Person
Wells, Lawrence Allen (1860 - 1938)
OBE
- Born
- 30 April 1860
Yallum Park, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 11 May 1938
Blackwood, South Australia, Australia - Occupation
- Explorer and Surveyor
Summary
Lawrence Wells was Chairman of South Australia's Land Board 1918-1930. He led several expeditions, including the Calvert Scientific Exploring Expedition in 1896 and the Endeavour Expedition through the Great Victoria Desert when he was 72.
Details
Born 30 April 1860. Died 11 May 1938. OBE 1937. South Australian Survey Department 1878, cadet 1879, Northern Territory and Queensland Border Survey 1883-86, surveyor, Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition 1891, leader, Calvert Scientific Exploring Expedition 1896, South Australian Pastoral Board from 1897, leader, North-West Prospecting Expedition 1903, trigonometrical survey, Victoria River district, Northern Territory 1908, administrative positions, State and Federal public services, Chairman, South Australia's Land Board 1918-30, leader, Endeavour Expedition, Great Victoria Desert 1932.
Chronology
- 1878
- Life event - Joined the South Australian Survey Department
- 1879 - ?
- Career position - Cadet, South Australian Survey Department
- 1883 - 1886
- Career position - Member, Northern Territory and Queensland Border Survey
- May 1891 - January 1892
- Career position - Surveyor, Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition
- 1896
- Career position - Leader, Calvert Scientific Exploring Expedition
- 1897 -
- Career position - Member, South Australian Pastoral Board
- 1903
- Career position - Leader, North-West Prospecting Expedition
- 1908
- Career position - Surveyor, Trigonometric Survey, Victoria River district, Northern Territory
- 1918 - 1930
- Career position - Chairman, South Australian Land Board
- 1932
- Career position - Leader, Endeavour Expedition, Great Sandy Desert
- 1937
- Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Steele, Christopher, 'Wells, Lawrence Allen (1860-1938), Explorer' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 12 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990), pp. 440-441. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120491b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Wells, L. A., 'Abstract of journal of explorations in Western Australia, 1896 - 1897', Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch, 3 (1898), 149-71. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6504730. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/38212940. Details
- 'Wells, L A (1860-1938)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-613766. Details
See also
- Feeken, Erwin H. J.; Feeken, Gerda E. E.; and Spate, O. H. K., The discovery and exploration of Australia (Melbourne: Thomas Nelson (Australia), 1970), 318 pp. Details
Rosanne Walker
Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 9 November 2021