Benjamin Herschel Babbage
Benjamin Herschel Babbage (1815—1878) was an English scientist, engineer and explorer.[1] Babbage was the son of the famous mathematician, Charles Babbage. He went to South Australia to map the geography and the location of minerals.
Babbage was very thorough, and spent a lot of time making sure that his information was correct.[1] He carried a lot of equipment, as well as four and half tonnes of food, enough to last 18 months in the desert.[2] Among his supplies he had 20 kilograms of chocolate and 5000 litres of water.[2] He also took a flock of 150 sheep, which limited the speed the group could move.[2] The government became frustrated with Babbage's slow progress, they wanted to know about possible farm lands and valuable minerals as soon as possible.[1] Eventually Babbage was removed from the job and replaced by Major Peter Warburton.[1]
Babbage later helped on the planning for the Australian Overland Telegraph Line.[1] He was interested in growing grapes and retired to his large vineyard at St.Marys. He died on 20 October 1878, and is buried at St.Marys.[1]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Symes, G.W. (1969). Babbage, Benjamin Herschel (1815 - 1878). Retrieved 17 June 2011.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bailey, John (2006). Mr. Stuart's Track: the forgotten life of Australia's greatest explorer. Sydney, Australia: Macmillan. p. 10. ISBN 9781405037303.