John Ross (explorer)
John Ross | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Bridgend, Scotland |
| Died | February 5, 1903 (aged 85) Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Drover, explorer |
| Known for | Leading the search for the path of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line |
John Ross (17 May 1817 – 5 February 1903) was a Scottish-born Australian drover and explorer notable for leading the search for the path of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line.
Originally from Bridgend, Ross emigrated to Australia in 1837, arriving in Sydney on 31 August. He initially worked as a shepherd for George Macleay and, in 1838, accompanied Charles Bonney on the pioneering cattle drive from the Goulburn River to Adelaide. During this time, he earned recognition as a skilled bushman with an exceptional talent for locating water sources. In South Australia, Ross managed several extensive sheep stations and undertook explorations of the surrounding regions.
In 1869, Ross conducted an expedition along the Stevenson River reaching Eringa and Mount Humphries, assigning names of his children—Sarah, Rebecca, Alexander, and John—to various mountains. The following year, his employer Thomas Elder recommended him to Charles Todd, who was superintendent of telegraphs and government astronomer. Todd appointed Ross to lead the survey expedition for the Overland Telegraph Line. Ross’s team traversed the MacDonnell Ranges, crossed the Simpson Desert, Phillipson and Giles creeks, and the Fergusson Ranges. They arrived at the Todd River and by March 1871 reached a location Ross designated as Alice Springs, though he discovered that surveyor William Mills had arrived earlier. The group ultimately completed their journey at Darwin.
Subsequently, Ross explored the area between Peake and Perth under Elder’s commission but was hindered by insufficient water supplies. He later managed properties in Victoria and Queensland before settling back in Norwood, South Australia. In his later years, Ross experienced poverty alongside near-total blindness and deafness; a newspaper appeal for support arrived too late to aid him. He passed away in Adelaide in 1903.