In 1972, on one of the many trips across the Simpson Desert, George Cornwall actually had his photo taken at Poeppel Corner.
Located at latitude 26° S and longitude 138° E is a corner of state boundaries in Australia, where the state of Queensland meets South Australia and the Northern Territory. As with the other three corners it is a destination for four-wheel-drive tourists. Poeppel Corner is about 174 km west of Birdsville, in the middle of the Simpson Desert.
Augustus Poeppel, after whom the point is named, conducted a survey in the mid-1880s to find the exact location of the central Australian colonial borders. His team used camels to drag a coolibah post to mark the intersection. Originally the point was located in a salt lake, but it was found that the measuring chain used was a few centimetres too long. Another survey was conducted by Lawrence Wells, who relocated the post to its current position
Photos from George Cornwall’s Collection
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