Barclay–Macpherson 1911

also known as:

1911 Barclay Expedition
Northern Territory Survey & Exploration Party 1911–12
Northern Territory Survey Expedition
3rd Barclay–Macpherson Expedition

main references: Strong (2013:68–76), Strong (2016), Strong (2018)

25 April 1911: departed Alice Springs
8–11 June 1911: Camp III, Long Waterhole, Lander River
9 and 10 July 1911: reached OTL and Newcastle Waters

Route in red, excerpt from Map (Hill 1913:238)

Route map (Strong 1997 and 2016:164)

excerpt from A.L Rossiter's 'Northern Territory. Showing route of Barclay Expedition and characteristic vegetation', 1914 map endpaper foldout in The Flora of the Northern Territory, Ewart & Davies 1917

Personnel

composition of party on the section from Central Mount Wedge to Newcastle Waters:
Henry Vere Barclay (1845–1917)
Ronald Horace Macpherson 2IC (1875–1930) (died 2 May 1930 at Meto Plantation, Ilia Witu, New Guinea)
Gerald Freer Hill    naturalist (1880–1954) http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-625375
John Joseph Waldron    cadet surveyor (1891–1970); later, licensee of Hotel Argus, Elizabeth St, Melbourne (Strong 2018:61)

hired at Oodnadatta:
Thomas Simpson    cameleer
Bruce Foulis    chainman (1891–1948) stayed on at Borroloola with Barclay and Hill (Hill 1952:7)
Archie Gepp    chainman (1873–1943) discharged in Alice Springs
Edward Collins    cook
Aborigine [Dick]    to help with camels

hired at Old Crown Point:
Whisky Tom    to help with camels (mentioned in 'THE REAL AUSTRALIAN', The Northern Miner (Charters Towers, Qld), 22 July 1914, p. 7 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79195237)

(Strong 1989:49-56)

Without Barclay and Hill, Macpherson led the remaining party from Borroloola to Oodnadatta, Nov 1911 – January 1912. Duncan Cowie was taken on at Ranken River store. Eight of the original camels were returned at Oodnadatta (Strong 2013:103–4) and the party took the train to Adelaide ("NORTHERN TERRITORY EXPLORATION" The Queenslander 23 March 1912, 8 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21912129).

Route

The location of the camps can be worked out from the descriptions of the country and the occasional Latitude observations recorded in Macpherson's and Hill's journals, and this appeaers to have been the basis of Rossiter's 1914 map

With respect to the June westward excursion from the Lander, it is most likely that the camp of 19/6/11 is near White Stone Well in the Lander River, and that of 22/6/11 is at Mt Patricia. Rossiter's map has the furthest west camp at 21/6/11, and the returning route eastward is dotted.

The party used Chewings' Hit or Miss Well, which Macpherson called Claypan Well, reached on 1 July 1911.

Natural history

Following its assumption of responsibility for the Northern Territory, the young Commonwealth Government began investigating the natural resources (including vegetation) of this vast area. In line with this policy, the Barclay Expedition moved north from Oodnadatta on 7 February 1911... Continuing north by way of Lander Creek, on a route about one hundred kilometres west of the present Stuart Highway, the party met the Overland telegraph line again at Newcastle Waters...
Gerald F. Hill was botanical collector on this important expedition and his records, together with those of Dr J.A. Gilruth and Professor W.B. Spencer... provided basic material for [Ewart & Davies 1917]. Hill's main set of specimens and his manuscript diary (with many useful ecological notes) are in Herb. MEL [National Herbarium of Victoria], but NSW [National Herbarium of N.S.W.] and BRI [Queensland Herbarium] hold some duplicate numbers. Between Oodnadatta and latitude 20°S, Hill had collected samples of four hundred plant species, of which eleven were published as new in the above Flora by Ewart. Only three of these are now accepted by the names under which they were described (viz. Acacia hilliana, A. jennerae and Dampiera cinerea) and some have been proved synonymous. (Willis 1981:xvii-xviii)

Gerald Freer Hill was one of the last eminent naturalists. His major research work was a taxonomic study of termites but Hill also collected mammals, birds and plants. In 1911 Hill was appointed as naturalist and photographer to an expedition under Henry Vere Barclay. The expedition travelled from Adelaide to Borroloola. Alfred Ewart, Government Botanist of Victoria, told Hill that he would be paid five shillings for every new species he collected.
Hill collected more than 600 specimens during the expedition and it was partly the acquisition of these specimens that prompted Ewart to publish (in 1917) with O. B. Davies, The Flora of the Northern Territory. About 30 plant species were named from specimens gathered by Hill. http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/wildlife/plants/aboutus/collecting.html#scientific (from 2006 at archive.org)

1913 saw the appointment of the first government entomologist. He was Gerald Hill, who spent only two years in the Territory in this instance, but who returned to work on various problems over the years. … In 1914 in the "Report of the Administration" for the year 1913, Hill gives an astonishingly long list of pest insects of plants, stored food, timber, hides, bacon, etc., man, and stock. In the Public Health report we read of collecting of mosquitoes, and of implementation of mosquito control measures, the emphasis being given to drainage and "individual effort". Hill resigned in June 1915, "for personal reasons". 'Bugs and bug collectors of the Northern Territory : Entomology and entomologists in the Northern Territory' by Alice Wells, Occasional Papers No. 40, State Library of the Northern Territory Darwin 1993 http://www.artsandmuseums.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/114984/occpaper40.pdf

birds: Hill 1913, Campbell & Kershaw 1913

Alice Springs Herbarium A0059196 and A006221 were collected by the G.F. Hill on the Barclay 1911 expedition.
From Notebook 41:
Alfred J. Ewart & Alexander Morrison [d. 8/12/1913]. Contributions to the Flora of Australia, No. 21. The Flora of the Northen Territory (Leguminosae). 1913. Proc Roy Soc Victoria 26(N.S.), Pt. 1, 152-164, 2 plates.

