author
David Wynford Carnegie
1871–1900
Best known for one of the last great desert expeditions in Western Australia, this young explorer packed remarkable adventure into a very short life. His journey across the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts later became the basis for a vivid travel memoir.
1 Audiobook
Spinifex and Sand A Narrative of Five Years' Pioneering and Exploration in Western Ausralia
by David Wynford Carnegie
About the author
Born in London on March 23, 1871, David Wynford Carnegie was the fourth son of James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk. He arrived in Western Australia in 1892 and was soon drawn into prospecting and exploration during the gold rush years.
Carnegie is best remembered for his 1896–97 expedition from Coolgardie through the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts to Halls Creek and back again, a demanding journey that helped map and describe remote parts of inland Australia. He later wrote about the experience in Spinifex and Sand, a firsthand account that helped secure his reputation as an explorer.
His life was brief as well as adventurous. In 1900, while serving in British Nigeria, he was killed during an attempt to capture a fugitive, dying at just 29 years old.