William Gosse

Who was William Gosse?

William Christie Gosse, was an Australian explorer, who was born in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, England and migrated to Australia with his father Dr. William Gosse in 1850. He was educated at J.L. Young's Adelaide Educational Institution and in 1859 he entered the Government service of South Australia. He held various positions in the survey department, including Deputy Surveyor-General. He died of a heart attack on 12 August 1881, aged 38, after a long illness.

Although Gosse's exploration was not groundbreaking, he filled in many details in the central map. He named the Musgrave Ranges and was able correctly to lay down the position of some of the discoveries of Ernest Giles. On 19 July 1873 he reached Uluru and gave it the name Ayers Rock. His second-in-charge, Edwin S. Berry was probably the first white man to climb "The Rock".