Person
Ballard, Robert (1839 - 1912)
- Born
- 28 March 1839
Ledbury, Herefordshire, United Kingdom - Died
- 22 November 1912
London, United Kingdom - Occupation
- Entomologist, Railway engineer, Surveyor and Zoological artist
Summary
Robert Ballard was apprenticed to his uncle, a railway contractor, to train as an engineer. On arrival in New South Wales in 1859 he was employed in supervising the building of railway lines: from Maitland to Singleton for contractors Peto, Brassey and Betts, and from Picton to Goulburn for the New South Wales Government. Six years later he moved to Queensland to oversee the construction of the difficult section of the Ipswich to Toowoomba railway over the Main Range section. He earned himself a reputation for building difficult lines for minimal cost. After briefly owning a mining equipment supply business in Gympie, Queensland, Ballard returned to surveying and building rail lines, working for the Queensland government. These lines were those westwards from Rockhampton and north from Townsville to Charters Towers. He moved to Western Australia in 1895 before returning to the United Kingdom in 1901. During the 1860s Ballard took an interest in insects, painting skilled watercolours of mostly butterflies and moths. Accompanying the paintings were detailed notes of his observations. The album was donated to the Mitchell Library, Sydney, in 1930.
Details
Chronology
- June 1859
- Life event - Arrived in New South Wales
- June 1859 - April 1865
- Career position - Supervising engineer for railway construction: Maitland to Singleton and Picton to Goulburn
- April 1865 - October 1868
- Career position - Supervising engineer for construction Main Range section, Ipswich to Toowoomba railway
- October 1868 - April 1869
- Career event - Owned mining equipment supply business, Gympie, Queensland
- April 1869 - 1872
- Career position - Mining Surveyor, Gympie Local [Mining] Court
- October 1872 - 1886
- Career position - Chief Engineer, Central and Northern Railway Division, Queensland Government
- 1891 - 1895
- Career position - Mining surveyor and consulting Engineer, Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company
- 1895 - 1901
- Career position - Manager of mines in Western Australia
- May 1901
- Life event - Returned to England
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Bell, Jacqueline, 'Ballard, Robert (1839 - 1912), railway engineer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 3: 1851 - 1890 A-C, Nairn, N.B., Serle, A.G. and Ward, R.B., eds (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1969), pp. 82-3, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ballard-robert-2925. Details
Journal Articles
- Bell, J., 'Robert Ballard: an early Queensland railway engineer', Queensland Heritage, 1 (10) (1969), 3-8. Details
- Lambkin, Kevin J., 'Robert Ballard (1839 - 1912) - Queensland railway engineer and entomologist of the 1860s', Australian entomologist, 534 (1) (2026), 15-9, https://search.informit.org/doi/epdf/10.3316/informit.T2026060200014690334689102. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 14 July 2026