Very often famous people are not so well known in their home town. William Landsborough is a very famous person all over Australia. Even though he was born in Stevenston and lived in Saltcoats very few people here have heard of him!

William Landsborough was born in 1825 and lived in Saltcoats until he was 26 years old.He then moved to Australia to live with his brother.

At that time Australia was a wild and unexplored place. Landsborough went to north Australia searching for gold.He became well known for exploring the outback.

In 1861 Australia's most famous men - Burke and Willis were lost trying to cross the continent for the first time.No one had ever visited the deserts of central Australia - all the towns were on the coast.

The Australian government organised an expedition to find the lost men.William Landsborough was selected to lead the expedition.On his route from North to South he met many dangers including hostile Aboriginals but discovered that Burke and Willis were dead.Landsborough continued south and completed the first crossing of the continent.When he reached Melbourne he was given a prize of gold worth £500 and cash of £2000 - a fortune at that time.

Although William Landsborough is well known in Australia - he is forgotten in his home town. and there is a street in Stevenston called Landsborough Place.

William's father was the Rev. David Landsborough who defected to the Free Church at the Disruption in 1843. Until a few years ago, the Scottish Free Kirk in Saltcoats, Landsborough Church, still existed. David was the minister there. He was also a prominent naturalist and he may even have corresponded with Charles Darwin. [ My thanks to Dr. J.K. Williams for the info. about David Landsborough ]

DAVID LIVINGSTONE

David Livingstone was born in Blantyre near Glasgow in 1813.At the age of  only 10 years he was sent to work in a cotton mil.At the age of 22 he went to college in Glasgow and studied medicine.In 1840 aged 37 he was sent to Africa as a missionary.In his first journey he reached Lake Ngami and was the first European to see Victoria Falls which he named.He returned home to Britain and was welcomed as a hero.When he went back to Africa he travelled along the River Zambezi and discovered Lake Nyasa.His third journey to Africa was to discover the source of the River Nile.This is the world's longest river but its source was a mystery.He never returned to Britain but died in Ujiji.

As well as his famous explorations Livingstone is remembered in Africa today for his work to free the slaves.Many Africans were taken as slaves by Arab traders and Livingstone made great efforts to stamp out this cruel trade.

He died in 1873 and is still remembered in Scotland and in Africa.The house where he was born and lived as a child is open to the public and has an interesting display about his work in Africa.

THOR HEYERDAHL

Kontiki

Thor Heyerdahl was born in Norway in 1914. He studied Geography at Oslo University and became interested in the Pacific Ocean. He was convinced that the ancient Incas had left South America and crossed the Pacific Ocean hundreds of years ago. No one believed him. Everyone thought that the primitive rafts used by the Inca could never cross an ocean. He built a raft of balsa wood and with a crew of 5 he set sail from the west coast of South America. The raft simply drifted along and after 101days they reached an island on the other side of the ocean. They had travelled 7,000km. He then built a ship of papyrus - a type of paper. This ship was called Ra. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean to try and prove his theory that Ancient Egyptians had crossed the Atlantic. He managed to make this journey. Maybe Christopher Columbus wasn't the first to cross the Atlantic.

More information here

ERNEST SHAKLETON

Ernest Shakleton was born in Ireland in 1874 before moving with his family to London.His father wanted him to become a doctor but he decided to join the navy.His first voyage in a huge sailing ship took him round Cape Horn one of the stormiest places on earth.In 1900 he joined an expedition to reach the South Pole but failed to reach the goal.He returned to Antarctica in 1907 and again in 1914.His ship called the Endurance was trapped in the ice and eventually crushed.He managed to escape with the crew to an uninhabited island called Elephant Island.He left the crew safe and with a few helpers crossed the stormy Southern Ocean for 800 miles in an open boat to get help from the nearest inhabited island called South Georgia.