Biographical entry: Dalrymple, George Elphinstone (1826 - 1876)
- Born
- 1826
- Died
- 1876
Summary
Report and letter, 1862. Explorer, public servant and politician, G.E. Dalrymple was born the tenth son of a landed Scottish family, and came to Australia between 1856 and 1858. Dalrymple led a privately sponsored expedition to the Burdekin River in 1859, in search of promising land, prior to the official opening of the region for settlement in 1861. In 1860 he was appointed Commissioner for Crown Lands for the new district of Kennedy to be administered from Bowen, and he later held pastoral interests in the Valley of Lagoons run. In 1865 Dalrymple became first member for Kennedy in the Queensland parliament, and was Colonial Secretary for a brief period in 1866. He resigned from politics in 1867. From 1871 he was Assistant, then Gold Commissioner on the Gilbert gold field; in 1873 he led an official party to explore the coastline from Cardwell to the Endeavour River, and in 1874 was appointed officer in charge of the settlement at Somerset. He died in England in January 1876 while on sick leave from the latter post.
Report from G.E. Dalrymple to the Colonial Secretary, Brisbane, February 1862, describing his recent exploration of the lower Burdekin River, copy with covering letter from Dalrymple, 12 February 1862, pp.3, photocopy. Oxley: O.M.73-36.