Robert Brough Smyth (1830 – 8 October 1889)Michael Hoare,

, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Vol. 6, MUP, 1976, pp 161–163. Retrieved 3 February 2010 was an Australian geologist, author and social commentator.

Life

Smyth was born in

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

, Northumberland, England, the son of Edward Smyth, a mining engineer, and his wife Ann, ''née'' Brough. Smyth was educated at a school at

Whickham Whickham is a village in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The village is on high ground overlooking the River Tyne and south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was formerly governed under the histo ...

, afterwards studied geology,

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

. In 1846 Smyth worked at the Derwent Iron Works and then in 1851 was employed as a clerk at Consett Iron Works. Smyth arrived in the

colony of Victoria In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

on 14 November 1852 and was for a short period on the goldfields before entering the Victorian survey department as a draftsman under the surveyor-general, Andrew Clarke. In 1854 Smyth was placed in charge of the meteorological observations, and in 1860 became secretary for the Department of Mines at the height of the

Australian gold rushes During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of Ne ...

. Smyth published ''The Prospector's Handbook'' (1863), and in 1869 a large volume, ''The Gold Fields and Mineral Districts of Victoria''. He was also responsible for various pamphlets on the mining resources of the colony including ''Hints for the Guidance of Surveyors and Others Collecting Specimens of Rocks'', which appeared in 1871. On 1 February 1876 several members of Smyth's staff sent a petition to the minister for mines asking that an inquiry should be held into the despotic conduct of Smyth towards his subordinates. Three members of parliament were appointed to inquire into the matter, and after a series of sittings held in February, March and April 1876, Smyth resigned from the service. Smyth had been working for many years collecting materials for a book on the life of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

, which was published in 1878 at the expense of the Victorian government in two large volumes, '' The Aborigines of Victoria: with notes relating to the habits of the Natives of Other Parts of Australia and Tasmania''. Smyth visited

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1879 and made a ''Report on the Gold Mines of the South-eastern Portion of the Wynaad and the Carcoor Ghat'' (1880). Smyth died of cancer at his home ''Medenia'' in High Street,

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...

, a suburb of

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 ...

. Smyth was survived by his wife Emma Charlotte, ''née'' Hay, whom he had married on 15 August 1856 at St Paul's Church, Melbourne, and by a son and daughter. He was buried in the

St Kilda Cemetery St Kilda Cemetery is located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East, Victoria. History St Kilda Cemetery covers a large block bordered by Dandenong Road, Hotham Street, Alma Road and Alexandra Street. It is bounded by a historic wall and conta ...

. Smyth was an able and hardworking man, not suited to be the head of a department. He is remembered for his book on Aboriginal people and their cultures in connexion with which he had the assistance of many helpers. A large amount of material was collected and is valuable as a resource for studying Aboriginal cultures today. The beauty of this material is the honesty in which he wrote and the lack of political influence as is the case of many current works.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Robert Brough 1830 births 1899 deaths Australian geologists Australian people of English descent

Life

References

Further reading

External links