Charles Sturt - Later Life and Legacy

Later Life and Legacy

Early in 1847 Sturt went to England on leave. He arrived in October and was presented with the Royal Geographical Society's gold medal. He prepared his Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia for publication, however it was not published until early in 1849. Throughout this time he was suffering again with poor eyesight.

Sturt returned to Adelaide with his family, arriving back in August 1849. He was immediately appointed Colonial Secretary with a seat in the council. There was no lack of work in the ensuing years. Roads were constructed, and navigation on the Murray was encouraged. But Sturt had renewed trouble with his eyes.

On 30 December 1851 Sturt resigned his position and was given a pension of £600 a year and settled down on 500 acres (200 ha) of land close to Adelaide and the sea. But the gold discoveries had increased the cost of living, and on 19 March 1853 Sturt and his family sailed for England. Sturt lived at Cheltenham and devoted himself to the education of his children.

In 1855 Sturt applied unsuccessfully for the positions of Governor of Victoria and in 1858 for Governor of Queensland. Sturt's age, uncertain health, and comparatively small income were against him. By 1860 Sturt's three sons were all in the army, and the remainder of his family went to live at Dinan to economize after the expenses of education and fitting out. Unfortunately the town was unhealthy and in 1863 a return was made to Cheltenham. In 1864 Sturt suffered a great grief in the death of one of his sons in India. In March 1869 he attended the inaugural dinner of the Colonial Society, at which Lord Granville mentioned that it was the intention of the government to extend the Order of St Michael and St George to the colonies. Sturt allowed himself to be persuaded by his friends to apply for a knighthood (KCMG), but afterwards regretted he had done so when he heard there were innumerable applications.

Sturt's health had been very variable and on 16 June 1869 he died suddenly. He was survived by his widow, two sons, Colonel Napier George Sturt, R.E. and Major-General Charles Sheppey Sturt, and daughter Charlotte. Mrs Sturt was granted a civil list pension of £80 a year, and the queen granted her the title of Lady Sturt as if her husband's nomination to a knighthood of the order of St Michael and St George had been gazetted. Reproductions of portraits by Crossland and Koberwein will be found in Mrs N. G. Sturt's Life, which suggest the charm and refinement of Sturt's character.

Sturt is commemorated by the City of Charles Sturt and suburb of Sturt in Adelaide, the electoral Division of Sturt in Adelaide's eastern suburbs, Charles Sturt University in regional New South Wales, and the Sturt Highway from Wagga Wagga to Adelaide as well as the Sturt's desert pea, the Sturt's Desert Rose and Sturt Stony Desert.

Sturt's home, known as "The Grange", in the Adelaide suburb of Grange is preserved as a museum.

The Australian-born American actor Rod Taylor, whose middle name is Sturt, is his great-great grand-nephew.