- James Venture Mulligan
James Venture Mulligan (
13 February ,1837 - 1907) was abushman and prospector. He was born inDrumgooland ,County Down ,Ireland and emigrated toAustralia in 1859. [http://www.geographia.com/northern-ireland/ukiher01.htm]Mount Mulligan in Far NorthQueensland was named after him in 1872 by fellow prospectors.After missing the
gold rush es of Ballarat and Gympie, Mulligan set out to find gold on thePalmer River in Far NorthQueensland that had been reported byWilliam Hann . OnJune 30 ,1873 , Mulligan discovered gold on the Palmer River, and, onAugust 24 of that year, he reported his find at Georgetown. The Palmer area was soon overrun by more than 30,000 prospectors, and Mulligan continued to search elsewhere. In 1874 he was to discover gold at Pine Creek.In 1875 Mulligan became frustrated that his finds were creating great wealth for others, but were barely financing his expeditions. Unable to secure his services for free, the
Queensland Government paid him £500 to find further gold fields. Instead of gold, he was to discover the Barron River and findtin that year on the current site of Herberton. In 1880 he discoveredsilver in the Silver Valley west of Herberton.Mulligan was married in
Brisbane onMarch 5 ,1903 . In that year he also purchased the Mount Molloy Hotel. He died onAugust 24 ,1907 from injuries received as he tried to stop a fight. His headstone reads::"Sacred to the memory of James Venture Mulligan, prospector and explorer, died at Mt Molloy aged 69 years. RIP. Erected by a few old friends."
In 2007 to comemerate the centenary of his death the EachamHistorical Society launched Mulligan’s journal of his Fifth Expedition"Expedition in the Search Of Gold and Other Minerals in the Palmer Districts" [http://www.eachamhistorical.org]
ources
* cite book | author=Holthouse, Hector
title=River of Gold: The Story of the Palmer River Gold Rush
publisher=Angus and Robertson Publishers
year=1967
id=ISBN 0-207-13802-8
* [http://www.geographia.com/northern-ireland/ukiher01.htm Georgraphica's website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.