John Francis Connelly (1860–1928) was an Australian prospector and mine owner. Born in

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 ...

, he prospected and owned mines in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , 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 discovered a

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

field at Fifield before joining the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

Cossack, Western Australia Cossack, formerly known as Tien Tsin, is an historic ghost town located north of Perth and from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The nearest town to Cossack, which is located on Butcher Inlet (aka Butcher's Inlet) at the ...

in 1889. He discovered the Nannine gold field the following year, and was rewarded by the Government of Western Australia with £500. Later, he prospected in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and

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 ...

. He died in 1928, and is buried in

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 ...

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 i ...

, Western Australia. Connelly was also an active collector of Australian Aboriginal artefacts. Collections associated with him are held in the Field Museum, Chicago, the Bishop Museum in Hawaii and the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

in Canberra. His papers are held in the State Library of New South Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, John Francis 1860 births 1928 deaths Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Colony of New South Wales people People from Western Australia Gold prospectors Australian gold prospectors Australian ethnographers Colony of Victoria people