William Finke (1814 or 1815 – 17 January 1864) was a

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 pastoralist in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, remembered as a sponsor of

John McDouall Stuart John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers. Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...

's exploratory journeys, along with the

Chambers brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1967 psychedelic soul hit "Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions wit ...

History

Finke, who may have been born Johann Wilhelm Finke from

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, arrived in South Australia aboard the ''Tam O'Shanter'' in November 1836 as part of the

First Fleet of South Australia In 1836, at least nine ships in 1836 carried the first European settlers from England to the south coast of Australia for the establishment of the City of Adelaide and the province of South Australia. Although not all of the ships sailed toge ...

. He was a member of a syndicate with

Osmond Gilles __NOTOC__ Osmond Gilles (24 August 1788 – 25 September 1866) was a settler, pastoralist, mine owner and the Colony of South Australia’s first colonial treasurer. Born in London of Huguenot descent, in 1816 he went into partnership with Phil ...

, the first

colonial treasurer Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

, his nephew

John Jackson Oakden John Jackson Oakden (1818 – 31 March 1884), pastoralist, was an English explorer of South Australia, part of the European exploration of Australia, and a pioneer runholder of the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Early life Born in 1818 at Y ...

and three others who entered the ballot in February 1839 for the right to purchase land in Glenelg, in which they were successful. Finke is shown as "chief clerk of the Treasury" in the public notice of the ballot. Finke had been appointed chief clerk to Gilles, and in 1839 was put in charge of mining

galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...

for his Glen Osmond Union Mining Company, the first mine for metal-bearing ores in South Australia and perhaps Australia. He was also appointed Honourable Secretary of Glenelg Pier and Warehouse Company, which had offices in Gilles Arcade. Finke was an energetic explorer and prospector throughout South Australia, but particularly in the northern

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabi ...

, where he established productive

copper mine Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...

s at Nuccaleena and Oratunga, but missed the huge deposits at Burra and

Kapunda Kapunda is a town on the Light River and near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance ...

. He frequently employed Scottish explorer

as travelling companion on these trips. Finke and James Chambers developed the

Moolooloo Moolooloo Station (also known as Moolooloo and Moorillah Stations) is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in South Australia. It is situated approximately north west of Blinman and south of Leigh Creek. The property was est ...

station, from where Stuart's final and successful expedition departed. James died before the party's triumphant return and Finke not long after. John Chambers, as executor of his brother's Will, sold the run to Philip Levi & Co., who sold it to John Rounsevell in 1871. Finke died at the John Bull Inn in

Currie Street, Adelaide Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

North Road Cemetery North Road Cemetery is located in the Adelaide suburb of Nailsworth, approximately 5 km north of the central business district. It is 7.3 hectares (18 acres) in size and there have been over 26,000 burials since its foundation in 1853. Th ...

, in the Adelaide suburb of

Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road (the Roman Fosse Way), south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bath. The parish had a popula ...

. Anna Timmermann, Andreas Finke and Wilhelmina Arndt of Germany were named as having an interest in two properties in Glenelg two years after Finke's death.

Recognition

The Finke River in central Australia and

Mount Finke Mount Finke is a monadnock in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted locality of Yellabinna about north of Ceduna. In 1999, it was described as follows:It is about 5km long with an elevation of 369 m AHD, it stands ab ...

in South Australia were named after him by Stuart in 1858 and 1860 respectively. Finke Bay on the coast of the

Van Diemen Gulf Van Diemen Gulf is a gulf in the Northern Territory of Australia. It connects to the Timor Sea in the north via Dundas Strait. Most of its area is also gazetted as a locality with the name Van Diemen Gulf. History The gulf was named after th ...

in the Northern Territory is considered to be named by Stuart after Finke in 1862. The tiny settlement of Finke which grew around a railway siding on the

Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and closed in 1980, was a 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Aug ...

and is now also known by its traditional name Aputula, derived its name from the nearby Finke River.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finke, William 1814 births 1864 deaths Australian pastoralists Australian explorers Australian prospectors 19th-century Australian businesspeople