R. H. Edmunds

Robert Henry Edmunds ISO (12 April 1834 – 12 February 1917) was a surveyor, explorer and public servant in the early days of the colony of South Australia.

He worked as a sailor for a few years, then on 15 April 1855 joined the South Australian Government as a surveyor, then on 1 January 1858, was appointed to the list of first-class officers.

Edmunds was put in command of this "relief" party of 40 including two other officers, H. Packard and C. Young, which left Port Adelaide on the new steamer South Australian on 29 October 1864, and arrived at Escape Cliffs on 5 December 1864.

While in the Territory Edmunds was attached to John McKinlay as surveyor and second in command of his party whose brief was, independently of Finniss, to explore the north between Victoria River and the Gulf of Carpentaria with a view to finding other, perhaps better, settlement sites.

It was gruelling work under dangerous conditions in inhospitable country, and became trapped by swollen rivers in the Wet Season, and were forced to eat their horses to stay alive, and returned to the coast on a makeshift raft constructed of saplings and horse hide, finally returning to the depot emaciated, shoeless and in rags, but they had made a preliminary survey of the site of present-day Darwin and the upper reaches of Daly River.