James Charles Burnett

Last updated

James Charles Burnett is commemorated with street art in Burnett Lane, Brisbane, 2015 Burnett Lane, Brisbane, 2015.JPG
James Charles Burnett is commemorated with street art in Burnett Lane, Brisbane, 2015

James Charles Burnett (1815—1854) a.k.a. "John" [1] was a surveyor and explorer in New South Wales (including Queensland), Australia. He was the head of the first Survey Office established at Brisbane in 1844. [2]

New South Wales State of Australia

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In September 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

Queensland North-east state of Australia

Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. To its north is the Torres Strait, with Papua New Guinea located less than 200 km across it from the mainland. The state is the world's sixth-largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi).

Contents

Note, the separation of Queensland from New South Wales did not occur until 1859 and so the name Queensland was not used in Burnett's lifetime.

Separation of Queensland

The Separation of Queensland was an event in 1859 in which the land that forms the present-day State of Queensland was removed from the Colony of New South Wales and created as a separate Colony of Queensland.

Early life

James Charles Burnett was born in North Britain (possibly Scotland), the son of William Burnett. He emigrated as a young child with his family to New South Wales where his father established Burnettland near Raymond Terrace in the Hunter River district. [3]

Raymond Terrace Town in New South Wales, Australia

Raymond Terrace is a town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about 26 km (16 mi) by road north of Newcastle on the Pacific Highway. Established in 1837 it is situated at the confluence of the Hunter and Williams rivers. The town was named after Lieutenant Raymond, who had explored the Hunter River in 1797 and described the terraced appearance of trees in the area. Governor Lachlan Macquarie camped in the area in 1818, using "Raymond Terrace" as the name for the place where his party had camped.

Hunter River (New South Wales) river

The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Tasman Sea at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major harbour port. Its lower reaches form an open and trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary.

Surveying career

In 1834 he entered the service of the Survey department of New South Wales, spending a considerable period in the Illawarra district. Burrnett was selected by Sir Thomas Mitchell to lead a survey to trace the Great Dividing Range from south of Hanging Rock northward towards Moreton Bay. Burnett set off in October 1841 with Roderick Mitchell (son of Thomas Mitchell) as second-in-command of the party. After many difficulties, the range was traced to about the 30°S and then the party headed for Brisbane arriving September 1842. [3]

Thomas Mitchell (explorer) Scottish surveyor and explorer in Australia

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, surveyor and explorer of south-eastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. In 1827 he took up an appointment as Assistant Surveyor General of New South Wales. The following year he became Surveyor General and remained in this position until his death. Mitchell was knighted in 1839 for his contribution to the surveying of Australia.

Moreton Bay bay in Queensland, Australia

The Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are used by commercial operators who provide seafood to market.

In 1845, he was appointed a Commissioner of Crown Lands. [4]

Burnett subsequently undertook surveys of the Clarence River and Richmond River. In 1846, he was appointed in charge of the surveys in Moreton Bay and settled in Brisbane. [5] In 1846 to 1847 he explored north of Moreton Bay in the area of the Mary River and Burnett River. His efforts in exploring Queensland (as it is now known) were recognised by New South Wales Governor Charles Augustus FitzRoy by naming the Burnett River and the surrounding area after Burnett. [3]

Clarence River (New South Wales) river in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia

The Clarence River, a mature wave dominated, barrier estuary, is situated in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia.

Richmond River river in New South Wales, Australia

The Richmond River is a river with a mature wave dominated, barrier estuary, situated in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia.

Burnett River river in central Queensland, Australia

The Burnett River is a river located in the Wide Bay–Burnett and Central Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia.

Later life

Burnett died on 18 July 1854 aged 39 years at his home in Brisbane. [6] For several months prior to his death, he had poor health, which was attributed to his "enthusiastic and almost reckless devotion to the trying duties of his profession". He had not left his home for several weeks prior to his death. He was buried in the Church of England section of the North Brisbane burial ground (now underneath the Lang Park stadium). [3]

Legacy

A few days before Burnett's death, he received word that he had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. [3]

At the time of his death, it was proposed that a public subscription be established to create a lasting memorial to him, but this did not occur. [3] However, in 1988, the Institution of Surveyors Australia erected a plaque honouring Burnett on the Wide Bay Highway, Ban Ban Springs ( 25°40′55″S151°48′58″E / 25.6819°S 151.8161°E / -25.6819; 151.8161 (Plaque commemorating James Charles Burnett) ) through which Burnett had passed in March 1847 while exploring the Burnett River district. [7] Also, visual artist Natalie Billing used the rear of a building in Burnett Lane in Brisbane to create a tribute to Burnett (after whom the lane is named). [8]

Named in his honour

Places names after Burnett include:

New South Wales
Queensland

Related Research Articles

Patrick Logan British Army officer

Captain Patrick Logan was the commandant of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement from 1826 until his death in 1830 at the hands of Aboriginal Australians who objected to him entering their lands. As he had been hated by convicts, there were rumours that escaped convicts living in the bush had attacked him, but there is no evidence of this.

