G. R. McMinn
| Gilbert McMinn | |
|---|---|
Surveyor McMinn
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| Born |
Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn 1841 Newry, County Down, Ireland |
| Died | 18 October 1924 (aged 82–83) Melbourne, Victoria |
| Occupation | Surveyor, public servant |
Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn CE, SM, FRGS (1841 – 18 October 1924) was an Australian surveyor born in Ireland noted for his work in the Northern Territory surveying the Overland Telegraph Line. His middle name is occasionally spelt "Rutherdale".
McMinn was born in Newry, County Down. He was the son of a bank manager, Joseph McMinn (c. 1794 – 6 April 1874) and his wife Martha, née Hamill or Hammill (c. 1805 – 13 December 1861), who sailed with their eight children aboard the Albatross and arrived at Port Adelaide in September 1850. Upon leaving school Gilbert took up surveying.
Gilbert McMinn was one of ten surveyors and a support crew of around 100 men, under Surveyor-General George Goyder and Dr. Robert Peel, who left Adelaide for Port Darwin shortly after Christmas 1868 to survey Palmerston and regions, and most of whom returned to Adelaide on 25 November 1869.
McMinn worked as a surveyor on the Overland Telegraph Line. In February 1871 he was the first European to visit Simpsons Gap, which he identified as a better route for the line. He served in various senior public service positions in the Northern Territory. He was acting Administrator of the Northern Territory from March 1883 to March 1884.
McMinn left Darwin for the east coast of Australia around 1890 and settled in Hawthorn, Victoria; he died in Mary Street, St. Kilda, Victoria on 18 October 1924 after a sudden heart failure at the age of 83. McMinn Street, a major thoroughfare in Darwin, is named after him. Rothdale Road, Casuarina, Northern Territory was (mis)named for him.
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