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impossible to say, but the earnest hope of all who knew him personally or by repute must be that he may still
be restored alive to his friends. The idea of this genial, honest, kind-hearted gentleman, the soul of honour and
candour and straight forwardness, having mysteriously perished as he has mysteriously disappeared will not be
seriously entertained until it has been proved beyond all possibility of doubt.’ Unfortunately though, after a very
long search of 10 days, his body was found at Yatala on 2 August. A massive crowd of mourners attended his
funeral at the North Road Anglican Cemetery. Five daughters, four sons and his wife outlived him.
E Hill, The Territory, 1968; A Powell, Far Country, 1982; Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol 3, 1969; Adelaide Observer, 31 August
1872; Adelaide Register, 31 July 1886; Northern Territory Times and Gazette, 1 May 1875; South Australian Register, 7 September 1872.
SUZANNE JIPP, Vol 1.
BAINES, JOHN THOMAS (1820–1875), artist and explorer, was the first-born son of ‘neither very poor
nor superfluously rich, but, as times go, tolerably honest parents’, in the ancient and loyal Norfolk borough of
King’s Lynn on 27 November 1820. His father, Thomas, was a master mariner, with a keen interest in, if not an
‘unpretentious knack’ of, painting pictures of ships. Thus a fascination in art was manifest at an early age in young
Baines.
After first being instructed by his mother, Mary Ann (nee Watson), Thomas was enrolled at the age of ten in
Horatio Nelson’s Classical and Commercial Academy before being accepted at Mr Beloe’s school in New Conduit
Street, Lynn, where he was best remembered as a voracious reader. His skill at drawing was also noticed, as was an
early interest in Latin, knowledge of which stood him in good stead when he later used Latin phrases to embellish
his journals.
At the age of sixteen Thomas was apprenticed to William Carr, a local ornamental painter—‘ornamental
painting’ being the name applied to an all-embracing field involving carving, gilding and sign writing—for which
his father paid 10 Pounds annually as well as maintenance. During the five years of his indenture, Baines was
forbidden, by his articles, to ‘frequent taverns, inns or alehouses... nor contract matrimony’.
In 1842 Baines immigrated to Cape Town where for two years he sustained himself as best he could. Part of
the time he worked for a coachbuilder who, on realising the skill Baines had with a paint brush, quickly had him
decorating panels with heraldic and other designs.
Books he had borrowed and read gave him the impetus to explore the inland areas of Africa. During the next
decade he was able to travel through, paint and explore many remote parts of the Cape Province. Subsequently, in
1851, he fulfilled an ambition to become a war artist, whilst accompanying General Somerset’s 74th Highlanders.
His first real recognition as an artist resulted from his portrayal of the Kaffrarian campaigns, involving the Boers,
the British and the Kaffir tribes.
On the subsequent departure of the 74th for India, Baines returned to working on commissions and historical
scenes. He did not prosper locally. Works which were sent to England were more successful: sketches were
published in the Illustrated London News, lithographic reproductions of his paintings were shown publicly, and he
even solicited (through his mother) and received, royal patronage.
On his return to England, after 11 years spent in Africa, Baines knew what he most wanted to do: to have
his art and his explorations sustain one another. Whilst working with the noted cartographer, Arrowsmith, on a
book dealing with his experiences (Scenery and Events in South Africa), at the Royal Geographical Society in
London, he met the Austrian adventurer Ernest Haug. Haug at the time was endeavouring to mount an expedition
to northern Australia under the sponsorship of the Society.
When the expedition was subsequently announced, it was not to be under the command of Haug—the result
of a decision made by the Secretary of State for the Colonies (the Duke of Newcastle). Instead, a surveyor living
at the time in Western Australia, Augustus Gregory, was appointed leader of the North Australian Expedition,
and Baines was given the responsibility for the joint tasks of artist and storekeeper. These positions he looked
forward to with considerable interest and anticipation, particularly as he had been keen to visit Australia since
meeting fellow artist George French Angas at the Cape several years previously. Together with James Wilson, the
expedition’s geologist, Baines left Liverpool in March 1855 on the RMS Blue Jacket, bound for Sydney.
In an endeavour to lighten the boredom of his companions on the voyage to Australia, Baines launched a
weekly paper, the Blue Jacket Journal and Chronicle of the Blue Waters (held by the National Library of Australia),
which he filled with stories and poems—mostly humorous—and liberally embellished with sketches and cartoons.
Writing under the pen name ‘Tim Touchemoff’, his puckish sense of fun exemplified the lighter side of a long
ocean voyage. The clipper reached Melbourne in a record sixty-nine days. Subsequently, on arrival in Sydney,
Baines met Gregory for the first time, and preparations for the expedition commenced.
On 17 July 1855 members of the expedition were farewelled at Government House in Sydney by
Sir William Denison. They left the following day in two vessels engaged for the journey to northwestern
Australia—the barque Monarch and the schooner Tom Tough. Horses and sheep were loaded on to the ships during
a brief stopover at the Brisbane River, and from there the expedition set off for its destination via Cape York and
Port Essington, arriving at the mouth of the Victoria River in mid-September. The Monarch, unloaded and released
from the expedition’s service, then sailed for Singapore. The task of exploring began.
At an early stage Baines’ experience and ability were recognised by his leader, who delegated responsibility
to him in areas other than those to which he was appointed. During Gregory’s first excursion from the principal
camp—established near the present township of Timber Creek—Baines was left in charge. Whilst Gregory was
away, Wilson, whom Baines had earlier thought to be quite ‘a pleasant fellow’, showed signs of jealously and
churlishness. This was the beginning of what was to be a continual irritant for both Gregory and Baines as time