Biographical entry Busby, John (1765 - 1857)

Summary

John Busby supervised coal-mining at Newcastle and devised a water supply for Sydney. The tunnel scheme from Hyde Park, completed in 1837, became known as Busby's Bore.

Details

Born Alnwick, Northumberland, England, 24 March 1765. Died Hunter River, 10 May 1857. Coal miner; mine manager; mineral surveyor and engineer in England, Scotland and Ireland; arrived Sydney 1824 to take up duty 'in the management of the Coal Mines, in supplying the Town of Sydney with water, and in objects of a similar nature'; surveyed for water and coal in Hobart Town while the ship to Sydney was docked there for several weeks during the voyage; reported on coal deposits near Newcastle for the Australian Agricultural Company 1826; constructed Sydney's first regular water supply 1827-37, with help from his youngest son William. Before coming to Australia he won two awards in Scotland, one for inventing machinery for ascertaining the nature of rock strata by boring, the other for a method of sinking through quicksands, clay and gravel beds. Father of George and James Busby (qq.v.)

Related entries

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

• John Busby - Records, 1826 - 1864, FM 4/2116; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

• Walsh, G. P., 'Busby, John (1765-1857) surveyor and civil engineer', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1966, pp. 188-189. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010173b.htm. Details

Online Resources

• 'Busby, John', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1469683. Details

See also

• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_b.html. Details