Francis Thomas Gregory

Francis Thomas Gregory

Francis Thomas Gregory (born October 19, 1821 in Farnsfield , Nottinghamshire , Great Britain , † October 24, 1888 in Toowoomba , Queensland , Australia ) was an explorer and politician in Australia.

Early life

Francis Thomas Gregory was the second of five sons of Joshua Gregory (1790-1838), a lieutenant in the 78th Regiment in Great Britain, and his wife Frances, née Churchman. His father was wounded as a soldier and came to the new Swan River Colony in 1829 , where he and his family arrived on the ship Lotus in 1829 and was assigned land alongside John Roe Augustus . Francis Thomas Gregory worked as a surveyor of roads and towns and issued licenses for land use. He developed a device that emitted flashes of light and was installed on Rottnest Island . Francis Thomas Gregory joined the public service in 1841 with the support of John Roe Augustus, where he learned surveying technology until 1841. He was then appointed land surveying assistant and then employed as a public surveyor in 1849.

Expeditions

Gregory Thomas Francis was the younger brother of the explorer Augustus Gregory . With two of his brothers he was exploring the country north of Perth as early as 1846 .

With 18 men, including his brother Henry, Ferdinand von Mueller and other scientists, he sailed from Moreton Bay in August 1855 and they reached the mouth of the Victoria River . From there he walked to Sturt Creek and then back 483 km until they encountered the desert. There the expedition turned and explored the Elsey , Roper and MacArthur Rivers , which they crossed and named after Ludwig Leichhardt , before returning to Brisbane . On their way back they came to the Flinders , Burdekin , Fritz and Burnett Rivers . In the 16-month expedition, they covered 3219 km at sea and 8047 km on land.

In 1857 he explored the course of the Upper Murchison River and in 1858 he explored the land further east and north. In 1858 he led an expedition on behalf of the government of New South Wales in search of the missing Ludwig Leichhardt, where he only found traces of him. On this expedition he marked the southern border of Queensland and on June 3, 1858 he was the first European to climb the largest monolith on earth, Mount Augustus , which he named after his brother Augustus on August 31.

In 1860 he went to London and was commissioned by the British government to conduct an expedition on the north-west coast of Australia. Gregory left Fremantle on April 23, 1861 and four days later, at Champion Bay , he met three volunteers and the expedition grew to nine people. They arrived in Roebourne on May 24th and started inland the following day. They reached the Fortescue River , which they followed for a few days, and turned southwest and followed the Hardey River . On June 25th they reached latitude 23 ° and 56 minutes , where they turned around and returned to their starting point on July 19th. Another expedition to the east began on July 29th. Gregory returned with his expedition on October 17th and discovered excellent land. They reached Perth November 9, 1861. Gregory estimated that there were about 8,000 to 12,000 km² of usable grassland and also opportunities for the Australian pearl fishing industry in the area he was exploring.

Late life

In 1862 Gregory went to Queensland , where he was the administrator of land for the British Crown for a number of years and he was elected a member of the Queensland Legislative Council . In 1863 he received the gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society . From 1874 he was chiefly responsible for the post office for a short time. In 1888 he died in Toowoomba.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} D. B. Waterson, Gregory, Francis Thomas (Frank) (1821-1888) ', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, Melbourne University Press, 1972, pages 293-295. Retrieved February 3, 2011
2. ↑ Mt. Augustus on the Uppergascoyne Region official website at www.uppergascoyne.wa.gov.au . Retrieved February 3, 2011
3. ^ ^{A b} Francis Thomas Gregory on Dictionary of Australian Biography . Retrieved February 3, 2011