John Melton Black (1830–1919) was a pioneer of

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

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 , establishe ...

, Australia. Black ordered the expedition of

Cleveland Bay The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relation ...

to find a suitable site for a port and then established the

Port of Townsville Port of Townsville is a government-owned Corporation and seaport in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is the third largest seaport in Queensland after Port of Brisbane and the Port of Gladstone. It is located south of the mouth of Ross Cre ...

and the associated town of

. He served for two terms as Mayor of Townsville.

Early life

Black was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in 1830, the son of a physician. Black become a merchant and moved to London. It was there that he heard of the Australian goldfields.

Victoria

Black immigrated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

where he made his fortune, not by mining gold but by establishing a business as a carrier. In 1855 he established the first Theatre Royal in Melbourne on the north side of Bourke Street, able to hold more than 3000 people. The opening production was ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...

''. He also upgraded

Astley's Amphitheatre Astley's Amphitheatre was a performance venue in London opened by Philip Astley in 1773, considered the first modern circus ring. It was burned and rebuilt several times, and went through many owners and managers. Despite no trace of the thea ...

, which re-opened on 16 April 1857 as Princess's Theatre and Opera House, and was its first manager. Although described as a "magnificent theatre", the £60,000 cost of the Theatre Royal's construction ultimately bankrupted Black.

Queensland

StateLibQld 1 137107 John Melton Black's residence, the first home in Townsville built around 1865

Black was attracted to the opportunities of the new colony of Queensland. With W. A. Ross, C. S. Rowe and W. Longshaw, he formed a group to go furthest north and take up pastoral land. They reached Bowen on 18 April 1861, where they founded Fanning Station. This was near the site of the Macrossan Bridge. Black was claimed to be the first man to cross 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 a ...

with flocks and herds. He liked the prospects of North Queensland and at the end of 1863, he took up a further large area of land, which became known as Woodstock Station. However, harsh conditions forced him and many others to surrender their lands to the banks as they were unable to meet their heavy mortgage commitments. Then aged 34, he became general manager for

Robert Towns Robert Towns (10 November 1794 – 11 April 1873) was a British master mariner who settled in Australia as a businessman, sandalwood merchant, colonist, shipowner, pastoralist, politician, whaler and civic leader. He was the founder of Townsvil ...

' pastoral interests, which included Fanning, Woodstock, Inkerman, Jarvisfield and other large holdings. Headquarters were established at Woodstock, and the long haulage of goods from Bowen was found troublesome. On the map it could be seen that the nearest coast was but twenty miles away. When Andrew Ball and Mark Watt Reid were sent to explore, they made the discovery of Ross Creek in 1864. The new work of forming a port at Cleveland Bay and the establishment of the settlement of Townsville was undertaken by a partnership of Towns and Black. Black is credited with erecting the first wharf, surveying the first allotments and supervising the erection of its first buildings. He is said to have built the first house in Townsville. He was a stockman, merchant, surveyor, newspaper editor and pioneer of the

meat industry The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production, packing, preservation and marketing of meat (in contrast to dairy products, wool, etc.). In economics, the meat industry is ...

in Townsville and surrounding districts. He served for two terms as Mayor of Townsville.

Later life

Black left Townsville at the end of the year 1867, and his loss was keenly felt by the residents of North Queensland. As there had been no farewell ceremony, it was arranged to send him presents of an illuminated address and a valuable gold cup. From Sydney he proceeded to Europe, where he made an extensive tour before settling down in London. There he established a printing business. At Hanover Square, London, he had married Marion O'Dowds, whom he first met in Townsville. Their family consisted of five sons and a daughter. Black died in 1919 aged 89 years.

Legacy

On Sunday 1 November 1964, a monument commemorating the "100th Anniversary of Settlement in Townsville" was unveiled on The Strand, with particular mention made of four men: Robert Towns, Andrew Ball, Mark Watt Reid and John Melton Black. As at 2020, the monument is located in Anzac Memorial Park between the Centenary Fountain and the bandstand (). Black River (both the river and the suburb of Townsville) are named after him. Melton Hill (the 50-metre hill) in Townsville City was named after him and was the name of the first land sale in Townsville; Black's home was on the top of Melton Hill. The road to the

Townsville Airport Townsville Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Townsville, Queensland. The airport is also known as Townsville International Airport, and Garbutt Airport, a reference to its location in the Townsville sub ...

is called John Melton Black Drive.

References

Attribution

This Wikipedia article contains text fro
John Melton Black by W. J. Doherty published in the Townsville Daily Bulletin on 10 July 1934 page 7
(public domain in Australia via

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...