Person
Dunn, Edward John (1844 - 1937)
Dunn, Edward John Portrait
Details
- Born
- 1 November 1844
Bedminster, Somerset, England - Died
- 20 April 1937
Kew, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Geologist
Summary
Edward Dunn was Victorian Government Geologist from 1904 to 1912. He qualified as a geologist while working for the Survey in the 1860s, but after it was abolished he spent most of the next 15 years working in South Africa. He became Geologist to the Cape town Administration. Much of his work was concerned with gold, coal and diamond deposits, glaciated landscapes and geological mapping. In 1886 Dunn returned to Australia and was in practice as a geological consultant, working with Broken Hill and Mount Morgan, and investigating the Gippsland coalfields and Bendigo goldfield. As Government Geologist he published a series of significant reports on Victorian geology and gold deposits, established a geological museum and mining laboratory, and discovered the Powlett coalfields. After retiring from the Survey Dunn returned to private consulting and writing. He was President of the Royal Society of Victoria in 1906.
Details
Chronology
- 1849
- Life event - Migrated to Australia with his family
- c. 1860 - 1864
- Career position - Employed at Land Survey Office, Beechworth, Victoria
- 1864 - 1869
- Career position - Member of the survey team, Victorian Geological Survey
- 1869
- Education - Passed examinations as mining surveyor
- 1871 - 1886
- Career position - Geologist in South Africa
- 1873
- Education - Certificate of Assaying, School of Mines, Jermyn St, London
- 1884
- Award - Fellow, Geological Society of London
- 1886
- Career position - In private practice in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Northern Territory
- 1904 - 1912
- Career position - Government Geologist Victoria
- 1905
- Award - Murchison Medal, Geological Society of London
- 1906
- Career position - President, Royal Society of Victoria
- 1912
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Archival resources
Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales
- Edward John Dunn - Records, 1886 - 1937, ML MSS 1458; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
Published resources
Books
- Anon, In memory of Edward John Dunn (1.XI.1844 - 20,IV.1937) geologist: a short biography and outline of his participation in the geographical research of South Africa and Australia (Melbourne: Stuart Taylor Pty Ltd, 1937), 15 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Beasley, A. W., 'Dunn, Edward John (1844-1937)' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds, vol. 8 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 272-273. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080398b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Andrews, E.C., 'The Heroic Period of Geological Work in Australia.', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, lxxvi (1942), 96-128. Details
- Dunn, E. J.; and Mahony, D. J., 'Biographical Sketch of the Founders of the Geological Survey of Victoria', Bulletins of The Geological Survey of Victoria, 23 (1910), 48. Details
- K., A. S., 'Edward John Dunn F.G.S.', The Victorian naturalist, 54 (2) (1937), 20-2. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5343777. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/46862366. Details
- 'Dunn, E J (1844-1937)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-612500. Details
See also
Digital resources
Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Royal Society of Victoria