DAINTREE, RICHARD (18311878)

son of Richard and Elizabeth Daintree, was born at Hemingford Abbots, Huntingdonshire, England, in December 1831. He was educated at Bedford Grammar School and Christ's College, Cambridge, and came to Australia in 1852. In 1854 he joined the staff of the Victorian government geologist, A. R. C. Selwyn (q.v.), but went to England in 1856 and studied assaying. In August 1857 he returned to Melbourne and again joined Selwyn's staff, and during the next seven years did much field work in Victoria. In 1864 he resigned from the geological survey department and took up land in north Queensland. He found time to visit the coalfield districts of New South Wales, and also studied the modes of occurrence of gold in rocks.In 1867 he was asked by the Queensland government to make an examination of the Cape-River district which led to the opening of the goldfield, and two years later he was appointed government geologist for north Queensland. He spent much time in exploring large areas of the country including several goldfields, until in 1871 he was appointed special commissioner to the London exhibition in 1872. He had complete charge of the Queensland exhibits, and early in 1872 was appointed agent-general in London for that colony. He prepared a handbook for emigrants, Queensland, Australia, Its Territory Climate and Products, which appeared about the end of the same year and was an excellent piece of work of its kind. In 1876 his health gave way and he was obliged to resign his position as agent-general. He was made a C.M.G. on his retirement. He endeavoured to restore his health in the south of France but returned to England in 1878 and died on 20 June. A list of some of his reports and maps will be found in Bulletin No. 23 of the geological survey of Victoria. Some of his papers appeared in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London.

Richard Daintree was an amiable and enthusiastic man of science. He did very good work, especially as a petrologist, in the early days of geology in Australia.