia straddling the Pilbara and southern Kimberley regions. It is the second largest desert in Australia after the Great Victoria Desert and encompasses an area of...
, Tanami
Tanami Desert
The Tanami Desert is a desert in northern Australia situated in the Northern Territory. It has a rocky terrain with small hills. The Tanami was the Northern Territory's final frontier and was not fully explored until well into the twentieth century...
, and the Simpson
Simpson Desert
The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth largest Australian desert, with an area of 176,500 km² ....
Desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s). After a good start, the expedition suffered hardship and psychological problems, which saw Lindsay returning to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
to explain the situation, leaving Wells in charge of the remants of the expedition. It was disbanded in March 1892, after Wells had discovered evidence of gold at what became Wiluna. Only Wells and the cook, Warren, came away with a "clean slate".
Returning to the Survey Department, Wells married Alice Marion Woods on 22 September 1892.
In 1896 Albert Calvert, a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
mining engineer, proposed through his Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
Agent, A.T. Magarey, to finance an expedition to complete the task of the Elder Expedition, again supervised by the South Australian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. Wells was selected to lead the Calvert Exploring Expedition of seven men and twenty camels, which left Lake Way, near present day Wiluna
Wiluna, Western Australia
Wiluna is a complex town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is situated on the edge of the Western Desert at the gateway to the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway. It is the service centre of the local area for the local Aboriginal people, the pastoral industry, mining, and...
, on 16 July 1896, and headed northeast into uncharted country.
After a substantial reconnaissance trip, October found the party just over halfway through the two Sandy Deserts, when it was decided that Wells's older cousin Charles Wells (2IC) and George Jones, (the 18y.o. nephew of David Lindsay) would make a 'flying trip' to the west, and then rendezvous with the main party at Warburton's Joanna Spring, some 300 km further north. The increasing heat of the advancing summer, lack of feed for the camels, and scant water, caused both parties incredible hardship - the main party was soon only travelling at night, and were forced to abandon virtually everything at Adverse Well, and the remainder the following day. Low on water and unable to locate Joanna Spring, innocently missmapped by Warburton, they made a desperate dash for the Fitzroy River.
Charles Wells and Jones abandoned the flying trip, and following the main party by about twelve days, perished. Their sun dried bodies were finally found on 27 May 1897, 26 km south west of Joanna Spring, after five search expeditions by Larry Wells.
From August 1897, Wells transferred to the Pastoral Board, but from March to September 1903 led the Government North-West Prospecting Expedition. Returning to the Surveyor General's Office, Wells spent three years till September 1908 on a trigonometrical survey in the north west of the N.T.
In 1909 Wells joined the State Taxation Department, and the following year became the Federal Deputy Commissioner of Land Tax for S.A., rejoining the Land Board as chairman in 1918, until his retirement in 1930.
Again pulling on his explorers boots, he led the (private) Quest (1930), Endeavour (1932) and Tarcoola (1933) Expeditions.
Wells was not the only one referred to as "the last Australian Explorer", but he did stand out as one of the few who attempted to treat Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
s with an unprecedented level of humanity.
In 1935 Wells received the Jubilee Medal, and in 1937 the O.B.E.
Wells died after being struck by a rail car near Blackwood Railway Station on 11 May 1938, and was buried at the Mitcham Cemetery.
Further reading
- Macdonald, Bruce. Lawrence Allen Wells 1860-1938. Penola Commemorative Biographies, Penola Branch of the National Trust of South Australia, 1996
- Cramer, Rod.The Calvert Centenary Project - re-examining the 1896 Calvert Exploring Expedition. p51, South Australian Geographic Journal Vol 97, 1998