Description

Educated at Sandhurst, Sir George Grey (1812-98) became Governor of South Australia when he was not yet thirty. Later he served as Governor of New Zealand and High Commissioner for South Africa, and in the 1870s he enjoyed a period as premier of New Zealand. Although he liked to portray himself as 'good Governor Grey', some of his contemporaries found him ruthless and manipulative. Like many other Victorian administrators, he was convinced that the 'savage' natives needed to be 'improved' in order to become more like Europeans. In this 1841 publication, Grey writes about two expeditions to North-West Australia that took place under his leadership in 1837-9. While seeking a site for settlement the expeditions encountered difficulties, and on one occasion Grey was seriously wounded. The work reflects contemporary attitudes towards the colonies and their indigenous peoples, and was highly praised on its publication.