John McDouall Stuart
Stuart and A.C. Gregory were arguably Australia’s greatest inland explorers. The latter was certainly financed and equipped much better than Stuart who had to rely on Chambers and Finke’s support rather than the State Government. It may very well have been possible for Stuart to reach the north coast earlier if he had the Government support that Gregory, Babbage and Tolmer were granted. That said, he didn’t and was totally driven to reach the north coast despite illness and afflictions that arguably he had since arriving in South Australia and were to see him die at such an early age in England in 1866. The key attributes that made Stuart one, if not the best inland explorer, include: