On This Day June 2, 1841

Eyre's expedition across the Nullarbor is saved when he meets Captain Rossiter, of the whaler 'Mississippi'.

Edward John Eyre, born 5 August 1815, was the first white man to cross southern Australia from Adelaide to the west, travelling across the Nullarbor Plain to King George's Sound, now called Albany. Eyre originally intended to cross the continent from south to north, taking with him his overseer, John Baxter, and three Aborigines. He was forced to revise his plans when his way became blocked by the numerous saltpans of South Australia, leading him to believe that a gigantic inland sea in the shape of a horseshoe prevented access to the north.

Following this fruitless attempt, Eyre regrouped at Streaky Bay on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. He then continued west, which had never before been attempted, in a gruelling journey across the Nullarbor, during which his party faced starvation and thirst. Eyre's overseer, Baxter, was killed on the night of 29 April 1841, as he tried to stop two of the expedition's Aborigines from raiding the meagre supplies. After Baxter died, Eyre was left with just one loyal companion, the Aborigine, Wylie. The two continued on, trying to outrun the Aborigines whilst susbsisting on very few rations.

The pair faced starvation a number of times during their journey, in between rest stops in places when they found food was abundant. On 2 June 1841, Eyre and Wylie were travelling along the shore near Thistle Cove when they encountered the French whaler 'Mississippi'. Attracting the attention of the ship's crew by way of a fire, they were met at the beach and taken aboard the Mississippi as guests of Captain Rossiter. Here, they were given ample food and water, and their horses even shod by the ship's blacksmith. Loaded with supplies from the ship, Eyre continued his westward journey on 14 June. Eyre named the inlet Rossiter Bay after the ship's captain, though it was later renamed Mississippi Point.