Gastrolobium grandiflorum.
=========================
Seventy miles north C IV. on Lander Creek, G.F. Hill (No. 382), 28/6/1911. [sc. 29/6/1911, by journal]

Crotalaria trifoliastrum
========================
Lat 19 deg S., Long. 132 deg., G.F. Hill (No. 434), 4/7/1911 …

Contact with Aborigines

CRS A659 item 42/1/2696
letter of 19/7/1911, about the leg from Haast Bluff to Newcastle Waters
"We met very few aboriginals, such as we saw were on friendly terms with and obtained photographs and other particulars regarding them."

GF Hill noted a page of vocabulary (published by Strong 2016:89).

Excerpt from journal of Gerald F. Hill:

25 SUNDAY [June 1911]
… Native fires were seen in nearly every direction but no natives were seen, nor could we find any springs or waterholes. …

Excerpt from journal of John Joseph Waldron:

7 JULY FRI.
Four blacks, one of whom could speak a few words of English, came up to camp at lunch.

References

See Parker 1973:16,46, Willis 1981:xvii, Gibson 1986:21 for commentary on the records of this expedition.

Australia. Department of External Affairs. 1913. Northern Territory of Australia, report on operations since the transfer to the Commonwealth, March 1913. Melbourne: Dept. of External Affairs. http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/185135 Accessed 6 December 2014 * page 13

Australia. Home and Territories Department. 1920. Commonwealth Gazette 88 (18 October 1920), 1447. * lists JJ Waldron, born 28.3.91, appointed Clerk 1.10.08

Campbell, AJ and JA Kershaw. 1913. Notes on a small collection of bird skins from the Northern Territory. Emu 12,274–278. https://archive.org/details/emuofficialorgan12191213roya * cf Hill 1913

Gibson, D[avid] F. 1986. A biological survey of the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory. Technical Report - Number 30. Alice Springs: Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory. ISBN 07245 0836 8 ISSN 0729 9990 xiii+258pp.

Hill, Gerald F. Field diary of the Northern Territory Survey 1911. National Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra VIC 3141 * see Strong 2016

Hill, Gerald F. 'Private Diary, From 11 Jan 1911 to 17 Nov 1911'. Viewed with kind permission of his son W.R. Hill (d.2004), Batemans Bay, 20 May 1987. * see Strong 2016

Hill, G.F. 1913. Ornithological notes, Barclay expedition. Emu 12,238–262. http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view file&file id=MU912238.pdfhttps://archive.org/details/emuofficialorgan12191213roya * cf Campbell & Kershaw 1913

Hill, G.F. 1952. Diary of Gerald Freer Hill. 22 pp. Excerpts published in Strong 2016. * reference in A rich and diverse fauna : the history of the Australian National Insect Collection 1926–1991 by Murray S. Upton http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/46518052

Parker, Shane A. 1973. An annotated checklist of the native land mammals of the Northern Territory. Rec. S.A. Mus. 16.11(8 January 1973),1-57.

Rossiter, A.L. 1917. Northern Territory. Showing Route of Barclay Expedition and Characteristic Vegetation. 1914 map endpaper foldout in The Flora of the Northern Territory, by Alfred J. Ewart & Olive B. Davies. Melbourne: Department of Home and Territories.
Note: This map apparently builds on a map of the expedition route prepared by J.J. Waldron; see correspondence in:
Australian Archives (A.C.T. branch). CRS A1 item 36/7290 (Jan)1911-1936(Jly) 4.5cm Botanical specimens of N.T. classification of -- (re production of Ewart & Davies 1917)

Scherer, P.A. 1971. Venture of Faith. 2nd ed. August 1971. Reprint 1975. * includes "Photo by courtesy of Dr. M. Lohe.", with caption "Camel caravan, under Afghan command, hooshta's at Hermannsburg." which shows Barclay-Macpherson 1911 Expedition, including Gerald F. Hill seated on a camel at left of scene. This photo is not in 1st ed.

Strong, B[ruce] W. 1989. Henry Vere Barclay: Centralian Explorer. Alice Springs: Historical Society of the NT and BW Strong. ix+98pp. ISBN 09588093 1 3

Strong, B[ruce] W. 2013. Henry Vere Barclay: Centralian explorer. vii+132pp. The author. Revised edition. (1st edition published 1989) http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/205713274

Strong, Bruce. (ed.) 1997. Journals of Ronald H. Macpherson and John Joseph Waldron. Copy at National Trust, Alice Springs.
John Joseph Waldron's original diary is held at the Museum & Art Gallery of the NT, Darwin. 191 p. : map ; 30 cm. * 2012 PDF available online http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/handle/10070/238416

Strong, B[ruce] W. 2016. Gerald Freer Hill (1880-1954). Deniliquin: Deniliquin Newspapers Pty Ltd. http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/225005916

Strong, B[ruce] W. 2018. Ronald Horace Macpherson (1875–1930). Deniliquin: Deniliquin Newspapers Pty Ltd.

Wells, Alice. 1993. Bugs and bug collectors of the Northern Territory : entomology and entomologists in the Northern Territory. Occasional papers (State Library of the Northern Territory) ; no. 40 * http://hdl.handle.net/10070/153141http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/bitstream/10070/153141/1/occpaper40.pdf

Willis, J.H. 1981. The history of botanical investigation in central Australia, pp.xiii-xx in Flora of Central Australia, ed. by John P. Jessop. Australian Systematic Botany Society. Sydney: AH & AW Reed. ISBN 0 589 50226 2