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 liter). I ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

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

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major 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; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...

, approximately north-west of

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

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

S. T. Gill Samuel Thomas Gill (21 May 1818 – 27 October 1880), 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 G ...

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 freq ...

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. Early life and education Francis Dutton was born at Cuxhaven, Germany, where his f ...

. 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