Edward John Eyre (5 August, 1815 - 30 November, 1901).

Born in Hornsea, Yorkshire, Eyre was an English land explorer of the Australian continent. Lake Eyre and the Eyre Peninsula, both in South Australia, and the Eyre Highway (the main highway from South Australia to Western Australia) are named in his honour.

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.

In addition to exploring inland South Australia and New South Wales, Eyre was instrumental in maintaining harmony between white settlers and aborigines along the Murray River. He later served as Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand (from 1846 under Sir George Grey) and later Governor of several Carribean island colonies. Whilst Governor of Jamaica a rebellion was put down ruthlessly which resulted in the deaths of several hundred demonstrators. He subsequently became known locally as the Butcher of Jamaica.

External links

• http://www.davidreilly.com/australian_explorers/eyre/edward.htm

Publications

• Journals Of Expeditions Of Discovery Into Central Australia And Overland From Adelaide To King George's Sound In The Years 1840-1 - the text of Eyre's Journals, courtesy of Project Gutenberg