Ernest Giles

William Ernest Powell Giles (7 July 1835 – 13 November 1897), best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer. He led three long expeditions in central Australia.Louis Green, 'Giles, Ernest (1835 - 1897) ', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 246-247. Retrieved 22 November 2008

 Early life 
Giles was born in Bristol, England. He moved to Adelaide, South Australia when he was 15. He was one of the first Europeans to explore the empty desert of central Australia during the 1870s. Giles was the first European to explore Lake Amadeus and The Olgas. He named them after Amadeus, King of Spain Olga, Queen of Wurttemberg.

 Career 
He has written works about his journeys. In 1880, he published The Journal of a Forgotten Expedition, an account of his third expedition. In 1889, he wrote Australia Twice Traversed: The Romance of Exploration, the story of his five main expeditions. Giles died of pneumonia on 13 November 1897. Mount Giles, the third highest mountain in the Northern Territory was named after him.

 References 

Other websites
 Australia Twice Traversed: The Romance of Exploration  at eBooks @ Adelaide 

 William Ernest Powell Giles at Flinders Ranges Research

Category:1835 births
Category:1897 deaths
Category:English explorers
Category:People from Bristol
Category:Deaths from pneumonia