Edward John Eyre
| Edward John Eyre | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Governor of Jamaica | |
|
In office 1862–1865 |
|
| Preceded by | Charles Henry Darling |
| Succeeded by | Henry Knight Storks |
| Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster, New Zealand | |
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In office 1848–1853 |
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| Governor | George Grey |
| Preceded by | None, position established |
| Succeeded by | None, position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
5 August 1815 Whipsnade, England, UK |
| Died | 30 November 1901 (aged 86) Devon, England, UK |
| Occupation | Explorer of Australia, Colonial Administrator, Grazier |
Edward John Eyre (5 August 1815 – 30 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and a controversial Governor of Jamaica.
Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved to Hornsea, Yorkshire, where he was christened. His parents were Rev. Anthony William Eyre and Sarah (née Mapleton). After completing grammar school at Louth and Sedbergh, he moved to Sydney rather than join the army or go to university. He gained experience in the new land by boarding with and forming friendships with prominent gentlemen and became a flock owner when he bought 400 lambs a month before his 18th birthday. When South Australia was founded, Eyre brought 1,000 sheep and 600 cattle overland from Monaro, New South Wales to Adelaide and sold them for a large profit.
With this money, Eyre set out to explore the interior of South Australia, with two separate expeditions north to the Flinders Ranges and west to beyond Ceduna.
Eyre, together with his Aboriginal companion Wylie, was the first European to traverse the coastline of the Great Australian Bight and the Nullarbor Plain by land in 1840-1841, on an almost 2000 mile trip to Albany, Western Australia. He had originally led the expedition with John Baxter and three aborigines. On 29 April 1841 two of the aborigines killed Baxter and left with most of the supplies, and Eyre and Wylie were only able to survive because they chanced to encounter, at a bay near Esperance, Western Australia, a French whaling ship Mississippi, under the command of an Englishman, Captain Thomas Rossiter, for whom Eyre named the location Rossiter Bay.
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