Person

Oxley, John Joseph William Molesworth (1784 - 1828)

Born
1784
Kirkham Abbey, Yorkshire, England
Died
26 May 1828
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Surveyor and Explorer

Summary

John Oxley was Surveyor-General of New South Wales and explored various parts of the colony collecting scientific, particularly geological, information. He also did exploratory surveys in Tasmania.

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Subordinate

Archival resources

John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland

  • John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley - Records, 1818, OM79-17/36; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details
  • John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley - Records, c. 1925, OM81-3; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details

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

  • John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley - Records, 1815 - 1888, ML MSS 589; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley - Records, 1799 - 1866, A5322; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Dunlop, E. W., John Oxley (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1960). Details
  • Johnson, Richard, The Search for the Inland Sea: John Oxley, Explorer, 1783-1828 (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 2001), 305 pp. Details
  • Kass, Terry, Sails to Satelites: the Surveyors General of NSW (1786-2007) (Bathurst, N.S.W.: New South Wales Department of Lands, 2008), 484 pp. Details
  • Orchard, A. E.; and Orchard, T. A., The Australian botanical journals of Allan Cunningham: the Oxley and early King expeditions October 1816 - February 1819 (Weston Creek, A.C.T.: A. E. Orchard, 2018), 309 pp. Details
  • Whitehead, John, Tracking and Mapping the Explorers, vol. 1: the Lachlan River exploration, 1817, Oxley - Evans - Cunningham (Coonabarabran (N.S.W.): John Whitehead, 2003), 363 pp. Details
  • Whitehead, John, Tracking and Mapping the Explorers, vol. 2: the Macquarie River, Warrumbungle Mts, Pilliga Scrub, Liverpool Plains, Apsley Falls, Hastings River, Port Macquarie 1818, Oxley and Evans (Coonabarabran (N.S.W.): John Whitehead, 2004), 350 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Dunlop, E. W., 'Oxley, John Joseph William Molesworth (1785?-1828), surveyor-general and explorer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 2: 1788 - 1850 I-Z, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1967), pp. 305-307. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020273b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • Cambage, R.H., 'Biographical Sketches of Some of the Members of the Philosophical Society of Australasia', Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, lv (1921), xxxiii-xlii. Details
  • Flakelar, Danielle Carney; and O'Gorman, Emily, 'Wayilwan women caring for Country: dynamic knowledges, decolonising historical methodologies, and colonial explorer journals', Journal of Australian studies, 47 (1) (2023), 160-80, https://doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2022.2153378. Details
  • Garden, Don, 'A wet and cold El Niño: the Tambora volcano's impact in the Australian colonies', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 107 (2) (2021), 178-201. Details
  • Jempson, Ian, 'A mystery resolved: John Oxley's field books of the Brisbane River in 1823 and 1824', Queensland history journal, 24 (3) (2019), 284-98. Details
  • Rowland, E., 'Life and Work of Lieutenant John Oxley', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 28 (1942). Details

Resources

Resource Sections

Reviews

  • Johnson, Richard, The Search for the Inland Sea: John Oxley, Explorer, 1783-1828, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2001, 305 pp.
    Haynes, Roslynn, Historical Records of Australian Science, 14 (2), (2002), 217-219. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR02011. Details

See also

McCarthy, G.J.

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 9 May 2019

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