Richardson, Arthur Charles Jeston (1872 - 1939)

Birth:

23 February 1872, Pernambuco (Recife), Brazil

Death:

3 April 1939, Troutsdale, Scarborough, England

Occupation:

  • colonial militia (Australia)
  • cyclist (endurance)
  • Life Summary
  • Resources
  • Abbreviations

RICHARDSON, ARTHUR CHARLES JESTON (1872-1939), cyclist and mining engineer, was born on 23 February 1872 at Pernambuco (Recife), Brazil, one of ten children of Arthur Richardson, physician, and his wife Isabella, née Merrifield. The family moved to Port Augusta, South Australia, while Arthur was very young. He attended Whinham College and Adelaide Collegiate School. By the mid-1890s, when the gold boom was in full swing, his father was practising in Western Australia. Arthur, after 'serving his time as an engineer', tried mining and station life. He was acknowledged as an experienced bushman and travelled about the goldfields.

On 24 November 1896 he left Coolgardie for Adelaide by bicycle. Carrying only a small kit and a water-bag, he followed the telegraph line. He recalled much 'sweating and swearing' on sandy roads west of Eucla, and hot winds on the Nullarbor ('about 1000 in the shade') and judged the twenty-four miles (39 km) of sandhills west of Madura station the worst in Australasia. Nonetheless, he arrived in Adelaide thirty-one days later, becoming the first man to pedal the Nullarbor route. The ride was widely reported in Australian newspapers and magazines, demonstrating the value of the bicycle for rural travel.

In 1899 Richardson set out to be the first to ride round the continent, described in his Story of a Remarkable Ride (1900). He left Perth on 5 June, heading north, carrying 'not more than 25 pounds [11.4 kg] of luggage' and a pistol. Heavy rain slowed his progress in Western Australia, and later in the north, where the black-soil plains were unrideable for several days. He had to push and carry his bicycle through much sand, and encountered 'hostile blacks' across the north. He arrived back in Perth on 4 February 1900 after travelling 11,500 miles (18,507 km). Richardson was fêted by leading West Australians, his ride received much publicity and he achieved brief fame, especially because another party, Frank and Alec White of Melbourne and Donald Mackay, were attempting the ride in a counter-clockwise direction from Brisbane at the same time. It was seen as a race and Richardson not only finished first but rode solo.

After having served three years with the South Australian militia Richardson joined the Third (Bushmen's) Contingent from Western Australia, destined for the South African War. He left Fremantle on 13 March 1900, with a bicycle donated by a local agent for use as a dispatch rider or scout. The contingent disembarked at Beira (Mozambique) on 18 April. He left the service at Marandellas, near Salisbury, Rhodesia, in June, after breaking his arm.

Of his later life, little is known definitely. He worked briefly in West Africa and mined in South America. He was badly wounded in World War I and spent two years in hospital at Rouen, France. He later worked as an engineer in England. He had married Gwendolin Bedwell. They were divorced and on 26 July 1934 in London he married a widow Rita Betsy Elliott-Druiff, née Mosely.

Richardson died on 3 April 1939 at home at Troutsdale, Scarborough, England, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, after shooting his wife. His war injuries had left him seriously disturbed. He was survived by a son of his first marriage.

Select Bibliography

J. Fitzpatrick, The Bicycle and the Bush (Melb, 1980); Australian Defence Department, Official Records of the Australian Military Contingents to the War in South Africa, P. L. Murray ed (Melb, 1911); Morning Herald (Perth), 6 June, 10 Aug 1899, 18 Jan, 5, 7, 10 Feb 1900; Scarborough Evening News and Daily Post (England), 5 Apr 1939; diary letter to H. Sparrow, 25 Jan 1897 and H. Sparrow, personal manuscript, 16 Nov 1937 (State Library of Western Australia); M. P. Durack, personal diary, 25 Aug 1899 (privately held). More on the resources

Author: Jim Fitzpatrick

Print Publication Details: Jim Fitzpatrick, 'Richardson, Arthur Charles Jeston (1872 - 1939)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, p. 379.

Mackay, Donald George (1870 - 1958)

Birth:

29 June 1870, Yass, New South Wales, Australia

Death:

17 September 1958, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cultural Heritage:

  • Scottish

Religious Influence:

  • Presbyterian

Occupation:

  • aerial surveyor
  • cyclist (endurance)
  • explorer
  • prospector
  • Life Summary
  • Resources
  • Abbreviations
  • Article History

MACKAY, DONALD GEORGE (1870-1958), explorer, was born on 29 June 1870 at Yass, New South Wales, son of Alexander Mackay, owner of Wallendbeen station, and his wife Annie, née Mackenzie, both Scottish born. Major General James Alexander Kenneth Mackay was a brother. Donald was educated at Wallendbeen Public School and at Oaklands School, Mittagong. After a brief engineering apprenticeship he worked as a jackaroo for his father until he died in 1890; his inheritance provided a substantial private income. In 1890-99 Mackay travelled extensively throughout the world and tried prospecting for gold in western New South Wales.

In July 1899 he and Alec and Frank White left Brisbane to bicycle round Australia. Though Frank had to abandon the attempt Mackay returned to Brisbane in March 1900 in a record-breaking time of 240 days after an 11,000 mile (17,703 km) ride through scarcely known areas.

Mackay married Amy Isabel Little on 16 April 1902 at Homebush, Sydney. Their home at Port Hacking was a base for fishing, motoring, sailing and further travel. He led and financed an expedition to Papua in 1908 to investigate the headwaters of the Purari River. During the following decade he sailed a yacht in the South Pacific and visited New Zealand and the Dutch East Indies.

In 1926 Mackay financed and accompanied the first of several expeditions to the Northern Territory when, with the anthropologist Dr Herbert Basedow he went into the Petermann Ranges by camel. In 1928 they explored in Arnhem Land. In 1930, 1933, 1935 and 1937 Mackay supervised aerial surveys of Central Australia, the first of which in 1930 discovered the large lake that the Commonwealth government named after him. The surveys produced far more useful maps than had previously existed. Copies of all Mackay's maps and reports were donated to the Commonwealth government and the Mitchell Library, Sydney.

Criticism by Mackay of the harsh treatment of Aborigines, reported in the British press in July 1933, caused official denials; Prime Minister Lyons and S. M. (Viscount) Bruce expressed concern at the harm done to Australia's reputation. Mackay offered to withdraw his comment if Lyons could prove that the treatment of Aborigines had been humane.

Appointed O.B.E. in 1934 and C.B.E. in 1937, Mackay in his old age won deserved recognition as 'the last Australian explorer'. While his journeys lacked the significance of some earlier ones they did much to increase knowledge of remote areas. A powerfully built man, he was well known for his generosity, physical fitness and qualities of leadership.

Mackay died on 17 September 1958 at Sutherland Shire Hospital and was cremated after a Presbyterian service. A widower, he had no children.

Select Bibliography

H. Basedow, Knights of the Boomerang (Syd, 1935); F. P. Clune, Last of the Australian Explorers (Syd, 1942); M. Durack, Sons in the Saddle (Lond, 1983); Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, Report of Meeting 1911 (1911); Home (Sydney), Jan 1928, Jan 1929; New Nation Magazine, June 1928; Land, Farm and Station Annual, 1938; Sydney Morning Herald, 1 Feb 1937; Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 18 Sept 1958; Northern Territory News, 12 Nov 1983; D. Mackay papers (State Library of New South Wales). More on the resources

Author: David Carment

Print Publication Details: David Carment, 'Mackay, Donald George (1870 - 1958)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, pp 289-290.