Most Australians have heard of mainland Australia’s highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko, but few know the name of its near neighbour, Mt Townsend, which is only 11 metres lower in height. Many years ago, AGHS Victoria branch did the walk from Charlotte Pass to Mt Kosciuszko, but I do not remember Mt Townsend ever being mentioned.
Peter Crowley has written Townsend of the Ranges (NLA, 2024) in a quest to overcome this neglect and to inform people about the person after whom this mountain is named. Crowley’s inspiration came from growing up in Gippsland and exploring the Snowy Mountains with
his father.
Thomas Scott Townsend (1812–1869) was one of Australia’s most eminent surveyors during the early settlement of southeastern Australia. He deserves greater recognition. Townsend was born into a well-to-do family in Buckinghamshire, England. Still in his teens, in 1829 he emigrated to the colony of New South Wales, having learned surveying skills from his elder brother, Joseph. In 1831 he gained employment as a draftsman in the office of the Surveyor General’s Department, under the direction of Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell. Mitchell, remembered as an explorer in his own right, was to remain the head of the Department throughout Townsend’s surveying career in Australia.
Initially Townsend was employed in surveys around Sydney, but he was ambitious and anxious for promotion, so volunteered to work ‘in the field’ from 1836. This meant that over the next 23 years, at the direction of the government, he covered long and arduous distances to undertake surveys and make maps of many towns and districts in southeast Australia: Albury, Wagga Wagga, Portland and the Monaro to name a few.
Townsend’s three major surveying achievements were his forays into the Great Dividing Range. The first was to establish a line of road (the Omeo Road) from Port Albert in Gippsland, across the plains and up through the Ranges via Omeo, crossing and following many streams and rivers including the Snowy, and finally reaching Cooma, in the Monaro Squatting District in 1842. The purpose of the second trip in the summer of 1846 was to find the source of the Murray River, which was to form part of the border between the colonies of Port Philip and New South Wales. Starting from the Omeo Road and heading into the Ranges again, he came across the Indi Springs, the springs closest to Cape Howe that fed the Murray. The third trek, during the next summer (1847), he headed into the Snowy Mountain Range, and from Townsend’s description, he purportedly was the first European to stand on the top of Mt Kosciusko, not Paul Strzelecki.
The source of the Murray River (image from https://www.murrayriverguide.com.au)
Crowley brings these surveys to life by using extensive government records of Townsend’s reports, letters and plans from the field, and correspondence from his superiors and occasionally from family members. He describes the immense difficulties Townsend faced: having to live in tents or out in the open in all weathers including snow; climbing rugged mountains and cutting his way through impenetrable vegetation; fording fast-running streams and rivers or finding his way around marshes; managing his convict work parties and contractors, learning to supervise them with fairness; travelling on poor roads and tracks that caused difficulties with his packhorses and bullock drays and facing the dangers of bushrangers; and coping with government bureaucracy that affected adequate provisioning of supplies and equipment.
Interweaving these accounts are stories of contemporaries such as the pastoralists John Batman and Angus Macmillan, the explorers Charles Sturt and Paul Strzelecki and the more well-known surveyors Robert Hoddle and Charles Tyers. These add a wider perspective on colonial history. However, some of the early histories Crowley recounts, such as those of Sydney and Western Port, are overly detailed and distract from the Townsend story.
An important aspect of Crowley’s narrative is his concern for the impact of colonisation on First Nations people. He notes that Townsend’s own survey work led to the destruction of the land and population of First Nation peoples, particularly the Gunaikurnai of Gippsland. While Townsend benefited from the assistance of First Nations people in finding pathways through difficult terrain, only occasionally was this acknowledged. Crowley notes those pastoralists and government officials who were sympathetic to First Nations people and culture and those who were not. Some, such as Mitchell himself, were contradictory, in that he promoted the use of First Nations names for geographical features on maps, but had on one of his own expeditions been involved in a massacre.
Maps of Townsend’s surveys are reproduced in the book but are of such poor quality that it is difficult to trace his actual routes, given there have been many name changes. A greater understanding of the magnitude of his achievements would have been possible if the author had interpreted these maps and included current names of places as well as the former ones. Some of the book’s illustrations are also difficult to interpret because of their greyscale format and the more recent photos, particularly those of the high country, would have been more inspiring had they been in colour. A further criticism of the book is that it lacks an index, making cross referencing difficult; the detailed chapter headings do not make up for this omission. Cowley does include excellent footnotes, some of which provide additional interesting facts.
Townsend had always been ambitious, prompting his willingness to ‘work in the field’ in 1836, when he was awarded the position of Assistant Surveyor. Despite his work being well regarded by his superiors, his regular requests for promotion were denied by the bureaucracy and it was not until 1845 that he was promoted to the position of Surveyor. Crowley tells the story of Townsend being sent to Melbourne in the Port Philip District in 1839 as Acting Surveyor-in-Charge to relieve Robert Hoddle, who was to retire due to illness. Unfortunately, he was not long in this role as Hoddle made a recovery and decided to return to the role. When finally at the end of his career in 1854, Townsend was awarded the position of Acting Deputy Surveyor General, he was not able to take it up because he had been gradually becoming unwell with a mental illness, possibly from overwork. Eventually he was granted leave and he returned to England.
Little is known about Townsend’s private life and Crowley notes that no pictures or photos have been found of him. He did not keep a personal diary, so his own perceptions of the country he travelled through are limited to his survey reports. In 1853, he married Francis(sic) Emily Davis, a fellow English emigrant, in Canberra. This was not a happy time. Townsend became paranoid and aggressive, groundlessly accusing his wife of adultery. While she was pregnant with their child, Thomas Scott Townsend, Jnr, they were advised to separate and Emily returned to live with her family at Ginninderra Station, now part of Canberra, where her son was born. His parents never saw each other again. On Townsend’s return to London he became a recluse. He died by suicide in 1869. Because there was an inquest into his death, Cowley is able to provide dramatic details. Townsend’s will was contested, as he had left his estate to his sister instead of his wife and son. The latter were successful in their challenge. They continued to live in Australia for some time before both returned to England, Thomas Scott Townsend Jnr via Italy before he inherited the Townsend family estate.
Criticisms aside, this book is well worth reading to learn about the challenges and achievements of such an important pioneer of the colonisation of Australia. Many Australians would be surprised at the number of familiar towns and cities first surveyed by Townsend. Crowley hopes that more information about Townsend may come to light, perhaps from his descendants in England, and that there is greater recognition for his achievements.