Dunstan, Benjamin (1864 - 1933)

Summary

Benjamin Dunstan, a graduate of the Sydney Technological College, joined the Geological Survey of Queensland in 1897 after some years as Lecturer at the College. He became Acting Government Geologist in 1902 at a time when the Survey had few staff or resources. Despite continued lack of funding, Dunstan reorganised the Survey, produced a new geological map of Queensland, established a library, and instigated a number of copper and gold surveys. He was confirmed as Government Geologist in 1908 (designated Chief Government Geologist in 1915). His most significant publications were the Queensland mineral index and guide (1913), a compilation of over 18,000 references to the mineral and artesian resources of Queensland, including a list of all official publications on Queensland geology and geological maps; Mesozoic insects of Queensland (1923 - 1924) with Robin Tillyard and incorporating illustrations by Dunstan; and the geological maps and notes of A. B. Walkom's Mesozoic floras of Queensland (1915 - 1919). Dunstan was possibly the first in Australia to use aerial photography to assist in geological mapping. After Dunstan's death his widow sold his personal fossil and meteorite collection to the British Museum (Natural History).

Details

Chronology

1887

Education - Graduated with honours in geology, mineralogy and mining, Sydney Technical College

1887 - 1891?

Career position - Assayer and draftsman, Cox and Sievers, Sydney, civil and mining engineers

1888 -

Career event - Original [founding] member, Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science

1891? - 1897

Career position - Lecturer, Sydney Technological College

March 1897 - 1902

Career position - Assistant geologist, Geological Survey of Queensland

1902 - 1908

Career position - Acting Government Geologist, Geological Survey of Queensland

1908 - 1915

Career position - Government Geologist, Geological Survey of Queensland

1915 - 1931

Career position - Chief Government Geologist, Geological Survey of Queensland

1921 -

Career position - Foundation Councillor (Geology), Australian National Research Council

Related entries

Archival resources

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

• Benjamin Dunstan - Records, 1928 - 1929, OM87-4; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details

Published resources

Books

• Dunstan, B., Queensland mineral index and guide (Brisbane: Government Printer, 1913), 1014 pp. Details
• Tillyard, R. J. and Dunstan, B., Mesozoic insects of Queensland, pts I and II, 2 vols (Brisbane: Department of Mines, 1923-4). Details
• Walkom, A. B., Mesozoic floras of Queensland, parts I-IV: geological notes, maps and sections by B. Dunstan (Brisbane: Government Printer, 1915-9), 303 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Sanker, I. G., 'Dunstan, Benjamin (1864-1933)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 379-380. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080404b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Denmead, A.K., 'The Chiefs of the Geological Survey of Queensland From 1899 to 1955', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, lxviii (10) (1956), 51-60. Details
• Rix, Alan, 'The Dunstan deals: how some geological treasures left Australia', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 132 (2023), 41-58, https://doi.org/10.53060/prsq.2023.3. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q24044905. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/38896711. Details
• 'Dunstan, B (1864-1933)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-497940. Details

See also

• Withnall, Ian, 'War service, career and legacy of Cecil Morton MC ACTSM: the first economic geologist of the Geological Survey of Queensland', Newsletter, Earth Sciences History Group, 45 (2018), 10-22. Details