The Discovery and Settlement of Port Mackay, Queensland

This illustrated 1908 study explores the early history of Port Mackay, Queensland in the context of its natural environment.

Henry Ling Roth (Author)

9781108039338, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 November 2011

142 pages, 33 b/w illus. 7 maps
24.4 x 17 x 0.8 cm, 0.24 kg

Port Mackay is a district of Queensland, Australia, best known for its production of cane sugar. It was first settled in the 1860s, when John Mackay (1839–1914) successfully completed a mission to claim farmland and introduce agriculture there. First published in 1908, this study by the businessman and keen amateur anthropologist Henry Ling Roth (1855–1925) explores the district's history, tracing its development from an uncharted territory barely noticed by early European explorers to a burgeoning community that profited from its ideal conditions for cultivation. Drawing on extensive notes from his visits to the region over thirty years, as well as some fascinating anecdotal accounts from settlers, Roth explores the achievements of Port Mackay's early colonists in agriculture, industry and sea trading. The book contains maps and photographs, and includes a short account of the local Aboriginal population, and substantial notes on natural history and sporting pursuits.

Preface
Introduction
1. The early discoveries on the east coast of Australia, 1770–1844
2. East coast land exploration, 1813–36
3. Exploration on coast and inland, 1847–59
4. Captain Mackay's expedition
5. Local events which followed Captain Mackay's discovery
6. The settlement of the town and district of Mackay to 1866
Appendix I. Ships that went up the coast
Appendix II. The ascent of Mount Dalrymple
Appendix III. The aborigines of Mackay
Appendix IV. Notes on natural history and sport
Index.

Subject Areas: Australasian & Pacific history [HBJM]