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John McGorreryPrint Page 
02-April-2021
Photographs supplied by Stephen Warren
The monument over the gravesite commemorates John McGorrery who was a member of John McDouall Stuart`s expedition in 1861-1863.
One of the three surviving members of the Stuart Expedition of 1861-2, Mr. John McGorrery, died at the Parkside Asylum at 1.30 a.m. on Friday. Deceased who was in his seventy-third year, was a native of Cookstown, County Tyrone, Ireland. He came to Adelaide with his parents in 1850, and shortly after their arrival in this State his father started a blacksmith's and wheelwright's business. Young Mr Gorrery, then 10 years old, was immediately put to work shoeing horses, and when 18 years old he went to Victoria and defeated the champion horseshoers of New South Wales and Victoria, Mitchell and Ryan. He saw Bourke and Wills start on their ill-fated trip, and shortly afterwards received a letter from his father asking him to return to Adelaide and join the McDouall Stuart Party.
He accepted the offer, and on October 16, 1861, left with the party of that explorer, which consisted of nine other men and 71 horses. On July 25 of the following year the explorers reached the northern coast of Australia. The next day they started back and reached Adelaide again on January 21, 1863. Mr. McGorrery then resumed his trade on the west coast, and up to within a few months was employed by Mr. T. P. Cash, of Calca Station. For four months he was an inmate of the Bungalow Private Hospital at Streaky Bay, and was subsequently removed to Adelaide.
McDouall Stuart had with him Messrs. William Kekwick, F. W. Thring, William Patrick Auld, Stephen King, John Billiatt, James Frew, Heath Nash, John McGorrery, and F. G. Waterhouse (naturalist). Last year in Adelaide a banquet was held to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Stuart's arrival at the Indian Ocean, and the survivors were presented with gold medals as lasting tokens of the occasion. There are now only two members of Stuart's expedition living— Mr. Stephen King, of Norwood, and Mr. John Billiatt, of Devon, England.
Register (Adelaide), 10 January 1914.
Register (Adelaide), 10 January 1914.
Location
| Address: | 161 West Terrace, West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, 5000 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.932336 Long: 138.584791 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Grave |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Exploration |
Dedication
Front Inscription
John McGorrery
Explorer,
Born at County Tyrone Ireland
Died 9th Jany. 1914
Aged 74 years.
Back Inscription
Source: MAErected by the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, (S. A. Branch) and friends.
In admiration of his pluck, endurance, and loyalty to John McDouall Stuart, as member of party who crossed the continent when the British flag was raised on the shores of the Indian Ocean
25th July 1862.
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au
