Everything about John Oxley totally explained
This article is about the person. For the Australian pilot ship, see John Oxley (ship).
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1783/1785? –
26 May 1828) was an
explorer and surveyor of
Australia in the early period of English colonisation.
Background
Oxley was born at
Kirkham Abbey near
Westow,
North Yorkshire,
England, the eldest son of John Oxley and his wife Isabella, who was the daughter of Irish
Viscount Molesworth. He joined the navy in 1799 as a midshipman in the
Venerable, and transferred in November 1801 to the
Buffalo, in which as master's mate he sailed to
Australia.
Arriving there in October 1802 he was engaged in coastal survey work including an expedition to
Western Port in 1804-05. In 1805 Governor King appointed him acting lieutenant in charge of the
Buffalo, and in 1806 he commanded the
Estramina on a trip to Van Diemen's Land. Next year he returned to England where on November 25, he was commissioned lieutenant. He came back to Sydney in November 1808 to take up an appointment as first lieutenant in
H.M.S. Porpoise, having sailed out as agent for the Transport Board in the convict ship
Speke, in which he shipped goods worth £800 as an investment. He had obtained an order from the Colonial Office for a grant of near the Nepean River, but Lieutenant-Governor Paterson granted him . Oxley had to surrender these in 1810, but
Governor Macquarie granted him near
Camden which he increased in 1815 to again. This he called Kirkham.
When Paterson allowed the deposed
Governor Bligh to leave Sydney in the
Porpoise in March 1809 Oxley was aboard and sailed with Bligh to the Derwent. Next year he wrote a lengthy report on the settlements in
Van Diemen's Land before sailing for England in the
Porpoise in May. In London he applied for the post of Naval Officer in Sydney, and then, after paying C. Grimes to resign, according to John Macarthur, he twice sought that of surveyor-general. Oxley denied that he'd been a partisan of Macarthur when Bligh was deposed, but his letters show that he was on very intimate terms with the rebel leader. In 1812 he became engaged to Elizabeth Macarthur; this was broken off when her father discovered the extent of Oxley's debts. By that time, through the influence of Macarthur's friend Walter Davidson, Oxley's second application for the surveyor-generalship had been successful. In 1811 he'd retired from the navy, and in May 1812 sailed for Sydney in the
Minstrel to take up his new duties.
Naval career
John Oxley entered the
Royal Navy when he was aged eleven. He travelled to
Africa in October 1802 as master’s mate of the naval-vessel
Boo, which carried out coastal surveying (including the survey of
Western Port). In 1805 Oxley was promoted to second lieutenant. In 1806 he commanded the
Estramina on a trip to
Van Diemen's Land (now
Tasmania). He returned to England in 1807 and was appointed first lieutenant in charge of
HMS Porpoise, joining her in 1808. In 1809
HMS Porpoise visited Van Diemen's Land, carrying as a passenger Governor
William Bligh who had been deposed in the
Rum Rebellion.
Lachlan River expedition
In March 1817 John Oxley was instructed to take charge of an expedition to explore and survey the course of the
Lachlan River. He left Sydney on 6 April with
George Evans as second-in-command, and Allan Cunningham as botanist. Evans had discovered a portion of the Lachlan River west of
Bathurst in 1815. Oxley’s party reached Bathurst after a week, where they were briefly detained by bad weather. They reached the Lachlan River on 25 April 1817 and commenced to follow its course, with part of the stores being conveyed in boats. As the exploring party travelled westward the country surrounding the rising river was found to be increasingly inundated. On 12 May, west of the present township of Forbes, they found their progress impeded by an extensive marsh. After retracing their route for a short distance they then proceeded in a south-westerly direction, intending to travel overland to the southern Australian coastline. By the end of May the party found themselves in dry scrubby country. Shortage of water and the death of two horses forced Oxley’s return to the Lachlan. On 23 June the Lachlan River was reached: “we suddenly came upon the banks of the river… which we'd quitted nearly five weeks before”. They followed the course of the Lachlan River for a fortnight. The party encountered much flooded country, and on 7 July Oxley recorded that "it was with infinite regret and pain that I was forced to come to the conclusion, that the interior of this vast country is a marsh and uninhabitable". Oxley resolved to turn back and after resting for two days Oxley’s party began to retrace their steps along the Lachlan River. They left the Lachlan up-stream of the present site of Lake Cargelligo and crossed to the
Bogan River and then across to the upper waters of the
Macquarie, which they followed back to Bathurst (arriving on 29 August 1817).
Macquarie River expedition
This was his first expedition.
Oxley travelled to
Dubbo on
12 June 1818. He wrote that he'd passed that day 'over a very beautiful country, thinly wooded and apparently safe from the highest floods...'
Later in 1818 Oxley and his men explored the Macquarie River at length before turning east. On
26 August 1818 they climbed a hill and saw before them rich, fertile plains, which they named the
Liverpool Plains. Continuing east, they discovered the
Peel River, near the present site of
Tamworth. Continuing further east they crossed the
Great Dividing Range and came upon the
Hastings River. Following it to its mouth, they discovered that it flowed into the sea at a spot which they named
Port Macquarie.
In 1819 Oxley sailed to
Jervis Bay but found it to be unsuitable for settlement.
In 1823 Oxley set out northwards along the coastline, in the
cutter Mermaid to explore Port Curtis (the site of
Gladstone) and
Moreton Bay. He continued to explore the region, which is now known as
South East Queensland.
In 1824 Oxley, accompanied by
Allan Cunningham, discovered the
Brisbane River and
Bremer River on
Moreton Bay, which has since developed into the city of
Brisbane.
Governor
Lachlan Macquarie granted him near
Camden in 1810, which he increased to 1,000 acres (4 km²) in 1815. He named this property Kirkham and raised and bred sheep. He was also briefly a director of the
Bank of New South Wales. He was one of five members of the original
New South Wales Legislative Council in 1824, but wasn't reappointed when the council was reconstituted in 1825. Oxley had two sons with
Emma Norton (1798-1885), whom he married in 1821 and earlier two daughters by
Charlotte Thorpe and one by
Elizabeth Marnon.
The
Oxley Highway in
New South Wales,
Oxley Island on the north coast of New South Wales, the
Federal electorate of Oxley (Queensland), the New South Wales
Electoral district of Oxley, the
Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and the suburbs of
Oxley, Queensland and
Oxley, Australian Capital Territory are named after Oxley. The
John Oxley Library, part of the
State Library of Queensland, is dedicated to preserving and making available Queensland's documentary history.
Illness and Death
John Oxley suffered with illness throughout his service caused by the difficulties of his expeditions. He finally succumbed to his illness and died on
26 May 1828 at Kirkham.
Further Information
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