John Moffat (mining pioneer)
Encyclopedia
John Moffat was a Scottish
-born entrepreneur
who developed a mining and industrial empire around Loudoun Mill and Irvinebank
in North Queensland
which drove the development of north-eastern Australia
.
He was a devout Swedenborgian
who was famous for both vision and enterprise. He was born in Newmilns
(New Mills), Ayrshire and spent most of his youth immersed in books. Extremely shy in temperament, he was known to hide whenever visitors approached. It was a habit he was to retain throughout his life.
After learning bookkeeping and working as a clerk in Newmilns and Glasgow, he emigrated to Australia, where he worked as a shepherd on a remote outback station west of Brisbane
. He was known to carry a large swag of books and stuffed his saddle-bags with philosophy, theology, engineering and science books.
He frugally saved his pennies and entered into business with Brisbane storekeeper, Robert Love. A lot of custom started coming from the tin-fields of Stanthorpe. Moffat started a branch of the business on the tin fields where he traded goods for tin and used his intelligence and savings to invest in the best prospects on the field.
Moffat invested the profits of his educated speculations on building a smelter, so the ore could be processed on the field and profits retained.
A prosperous community grew around these achievements. In 1879, Moffat sent two of his agents, William Jack and John Newell to survey the wild frontier of north Queensland on the Atherton Tablelands, west of Port Douglas.
The area was known to have abundant resources of tin on what became known as the Tinaroo field, site of today's Lake Tinaroo. While prospecting there, Jack and Newell met John Atherton, an early settler knew that the first European explorer in that region, James Venture Mulligan had noticed rich deposits of tin ore on the Wild River, higher up in the 'wild ranges' in 1875. Atherton led Jack and Newell on an exploratory expedition to the area in 1879 but the party failed to find the rich alluvial deposits that had been noted by Mulligan. In 1880, a second expedition located the deposit and secured a claim for Moffat and Company. The town of Herberton was officially laid out in August of that year.
Upon receiving samples of the ore and assaying them himself, John Moffat immediately departed for Herberton. Realizing the value of the lode and the abundant resources he was surrounded by, he instigated the Great Northern Mining company, arranged to have a mill and smelter built and embarked on a fact-finding and purchasing trip in Europe. Moffat returned to the Great Northern Mine and Mill in Herberton and learned of a new find 27 km to the west. After surveying the site, he founded a settlement there which he named 'Irvinebank', after the river Irvine of his birthplace, in Scotland. He used the latest knowledge and technology he had found in England, Scotland, Belgium and Germany, along with the finance raised, to develop the field and surrounding regions.
John Moffat lived in Irvinebank from 1884 to 1912 and from there helped spur the development of north-eastern Australia by building mines, mills, smelters, towns, railways, tramways, aerial cableways and other infrastructure.
He always recognized the importance of community, especially in the harsh and remote frontier of northern Australia, and always initiated and supported cultural infrastructure such as transport, School of Arts libraries, churches and other cultural institutions. This attracted families and permanent settlers who established themselves in a harsh and inhospitable environment.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who developed a mining and industrial empire around Loudoun Mill and Irvinebank
Irvinebank
Irvinebank is a village in the western foothills of the Atherton Tablelands of Far North Queensland, Australia. Once a thriving town with an economy based on mining, milling and smelting...
in North Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
which drove the development of north-eastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
He was a devout Swedenborgian
Swedenborgian
A Swedenborgian is the doctrines, beliefs, and practices of the Church of the New Jerusalem, and is an adjective describing a person or an organization that understands the Bible through the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg....
who was famous for both vision and enterprise. He was born in Newmilns
Newmilns
Newmilns and Greenholm is a small burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 3,057 people and lies on the A71, around seven miles east of Kilmarnock and twenty-five miles southwest of Glasgow...
(New Mills), Ayrshire and spent most of his youth immersed in books. Extremely shy in temperament, he was known to hide whenever visitors approached. It was a habit he was to retain throughout his life.
After learning bookkeeping and working as a clerk in Newmilns and Glasgow, he emigrated to Australia, where he worked as a shepherd on a remote outback station west of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. He was known to carry a large swag of books and stuffed his saddle-bags with philosophy, theology, engineering and science books.
He frugally saved his pennies and entered into business with Brisbane storekeeper, Robert Love. A lot of custom started coming from the tin-fields of Stanthorpe. Moffat started a branch of the business on the tin fields where he traded goods for tin and used his intelligence and savings to invest in the best prospects on the field.
Moffat invested the profits of his educated speculations on building a smelter, so the ore could be processed on the field and profits retained.
A prosperous community grew around these achievements. In 1879, Moffat sent two of his agents, William Jack and John Newell to survey the wild frontier of north Queensland on the Atherton Tablelands, west of Port Douglas.
The area was known to have abundant resources of tin on what became known as the Tinaroo field, site of today's Lake Tinaroo. While prospecting there, Jack and Newell met John Atherton, an early settler knew that the first European explorer in that region, James Venture Mulligan had noticed rich deposits of tin ore on the Wild River, higher up in the 'wild ranges' in 1875. Atherton led Jack and Newell on an exploratory expedition to the area in 1879 but the party failed to find the rich alluvial deposits that had been noted by Mulligan. In 1880, a second expedition located the deposit and secured a claim for Moffat and Company. The town of Herberton was officially laid out in August of that year.
Upon receiving samples of the ore and assaying them himself, John Moffat immediately departed for Herberton. Realizing the value of the lode and the abundant resources he was surrounded by, he instigated the Great Northern Mining company, arranged to have a mill and smelter built and embarked on a fact-finding and purchasing trip in Europe. Moffat returned to the Great Northern Mine and Mill in Herberton and learned of a new find 27 km to the west. After surveying the site, he founded a settlement there which he named 'Irvinebank', after the river Irvine of his birthplace, in Scotland. He used the latest knowledge and technology he had found in England, Scotland, Belgium and Germany, along with the finance raised, to develop the field and surrounding regions.
John Moffat lived in Irvinebank from 1884 to 1912 and from there helped spur the development of north-eastern Australia by building mines, mills, smelters, towns, railways, tramways, aerial cableways and other infrastructure.
He always recognized the importance of community, especially in the harsh and remote frontier of northern Australia, and always initiated and supported cultural infrastructure such as transport, School of Arts libraries, churches and other cultural institutions. This attracted families and permanent settlers who established themselves in a harsh and inhospitable environment.