Centenary of John Horrock`s ExplorationPrint Page

The cairn commemorates the centenary of the visit of John Horrocks and his party who travelled through the area in August 1846 during his ill-fated exploration of land north of Spencer Gulf. 

John Ainsworth Horrocks (1818 – 1846) was one of the first settlers in the Clare Valley in 1839. He established the town of Penwortham in South Australia. Horrocks is unfortunately known more for his death, when he was accidentally shot in a hunting accident in 1846. His gun fired after the camel he was using on an exploration mission lurched, knocking him and causing the weapon to discharge. His injuries were very substantial and included some teeth being knocked out from the bullet, and he died of gangrene a month later at home, in the town he had previously founded. 

Representatives of local government bodies at Port Augusta, Quorn, Whyalla and other northern towns have accepted an invitation to attend the unveiling ceremony on Saturday of a tablet erected at the top of Horrocks Pass to commemorate the centenary of the visit to these parts by the explorer John Ainsworth Horrocks. The tablet has been erected by the Wilmington and Port Germein District Councils. The unveiling ceremony will be performed by the president of the Royal Geographical Society (Mr. C. M. Hambidge), and will be followed by a sports meeting on the Wilmington Showgrounds. On Sunday Mr. Hambidge will unveil a similar memorial at Penwortham.
Chronicle (Adelaide), 19 September 1946.

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