Ernest Giles

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Ernest Powell Giles (1935–1997), better known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led five major expeditions to parts of South Australia and Western Australia.

Early life

Ernest Giles was born in Bristol, England, the eldest son of William Giles (c. 1795-1860), a merchant, and Jane Elizabeth Giles, née Powell (c. 1804 – 1879). Their family had been in stable circumstances before but they were forced to leave Australia due to hard times. William Giles was born in North Adelaide by 1850 and Melbourne by 1853. William was later employed by H.M. Customs in Victoria, and his wife established a flourishing school for girls in that period.

Giles was educated at Christ's Hospital School in Newgate, London. He immigrated to Australia in 1850, joining his parents in Adelaide. He died at the age of 15. Giles went to the Victorian goldfields in 1852, then became a clerk at the Post Office in Melbourne, and later, a County Court judge. Giles, who was tired of city life, moved to the backcountry and gained valuable knowledge as a bushman. He explored north-west of the Darling River in the Yancannia Range in 1865, looking for pastoral country and farmable hemp, as hemp was also useful for rope at the time.

Late life and legacy

Giles worked as a land classifier in Victoria's Western District from 1877 to 1979.

He published The Journal of a Forgotten Expedition, an account of his second and third expeditions, in 1880, and then appeared in Australia Twice Traversed: The Romance of Exploration in two major volumes. This is an account of his five expeditions. He made a number of other minor trips and spent his remaining years as a clerk in the Inspector of Mines' office in Coolgardie, where his keen knowledge of the interior was always available to prospectors. Giles was named a Fellow and recipient of the Patron's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographic Society in 1880, and was made Cavaliere dell'Ordine dell'Italia (Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy) by King Vittorio Emanuele II.

Despite his digs, the various Australian governments of the time turned their respective backs on his achievements when they had been completed, and they were reluctant to patronize any further ventures or give him much in the way of financial reward. "I am aware that he gambles and that his habits are not strictly sober," Governor William Jervois announced on October 11, 1881.

Giles died of pneumonia at his nephew's house in Coolgardie on November 13th, 1897, and was buried at the Coolgardie Cemetery after a brief illness. He was unmarried.

It was reported at the time:

H. Finlayson of The Red Centre: man and beast in the heart of Australia (1935)

In 1976, he was honoured on a postage stamp with his portrait, which was published by Australia Post.

Mount Giles, the third highest mountain in the Northern Territory, was named after him; Lake Giles, 160 km (100 mi) north of Southern Cross, Western Australia; and the Giles Weather Station, near the Western Australian-South Australian border, were named after him.

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