William Christie Gosse (11 December 1842–12 August 1881), was an Australian explorer, who was born in

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

,"Gosse, William Christie (1842–1881)". ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Online Edition. Australian National University. 2006. Retrieved 13 March 2014. Hertfordshire, England and immigrated to Australia with his father Dr. William Gosse in 1850. He was educated at J. L. Young's

Adelaide Educational Institution Adelaide Educational Institution was a privately run non-sectarian academy for boys in Adelaide founded in 1852 by John Lorenzo Young.B. K. Hyams'Young, John Lorenzo (1826–1881)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 6, Melbourne Univ ...

and in 1859 he entered the Government service 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 ...

. He held various positions in the survey department, including Deputy Surveyor-General. He died of a heart attack on 12 August 1881, aged 38, after a long illness. Although Gosse's exploration was not groundbreaking, he filled in many details in the central map. He named the

Musgrave Ranges Musgrave Ranges is a mountain range in Central Australia, straddling the boundary of South Australia (Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) and the Northern Territory ( MacDonnell Shire), extending into Western Australia. It is between the Grea ...

and was able correctly to lay down the position of some of the discoveries of Ernest Giles. On 19 July 1873 he reached an

inselberg An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

and gave it the name

Ayers Rock Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the Northern Territory, southwest of Alice Springs. ...

. He was the first European man to climb the rock, along with an Afghan member of his party, Kamran.

Family

Gosse married Gertrude Ritchie in 1860, but died of typhoid fever five months later. Gosse married Agnes "Aggie" Hay (1853–1933), a daughter of Alexander Hay and his first wife Agnes née Kelly (1818–1870) on 22 December 1874. (Hay's second wife, Agnes Grant née Gosse, was William's sister.) William and Aggie had three children: *William Hay Gosse MC (1875–1918) was killed in action in France. He married Muriel, née Davidson, who died in 1920. Their son

George Gosse Lieutenant Commander George Gosse, (16 February 191231 December 1964) was an Australian recipient of the George Cross, the highest award for heroism or courage, not in the face of the enemy, that could be awarded to a member of the Australian ...

(1912–1964) was awarded the George Cross in 1946; *Sir

James Hay Gosse Sir James Hay Gosse (21 December 1876 – 14 August 1952) was an Australian businessman, sportsman, and philanthropist. He was involved with a number of different companies and community organisations in and around Adelaide, South Australia. Earl ...

(1876–1952) married Joanna Lang, daughter of Tom Elder Barr Smith – they had a daughter and four sons; and *Edith Agnes Gosse (1878-). A brother-in-law, and also nephew, William Gosse Hay (1875–1945) was an author. A sister-in-law, and also niece, Helen (1877–1909), and her mother (William's sister), were lost at sea on the ill-fated . Other descendants include former Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Liberal Party leader

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...

Recognition

In 1931, the Hundred of Gosse, a cadastral division located on

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

was named in Gosse's memory. In 1976 he was honoured on a

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

bearing his portrait issued by Australia Post.18c postage stamp
www.australianstamp.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosse, William Explorers of Australia Explorers of South Australia 1842 births 1881 deaths Australian people of English descent People educated at Adelaide Educational Institution

Family

Recognition

See also

References