Person

Gregory, Francis Thomas (Frank) (1821 - 1888)

Born
19 October 1821
Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
Died
23 October 1888
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupation
Explorer and Surveyor

Summary

Francis Gregory was a surveyor, rising from cadet in the Surveyor General's Department to Staff Surveyor in 1849. He made exploratory journeys into unchartered parts of Western Australia, on occasion with his brothers Augustus and Henry who were also surveyors, including in the region of the Irwin River (1846), Murchison River (1857), Gascoigne River (1858) and Nickol Bay (1861). These surveys discovered much land suitable for grazing. For his work in exploring Western Australia Gregory was awarded the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society, London. In 1862 he moved to Queensland and entered public life, becoming a member of the upper house of the Queensland Parliament in 1874. Collections of botanical and geological specimens made during his explorations were lodged in the Fremantle Museum run by Charles Nicolay, and later became part of the Western Australian Museum.

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Details

Chronology

1829
Life event - Migrated in Western Australia with his family
1846
Career event - Explored Irwin River district
1847 - 1849
Career position - Assistant surveyor, Surveyor General's Department, Western Australia
1849 - 1862
Career position - Staff Surveyor, Surveyor General's Department, Western Australia
1857
Career event - Explored upper reaches of the Murchison River
1858
Career event - Explored Gascoigne River
1861
Career event - Explored Nickol Bay region
1862
Life event - Moved to Queensland
1863
Award - Founders' Medal, Royal Geographical Society, London
1872 - 1874
Career position - Mining Commissioner, Stanhope, Queensland
1874 - ?
Career position - Commissioner of Crown Lands, Toowoomba District, Queensland
January 1874 - October 1888
Career position - Member of the Legislative Council, Queensland Parliament
1883 - ?
Career position - Postmaster General, Queensland

Colleague

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

  • Australian Botanists - Biographies, MS 064; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

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

  • Augustus Charles Gregory - Records, 1819 - 1905, ML MSS 291; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Glover, John; with Bevan, Jenny, The Forgotten Explorers: Pioneer geologists of Western Australia, 1826-1926 (Victoria Park, W.A.: Hesperian Press, 2010), 246 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Waterson, D. B., 'Gregory, Sir Augustus Charles (1819-1905), explorer and surveyor-general' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 4: 1851 - 1890 D-J, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1972), pp. 293-295. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040333b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • Glover, John, 'F. T. Gregory and the foundation of the Western Australian pearling industry', WAG: Western Australian geologist, 491 (Oct/Nov) (2011), 6-8. Details
  • Glover, John, 'Captain Joshua S Dixon and His Contribution to FT Gregory's Final Expedition in Western Australia', WAG: West Australian Geologist, 489 (Aug/Sept) (2011), 11-2. Details
  • Gregory, F. T., 'Exploration of the Murchison, Lyons and Gascoyne Rivers in Western Australia', Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, 3 (1) (1859), 34-54. Details
  • Whittell, H. M., 'The ornithology of Francis Thomas Gregory (1821 - 1888)', Emu, 45 (4) (1946), 289-97. Details

Resources

See also

  • Feeken, Erwin H. J.; Feeken, Gerda E. E.; and Spate, O. H. K., The discovery and exploration of Australia (Melbourne: Thomas Nelson (Australia), 1970), 318 pp. Details
  • Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

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