Robert Dixon (explorer) explained

Robert Harald Lindsay Dixon (1800–1858) was an Australian surveyor and explorer, born in Cockfield, County Durham,^[2] England. Dixon is credited with having first surveyed and named a number of areas along the East Coast of Australia.

Surveying expeditions

In 1831–32 Dixon carried out surveys in the Upper Hunter and New England districts.^{[3] [4]}

Having failed to gain reinstatement, Dixon moved to Moreton Bay. During that year, Dixon, with assistant surveyors Granville Stapylton and James Warner, began a trigonometrical survey of Moreton Bay for the Government to facilitate free settlement.^[5] A baseline of 3miles was measured on Normanby Plains (today's Harrisville, south of Ipswich) as a foundation for the triangulation. Dixon was instructed to compile a plan of the district for land sales and town reserves.^{[6] [7]} This angered Governor Sir George Gipps.

Dixon is credited with having first surveyed and named a number of areas along the East Coast of Australia including:

• Cronulla, New South Wales – the named based on the Aboriginal word kurranulla.
• Gunnamatta Bay, New South Wales.
• The Oaks, New South Wales – and surrounding areas.
• Otford, New South Wales – originally named Bulgo by Dixon.
• Russell Island, Queensland.^[7]
• Wellington Point, Queensland.

Legacy

Dixon, Stapylton and Warner are commemorated on a plaque at the Land Centre, Woolloongabba in Brisbane . The plaque was placed by the Queensland Division of the Australian Institute of Surveyors and unveiled on 7 May 1989 by the Surveyor-General of Queensland K. J. Davies and the Surveyor-General of New South Wales D. M. Grant.^[8]

Personal life

On 24 July 1839 at Moreton Bay, he married Margaret Sibly, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Sibly of St Neot in Cornwall.

Dixon died, at age 58, on 8 April 1858 in Sydney. He was survived by his wife and three of their six children.

External links

• Hobart Town Gazette and Van Diemen’s Land Advertiser announcing arrival of the Westmoreland
• Map of the colony of New South Wales by Robert Dixon (online)

Notes and References

1. Parish clerks on line St Neots
2. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=0&pid=6647 Ancestry Family Trees - Database online, Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, RG 6. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England.
3. News: The Colonist. 4 August 1836. 14 September 2010. Departures.
4. News: The Colonist. 4 August 1838. 14 September 2010. New Topographical Map of the Colony. https://web.archive.org/web/20200126021322/http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31721447. 26 January 2020. live.
5. Book: Johnson, Murray. Working the land: an historical overview of Boonah and its northern district. 2007. Queensland State Archives. 978-0734515308. 10. Kay Saunders. 24 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923173150/http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/Researchers/CommsDownloads/Documents/BoonahHistoricalOverview.pdf. 23 September 2015. live.
6. Book: Gibbs, George. Dixon, Robert. Copy of a despatch from Sir George Gipps ... to the Secretary of State for the colonies, transmitting a report of the progressive discovery and occupation of that colony during the period of his administration of the government. 1841. House of Commons.
7. Book: Horton, Helen. Islands of Moreton Bay. 1983. Boolarong Publications. Spring Hill, Queensland. 0-908175-67-1. 77.
8. Web site: First Surveyors in Queensland. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200624214502/http://monumentaustralia.org.au/display/103289-first-surveyors-in-queensland. 24 June 2020. 2020-06-24. Monument Australia.