William Jamieson (18 August 1852 – 8 May 1926) was an Australian surveyor, and a member of the syndicate that founded the Broken Hill Proprietary mine at Broken Hill. He was, in 1884, the company's first mine manager and, in 1885, its first general manager.

History

Jamieson was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1853, as the second son[1] of Rev. George Jamieson of the Church of Scotland, and his wife, Jane Jamieson née Wallace. He was educated in Aberdeen and as an apprentice arrived in Adelaide in 1869,[2] then headed for the Victorian goldfields, where he had little luck, and so headed for Sydney.

Armed with a letter of introduction to (later Sir) John Hay,[3] a friend of his father's, and wealthy squatter for whom the town of Hay is named, he was sent by Hay to Grungle station,[4] located 400 miles up the Murrumbidgee from Hay, New South Wales. He worked, for a time, as a jackaroo at the sheep station,[3] until George Mair, manager of the station, induced him to give up jackarooing, and study surveying.[4] In 1881, he entered the New South Wales Lands Department as a surveyor and, in March 1883, while in Bourke, he received his license as a surveyor under the Real Property Act.[5] That same year, he was put in charge of the Bourke-Silverton district, which included the Barrier Ranges.

In 1884, he was sent to complete the long-awaited survey of mining claims at Silverton.[6] Shortly after his arrival, a long drought– which had dispirited many prospective miners –broke, and threatened many with flooding.[7]

Jamieson fell in with the Syndicate of Seven prospectors and investors led by George McCulloch, and the discoverer Charles Rasp (who, on 5 September 1883, had pegged out a lease of some 20 acres of scrub-covered country, later known as Block 12), and named themselves the Broken Hill Mining Company (later, BHP), the other five members of which were: George Urquhart, G. A. M. Lind, Phillip Charley, David James and his mate, James Poole.[8] McCulloch pegged out another claim, later designated No. 13. The others claimed one apiece, and the syndicate had Blocks 12 to 15, later 10 to 17; the claims stretched over two miles in length.[9] The seven shares were parlayed into fourteen. Lind was the first to bow out of the company, selling his shares to Rasp and McCulloch, and Urquhart left a year later. Jamieson purchased three shares for £320. He shortly divested himself of two, one of which became the property of W. R. Wilson.

Subsequently, Jamieson was approached by one Thomas Low, who had stumbled on an outcrop of silver ore some distance away from where the prospectors had been working, and offered to show him its location, if he could buy into the syndicate. As it could take a considerable time to re-discover the outcrop in such a large area of scrubby country, Jamieson agreed.[10] The number of shares issued had only recently doubled again, and Low's received was one of these shares.

W. R. Wilson, manager of the Barrier Ranges Silver Mining Association, bought into the association a few months later, as did Bowes Kelly, in 1884, paying £150 for a twenty-eighth share, and Harvey Patterson, in 1885, paid £1800 for a twenty-eighth share; within ten years, those shares were each worth £1.5 million.

Until Jamieson became a shareholder, McCulloch had always "called the shots" in the operation of the mine; Jamieson gained the respect of the other shareholders and, when the company moved, in 1885, to register as a Proprietary Limited, Jamieson was elected managing director, at a salary of £500 per annum, and resigned from the public service.[2] He resigned as managing director the following year, to be replaced by engineer S. R. Wilson.[11] In 1895, Jamieson was elected to the board.[10]

He died in his sleep at his home "Clarence", Queen's Road, Melbourne, after seven months' illness.[12]

Affiliations

Family

Jamieson married Helene Mathilde "Lily" Meyer (c. 1864 – 4 April 1948) of Brisbane on 17 July 1890 in London. They had one son:

  • Judith Jamieson ( – )
  • Mary Jamieson ( – )
  • William "Bill" Jamieson ( – )

They had a residence "Redholme" on St. Kilda Road.

Andrew Jamieson (1849–1912), Scottish engineer and M. B. (Matthew Buchan) Jamieson (1860 – 17 August 1895),[15] engineer, were his brothers.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Family Notices". The Age. No. 11, 051. Victoria, Australia. 26 July 1890. p. 5. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia. This and other newspapers, receiving their information by telegraph, reported the wedding date as a week later: 17 July 1890.
  2. ^ a b c B. E. Kennedy, 'Jamieson, William (1853–1926)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/jamieson-william-6827/text11815, published first in hardcopy 1983, accessed online 13 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Taroom". The Darling Downs Gazette And General Advertiser. Vol. XVII, no. 2391. Queensland, Australia. 31 May 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b "Broken Hill Pioneer". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 24, 882. Victoria, Australia. 10 May 1926. p. 10. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Government Gazette". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. XXVII, no. 688. New South Wales, Australia. 17 March 1883. p. 8. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Our Silverton Letter". The Express and Telegraph. Vol. XXI, no. 6, 236. South Australia. 13 October 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "The Silver Mines in the Barrier Ranges". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). No. 1554. New South Wales, Australia. 1 July 1884. p. 5. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "150 Years: 150 Lives; William Jamieson". Brighton Cemetery. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  9. ^ "The Barrier Ranges Silver Field". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. XXXVI, no. 914. New South Wales, Australia. 16 July 1887. p. 24. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ a b "Mr William Jamieson Dead". Barrier Miner. Vol. XXXIX, no. 11, 674. New South Wales, Australia. 8 May 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 13 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "A Well-known Mining Expert". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 971. New South Wales, Australia. 18 August 1888. p. 24. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ a b "About People". The Age. No. 22, 182. Victoria, Australia. 10 May 1926. p. 8. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Broken Hill Water Supply". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. XXXIV, no. 10446. South Australia. 11 April 1892. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Family Notices". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XLVII, no. 10, 403. Queensland, Australia. 19 May 1891. p. 4. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Death of Mr. M.B. Jamieson". Barrier Miner. Vol. 8, no. 2300. New South Wales, Australia. 23 August 1895. p. 2. Retrieved 13 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Our Water Supply". Barrier Miner. Vol. 3, no. 688. New South Wales, Australia. 30 May 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 13 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
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