Person

Goyder, George Woodroffe (1826 - 1898)

Born
24 June 1826
London, England
Died
2 November 1898
Aldgate, South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Surveyor

Summary

George Goyder was Surveyor-General of South Australia from 1861-1894. In 1865 he mapped 'the line of demarcation between that portion of the country where the rainfall has extended, and that where the drought prevailed'. In 1867 he admitted that this line, known as Goyder's Line, separated, to a certain extent, lands suitable for agriculture and those fit only for grazing.

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Details

Migrated to Sydney 1848, worked in an auctioneering firm 1848-51, draftsman, South Australian civil service 1851-52,
Department of Lands 1853-94, as chief clerk, second assistant surveyor-general, assistant surveyor-general (1857-61) and surveyor-general (1861-94). Surveyed in the Northern Territory 1869, recommending Palmerston (Darwin) as the capital site. Chairman of the railways commission 1874-75, and of the Forest Board 1875-83.

Chronology

1888 -
Career event - Original [founding] member, Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
1889
Award - Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG)

Published resources

Books

  • McArthur, Anne, Through the eyes of Goyder, Master Planner: Transcripts of the Surveyor-General's 1864-5 Detailed Valuations of 79 Pastoral Runs in the South East of South Australia (s.l.: Kanawinka Writers and Historians, 2007), 312 pp. Details
  • Sheldrick, Janis, Nature's line: George Goyder, surveyor, environmentalist, visionary (Kent Town (S.A.): Wakefield Press, 2013), 488 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • 'Goyder, George Woodroofe (1826-1898), surveyor-general' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 4: 1851 - 1890 D-J, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1972), pp. 278-280. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040316b.htm. Details
  • Gammage, Bill, 'George Woodroffe Goyder, 1826-1898' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). Details
  • Heathcote, R. A., 'Goyder's Line: a line for all seasons?' in People and Plants in Australia, Carr, D. J. and Carr, S. G. M., eds (Sydney: Academic Press, 1981), pp. 295-321. Details

Journal Articles

  • Bourke, Patricia, 'Goyder and the ancient Aboriginal shell mounds of Virginia', Northern Territory Historical Studies, 25 (2014), 45-56. Details
  • Cole, Phil, 'The 1860 trigonometrical survey of the far north - Goyder's baseline', SEGments: journal of the Scientific Expedition Group, 37 (4) (2022), 12-6. Details
  • Gilliland, J.R.; and Connelly, P. D., 'Resurvey of Goyder's baseline', Australian surveyor, 33 (6) (1987), 503-10. Details
  • Lindsay, H. A., 'Surveyor Goyder - of the Rainfall Line', Riverlander (1963), 33, 35. Details
  • Powell, J. M., 'George Woodroofe Goyder, 1826-1898', Geographers: Bibliographical Studies, 7 (1983), 47-50. Details
  • Sheldrick, Janis, '1855-1856: George Goyder's Long Ride to Mapping Reliable Rainfall', The Globe, 65 (2010), 28040. Details
  • Summerfield, E.; and Keenan, R., 'Leading the establishment of Australia's first forestry organisation: some lessons for today's leaders in forest management', Australian Forestry, 80 (2) (2017), 78-87. Details
  • Williams, M., 'George Woodroffe Goyder, a Practical Geographer: the Presidential Address 1978', South Australian Geological Journal, 106 (2008), 84-105. Details

Resources

Reviews

  • Sheldrick, Janis, Nature's line: George Goyder, surveyor, environmentalist, visionary (2013)
    Drown, James, Historical Records of Australian Science, 26 (2), (2015), 209-10, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR15901. Details
  • Sheldrick, Janis, Nature's line: George Goyder, surveyor, environmentalist, visionary (2013)
    Frost, Lionel, Australian Economic History Review, 55 (1), (2015), 101-4. Details
  • Sheldrick, Janis, Nature's line: George Goyder, surveyor, environmentalist, visionary (2013)
    Ostapenko, Dmytro, Journal of Australian Studies, 39 (2), (2015), 276-7. Details

Theses

  • Summerfield, E., 'Learning and leadership for complex environmental problems: George Goyder and the innovation of forestry in Australia', PhD thesis, University of Melbourne, 2015, 151 pp. Details

See also

  • Wallis, Lon, 'Just a collector: Frederick Schultze - botanist and naturalist to the Northern Territory Survey Expedition', Northern Territory historical studies, 31 (2020), 30-61. Details

Rosanne Walker

Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 26 September 2024

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