James Riley emigrated to New South Wales in 1838. He was just19 years old when, in 1840, he joined James McArthur and Count Paul Strzelecki, on the rough trek across the Australian Alps that 'discovered' Gippsland (although Angus McMilllan had already trekked through the area the year before). The expedition aimed to find land suitable for grazing cattle close to the coast, and took the explorers from the Goulburn plains in NSW, south towards the Australian Alps. James McArthur's Aboriginal servant, Charlie Tarra, was the party's interpreter and guide. Th