Lake Dutton, formerly known as Lake Gill, is a

salt lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

located in the locality of Oakden Hills on the west side of the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australia, Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and sou ...

, approximately north-west of

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

in the state's Far North region. It was named after artist

S. T. Gill Samuel Thomas Gill, also known by his signature S.T.G., was an English-born Australian artist. Early life Gill was born in Periton, Minehead, Somerset, England, in 1818. He was the son of the Reverend Samuel Gill, a Baptist minister, and his f ...

by explorer John Horrocks, who accompanied Horrocks and his party on an exploration trip to the north west of South Australia in 1846. It was also the location where Horrocks accidentally shot himself on 1 September 1846 and the injuries received caused his death on 23 September 1846. The lake was discovered again by

Benjamin Herschel Babbage Benjamin Herschel Babbage (6 August 1815 – 22 October 1878) was an English engineer, scientist, explorer and politician, best known for his work in the colony of South Australia He invariably signed his name "B. Herschel Babbage" and was frequ ...

who reported in July 1858 in a dispatch to

Francis Dutton Francis Stacker Dutton CMG (18 October 1818 – 25 January 1877) was the seventh Premier of South Australia, serving twice, firstly in 1863 and again in 1865. History Dutton was born at Cuxhaven, Germany, where his father was British vice-con ...

. Later on, Commissioner of Crown Lands reported that he had named this lake after the Commissioner. Babbage's name as the name that was never changed in the official use.

References

Dutton Dutton, Lake {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

See also

References