The Peaks of Lyell

If you remember, I briefly talked about Mount Lyell and Beardsley's connection to it as a mining chemist and mine manager. On the recommendation of Brett Martin (the Tasmanian research I've been in contact with), I've just started reading a book, The Peaks of Lyell, written in 1954 by Geoffrey Blainey. In it, Blainey mentions GF Beardsley a handful of times; but almost more importantly he gives an account of the colonial history of Tasmania through the eyes of the gold seekers that swarmed the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Here are just a couple of contextualizing excerpts: 

"This is the history of the Mt. Lyell Mining and Railway Company--the first, the last, and the dominant company on a great Australian copperfield, a field that has yielded £174 million  at present mineral prices. In its scope, however, this story is more than a company history. It is the story of a wild region of mountains and mines--some mines rich, many poor. It is the story of men who found them, floated them, worked them, and died in them>" (preface v)

Another one on the naming of Mount Lyell: (Gould is one of the first British explorers in Tasmania)

"Gould left one lasting legacy from his expeditions; he named the peaks of the west coast range after famous British scientists of his day. He left England in 1859, the year in which Darwin published his revolutionary book on The Origin of the Species, and he seems to have opposed Darwin's theory of evolution, for he named the three massive mountains--Sedgwick, Owen, and Jukes--in honor  of bitter opponents of Darwin's theory. In stark contrast, he gave to three smaller mountains which lay between the giants the names of Darwin and his faithful disciples, Lyell and Huxley. But later prospectors unwittingly redressed the balance in favour of the Darwinians, calling the field Mt. Lyell though the first mine was nearest Mt. Owen. And so Australia's richest copperfield honours "the father of modern geology," Sir Charles Lyell, even though it was named long before evidence of mineral wealth was found." (page 10)

I have only just begun reading this fascinating book, and I'm sure I'll have more excerpts to come. I find it striking that the history of our collection, through the families of Wellman and Beardsley, are so intertwined with mining, "gold fever," and colonial exploitation of resources. Whereas Bela Wellman traveled to California at the height of the Gold Rush here, GFB did the same during the Tasmanian gold/mineral rush of at the turn of the 20th century. The Beardsleys truly tell a tangible story of colonialism! 

P.S. On a side note, the Mt. Lyell mine was in operation up until a month ago, when it was shutdown due to multiple deaths. Here is an article on the shutdown.