Robert Dixon (explorer)
| Robert Dixon | |
|---|---|
Robert Dixon
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| Born | 1800 Darlington, County Durham, England |
| Died | 8 April 1858 Sydney, Australia |
| Occupation | Surveyor |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Sibly |
| Children | 6 (Langford Dangar, Joel and Jerome) |
| Parent(s) | James and Elizabeth |
Robert Harald Lindsay Dixon (1800–1858) was an Australian surveyor and explorer, born in Darlington, England.
Dixon arrived in Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) in May 1821 with his brother George. For two years they worked for Edward Lord, tending his cattle station.
In 1823 they were each granted 100 acres of land in the valley of the River Clyde and in 1824 each received an additional 200 acres.
In July 1826 Dixon was bought out by his brother and went to Sydney, where he was appointed assistant surveyor in the Surveyor-General's Department under Lieutenant John Oxley. One of his first tasks was to survey the southern districts of New South Wales as far as the Illawarra.
The following year he joined Major Thomas Mitchell and Major Edmund Lockyer on a journey to survey the Grose Valley near Mount Victoria. The party was stopped by rough terrain and the men could not continue.
In 1827 Dixon attempted to explore and survey the Burragorang Valley. He became lost and almost died.
Over the following two years, Dixon made a number of survey trips to the Blue Mountains and in 1829 he tried again to survey the Grose Valley but was unsuccessful. He did, however, obtain a trigonometrical survey of Mount King George and his surveys of the Blue Mountains allowed Mitchell to establish a new road to Bathurst later that year.
In 1828 Dixon surveyed the area to the north of what is now the town of Goulburn which at that time was known as the Goulburn Plains. The original township was based on the banks of the Wollondilly River to the south of what is now the Pejar Dam but was moved to its present site in 1833. The area Dixon surveyed has, over subsequent years, been settled and is now part of modern Goulburn North.
Dixon continued south and in 1830 he started to survey the area near Queanbeyan by following the Molonglo River to its junction with the Murrumbidgee River. He continued west beyond the area which is now the site of modern Canberra.
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