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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 36(2)

Richard Daintree: his early life, work in Victoria, and his correspondence with James Hector

Thomas A. Darragh https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8900-7388 A *
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A Museums Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Vic 3001, Australia.

* Correspondence to: tdarragh@museum.vic.gov.au

Historical Records of Australian Science 36, HR25007 https://doi.org/10.1071/HR25007
Published online: 17 July 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Academy of Science.

Abstract

Richard Daintree (1831–78), worked as a geological surveyor on the Geological Survey of Victoria. Details are given of his early life and subsequent work in Victoria before he moved to Queensland. In four letters he wrote to James Hector, Otago Provincial Geologist, between April 1862 and early 1864, he outlined his photographic work, expressed his ideas on aspects of the geology of the areas mapped and made some comparisons with New Zealand geology based on what he had received from Hector. He also expressed dissatisfaction with his working conditions, giving reasons for his ultimate resignation from the Survey and his move to Queensland.

Keywords: analysis, biography, chemistry, correspondence, early Victorian photography, geology, geological mapping, Geological Survey of Victoria.

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