Last changed 17 September 2007

L J Stark

NT Times July 16 1926 [bottom left of (right-hand?) page]

Exploring the Desert.
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Prospecting by Aeroplane.
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An aeroplane in charge of Captain Blain, accompanied by John Stark, an eminent American mining engineer, and James Ambrose, of Banka Banka Station, returned to Newcastle Waters on Tuesday morning, after exploring for five days in the desert country west of the overland telegraph line. In the afternoon the plane flew south to Banka Banka. It is said that after leaving Newcastle Waters they crossed desert to Victoria River leases near Wave Hill and in the course of their explorations collected sketches and details of thirty thousand square miles of practically unknown country. The aeroplane left for Cloncurry on Wednesday. The trip may be regarded as among the most important explorations in Australia in recent years.

"Blain" is Lester Brain who piloted American Jim Stark in 1925 or 1925/26 in an aerial survey towards Tanami. "In 1925-26 Brain helped the American L. J. Stark prospect by air for a gold-reef in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory." (ADB)
Source: Daily Guardian (Sydney), Vol. 6, No.252, Monday April 22, 1929, page 1, rightmost column; reproduced on Davis 1980:63; and

In a letter written to Mr Max Morris of Adelaide in 1973 Brain said "Details of where I flew with Jim Stark have never been published. The latitude and longitude point where he expected to rediscover a reputed rich gold-reef was very close to where the Kookaburra went down. But in our search--1925/6--we were unable to find anything which looked like a gold-reef. Whilst on the first of two trips with me, Jim Stark was definite that the area was the locality of his legendary gild-reef. He returned to America and later came back to Australia and continued his search with ground parties some hundreds of miles further south! As far as I am aware, he never did find what he was looking for." (Davis 1980:112)

Bohning 1990:21, 18 March, 1926

... The American prospector and party are out west of here looking for an eldorado. The party consists of Messrs Starke, Ambrose, Ryan and Wallace and two black boys. They have two camels for carrying water, also saddle horses. We wish them luck.

References

Bohning, Elsie. 1990. Elsie Bohning, the Little Bush Maid / compiled by Barbara James (1943-) Occasional papers, no. 13 viii, 50 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. ISBN 0724505652 Darwin : Northern Territory Library Service.

Davis, Pedr. 1980. Kookaburra. The most compelling story in Australia's aviation history. Research by Dick Smith. Story by Pedr Davis. [Cataloguing-in-Publication Data has different subtitle: Australian aviation's most compelling story.] Sydney, Auckland, London, New York: Landsdowne Press.

Gunn, John. 1985, 1988. The defeat of distance, Qantas 1919-1939. St. Lucia, Qld. : University of Queensland Press. * refers to ‘LJ Stark American mining engineer’.

NT Times July 16 1926
Northern Standard July 23 1926 'Twelve months saved. On 2000 miles tour.'
Northern Standard 10-9-1926 'Exploration by aeroplane. Wave Hill country visited.'
(Thanks to Darrell Lewis for the last two clippings, p.c. May 2007)
(Thanks to Valerie Sitters, SLSA, for discussion.)

Related expedition:

NT Times, 17-2-1925:

TANAMI GOLDFIELD
American Captalists Blocked by the Desert
Powel Creek, Fiday.

The party consisting of Americans Messrs W Taylor and Jas Strake, Robert Sharpe, mining expert from Cloncurry, Jim Massie, drover, and Eric Conway, drover, which left Powell Creek on Feburary 5 for Tanami, returned to Powell Creek today. They only penetrated a little over 50 miles of the desert country west of Powell Creek, being forced back by absence of water. The party now propose tackling the journey per camels.

(Thanks to Darrell Lewis for this reference, p.c. 10 Feb 2000)

To Karlantijpa page

URL http://www.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/kt/1926-stark.html