Edward Townley Hardman (6 April 1845 – 30 April 1887) was a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

who played a key role in the discovery of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

's Kimberley goldfields. Edward Hardman was born in Drogheda in County Louth,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 6 April 1845. He graduated in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

from the Royal College of Science in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, and in 1870 was appointed as a

in the Geological Survey of Ireland. In 1882, small

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

finds in the

Kimberley region of Western Australia The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, an ...

prompted the Government of Western Australia to appoint a temporary Government Geologist to examine the area. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

chose Hardman for the position, and he arrived in

Perth, Western Australia 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 ...

in March 1883. Hardman immediately joined

Alexander Forrest Alexander Forrest CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament. As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many areas of remote Western Australia, particu ...

's survey expedition to the Kimberley, but the party was confined to the western part of the Kimberley, and no indications of gold were found. The following year, he joined

Harry Johnston Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston (12 June 1858 – 31 July 1927), known as Harry Johnston, was a British explorer, botanist, artist, colonial administrator, and linguist who travelled widely in Africa and spoke many African languages. He publishe ...

's survey, which covered most of the Kimberley. Hardman found traces of gold throughout the east Kimberley, especially in the area around the present-day town of

Halls Creek Halls is a plural of the word hall. Halls may also refer to: People * Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician * Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress * Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player * ...

. In his published report, he complained that he had received little assistance in his work, as the surveying took priority. Hardman's report prompted a number of prospecting expeditions in the area, and in 1885 gold was discovered by Charles Hall's party at a location they named Halls Creek. Once the discovery became known, the Kimberley

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 ...

set in, and a goldfield was proclaimed on 19 May 1886. Hardman's map and report were heavily relied upon by prospectors, and held in high regard. The field's Warden, Charles Price stated :"the whole of the miners are enthusiastic in the praise of Mr Hardman;... every case when he has marked on his plan that auriferous deposits would be found... the result has proved the correctness of his opinion... Nowhere else have they found more than colours." ¹ Back in 1872, the Government of Western Australia had offered a reward of £5000 for the discovery of the

colony 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' ...

's first payable goldfield, with a number of conditions attached. In January 1885, Johnston lodged a claim for the reward, on the grounds that :"while in command of the Kimberley Survey Parties in 1884 I discovered a large area of auriferous country". ² When Hardman learned of Johnston's claim, he lodged one himself, countering Johnston's claim with the statement :"not only did he make no discoveries of gold in the district,... he constantly decried the idea of gold being found at all; sneered at all my efforts to prospect the country; and was with the utmost difficulty persuaded to afford me any assistance...." ³ Consideration of the claims were deferred until May 1888. Hardman hoped for his temporary appointment as Government Geologist to be made permanent, but the government would not approve the funding, and on the completion of his contract in 1885 he returned to Ireland, where he again worked on the Geological Survey of Ireland. In August 1886, the Government of Western Australia approved the funding for a permanent Government Geologist position, and Hardman submitted an application for the job. In March 1887, Hardman began field work in the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. ...

of Ireland. He was in bad health and the weather was poor, with frequent snowstorms and rain. Early in April, he contracted

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

, and died a few days later in a Dublin hospital. He was survived by a wife and two young children. The Western Australian government agreed to offer the Government Geologist post to Hardman shortly before news of his death reached them. When in May 1888 the government considered claims for the reward for discovery of the goldfield, it was decided that the Kimberley goldfield, which had proven disappointing, had not met the stipulated conditions, and no reward was paid out. Hardman's contribution was recognised, however, with a gift of £500 to his widow Louisa Hardman. Three geographical features in the Kimberley bear Edward Hardman's name: Hardman Point, Hardman Range and Mount Hardman.

Notes

# ''Western Australian Legislative Council Parliamentary Paper no. 90/87''. Quoted in Playford and Ruddock (1985). # ''Western Australian Department of Mines file 10650/94 p. 7''. Quoted in Playford and Ruddock (1985). # ''Western Australian Department of Mines file 10650/94 pp. 8–9''. Quoted in Playford and Ruddock (1985).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardman, Edward Townley 1845 births 1887 deaths 19th-century Irish geologists Australian geologists Public servants of Western Australia People from Drogheda Scientists from Western Australia Deaths from typhoid fever Scientists from County Louth Alumni of the Royal College of Science Irish emigrants to colonial Australia