William Hann
William Hann (born February 26, 1837 in Wiltshire , England , † April 5, 1889 in Townsville , Queensland , Australia ) was a British explorer and rancher in Australia.
Early years
William was the son of Joseph Hann and his wife Elizabeth, nee Sharpe. His parents, he and his younger brother Frank Hann emigrated from Wiltshire to the western sports area in Victoria in 1851 . In 1862 his father went to the newly explored area of the Burdekin River in Queensland , where he built the cattle stations Bluff Downs, Maryvale and Lolworth with Richard Daintree and other investors from Melbourne . After the great flood in the Burdekin River area in January 1864, in which his father's livelihood was destroyed, William struggled against dingoes and falling wool prices and had to drive his last 19,000 sheep overland to Victoria . The Lolworth and Bluff Downs cattle stations had to be abandoned and the cattle driven to Maryvale.
expedition
In 1872 William was commissioned to explore the interior of the Cape York Peninsula . Despite great difficulties, both during exploration and with unskilled personnel, he reached the Endeavor River and also explored land suitable for agriculture. He discovered and named the Tate , Daintree River, and Palmer River . In addition, he discovered a gold deposit that he did not consider exploitable. James Mulligan explored the deterioration more closely and triggered a gold rush . Hann drove his cattle into these gold fields, sold them and made a fortune with it.
Late years
In 1886, after a trip to Ceylon , he linked these economic interests with the Maryvale area, financed the construction of St James Cathedral in Townsville, and was a member of the Dalrymple Divisional Board. He drowned swimming near Townsville in 1889 and was buried in West End Cemetery in Townsville.
William Hann is one of the most important explorers of the north of Queensland.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c adb.anu.edu.au : GC Bolton: Hann, Frank Hugh (1846–1921) , in English, accessed on November 26, 2012
- ↑ trove.nla.gov.au ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : William Hann Diary, Hann, William, 1837-1889 , in English, accessed November 26, 2012
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hann, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British-born explorer in Australia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 26, 1837 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wiltshire , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 5, 1889 |
| Place of death | Townsville , Queensland , Australia |