William Lakeland

William Lakeland was an Australian explorer and prospector in the late 19th and early 20th century.

William Lakeland was born in May 1847 in Sydney, and christened there at Saint James Parish on the 13th of same month. Some sources indicate that he was born at Rose Bay, Sydney, in 1844.

Like John Dickie (1848–1924), William Robert Sefton (1849–1920), James Mulligan (1836-191 ), Jonas "Billy"Webb (18 -19 ) etc., Lakeland was one of the earliest prospectors, miners and explorers of the Cape York Peninsula. He, together with Joseph Smith Oddy (1834–1889) established Cooktown's first substantial brewery in 188. Lakeland also took up cattle grazing lands on Cape York Peninsula, dabbled in goldfield butchery, and, although never a publican, owned a Cooktown hotel.

In 1873 Lakeland, travelled to prospect the Palmer River together with an associate, Christopher "Christie" Palmerston (circa 1851-189 ) who had been at the Etheridge Goldfield. In the early 1880s Lakeland was a member of another party led by Sefton. The other explorers were Patrick Fox, Edward Cox, Henry Charles Goodenough, George Brown, Hugh Lockhart, James Watson Henry Miller and two sailors, absconders from their ship berthed at Cooktown. They had 70 head of horses and provisions for three months. The aim of the venture was to explore and prospect that terrain around the head of the Pascoe River, then over the coastal ranges dividing the Pascoe basin from the watershed of Lloyd Bay. They would also traverse the country to the east of the Tozer Range. Good pastoral and timber lands were also sought, especially by Sefton, Cox, Fox and Lakeland. To date the party found nothing but the merest traces of gold and tin together with hostile natives. By 1 April 1881 Coen was three weeks in their wake. Payable gold was finally located in the Lockhart basin by Hughie Lockhart. Some five weeks were spent working alluvial gold. In the course of the expedition which took them from the Lockhart country to the Pascoe River and Lloyd Bay and on to the Batavia River, which was renamed the Wenlock, they saw and worked gold, experienced spear attacks, and all but made their fortunes. They discovered a wolfram load. Unfortunately they were too early. It would come to be a most valuable commodity, but at that time it was of very little value. Traces of gold were found at the Batavia but in 1992 Romeo, a native, and Louis Duval and French Canadian, both members of William Thomson Baird's party found rich alluvial gold which caused a rush from Cooktown and Coen. Lakeland was one of the first on the scene with his friends John Dickie (1848–1924) and William Bowden (18 -1909.

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