Person

Burnett, James Charles (1815 - 1854)

Born: 1815
Died: 18 July 1854
Kangaroo Point, Queensland, Australia
Occupation: Surveyor and Explorer

Summary

James Burnett was appointed a clerk in the New South Wales Surveyor-General's Office (1788 - 1887) in 1833 where he rapidly rose through the ranks. In 1844 he was made head of the Moreton Bay District Survey Office (1840c. - 1859). What is now known as Queensland did not become a separate colony from New South Wales until 1859, up until this point Queensland was referred to as Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, then the Free Settlement of Moreton Bay.

Details

James Burnett's work led him to survey the Dividing Range (1841 - 1842), the Richmond River (1843), the river system beyond the Upper Brisbane River, the Burnett River (named in his honour), and a river which entered Wide Bay.

Chronology

1829: Life event - Migrated to Australia
1833 - 1844: Career position - Clerk, New South Wales Surveyor-General's Office
1841 - 1842: Career event - Commander, Expedition to trace the Dividing Range
1843: Career event - Surveyed the Richmond River
1844 - c. 1854: Career position - Surveyor-General, Moreton Bay District Survey Office, New South Wales Surveyor-General's Office
1854: Award - Fellow, Royal Geographical Society, England

Related Corporate Bodies

New South Wales Surveyor General [I], Colony of New South Wales (1788 - 1887)
James Burnett was a clerk in the New South Wales Surveyor-General's Department, and became the Surveyor-General in the Moreton Bay District Survey Office in 1844.

Date: 1833 - c. 1854

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

James Charles Burnett - Records, 1833 - 1854; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

Dignan, Don, 'Burnett, James Charles (1815-185), surveyor and explorer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 3: 1851 - 1890 A-C, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1969), pp. 303-304. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030281b.htm. Details

Resources

Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q19668538. Details
VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/256810521. Details
'Burnett, James Charles (1815-1854)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1466604. Details

McCarthy, G.J.

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 10 January 2020

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