John Melton Black

John Melton Black (1830–1919) was a pioneer of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Black ordered the expedition of Cleveland Bay to find a suitable site for a port and then established the Port of Townsville and the associated town of Townsville. He served for two terms as Mayor of Townsville.

Black was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1830, the son of a physician. Black become a merchant and moved to London. It was there that he heard of the Australian goldfields.

Black immigrated to Melbourne where he made his fortune, not by mining gold but by establishing a business as a carrier. In 1855 he established the first Theatre Royal in Melbourne on the north side of Bourke Street, able to hold more than 3000 people. The opening production was The School for Scandal. Although described as a "magnificent theatre", the £60,000 cost of the theatre's construction ultimately bankrupted Black.

Black was attracted to the opportunities of the new colony of Queensland. With W. A. Ross, C. S. Rowe and W. Longshaw, he formed a group to go furthest north and take up pastoral land. They reached Bowen on 18 April 1861, where they founded Fanning Station. This was near the site of the Macrossan Bridge. Black was claimed to be the flrst man to cross the Burdekin River with flocks and herds. He liked the prospects of North Queensland and at the end of 1863, he took up a further large area of land, which became known as Woodstock Station. However, harsh conditions forced him and many others to surrender their lands to the banks as they were unable to meet their heavy mortgage commitments. Then aged 34, he became general manager for Robert Towns' pastoral interests, which included Fanning, Woodstock, Inkerman, Jarvisfield and other large holdlngs. Headquarters were established at Woodstock, and the long haulage of goods from Bowen was found troublesome. On the map it could be seen that the nearest coast was but twenty miles away. When Andrew Ball and Mark Watt Reid were sent to explore, they made the discovery of Ross Creek in 1864.

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