Hann Expedition Mystery Solved

Many long years ago, back in those days before my bones begain to creak, a rather vigorous discussion was held about the campfire concerning the true identity of the mysterious 'Mr Stewart' who accompanied William Hann on his famous 1872 northern expedition.  Our old friend Mr Alf Stewart believed it was his grand-father, John Ignatius Stewart who held that honour but his claim just didn't seem to ring true to us.  Alf had little evidence but old family tradition to back-up his story.  His research efforts at that time failed to offer facts to prove his story and he admitted that counter claims existed.  Now twenty-five years after old Alf had passed away from this world, I have discovered the truth behind the mysterious 'Mr Stewart'.

I have that blessed gift to historians, the 'Trove' website to thank for the path to solve this little mystery.  All the old reports on the Hann Expedition of 1872 refer to the last two men of the party only as 'Stewart and Nation', with no further information.  While researching another subject, I noticed that an old newspaper article from that period refered to a member of the Hann party as 'Mr Stewart better known as Peak Downs Stewart'.  This was the clue I had been waiting for.  I reached for my book by Dan O'Donnell on the history of the Clermont district but not a word about an early day Stewart.  Back to Trove!  There in the old newspapers was mention of an ex-squatter named Mr W.R. Stewart who had brought some of the first stock into the district when he briefly owned Peak Downs Station in the very earliest days. 

I was on the right track as I soon found an article referring to an early grazier from Peak Downs named William Robert Stewart who was better known as 'Peak Downs Stewart'.  It looks like I found him and what a shame that our old friend Alf, who passed away in 1993, never got to know the truth behind this little mystery.  And the identity of the 'Mr Nation' of the expedition.  It turns out he was William Nation, a man who had come up from South Australia in the early days to help set up a station and then had joined the goldrush to Gilberton in 1869 where he became a partner in a storekeeping firm of Tulloh, Nation & Co.  After this business partnership broke up, he became the town's Postmaster before joining Mr Hann on his expedition to explore the country to the north.