Thomas Gabriel Read (21 August 182531 October 1894) was a gold
prospector
Prospector may refer to:
Space exploration
* Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962
* '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft
Trains
* Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...
and farmer. His discovery of gold in
Gabriel's Gully
Gabriel's Gully is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, three kilometres from Lawrence township and close to the Tuapeka River. It was the site of New Zealand's first major gold rush.
The discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully by Gabriel Read on ...
triggered the first major gold rush in New Zealand.
Life
Read was born on 21 August 1825 in Tasmania, Australia.
The eldest of ten children, his father was businessman and banker George Frederick Read and his mother, Margaret Terry, was the daughter of a miller and the senior Read's second wife.
After working on the goldfields of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and
Victoria
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* 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 the 1850s, Read travelled to Otago,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, on board the ''Don Pedro II'', having heard rumours in September 1860 of gold being found in
Mataura
Mataura is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Mataura has a meat processing plant, and until 2000 it was the site of a large pulp and paper mill.
Geography
Mataura is situated on and the Main South Line rail ...
,
Southland Southland may refer to:
Places Canada
* Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia
New Zealand
* Southland Region, a region of New Zealand
* Southland County, a former New Zealand county
* Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...
. He arrived in Otago in February 1861. On 25 May 1861,
he discovered gold close to the banks of the
Tuapeka River
The Tuapeka River is located in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. It is a tributary of the Clutha River, which it joins at Tuapeka Mouth between Roxburgh and Balclutha.
The Tuapeka's main claim to fame is as the centre of the Central Ot ...
in
Otago, at
Gabriel's Gully
Gabriel's Gully is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, three kilometres from Lawrence township and close to the Tuapeka River. It was the site of New Zealand's first major gold rush.
The discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully by Gabriel Read on ...
, which is named after him. Read wrote to Otago Superintendent
John Richardson on 4 June to confirm the discovery, which led to the
Otago Gold Rush
The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...
.
The Otago Provincial Council awarded Read £1000, having earlier advertised a £500 reward for "the discovery of a Remunerative Goldfield within the Province of Otago", even though an Indian man, Edward Peters, was the discoverer of the first workable gold field in Otago in 1858 and had two applications rejected.
In 1864, Read returned to Tasmania with his £1000 windfall; he invested £155 of this to purchase
Smooth Island. In 1869, he married his cousin, Amelia Mitchell (
née Wilson); they remained childless. Read was admitted to the New Norfolk Hospital for the Insane in
Hobart in April 1887, suffering from
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
. He remained at that hospital until his death on 31 October 1894 aged 69. The cause of death was
apoplexy
Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...
.
He was buried in an unmarked grave in
New Norfolk
New Norfolk is a town on the River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543.
Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Highway, New Norfolk is a modern Australian region ...
.
References
Further reading
* McCraw, Ernie (2010). ''Gabriel Read of Gabriel's Gully.'' Tuapeka Goldfields Museum Society. viii, 152 p. A comprehensive history of Gabriel's Gully and Gabriel Read
External links
''Gabriel Read'' in 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''''Dunedin's Golden History'' Gabriel Read and the Otago Gold Rush on DCC websiteBiography of Thomas Gabriel Read Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Gabriel
1825 births
1894 deaths
Gold prospectors
Australian gold prospectors
New Zealand gold prospectors
People of the Otago Gold Rush
New Zealand farmers
Australian emigrants to New Zealand
Lawrence, New Zealand
People from Tasmania