Person
Austin, Robert (1825 - 1905)
- Born
- 31 December 1825
Epping Forest, Essex, United Kingdom - Died
- 24 February 1905
Thornborough, Queensland, Australia - Occupation
- Engineer, Explorer and Surveyor
Summary
Robert Austin was an explorer and surveyor who between 1847 and 1860 carried out extensive surveys in Western Australia, particularly in the Toodyay-Northam area. The expedition for which he is most remembered, that in the Murchison and Gascoyne regions, was conducted in extremely trying conditions. In 1860 Austin moved to Queensland and for over 20 years was employed in various surveying positions in the Queensland Surveyor-General's Department. In later years he worked wholly on metropolitan civil engineering and surveying projects. Lake Austin in Western Australia was named after him.
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Details
Chronology
- 1840
- Life event - Mmigrated to Western Australia with his family
- 1847 - 1860
- Career position - Surveyor with the Western Australian Surveyor-General's Department
- 1860 - 1861
- Career position - Surveyor First (later Second) Class, Queensland Surveyor General's Department
- 1861 - 1862
- Career position - Commissioner of Crown Lands, Queensland
- 1862 - 1880
- Career position - Engineer for roads of the southern district, Queensland
- 1891 - 1893
- Career position - Sergeant-at-Arms, Legislative Assembly, Queensland
Published resources
Books
- Austin, Robert: edited by Bridge, P. J.; et al., 'The Finest Goldfields in the World': the Austin Expedition to the Murchison in 1854 (Perth: Hesperian Press, 2009), 195 pp. Details
- 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
- McLaren, Glen, 'Austin, Robert (1825 - 1905), explorer, surveyor and engineer' in Australian dictionary of biography: supplement 1580 - 1980, with a name index to the Australian dictionary of biography to 1980, Christopher Cunneen, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2005), p. 13. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/austin-robert-12777. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1474833. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/92432437. Details
- 'Austin, Robert (18251231-19050224)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-954182. Details
Helen Cohn
Last modified: 3 April 2017