Overlanders crossing cattle over the River Murray

A watercolour painting entitled 'Overlanders crossing cattle over the River Murray in the Year 1839. Drawn by G. Hamilton an overlander'. The painting shows men, both on horses and foot, together with dogs and recalcitrant cattle at the bottom of one of the river's cliffs; another part of the mob is visible at the top of the cliff. Hamilton made sketches throughout the trip, which is described in his 'Experiences of a Colonist Forty Years Ago and a Journey from Port Phillip to South Australia in 1939 by an Old Hand'; this painting may have been done en route or after he arrived in Adelaide using his sketches.

A letter on the reverse of the painting states:

A member of a Hertforshire family, George Hamilton came to Australia when he was a young man, and made his first appearance at Adelaide during 1839, when he overlanded a mob of cattle from Port Phillip. A lover of horses, he rode in a race on the day he arrived. After following mercantile pursuits he entered the civil service in 1848...

Hamilton then became an inspector in the mounted police in 1853. He subsequently rose to the position of Commissioner of Police, which he held from 1867 until his retirement in 1882. During his time with the police he was involved with a number of exploring expeditions including the fitting out of John McDouall Stuart's last two. He was one of the original members of the Adelaide Club, founded in 1863. His three published volumes, The Horse: Its Treatment in Australia, An Appeal for the Horse, and Experience of a Colonist Forty Years ago, are illustrated with his own drawings.

Hamilton exhibited in Adelaide's first two art exhibitions and a number of his drawings were engraved for Eyre's Journal of Discovery into Central Australia and for George Grey's Journals of two expeditions of discovery in north-west and Western Australia, during the years 1837, 38, and 39, ....

The overlanding of herds of cattle and sheep from New South Wales and Victoria in the early years of the colony of South Australia was a vital step in establishing herds in the young colony and in providing fresh meat for the settlers.

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