The poem begins by presenting us with the image of Sturt as both a private individual, whom Charlotte called "Charlie dear", and a "Captain", an "efficient explorer" and leader as he marshalled "his officers and steadfast men." Sturt's vision, or dream, is clear - he searches for an "inland sea" and it is this dream that drives him on, that continually laps "in Sturt's mind." He toils to cross a "mysterious and unknown land" as he seeks to fulfil his dream - dragging with him provisions and transport ("sheep", "drays" and a "painted boat") which represent the world from which he comes, rather than the world he is entering. Like the Aborigines' Dreaming his journey takes on religious and spiritual significance for Sturt.

As he ventures forward Sturt is changing the world as he knows it, both literally and figuratively. The landscape he crosses is marked by his...