VPRS 11904 Field Book of Richard Daintree, Colonial Geologist

Full description

This series constitutes the field notes of Mr Richard Daintree in his capacity as Field Geologist with the Geological Survey of Victoria.

Richard Daintree (1832-1878) was a renowned photographer and geologist. Born in England, he left his country of birth to join the gold rush in Victoria in 1852. Unsuccessful as a prospector, he accepted appointment in 1854 as assistant geologist in the Victorian Geological Survey. Daintree resigned his appointment in 1856 to return to England. He was reappointed as a field surveyor with the Geological Survey on his return to Victoria in 1859. Over the following five years his routine duties included mapping and searching for coal seams. In this period he also pioneered the use of photography in his field work.

In 1864 Daintree left the Geological Survey to go Queensland. He was involved in the establishment of a government geological survey in Queensland, and, when it began in 1869 he was geologist in charge of the northern division until 1870. In 1872 Daintree was appointed Queenslands agent-general. [Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, 1851-1890]

The field book spans the years 1861-1862 when Daintree was a field surveyor with the Geological Survey of Victoria. Daintrees field book opens with lists of specimens collected during field trips and records information about the quantity of samples, their locality, formation and other general remarks. The specimens were subsequently forwarded to the Geological Survey Office for the Public Museum. The book also gives exact locations for the photographs taken by Daintree during the survey.

The back of the book contains maps, which record the geology and the geography of the places he studied.

The field books from the trips, in which geologists recorded their notes, often remained in the possession of the field geologists after the maps had been drawn.

This volume was purchased as an estray by the PROV in 1998.