Frank Hugh Hann (19 October 184521 August 1921) was an Australian pastoralist and explorer.

Early life

Hann was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Hann. Fellow explorer

William Hann William Hann (26 February 1837 – 5 April 1889) was a pastoralist and explorer in northern Queensland, Australia. His expedition in 1872 found the first indications of the Palmer River goldfield. Early life He was born in Wiltshire, England, ...

was his older brother. They were born in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England and migrated with the family to the

Western Port Western Port, (Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it is do ...

area of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1851. In 1862 the family moved to the

Burdekin River The Burdekin River is a river located in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea at ...

district, just north of

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits under ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Queensland 1862 – 1895

The Hann family with

Richard Daintree Richard Daintree CMG (13 December 1832 – 20 June 1878) was a pioneering Australian geologist and photographer. In particular, Daintree was the first Government geologist for North Queensland discovering gold fields and coal seams for future ...

and two others took up several holdings along the Clarke River, a tributary of the Burdekin River. The properties included Lolworth, Maryvale and Kangerong Stations. The young Hann boys grew up handling cattle and when their father died in January 1864, followed by their mother in June the same year, they assumed responsibility for the family's share of the properties. Frank became manager of Lolworth prior to turning 20 years old. By 1875 he had done well enough to stock

Lawn Hill Station Boodjamulla National Park, formerly known as Lawn Hill National Park, is a national park in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site within the park. The park lies on the traditiona ...

with wild cattle, and for twenty years made a business of supplying cattle to widespread goldfields throughout Queensland and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. In 1881 he acted as a guide on a survey for a proposed transcontinental railway in northern Queensland. He discovered deposits of silver and lead in the Lawn Hill area, but commercial operation of the finds did not occur until 100 years later, leading to the present name of

Century Mine Century Mine was a large open cut zinc, lead and silver mine at Lawn Hill, northwest of Mount Isa in North West Queensland, Australia. It was Australia's largest open pit zinc mine. Discovered by CRA Limited, mining was initiated by Pasminco, ...

. Frank Hann and Jack Watson conducted a punitive massacre of

Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

Waanyi The Waanyi people, also spelt Wanyi, Wanji, or Waanji, are an Aboriginal Australian people from south of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Language The Waanyi language, although earlier thought to be extinct, wa ...

country in 1883 and nailed the ears of forty people to the outside of the Lawn Hill homestead. An escaped prisoner named Joe Flick nearly ended Hann's life in 1889. Flick was hiding in Hann's Lawn Hill homestead after fatally shooting a policeman (Alfred Wavell), when Hann confronted him upon returning home. The intruder agreed to converse with Hann but instead shot him in the chest at close range. Hann survived, but Flick was cornered and shot dead by other police in the early hours next morning.

Western Australia 1896 – 1921

By 1895 economic conditions had taken a downturn resulting in Hann walking off the station. He decided to try his luck in the north of Western Australia, so in 1896 with six Aboriginal companions and 67 horses he travelled overland from Lawn Hill to Halls Creek. Once in the west, despite being more than 50 years old, he carried out numerous expeditions partly financed by the government. In 1897 from a base at Nullagine, Hann explored the east

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

, and noticed creeks in the area flowed inland. He followed them expecting to find a large fresh water lake, but to his disappointment the lake turned out to be salt. Consequently, he named the feature Lake Disappointment. Hann's explorations covered a great deal of the state while searching for mineral wealth and pastoral prospects. From 1903 he based himself in a tent about east of Laverton. His expeditions from the locality (shown as "Hann's Camp" on modern maps), extended as far as the Petermann Ranges in central Australia and

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback road ...

in South Australia. He left a legacy having named over 500 geographical features, including the rivers Rudall, Isdell, Charnley and Phillips (now the Hann); lakes Yeo and Rason; and ranges Mackay, Sir

Frederick Bedford Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford, (24 December 1838 – 30 January 1913) was a senior Royal Navy officer and Governor of Western Australia from 24 March 1903 to 22 April 1909. Naval career Bedford was born on 24 December 1838, and ...

and

McFadden Range McFadden may refer to: People Fictional characters * "Casper McFadden" (otherwise known as "Casper the Friendly Ghost") * " McFadden" is also a name of a Prison Break character, James Whistler * "Bart McFadden" is a character, known as a fiction ...

. In 1909 Hann shocked people in Perth by a report saying that he had an encounter with Wongi warriors north of Laverton, and regretted not shooting one as he wanted to get a skull for Fred Brockman to send to London. When outrage followed, he retracted his statement and later the authorities stated that he was just exaggerating, but was also no longer in the employ of the Surveyor General. Brockman subsequently wrote that Hann did get him a skull but it was from a person who had died four years earlier.

Later life

In 1918 Hann was injured in an accident which left him on crutches after which he retired to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, where he died in 1921. He was buried in the

Karrakatta cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

in Perth, and in October 1986 a memorial plaque was added to the gravesite.

Legacy

Frank Hann National Park Frank Hann National Park is a national park in Western Australia, located east-southeast of the capital, Perth in the Shire of Lake Grace. It was named for Frank Hann, an early explorer of the district. The park contains a wide array of flora, ...

Hann River The Hann River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The traditional owners of the areas around the river are the Wurla. It was named after the first European to explore the river, Frank Hann, who had seen it during his ...

and Mount Hann () are named in his honour.

References

External links

Biographical article
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hann, Frank 1846 births 1921 deaths Explorers of Western Australia Australian explorers People associated with massacres of Indigenous Australians Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery