Charles Cooke Hunt (1833 – 1 March 1868,

Geraldton Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

) was an English explorer who led four expeditions into the interior of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

between 1864 and 1866. Hunt was born in Sussex to John Hunt and Mary Ann (''née'' Cooke) and baptised at St. Nicholas, Brighton, on 14 August 1833. He was a navigator when he arrived in the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

in 1863. He started working as an assistant surveyor in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. In April 1863 Hunt and Ridley were supplied to

Walter Padbury Walter Padbury (22 December 1820 – 18 April 1907) was a British-born Australian pioneer, politician and philanthropist. Early Life Padbury was born in Stonesfield in the English county of Oxfordshire on 22 December 1820. At the age of 1 ...

for his private expedition to the north-west coast as explorers and surveyors in the cutter ''Mystery'', following a stretch of coast which included the harbour now known as Port Hedland. Hunt never put his name to any of his discoveries, but the pass between the De Grey River district and Nickol Bay district was later named after him. In 1864, he was asked to look for the pastoral land and water supplies identified along the route of Henry Lefroy's 1863 expedition into what is now known as the Coolgardie area. Hunt's party of six included Kowitch, the

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

guide from Lefroy's expedition. Leaving

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

on 9 July they reached Gnarlbine Rock on 16 August. From Gnarlbine the party headed east towards

Lake Lefroy Lake Lefroy is a large ephemeral salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is north of Lake Cowan and approximately south of Boulder. The town of Kambalda is on the northern shore and the hamlet of Widgiemooltha ...

. Hunt gave a good report of the grasslands that Lefroy had sighted and these were later named the Hampton Plains after Governor Hampton. His third expedition was between January and October 1865 and he led the expedition of six Pensioner Guards, ten convicts and George Mundial, an Aboriginal. This expedition was sent to establish a track and enlarge wells between York and Gnarlbine to enable livestock to be moved to the Hampton Plains. They established 23 wells. In 1866, Hunt led another party to extend the track and wells to Lake Lefroy and create another track with wells leading north-east through the Coolgardie area. With him as second-in-command on this expedition was Frederick Mackie Roe, son of

John Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in ...

. Hunt noted in his diaries that on many occasions he was "too ill to work today". Despite this, he continued until the track was completed. Prospectors Bayley and Ford in 1892 used the new track and wells to gain access to the area in which they were to be successful in discovering gold. The track was later utilised by

C. Y. O'Connor Charles Yelverton O'Connor, (11 January 1843 – 10 March 1902), was an Irish engineer who is best known for his work in Western Australia, especially the construction of Fremantle Harbour, thought to be impossible, and the Goldfields Water Sup ...

in building the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Hunt became ill in December 1867 and was in hospital by January 1868. He died from heart disease on 1 March 1868, aged 35.

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