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 th ...

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 in 1863. He started working as an assistant surveyor in Fremantle. 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 A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

. Hunt never put his name to any of his discoveries, but the pass between the

De Grey River The De Grey River is a river located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was named on 16 August 1861 by the explorer and surveyor Francis Gregory after Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, who was at the time the president of the Roya ...

district and

Nickol Bay Nickol Bay is a bay between the Burrup Peninsula and Dixon Island, on the Pilbara coast in Western Australia. Once alternatively spelled "Nicol Bay", it was named by John Septimus Roe for a sailor who was lost overboard during an expedition. ...

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 guide from Lefroy's expedition. Leaving

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

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 Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excludin ...

. 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 The Pensioner Guards were English military personnel who served on convict transportation ships en route to the Swan River Colony between 1850 and 1868, and were given employment and grants of land on arrival. Their initial employment lasted fo ...

, 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 in building the

Goldfields Water Supply Scheme The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline and dam project that delivers potable water from Mundaring Weir in Perth to communities in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, particularly Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. The project was co ...

. 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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