It Started with an Ink Bottle Farewell to Ian Elliot

By Chris Morton

As it was once said by Geoffrey Chaucer, “Time and tide wait for no man”, so we all must succumb to the inevitable.

Ian Elliott, who has been contributing to Western 4W Driver magazine for the last 25 years, has made the decision that his body has endured enough boneshaking desert adventures and it is time to park up the 'troopy', put away the keyboard and turn the page on this chapter of his career. For those of you who have been reading Western 4W Driver for a while, you would be aware of Ian’s prolific contributions to not only the magazine but to The Explorer Series guidebooks. First appearing in the 15th edition of The Western Australian 4W Driver’s Guide, Ian has gone on to have published a staggering 194 articles and columns, co-authored eight Explorer Series titles and their subsequent revisions. During this same period he has also taken the reins as a guest editor on at least three occasions.

You only have to speak to Ian to discover his passion for local history, being able to recall names, dates and events from memory about his hometown of Glen Forest. His interest in local history, first sparked with the discovery of an ink bottle buried at the base of his family home’s steps, led him to a 35year career with the Lands Department, in the Historical Names section. His very first Wildtrax column set the tone for his historical research when he introduced us to Empress Springs, “a remarkable desert sinkhole”, long known about by local Aborigines before being 'discovered' by dubious means by David Carnegie in 1896. It is Ian’s passion for retracing the footsteps of long forgotten explorers and prospectors from their own diaries which has led to hundreds of corrections being made to WA maps. This may be an end to the regular inclusion of Wildtrax within the pages of Western 4W Driver however it is not the last you will hear from Ian. He will continue to contribute whenever he has something interesting to share. On behalf of all the Western 4W Driver readers, Nick, Karen and myself we would like to thank Ian for his contributions over the last 25 years and the knowledge he has so willingly shared for the betterment of Western Australian adventure seekers.

The 1994 cover of the 15th edition, where Ian's first Wildtrax column appeared.

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