William Frederick Buchanan (21 June 1824 – 2 May 1911) was an Australian pastoralist and gold prospector. Buchanan was born in

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

to Lieutenant Charles Henry Buchanan and Annie White. On 16 January 1837 the ''Statesman'' arrived in

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

with the Buchanans and their five sons (also including

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate A ...

) on board. Settling in

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of th ...

(then called Invermein), William and his father leased a cattle run in the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

area in 1839 and he later took control of the family properties. He prospected for gold in

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

before following one of the first rushes to

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a shipment from Ophir every three years (1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks. ...

in 1851; despite finding little success, he returned to New England struck by the similarity of the landscape to the gold-rich Gippsland area. Buchanan was proved correct and by 1856 the gold rush had extended to northern New South Wales. In 1853 he relinquished his property to instead run several cattle runs on the

Castlereagh River The Castlereagh River is located in the central–western district of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Macquarie-Castlereagh catchment within the Murray–Darling basin and is an unregulated river, meaning no dams or storage have be ...

. By 1866 he had several runs near

Coonamble Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2016 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,750. It is the regional hub for wheat growing and ...

and acquired an illustrious reputation. He was involved in trade with Britain and in 1882 moved to

Narrabri Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highway. At ...

, running sheep rather than cattle; he also took on leases in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. By this stage he was extremely wealthy and he and his brothers owned vast swathes of territory in New South Wales and the Territory. He became a life member of the Royal Colonial Institute in 1886, and after a tour of Europe wrote ''Australia to the Rescue'' (1890) in an attempt to remedy the lack of knowledge about Australia he had encountered. Buchanan acquired the

Glengyle Station Glengyle Station most commonly known as Glengyle is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in central west Queensland. Description Glengyle is located north Birdsville and south of Boulia in the Channel Country of Queensland. ...

in the

channel country The Channel Country is a region of outback Australia mostly in the state of Queensland but also in parts of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous intertwined rivulets that cross the region ...

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 , established_ ...

in 1907. He intended to stock up from his

Wave Hill Station Wave Hill Station, most commonly referred to as Wave Hill, is a pastoral lease in the Northern Territory operating as a cattle station. The property is best known as the scene of the Wave Hill walk-off, a strike by Indigenous Australian w ...

in the

, 4,000 head of cattle were immediately dispatched with Glengyle to be in good condition with plenty of feed and water. Outside his pastoral interests he served as a magistrate from 1857. He had married Laura Eliza Connell on 31 January 1857, with whom he had five children. He is considered one of the most important Australian pastoral pioneers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, William 1824 births 1911 deaths Australian pastoralists Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Australian gold prospectors 19th-century Australian businesspeople