Charles Sturt - A Break From Exploring

A Break From Exploring

Sturt briefly served as Commander on Norfolk Island where mutiny was brewing among the convicts, but in 1832 he was obliged to go to England on sick leave and arrived there almost completely blind. In 1833 he published his Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia during the years 1828, 1829, 1830 and 1831, of which a second edition appeared in 1834. For the first time the public in England realized the importance of Sturt's work. Governor Darling's somewhat tardy but appreciative dispatch of 14 April 1831, and his request for Sturt's promotion, had had no result, and nothing came of the request by Sir Richard Bourke who had succeeded Darling that Viscount Goderich should give "this deserving officer your Lordship's protection and support". Though it seems to have been impossible to persuade the colonial office of the value of Sturt's work his book had one important effect. It was read by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and led to the choice of South Australia for the new settlement then in contemplation. In May 1834, in view of his services, Sturt applied for a grant of land intending to settle on it in Australia, and in July instructions were given that he was to receive a grant of 5,000 acres (2,000 ha), Sturt on his part agreeing to give up his pension rights. On 20 September 1834 Sturt married Charlotte Christiana Greene, daughter of an old family friend. and soon afterward sailed for Australia.