Michael Terry

I don't know if you are being @^&*&£" or whatever. He did quite a lot of expeditions in 1920-30s with in Central Australia with camels ( one of them being this book) and 1st time using motorised vehicles when there were no roads then. Was hoping some within Explore OZ could give me a sensible answer and had heard of him.

"Was hoping some within Explore OZ could give me a sensible answer "

A sensible answer to what question? You did not ask one. You just made a bald statement that a few of us are wondering why you made it.

I was going to post,"SO WHAT" but thought a reply using the untold was sort of humorous if one has a sense of it.
Never heard of him is the answer to the question not asked!

Unfortunately, there is a lot of Australian history and explorers people are unaware of. There is only so much time to read all this stuff if you want to get out and about yourself.

Yes he was a bit of an entrepeneur but he did things like no other explorer of Australia, in like driving a 1913 Model T Ford (with a mate) modified for "bush bashing" from Winton in Qld to Broome in WA in 1921 where no roads existed. He did travel country that hardy cattlemen had taken up B4 and he worked on them to obtain benzine to continue on to Broome.
He also did prospecting trips with camels in the western desert areas of central Australia and western WA for mining companies. But being in the 20s n 30s of last century he did this without what travellers have today viz.comms, GPS, electronic maps and todays modern transport etc.
I've seen 85 Xmases now and worked in those areas in my youth

Yes Bill, I’m one that has heard of him, though I don’t recall reading any of his books. I’d say my late father would have read some of his books, as he was an avid reader, especially books related to Australia & its history.

Bob

Thanx for your reply. I originally wanted to know if anyone knew where a copy of "Untold Miles"( a journey made by camels and Ben Nicker) could be found or bought as have the others. With so many people in this "club" with an interest of outback travelling, I thought it possible someone would know.

Try Hesperian Press. It is not on their current list of books but I see it is down as coming soon. This may be an error. The person to speak to is Peter Bridge, the shop re-opens 5th January 2024.

Many thanx Rowdy6032

Hope you can track it down. If you like that sort of thing you will probably like the books by Ion Idriess, Over the Range, Story of the Kimberleys is a good one. Another one that might be a bit difficult to track down.

Now we know what you are on about, here are some answers.

If you can find a second hand copy, I hope you have deep pockets. Here are some of his other books -

There may be something on the go with Hesperian Press - scroll down to the heading "COMING SOON ."

You could try borrowing it - OCLC WorldCat.org

I don't know what's happening here but there are some links in the following - Bright Sparcs Published Sources - I commenced to download the files but I have nothing on this computer to open them.

I just paid $360 for an original book "Sand and Sun" because the country travelled in it was where I was working in the 1960's, namely Haasts Bluff and the Tanami desert. My brother, who just recently died (95), was managing Billiluna stn at the top of the Canning stock route and we put waters down to Vaughan Springs so we could walk cattle into Alice Springs. A droving trip of about 2 1/2 months. Tanami Downs (which was originally named Mongrel Downs) was established to leave weak cattle on to pick up next year. Another interesting find I found was a carving on a small Sandstone hill which had these carvings on a flat rock. "MacIntosh Expedition 1932. Tanami 60 miles NW".
For years I tried to find out about this expedition and until I read a Michael Terry's book where he found carvings in the Cleland Hills in 1931, an expedition led by a Professor MacIntosh set out from Sydney university to clarify Terry's claim that "Aliens" may have made them in 1932!

I went to Hesperian Press and the "UNTOLD MILES" book is on the "Coming Soon" list. Thank you all for your info regarding Michael Terry books

Bill (et al),

I've had the pleasure of visiting the petroglyphs at Thomas Reservoir in the Cleland's back in 2014 with appropriate permissions and in the company of well known Alice Springs Historian Dick Kimber. Certainly an amazing place and one first discovered and reported (from a European perspective) by Richard Thelwell Maurice in his 1902 expedition from Fowlers Bay to Cambridge Gulf. The carvings are extraordinary but definitely follow a theme I've seen in many other locations particularly in the gorges of the Calvert Ranges and Constance Headland.

While with Dick and Marg Kimber, we also covered off on a bit of David Carnegie (Stansmore Range) and Michael Terry out around Lake Mackay, Wills and White as we pushed through the Sydney Margaret Range to Lake Jeavons and the abandoned Pallottine station of 'Ngulpi'. Our search for Terry's 'Chugga Kurri' and Labbi Labbi Rockhole often left us wondering to as to the fertile imagination of Mr Terry abut on reflection, his was description of the countryside was probably no less 'romantic' in description than that of Ernest Giles.

While we located many features described by Terry, even more eluded us and cost a few tyres!

The expedition from UoS actually went out to the Clelands in the early 1960's and was led by Anthropologist Dr. Neil William "Black Mac" Macintosh See below.

"After much lobbying Terry finally persuaded anatomist Professor NWG Macintosh of Sydney University and Bob Edwards of the South Australian Museum to visit the site, supported by the South Australian Museum and Australian Institute for Aboriginal Studies. They documented the Cleland Hills as a major site with 387 engravings, including 16 stylised faces. Edwards affirmed their great age but did not support Terry’s ideas about their foreign, non-Aboriginal origin [Edwards 1968]."

I've embedded a video from that expedition which shows Labbi Labbi and the overlook across Chugga Kurri. The cairn in the video is actually the "Beacon" constructed above Labbi Labbi in 1957 by Chris Armstrong, surveyor with Thomson Anthropological Expedition to contact the local Pintubi Tribe, many of whom had had no contact with Europeans.

Cheers

Mick

Many thanx for your interesting reply Mike. In 1997 TV personality Glenn Ridge and Ron Moon reached Chugga Kurri and made a video of it. It was not the "Oasis" that Michael Terry described, but was dry and flora had been broken down by camels and drought. But then typical of the Australian deserts, they can fool you. Though of low rainfall some years can drop 20-25 inches of rain in these deserts turning them into a lush countryside. When I worked out at Billiluna and Tanami area (Mongrel Downs now Tanami Downs) in the early 60's we had 4yrs of that amount of yearly rain. Salt lakes became fresh water lakes until about 1/2 full, abounding in fish, water fowl etc. I have even seen seagulls in Alice Springs !
So MT may have come across Chugga Kurri after similar deluges in that area.