Some of the pictures have been taken from the history of the sturt pea re South Australian Government. The red blob on the map of Australia portrays where the sturt pea can be found, but as I write in my article, the sturt pea is found a lot further south in Western Australia in the Murchison region, and a lor further north in the Pilbara.
This is the bautiful swainsona formosa - sturt pea. The photograph to the right of the coloured drawing I took when travelling along the Great Northern Highway between Degrey Station where I had been, and Port Hedland near Strelley Station. I was on my way to the remote Warrawagine Station a few hundred kms further east. This beautiful wildflower is the state emblem for South Australia, and the two drawings were by Marion Westmacott. In Western Australia it is seen in the Pilbara region and down through to the Murchison. On Coodardy Station in the east Murchison is an outcrop of sandstone called Afghan Rock. In the spring this outcrop is surrounded by the sturt pea. On approaching the rock one spring for a visit, instead of seeing the expected red of the sturt pea, I saw only a sea of green. On the approach of the Wyllies jeep, the sea of green suddenly rose into the air - budgerigas by the hundreds had been feeding on the seed, which is a pea - when they were disturbed! The pea was named after Captain Charles Sturt, who saw it when exploring between Adelaide and the harsh Australian inland. Often it is called Sturt's Desert Pea or just Sturt Pea. The peas can be found in all states except Victoria and no doubt Tasmania, these states being too cold and frosty for the sturt pea's growth.
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