John Charles Darke

John Charles Darke, 1806–1844, was a surveyor and explorer in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and South Australia. He died after being speared by Aboriginals in 1844.

Darke was born in Hereford, England, in 1806, the son of William Darke, a prosperous owner of property in Hereford, and Elizabeth Darke.

Practically nothing is known of his early year's in England. He arrived in Van Diemen's Land in 1824, accompanied by two of his uncles: Edward Davey Wedge and John Helder Wedge who became the Second Assistant Surveyor in the Land Survey Department.

During 1824–25, Darke spent time with his Uncle John learning the profession of surveying as they moved around the state. In January 1826, Darke joined Lieutenant Williams of the 40th Regiment in pursuit and capture of the bushranger, Thomas Jeffries, and in consequence was granted 500 acres of land. In early March he again joined Lieutenant Williams, this time in search of Matthew Brady and his gang. Brady was wounded in the leg, but escaped. He was captured later in the month by John Batman and his party.

In 1832 the Land Survey Department, under Surveyor-General George Frankland, began preparing for a trigonometric survey of the island, and Darke was successful in obtaining a temporary position within the department. One area of particular interest to Frankland was the area west of Wylds Craig (then known as the Peak of Teneriffe). An escaped convict from Sarah Island, James Goodwin, has passed through the area on his way back to the settled districts.

With five men, Darke was sent to explore the region west of Wylds Craig beginning on 19 March 1833. One of the men was James Goodwin: "an excellent hand in the bush who had formerly escaped from Macquarie Harbour". The expedition came to an end on 8 April due to hunger and fatigue, without achieving its survey aims. Darke began a second expedition to Wylds Craig in May 1833 which also ended without success when Darke suffered severe burns to his right foot. He was unable to obtain permanent employment as a surveyor and left Van Diemen's Land for the Port Phillip District in February 1836 where he took up land near Geelong.

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