Gympie goldfields, 1909
Gympie goldfields, 1909

The Geological Survey of Queensland commenced in 1868 at the suggestion of Richard Daintree. Daintree, a geologist and photographer from Huntingdonshire in England, had arrived in Queensland in 1864, having spent time on the gold fields of Victoria. Daintree travelled through the north of the state finding several indications of gold, copper and coal and his prospecting work in North Queensland is recognised as a catalyst in the early development of gold in that area. One of Daintree’s contributions to Queensland was a large collection of photographs showing people and places in landscapes.

Following Daintree, other government geologists in the Geological Survey of Queensland made their mark on Queensland including Robert Logan Jack, recognised for the quantity and accuracy of his work and his emphasis on educating people about geology; William Rands, who travelled widely and published a prolific number of reports; Benjamin Dunstan whose meticulous work, the Queensland Mineral Index, is still in use today; and Lionel Ball who oversaw the decentralisation of the Geological Survey of Queensland. The legacy of the Geological Survey of Queensland and the people who worked there is an enduring record of Queensland mining and geological landscapes.

Topographical map of Gympie and environs, Queensland Geological Survey, 1909. Illustrating report on Gympie Goldfield by B Dunstan, Government Geologist, sheets 9 and 10. Collection of the State Library of New South Wales

Publisher: 
Queensland Geological Survey
Date captured: 
21 October 2010
Date created: 
21 October 2010
Date issued: 
1 January 1909
Rights: 
Collection of the State Library of New South Wales
Location: 
Gympie, QLD
Australia