They arrived at Van Diemen's Gulf on 24 July 1862. On a tall tree branch they raised a Union Jack flag with Stuart's name embroided on it which had been made by Chamber's daughter, Elizabeth. Wood from the tree, which has since been destroyed, is in the collection of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia's collection. The group then had to travel back to Adelaide. Food was becoming scarce, and the hot weather meant there was little water. Many horses died, and Stuart was again forced to leave behind equipment. Waterhouse had to leave all his carefully collected plants and animals. The men were very hungry and even shot and ate dingos. Stuart was in poor health and became blind. He was unable to speak for several days and the men thought he was going to die. He was unable to ride his horse, and they made a bed with long poles and blankets that could be carried between two horses. Stuart was carried by this method. after crossing the MacDonnell Ranges, they discovered that rain had fallen and there was lots of grass. On reaching the settled areas, Stuart learned that his friend and partner, James Chambers had died. He left Kekwick in charge of the group, and went ahead with Auld. They got on the train at Kapunda and arrived in Adelaide on 17 December 1862.
Stuart and his group were given a special welcome in Adelaide on 16 January 1863. They dressed in their old clothes and rode into the city as heroes. This was also the day that Burke and Wills were buried in Melbourne after the failure of their expedition.
Stuart was in poor health, almost blind, and had a crippled right hand after the sixth trip. With Chambers dead, he no longer had a job. The government tried not to pay him the £2,000 reward, saying that they had paid for the cost of the expedition. After public pressure, they gave in, but invested the money and only gave Stuart a small amount each year. He was drinking a lot of alcohol and none of his friends would give him any help. The government then wanted £500 for the lease of the land they had given him at Chambers Creek. Stuart sold it to James Chambers' brother, John Chambers, for only £200, losing money on the deal.
He decided to return to Great Britain in April 1864. He lived with his sister Mary in Glasgow, Scotland. The Royal Geographical Society asked the South Australian government for a pension for Stuart, but they said he had been rewarded enough with grants of land. During the debate over the pension it was said that it was not the exploring that had ruined his health, but his drinking habits. He suffered from dementia, and it is possible he also had tuberculosis. He died in London on 5 June 1866 from a stroke and was buried in the Kensal Green Cemetery. Only seven people went to the funeral, four relatives, two members of the Royal Geographical Society, and Alexander Hay, a South Australian farmer who was in London at the time. The grave was damaged in World War II, but was repaired in 2011 by the Stuart Society and the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia.
The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was built along the route taken by Stuart. Using his notes they were easily able to find water supplies and trees to make the poles. The accuracy of his maps made building the line much easier. His journey is remembered in the Stuart Highway, one of Australia's major roads which joins Port Augusta to Darwin. It follows much of the same route discovered by Stuart. In June 1904, a statue of Stuart was put up in Adelaide. The Royal Geographical Society of South Australia has a wooden chair and table made by Stuart in 1854.
Benjamin Head later said about Stuart "...that he was a born leader of men: the sharpest little fellow you would find in a year's march."
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:
- He had exceptional dead reckoning and navigational skills that enabled him to understand exactly where he was.
- He spent more time in the field and explored more land than any other explorer without the loss of a man.
-He learnt from every trip how far to push the physical limits and when to turn back.
- He understood and cared for his horses and knew their limits and ability to move quickly through land and how far each type could survive without water. - He was courageous, a great leader and his concern and respect for his fellow expedition members was reciprocated.
Clayton Moore
Clayton Moore (September 14, 1914 – December 28, 1999) was an American actor.
His real name was Jack Carlton Moore. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his career as a child, as an acrobat in the circus. In 1938 he went to Hollywood and acted in minor roles in Class B Western movies. In 1947 he was in the movie "Jesse James Rides Again". He played Jesse James. He also played James in "Adventures of Frank and Jesse James" (1948). He starred in "The Ghost of Zorro" (1949). The other B-movies he starred in were "Cyclone Fury" 1951; "Montana Territory", 1952, as Commissioner George Ives; and "Gunfighters of the Northwest", 1954.
In 1949 he was chosen by ABC Television to play The Lone Ranger. In the series of the same name. His co-star was the actor Jay Silverheels. It was the biggest success of ABC in the postwar period. From 1949 to 1956, 169 episodes were made of The Lone Ranger. His silver bullets, white hat and black mask were icons of the western U.S. In 1979, the company owning the rights to The Lone Ranger forced him to no longer use the character. Judge Vernon Foster said Moore could no longer use his black mask, or advertise as The Lone Ranger. Moore obeyed the judge's decision. In 1987 a star was placed on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
He died on December 28, 1999 from a heart attack in his Los Angeles, California home, aged 85.
Courtney Thorne-Smith
Courtney Thorne-Smith (born 8 November 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for her television work. Her television roles include Alison Parker on "Melrose Place", Georgia Thomas on the sitcom "Ally McBeal" and Lyndsey McElroy on "Two and a Half Men". She has acted in many movies and other television programs. Thorne-Smith was born in San Francisco, California.
Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel (16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965), was an English actor, comedian, writer, director and musician.
Laurel was born in Lancashire, England. He began his career in the late 1910s, to work with Charles Chaplin. Among his first works in this silent comedy short, "Nuts in May" (1917), "Phoney Photos" (1918), "Just Rambling Along" (1918) and "Do You Love Your Wife?" (1919), by Hal Roach, "Mud and Sand" (1922), "When Knights Were Cold" (1923), "Smithy" (1924), "Postage Due" (1924), "Monsieur Don't Care" (1924), and many more.