Person

Jack, Robert Logan (1845 - 1921)

Born
16 September 1845
Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland
Died
6 November 1921
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Geologist and Explorer

Summary

Robert Jack worked in Australia as a geologist from 1877 to 1899 and from 1905. During his first stay in Australia, Jack was geological surveyor of northern Queensland and then Queensland's government geologist. His contributions to Queensland were great and many. He mapped Queensland and its coal sites in Bowen River, Flinders River and Townsville, reported on many areas rich in gold, tin, silver and sapphire, and his earlier work led to the search for artesian water and the construction of the first government bore in the Great Artesian Basin. He was also (co-) author of many books and articles on the geology, mineralogy and palaeontology of Queensland.

Details

Chronology

1867 - 1876
Career position - Surveyor on the Geological Survey of Scotland
1876 - 1879
Career position - Geological Surveyor in northern Queensland
1879 - 1899
Career position - Government Geologist in Queensland
1888
Career position - President, Section C (Geology and Mineralogy), Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
1892
Career position - The Geology and Palaeontology of Queensland and New Guinea published
1894
Career position - President of the Royal Society of Queensland
1895
Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales
1899
Career position - Geological survey to Szechuan, China
1901 - 1904
Career position - Consultant Mining Geologist in London
c. 1905 - c. 1910
Career position - Consulting Engineer in Western Australia
1910 -
Career position - Consulting Geologist in Sydney

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

  • Collins, David, Chemistry in 19th Australia - Select Bibliography, An exhibition of the Encyclopedia circa 2005 with assistance from Ailie Smith and Gavan McCarthy., eScholarship Research Centre (original publisher), Melbourne, 2009, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/ciab/ciab_ALL.html. Details

Books

  • Dick, James, A geological and prospecting expedition which filled many blank spaces on the map: Mr R. L. Jack, geologist, and Mr James Crosbie, leader, prospector ([Port Douglas, Qld]: [Record Office], 1913), 28 pp. Details
  • Etheridge, R.; and Jack, R. L., Catalogue of works, papers, reports, and maps on the geology, palaeontology, mineralogy, etc. of the Australian continent and Tasmania (London: Edward Stanford, 1881), 131 pp. Details
  • Jack, Felicity, Putting Queensland on the Map: the Life of Robert Logan Jack, Geologist and Explorer (Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2008), 256 pp. Details
  • Jack, Robert L., Handbook of Queensland geology (Brisbane: Warwick & Sapsford, 1886), 107 pp. Details
  • Jack, Robert L., The mineral wealth of Queensland (Brisbane: Warwick & Sapsford, 1888), 71 pp. Details
  • Jack, Robert L.; and Etheridge, Robert, The geology and palaeontology of Queensland and New Guinea (Brisbane; London: Government Printer ; Dulau & Co., 1892), 768 pp. Details
  • Jack, Robert Logan, Northmost Australia: three centuries of exploration, discovery and adventure in and around the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland: with a study of the narratives of all the explorers by sea and land in the light of modern charting, 2 vols (Melbourne: George Robertson & Co., 1922). Details
  • Jack, Robert Logan, Northmost Australia: three centuries of exploration, discovery and adventure in and around the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, 3 vols (Perth: Hesperian Press, 1996). Details
  • Thomas, Ross, The classic Robert Logan Jack map collection (Melbourne: Ross Thomas, 1999), 106 pp. Details

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Hill, Dorothy, 'Robert Logan Jack: a Memorial Address', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, lviii (7) (1946), 113-124. Details
  • Hodgson, Sandra, 'Robert Logan Jack: Not Incurious in Gods [sic] Handiwork', Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, 17 (3) (1999), 97-116. Details
  • Jack, Robert Logan, 'Address by [...] President of Section C - Geology [On some salient points in the geology of Queensland]', Report of the first meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, 1 (1889), 196-206, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15813284. Details
  • Lambkin, Kevin L., 'The Golden Geyser: Robert Logan Jack and the Geology of Mount Morgan, Queensland', Archives of Natural History, 38 (2011), 113-35. Details

Resources

See also

  • Johns, R.K. ed., History and role of government geological surveys in Australia (Adelaide: South Australian Government Printer, 1976), 111 pp. Details
  • Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details

McCarthy, G.J.

EOAS ID: biogs/P000064b.htm

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