<i>The Courier-Mail</i> daily tabloid newspaper published in Brisbane

The Courier-Mail is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern suburbs, and it is printed at Murarrie, in Brisbane's eastern suburbs. It is available for purchase throughout Queensland, most regions of Northern New South Wales and parts of the Northern Territory.

Augustus Charles Gregory Australian explorer

Sir Augustus Charles Gregory was an English-born Australian explorer. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was appointed a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

West Moreton was the name of two incarnations of an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.

Charles Brunsdon Fletcher was an English-born Australian surveyor and journalist who served as the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald for twenty years.

Thomas Blacket Stephens Alderman and mayor of Brisbane, Australia.

Thomas Blacket Stephens was a wealthy Brisbane businessman and newspaper proprietor who also served as an alderman and mayor of Brisbane Municipal Council, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1871 to 1873, as elected at the 1871 colonial elections held between 8 July 1871 and 6 September 1871 (due to problems of distance and communications, it was not possible to hold the elections on a single day).

Arthur Sidney Lyon (1817–1861), was a journalist and newspaper proprietor in Queensland, Australia. He was known as "the father of the press in colonial Queensland". He was the founder of the Moreton Bay Courier and the Darling Downs Gazette.

Charles Tiffin (1833–1873) was an English architect, who spent most of his career in Queensland, Australia where he held the post of Queensland Colonial Architect.

County of March Cadastral in Queensland, Australia

The County of March is a county in Queensland, Australia. The county consists of the Noosa area, plus the eastern parts of the Gympie and Fraser Coast regions.

Robert Cribb Australian politician

Robert Cribb (7 January 1805 – 16 April 1893) was an Australian parliamentarian who represented the district of East Moreton in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, and the districts of Town of Brisbane and East Moreton in the Queensland Legislative Assembly after the separation of Queensland from New South Wales. Cribb's brother Benjamin Cribb also served as a member of the colonial parliaments of both New South Wales and Queensland.

Ambrose Eldridge was a chemist and experimental farmer in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Francis Edward Bigge Australian politician

Francis Edward Bigge (1820—1915) was a pioneer pastoralist and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. He championed the development of Cleveland on Moreton Bay. He was influential in achieving the separation of Queensland from New South Wales, but did not succeed in making Cleveland the capital of Queensland.

Stephen Simpson (doctor) Australian politician

Stephen Simpson (1793–1869) was a doctor and civil servant in Queensland, Australia. He was a founding Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

Robert George Massie member of the Queensland Legislative Council

Robert George Massie was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

Norfolk Island Pine Trees, Cleveland

The Norfolk Island Pine Trees are a heritage-listed group of trees at 127 Shore Street North, Cleveland, City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 November 2003.

Henry Hughes was an Australian pastoralist and politician.

Edward Barton Southerden

Edward Barton Southerden (1830–1906) was a businessman and politician in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He was the first mayor of the Town of Sandgate and was known as the "Father of Sandgate" as he was involved in all aspects of progress and welfare of the town.

John OConnell Bligh

John O'Connell Bligh was a Native Police officer in the British colonies of New South Wales and Queensland. He achieved the rank of Commandant of this colonial paramilitary force from 1861 to 1864. Bligh is probably best known for an incident in Maryborough, where he conducted a number of summary executions of Aboriginal Australians along the main street and into the adjoining Mary River. After retiring from the Native Police, Bligh became a police magistrate in the towns of Gayndah and Gympie.

John Murray (native police officer)

John Murray was an officer in the Native Police in the British colonies of New South Wales and Queensland. He was an integral part of this paramilitary force for nearly twenty years, implementing British colonisation in south-eastern, central and northern Queensland. He also had an important role in recruiting troopers for the Native Police from the Riverina District in New South Wales. As a consequence of having had such a long career in this paramilitary corps, Murray was directly involved in the killing and displacement of thousands of Aboriginal Australians.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/files/Christ_Church_Bundaberg.pdf
  2. ↑ Dignan, Don. "Burnett, James Charles (1815–1854)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre for Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "THE Moreton Bay Courier". The Moreton Bay Courier . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 22 July 1854. p. 2. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 3 December 1845. p. 2. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "First Surveys". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Family Notices". The Moreton Bay Courier . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 22 July 1854. p. 3. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Surveyor James Charles Burnett". Monument Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Take a Walk Up Burnett Lane". Weekend Notes. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Burnett County". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales . Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Panayotov, Jodi (6 June 2014). "Brisbane Laneways: a guide". Brisbane Times . Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Reed, A. W. (1973). Place Names of Australia, p. 49. Sydney: A. H. & A. W. Reed. ISBN   0-589-07115-7.
  12. ↑ "NOMENCLATURE OF QUEENSLAND.—67". The Courier-Mail . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 16 December 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "N.Q. HISTORY." Townsville Daily Bulletin . Qld.: National Library of Australia. 25 March 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.