Richard Randall Knuckey (26 September 1842 – 14 June 1914), often referred to as R.R. Knuckey and popularly known as Dick Knuckey, was a surveyor on the Overland Telegraph Line in central Australia from 1871 to 1872. He later became chief officer at the electric telegraph department in Adelaide.

Early life

Randall was born in

Stithians Stithians ( kw, Stedhyans), also known as St Stythians, is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies in the middle of the triangle bounded by Redruth, Helston and Falmouth, Cornwall, ...

, in Cornwall, England, on 26 September 1842, of parents Richard Knuckey and Persis Reed. He arrived in South Australia with his family in 1849 as a six-year-old, and was educated at Burra and Kapunda.

Career

In 1866 he joined the survey department as a

chainman Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Two-dimensional space#In geometry, two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of ...

, was soon appointed cadet and thereafter rose up through the ranks. Engaged by

George Goyder George Woodroffe Goyder (24 June 1826 – 2 November 1898) was a surveyor in the Colony of South Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He rose rapidly in the civil service, becoming Assistant Surveyor-General by 1856 ...

as a second-class surveyor in 1868, he joined Goyder's expedition to the Northern Territory to survey

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

and the surrounding country, the party arriving in Port Darwin on 5 February 1869. Knuckey was in A.J. Mitchell's No.1 party. He was then involved in surveying the hundreds of

Snowtown Snowtown is a town located in the Mid North of South Australia 145 km (90 miles) north of Adelaide and lies on the main road and rail routes between Adelaide and Perth – the Augusta Highway and Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line. The ...

and

Port Wakefield Port Wakefield may refer to. Australia *Port Wakefield, South Australia, a town and locality * Port Wakefield railway line, part of the now-closed Balaklava-Moonta railway line in South Australia * Port Wakefield Circuit, a former motor racing cir ...

. After being recommended to Sir Charles Todd (then head of the telegraph department) by Goyder (then surveyor-general), Knuckey was appointed to take charge of Section A of the Overland Telegraph Line in 1870. Charlotte Waters, just north of the South Australian border in the Northern Territory, was surveyed in 1871 by Gilbert McMinn and Knuckey.Giles, Ernest (1889). ''Australia twice traversed: the romance of exploration, being a narrative compiled from the journals of five exploring expeditions into and through Central South Australia, and Western Australia, from 1872 to 1876, Volume 1.'' S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, Limited After successful completion of this section, he pushed on and oversaw construction of the line to Roper River and

Daly Daly or DALY may refer to: Places Australia * County of Daly, a cadastral division in South Australia * Daly River, Northern Territory, a locality * Electoral division of Daly, an electorate in the Northern Territory * Daly, Northern Territory, ...

. With surveying completed, Knuckey was appointed overseer of Section A (Charlotte Waters) of the construction party. After the line had been completed on 22 August 1872 and the first messages had been exchanged, Knuckey accompanied Todd on the return journey from

Central Mount Stuart Central Mount Stuart is a mountain peak situated in the southern Northern Territory of Australia. It is a prominent landmark easily seen from the nearby Stuart Highway, which at closest approach lies about to the southeast. The dark red sandst ...

to Adelaide, where they were given an enthusiastic reception. Back in South Australia, Knuckey was selected by Sir Charles Todd as overseer in the erection of the telegraph line from Port Augusta, South Australia to Eucla in Western Australia – a distance of – in 1876. From 1880 until his retirement in 1889, Knuckey was inspector of postal and telegraph services.

Later life

After retirement, Knuckey oversaw the construction of a telegraph line for the New South Wales Government from Narromine to Peak Hill for about a year, before heading to Western Australia to try his luck on the Western Australian goldfields. Not having any luck with finding gold, he returned to South Australia in 1911. Not long before his death, he travelled to Powell's Creek with a team. He died at Miss Hill's Hospital in College Park, a suburb of Adelaide.

Legacy

Popularly known as "Dick" Knuckey, he was recognised as one of the best

bushmen The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, ...

in the country; his name was a "household word" at the time. He was responsible for giving English names to both Charlotte Waters, Northern Territory and Dalhousie Springs. Knuckey Street in Darwin was named after him, one of several named after surveyors by Goyder.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knuckey, Richard Randall 1842 births 1914 deaths Australian surveyors People from Cornwall English emigrants to colonial Australia History of the Northern Territory History of South Australia