Charles Gould (4 June 1834 – 15 April 1893) was the first Geological Surveyor of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
1859–69.
Career
He was born in England He conducted three expeditions into
Western Tasmania
The West Coast of Tasmania is mainly isolated rough country, associated with wilderness, mining and tourism. It served as the location of an early convict settlement in the early history of Van Diemen's Land, and contrasts sharply with the mo ...
in the 1860s.
He named many of the mountains on the
West Coast Range
The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The range lies to the west and north of the main parts of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.
The range has had a significant numb ...
.
He also worked as a consultant geologist and land surveyor in Tasmania, the
Bass Strait Islands and in
New South Wales
)
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
He left Australia in late 1873 and died 20 years later, in Montevideo, Uruguay.
His father was the ornithologist
John Gould
John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...
and his mother was the natural history illustrator
Elizabeth Gould (née Coxen).
Charles Gould was a member of the
Royal Society of Tasmania
The Royal Society of Tasmania (RST) was formed in 1843. It was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom, and its mission is the advancement of knowledge.
The work of the Royal Society of Tasmania includes:
* Promoting Tasmanian historic ...
and an amateur naturalist as well as geologist. He published observations of the distribution, diet and habits of the
Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish
The Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish (''Astacopsis gouldi''), also called Tasmanian giant freshwater lobster, is the largest freshwater invertebrate and the largest freshwater crayfish species in the world. The species is only found in the rive ...
in 1870.
The species was named ''Astacopsis gouldi'' in honour of him by Australian freshwater crayfish ecologis
Ellen Clarkin 1936.
Cryptozoology
Gould was the author of the book ''Mythical Monsters'' (1886) considered an early work on
cryptozoology
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...
.
[Nigg, Joe. (1999). ''The Book of Fabulous Beasts: A Treasury of Writings from Ancient Times to the Present''. Oxford University Press. p. 339] Prior to this, Gould published in the Papers and Proceedings of Royal Society of Tasmania on the possibility Australian mythical creature the "
bunyip
The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
Name
The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...
" was a freshwater seal.
Publications
''Mythical Monsters''(1886)
*Gould, C. 1870: On the distribution and habits of the large fresh-water crayfish (Astacus sp.) of the northern rivers of Tasmania. Monthly Notices of Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania: 42–44.
*Gould, C.1872: Large aquatic animals, ''Monthly Notices of Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania'' , pp. 32–38.
See also
*
Geology of Tasmania
The geology of Tasmania is complex, with the world's biggest exposure of diabase, or dolerite. The rock record contains representatives of each period of the Neoproterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. It is one of the few southern h ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Charles
1834 births
1893 deaths
Cryptozoologists
19th-century British geologists
Explorers of Tasmania
Western Tasmania
British emigrants to Australia