JOHN McDOUALL STUART
SURVEYOR-EXPLORER 1815 – 1866
The John McDouall Stuart Society Incorporated was formed in Adelaide in 1964, to perpetuate the name and achievements of the surveyor and explorer, John McDouall Stuart, and his Companions. As Australia’s most recent explorer and only astronaut, Andy Thomas circumnavigated Earth in 1996 on board the spacecraft Endeavour. He carried artefacts fro
m Stuart’s 1861-62 crossing of the continent with him. Dr Thomas is connected to FG Waterhouse, naturalist on Stuart’s last expedition. The Society is run by a voluntary committee and has members in Australia, Scotland, England, USA and Hong Kong. Besides newsletters, published articles & speeches, activities include field trips to significant historical sites associated with Stuart’s explorations, and other special events. Preservation, conservation and interpretation of these sites is another significant function of the Society. There is a social element at all functions. Stuart had 33 Companions over his six expeditions. Researching and presenting the fascinating life stories of those Companions is another key activity. Often those stories are told as the Stuart Memorial Address. The John McDouall Stuart Society’s "Stuart Collection" is housed in the Adelaide Masonic Centre, 254 North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia. Tours of the Masonic Centre are conducted on Thursdays at 2:00 pm or by appointment – Phone: +61 8 8223 1633. John McDouall Stuart made six expeditions from 1858 to 1862, exploring the Australian interior and establishing a route from Adelaide to the north coast. Stuart was the first European to discover the true nature of the centre of the continent.
