William Otway
Contents
Background
William Beauclerc Otway was born in 1820. He was a doctor and miner who was active on the Ballarat goldfields. Otway married Rebecca Abrahams. Their son, Willie Dow Otway, was born in 1855 at Steiglitz. Rebecca Otway died at Queenscliff in 1911.[1]
- Our community is about to lose a gentleman who can scarcely be suffered to depart without notice. The career of William Beauclerc Otway, M.D., before his arrival here in 1853, was somewhat remarkable. He had been many years in the service of the United States Government, geologically surveying different portions of that continent. He was subsequently sent to Siberia, the gold mines in which country he scientifically inspected, afterwards pursuing similar investigations in California and Oregon. After four years' labour in the latter places, he concluded that work in 1852, and sailed for Victoria. He may be said to have been the first to introduce quartz-crushing to this country, and the well remembered old wind mill erected by him in 1853 on the Black- hill of Ballarat, and by means of which he managed to work a battery of four stampers, attests the fact. He afterwards helped to introduce the Chilian mill, and ever since his name has been connected with discoveries and improvements in mining, his processes for the extraction of gold from tailings by means of chlorine and hypochlorous acid having been given freely to the world. The value of his evidence, given before the gold-fields commission, appointed shortly after the Eureka affair, will not soon be forgotten by those who had any experience, or who remember anything, of that eventful period. During a large portion of the period of his stay in Australia, be has at his own expense geologically surveyed the most interesting parts of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. With all the knowledge contained in the notes and statistic thus derived, and after a close examination of the contents of our Intercolonial Exhibition, Dr. Otway is on the point of proceeding to England and Europe, there to give lectures embodying the results of his experiences, as he says, for the exaltation of the Australian colonies. Having lately resided at Black wood, he was on his departure presented, a large public dinner there, with a handsome testimonial.[2]
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
Dr Otway was chairman at the dinner given for American Consul James Tarleton at Ballarat in November 1854, and was a witness for the Goldfields Commission.[3]
Post 1854 Experiences
See also
Further Reading
Corfield, J., Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
References
External links
Dr Otway - https://bih.federation.edu.au/index.php/William_Beauclerc_Otway
