Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1904-03-03
AN INGENIOUS EXPLORER.
accidents Of Interest In the Hazard
Gus Career Of Famous AUS
traIian Pioneer.


There was q jubilation In Queensland
on the last birthday Of the Grand Old
Man" Of that state. He 10 the Hon.
Augustus Charles Gregory, SO years old.
and a resident Of Australia since no
was ten. He will be. says the New
York Sun, remembered a. one OF the
greatest explorers Of the continent.
All the maps OF Australia showing
the routes Of the explorers who solved
Its mysteries mark Inc tracks of Greg
DRY through north Australia. through
the inner part Of west Australia and
along the southern edge Of the desert.
He brought to light important regions
that were At for settlement and are
now among the prosperous parts Of the
commonwealth, though 1t was long
supposed they could not be turned to
good account.
During the many speeches in his
honor on his birthday much was said
about the remarkable inventive genius
which stood him In good stead at crit
lcal periods during his explorations. |
Clocks were few and far between when |
he went to Australia.
Young Gregory decided that his par
ents needed a clock and when he was
IA he made one out Of such materials
as he couid pick up, and 1t kept good
time for eight years. When he was Is
he built the first flour mill In Queens
land, forging all the ironwork for II
from old bedsteads and exploring the
mountains for millstones, which he
picked up and fashioned with his own
hands from the granite near his home.
He was scarcely more than boy
when he designed the apparatus for the
first revolving light on Rotnest island,
where lighthouse was needed for the
safety Of shipping. His contrivance,
worked without hitch for IS years,
lii 1t was replaced by larger one.
During his explorations he discover
I'd bed Of iron ore In western Aus
ralia. fused some of the metal In a
forge, turned 1t into steel, ,
made penknife blade Of 1t and mount :
ID It on handle of kangaroo bone.
'ome officials expressed doubt that It !,
vas a bona fide production, but Greg
Try was able to prove that the steel
vas actually the product of western
australia ore. >
When his chronometer got out Of or =
er he was able to repair 1t in the des- u
1T and continued the observations In y
'hich 1t played an important part. Not
few Of his astronomical determine u
Ions of geographic positions have ..
TODD the test Of later observations.
One day when he was travelling In !,
he vast desert plains he decided that :
Is provisions were too heavy for his II
arty to carry ana yet every ounce Of IL
,od was needed. He set to work to
'duce the weight while preserving the u
ltritive qualities. u
He found that he could greatly re-
ice the weight Of his salt pork by ,e
citing 1t. He also discovered by ex- y
that the flour he turned %
to biscuits weighed more than the :,
scults. "
The bright idea occurred to him Of
aking meat biscuits. So he mixed !, II
'ur with melted pork and timed beef y
ie biscuits turned out well and
,ighed only about half as much as the :
sat and -four separately u
These are only few Of the many 81
lys in which his ingenuity and ready ~
source contributed to the complete 70
recess OF his enterprises. He was for ~
my years surveyor general Of ~
eensland; and in his peaceful old .n'
Q all Australia delights to honor him. .n'