Thursday, Jun 18, 2009 at 22:37
Hi Bushtrek and Paul and Melissa
Well done Bushfix.
Young John Ainsworth Horrocks - King of the North was the first person to bring a single camel into Australia for the purpose of exploration. The sole survivor of several imported from Teneriffe and one from the Canary Islands, it was landed at
Port Adelaide in October 1840. Horrocks paid a Mr Henry Phillips 6 cows worth fifteen pounds each for this ship of
the desert. Durring one of his exploration ventures in 1846, while making the camel to kneel to replace shot in his shot gun, the camel lurched, catching the trigger with its pack.
When the gun discharged, Horrocks lost the middle fingers of his right hand, the shot also entered his lower jaw and also knocked out a row of teeth from his upper jaw. The severely wounded Horrocks was then taken back to his home in Penwortham. A native boy with the expedition, Jimmy Moorehouse ran all night from near
Bungaree Station to
Adelaide, over 140 kilometres to bring back a doctor to Penwortham. When Doctor Knott arrived he was too late to save Horrocks life.
Paddy Gleeson and a Mr Darmody shot the camel for the cause of Horrocks death and the camel was buried under a large gum tree between St Marks Church and the Main North Road at Penwortham.
Cheers
Stephen
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