Augustus Charles Gregory
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The Hon Augustus Gregory KCMG |
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Augustus Charles Gregory, c. 1903
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| Member of the Queensland Legislative Council | |
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In office 10 November 1882 – 25 June 1905 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Augustus Charles Gregory 1 August 1819 Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Died | 25 June 1905 (aged 85) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Resting place | Toowong Cemetery |
| Nationality | English Australian |
| Relations | Joshua Gregory (father), Francis Thomas Gregory (brother) |
| Occupation | Surveyor |
| Known for |
Exploration of Australia Surveyor General of Queensland |
Sir Augustus Charles Gregory, KCMG (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was appointed a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.
Augustus Charles Gregory was born at Farnsfield, Nottingham, England. He was the second of five brothers born to Joshua Gregory and Frances Churchman. Among his brothers were Francis Thomas Gregory, who also became a noted explorer.
A. C. Gregory was educated privately by tutors and later by his mother. In 1829, the family emigrated to Western Australia on board the Lotus, arriving at the Swan River Colony only four months after its establishment.
The Gregory family were initially granted land on the left bank of the Swan River, but the soil was poor, and they later obtained two further grants, one at Maylands and another in the Upper Swan district. For much of the 1830s, Augustus took jobs to supplement the family's income. For a while he worked for a chemist, and later in partnership with his brother Joshua William as a contract surveyor. In December 1841, he joined the Government Survey Office.
In 1846, with his two brothers, F. T. Gregory and H. C. Gregory, he made his first exploration. With four horses and seven weeks' provisions they left T. N. Yule's station 60 miles northeast of Perth on 7 August 1846 and explored a considerable amount of the country to the north of Perth, returning after an absence of 47 days during which they had covered 953 miles (1534 km).
Two years later, Gregory lead an expedition to examine the course of the Gascoyne River and, in particular, to look for new pasture-land. The party left on 2 September 1848, crossing the Murchison River 25 September, but the country was very dry and it became difficult to water the horses. Gregory decided to turn south again in the beginning of October, and on 6 October decided to rest the horses by the Murchison River. The party returned to Perth on 12 November after having found good pastures. Despite water supply difficulties, about 1500 miles (2414 km) were covered in a period of 10 weeks.
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