Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-02-04
AN INGENIOUS ExpLoRER.
Incidents Of Interest IN the HaEard-
Career of a Famous Aus-
traiian Pioneer.

AL TTT~-F. i. .af tEH'
M -
There was a jubilation In Queensland
en- the last birthday Of the "Grand Old
llan" Of that state. He Is the Hen.
iugustus Charles Gregory, So years old.
and a resident of Australia since he
was ten. He wifi be, says the New
York Sun, remembered as one. OF the
greatest explorers Of the continent.
All the maps of Australia showing
the routes of the explorers who solved
its mysteries mark lne tracks of Greg
DRY through north Australia, through
tho inner part of west Australia and
along the southern edge Of the desert.
He brought to light important regions
that were fit for settlement and are
now among the prosperous parts of the
commonwealth, though it 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
ical 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
II he made one out of such materials
as he could pick up, and it kept good
time for eight years. When he was ID
he built the first -four mill in Queens
land, forging all the ironwork for 1t
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 a boy
when he designed the apparatus for the
first revolving light on Rotnest island,
where a lighthouse was needed for the
safety Of shipping. His contrivance
worked without a hitch for IS years.
till it was replaced by a larger one.
During his explorations he discover
ed a bed of iron ore in western Aus
tralia, fused some Of the metal in a
blacksmith's forge, turned it into steel,
made a penknife blade of it and mount
ed it on a handle of kangaroo bone.
Some officials expressed doubt that it
was a bona fide production, but Greg
ory was able to prove that the steel
was actually the product of western
Australia ore.
When his chronometer got out of or
! der he was able to repair it in tie des-
ert and continued the observations in
which it played a important part. Not
a few of his astronomical determine
lions of geographic positions have
stood the test of later observations.
One day when he was travelling In
the vast desert plains he decided that
his provisions were too heavy for his
party to carry nj yet every ounce of
food was needed. He set to work to
reduce the weight while preserving the
nutritiye qualities. #
He found that he could greatly re-
duce the weight of his salt pork by
melting it. He also discovered by ex-
nerimentation hat the -four he turned
into biscuits weighed nor than the
biscuits.
The bright idea occurred to him OF
making meat biscuits. So he mixed
flour with melted pork and timed beef.
The biscuits turned out we'll and
weighed only about half as much as the
! meat and -four separately.
These are only a few of the many
ways in which his ingenuity and ready
resource contributed to the complete
success of his enterprises. He was for
many years surveyor general OF
Queensland; and In his peaceful old
age all Australia delights to honor him