Smith, Alexander (1812 - 1872)

Summary

Alexander Smith joined the Royal Navy at 15 and served for four years on HMS Thetis until she was wrecked off South America in 1830. In 1839 he was posted to HMSTerror for James Ross Clark's 1839 - 1843 voyages of exploration in Antarctic waters. At the conclusion of the expedition he was promoted to Lieutenant and was given the senior Royal Navy position at the Rossbank Observatory in Hobart. He resigned from this post in 1852 and moved to Victoria.

Details

Chronology

December 1826 - December 1830

Career position - Volunteer Midshipman, H.M.S. Thetis

1832 - 1835

Career position - Midshipman on board H.M.S. Harrier in the East indies

1835

Career event - Passed Lieutenant's examination

1839 - 1843

Career position - Midshipman (later Lieutenant), H.M.S. Terror, British Antarctic Expedition

1841

Career event - Promoted Lieutenant

1844 - 1852

Career position - Naval officer and observer, Rossbank Observatory, Hobart, Tasmania

1853 - 1861

Career position - Goldfields Commissioner and warden, Castlemaine, Victoria

1853 - 1861

Career position - Goldfields Commissioner and warden, Castlemaine, Victoria

1864

Career event - Promoted Retired Commander

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Ramsland, John, From Antarctica to the Gold Rushes: in the Wake of the Erebus: the Explorations of Alexander Smith RN, Polar Voyager, Astronomer and Goldfields Comissioner, 1812-1872 (Melbourne: Brolga Publishing, 2011), 376 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Ramsland, John, 'Alexander Smith RN (1812-1872): Antarctic Explorer and Goldfields Commissioner', The Great Circle: Journal of the Australian Association for Maritime History, 35 (1) (2013), 6-28. Details
• Savours, Ann and McConnell, Anita, 'The History of the Rossbank Observatory, Tasmania', Annals of Science, 39 (1982), 527-564. Details