 A keen geographer , Towner would often disappear into the bush for weeks on end , for study or exploration . As a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of Australia and member of the Royal Historical Society of New South Wales , he took a particular interest in researching the life of the explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell . In 1946 , he successfully lobbied the Australian Government to issue a postage stamp commemorating the centenary of Mitchell 's discoveries in central Queensland . He addressed the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia in Brisbane in 1955 , and was awarded the Dr Thomson Foundation Gold Medal for his geographical work the following year . Towner 's address was published in 1957 , in a booklet entitled Lake Eyre and its Tributaries . 
