Interior of the principal crater of Mount Gambier

Plate 46: Part of the text accompanying the illustration reads '... the accompanying illustration presents the interior of the principal crater, sketched in May, 1844. It is thus described in my journal at the moment. "After toiling up the upward slopes of the mountain, at the most accessible place we could find, the sudden view of the interior of the largest crater burst upon us, and called forth our rapturous admiration. It was indeed a glorious and enchanting scene; a vast hollow basin, shut out from the world as it were, by the walls of lava that surround it, ... with a few blackwood or mimosa trees ..."

This is one of 60 coloured lithographs found in the 1847 edition of 'South Australia Illustrated' by colonial artist George French Angas, together with a descriptive passage for each. The lithograph was created by J.W. Giles from Angas' original painting. The date assigned is assumed to be approximately when the lithographs were created; the original paintings were done in earlier years.