William Henry John Slee
Encyclopedia
William Henry John Slee, FGS, (1836-1907), Australian geologist
, mines inspector, mining warden, was born Wilhelm Heinrich Johann Slee on 3 May 1836 at Rostock
, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, a son of Jacob and Regina Slee. More usually known as W.H.J. Slee, there is uncertainty about his educational background, although he was highly articulate in both German and English.
As a teenager he became a seaman. Aged 19, he sailed into Melbourne
, Victoria, on 20 December 1855 aboard the Chilean brig Pedro V from Valparaiso
via Tahiti
. Along with a Norwegian shipmate, Neils Hertzberg Larsen, who Anglicised his name to Peter Lawson, he left ship there, attracted to the Ballarat
gold rush. The two partners led a knockabout miners’ life over the next decade, lured around to new goldfields, but without much result.
Eventually Slee and Lawson made their way to NSW, mining first at Lambing Flat, then at New Pipeclay (now Eurunderee, New South Wales). In 1866 Lawson married there, his first son, Henry Lawson
, novelist and poet, being born the following year at Grenfell
. Slee had earlier moved on to the new goldfield at Grenfell, writing Lawson to join him, where their quartz reef mining claim, named ‘The Result’, was also unrewarding. In 1869 Slee married at Grenfell to Emma Nelson, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Nelson, of English origin.
W.H.J. Slee first came to public notice during his years at Grenfell. In 1870 he was active in agitations to promote mining development by obtaining government rewards for discoverers of new goldfields. He became so favourably well known that in September 1872 he was appointed manager of a goldmine at Emu Creek.
With that, the partnership between Slee and Lawson was dissolved. In 1873 the Lawson family returned to Pipeclay, while the Slee family remained in Grenfell. Four children were born between 1870 and 1876, one of which died in 1873. Sadly, W.H.J. Slee’s wife Emma died at Sydney in 1877, leaving him with three infant children. Having made arrangements for their well-being, he began what became his distinguishing vocation.
Government inspection of coal mining
in NSW had commenced in 1854, but other mining activity had been mostly unregulated. Increased mining activity and a general dissatisfaction with the administration of mining led to the Mining Act, 1874 and the establishment of the Department of Mines on 1 May 1874. That same date, W.H.J. Slee was appointed the first Inspector of Mines for NSW, being responsible for industrial safety and enforcing mining regulations. For the next 14 years he was the only officer in the department filling that position.
W.H.J. Slee approached the task by adroitly balancing the competing perspectives of mine managers, investors, and practical miners. Active in the field, on the surface and underground, he visited mining operations all about NSW, producing individual geological reports and annual mining activity reports of such value that they were reproduced in newspapers as a matter of course. As part of this role he proclaimed and named new mining fields. Apart from assessing mining prospects, he adjudicated in disputes and investigated mining accidents and disasters.
When in 1880 the Milparinka
, Mount Browne, and Tibooburra
goldfields, known as the Albert Goldfield, opened up in remote western NSW, he was appointed Goldfields Warden and Mines Inspector, spending several years there, assisted by warden’s clerks (such as at the new mines at Silverton
region), at the conclusion of which the people of these districts subscribed to present him with a gold watch and address in appreciation of his services. The Linnean Society of NSW published his observations on Aboriginal
customs in that region.
With increased use of diamond drills for mineral exploration
and sourcing artesian water, he gained such expertise that in 1885 he was also appointed NSW Superintendent of Diamond Drills, a program that under his guidance made valuable developments, particularly as to engineering and public health. On 5 December 1888 he was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society, London.
In 1890 he was appointed Chief Inspector of Mines for NSW, based in Sydney, with a staff that grew to nine mining inspectors. By now he was a Justice of the Peace
, as well as a member of the Prospecting Board. On 1 June 1896 he was additionally appointed Mining Warden for the entire colony of New South Wales, the first such appointment. Commencing that same year, 1896, he actively advised and assisted several geological expeditions of The Royal Society that had been appointed to investigate coral reef
structures by boring at Funafuti
atoll.
In 1899 newspapers reported that W.H.J. Slee was ill at his Sydney home suffering from chronic bronchitis. In August 1903, after 28 years of public service to the NSW mining industry, he was granted leave of absence so as to retire in August 1904. W.H.J. Slee died at his home at Turramurra, on Sydney’s North Shore, on 10 April 1907, aged 71. His major published works include Mineral Deposits, etc., in New South Wales, 1896. His numerous published reports on mining districts and principal mines throughout NSW now form an important part of the historical record of those districts. Slee Street, Wyalong, is named after him.
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, mines inspector, mining warden, was born Wilhelm Heinrich Johann Slee on 3 May 1836 at Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, a son of Jacob and Regina Slee. More usually known as W.H.J. Slee, there is uncertainty about his educational background, although he was highly articulate in both German and English.
As a teenager he became a seaman. Aged 19, he sailed into Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria, on 20 December 1855 aboard the Chilean brig Pedro V from Valparaiso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
via Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. Along with a Norwegian shipmate, Neils Hertzberg Larsen, who Anglicised his name to Peter Lawson, he left ship there, attracted to the Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
gold rush. The two partners led a knockabout miners’ life over the next decade, lured around to new goldfields, but without much result.
Eventually Slee and Lawson made their way to NSW, mining first at Lambing Flat, then at New Pipeclay (now Eurunderee, New South Wales). In 1866 Lawson married there, his first son, Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
, novelist and poet, being born the following year at Grenfell
Grenfell, New South Wales
Grenfell is a country town in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia, in Weddin Shire. It is 370 kilometres west of Sydney and five hours' drive from the city. It is close to Forbes, Cowra and Young. At the 2006 census, Grenfell had a population of 1,994.-History:Prior to European...
. Slee had earlier moved on to the new goldfield at Grenfell, writing Lawson to join him, where their quartz reef mining claim, named ‘The Result’, was also unrewarding. In 1869 Slee married at Grenfell to Emma Nelson, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Nelson, of English origin.
W.H.J. Slee first came to public notice during his years at Grenfell. In 1870 he was active in agitations to promote mining development by obtaining government rewards for discoverers of new goldfields. He became so favourably well known that in September 1872 he was appointed manager of a goldmine at Emu Creek.
With that, the partnership between Slee and Lawson was dissolved. In 1873 the Lawson family returned to Pipeclay, while the Slee family remained in Grenfell. Four children were born between 1870 and 1876, one of which died in 1873. Sadly, W.H.J. Slee’s wife Emma died at Sydney in 1877, leaving him with three infant children. Having made arrangements for their well-being, he began what became his distinguishing vocation.
Government inspection of coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in NSW had commenced in 1854, but other mining activity had been mostly unregulated. Increased mining activity and a general dissatisfaction with the administration of mining led to the Mining Act, 1874 and the establishment of the Department of Mines on 1 May 1874. That same date, W.H.J. Slee was appointed the first Inspector of Mines for NSW, being responsible for industrial safety and enforcing mining regulations. For the next 14 years he was the only officer in the department filling that position.
W.H.J. Slee approached the task by adroitly balancing the competing perspectives of mine managers, investors, and practical miners. Active in the field, on the surface and underground, he visited mining operations all about NSW, producing individual geological reports and annual mining activity reports of such value that they were reproduced in newspapers as a matter of course. As part of this role he proclaimed and named new mining fields. Apart from assessing mining prospects, he adjudicated in disputes and investigated mining accidents and disasters.
When in 1880 the Milparinka
Milparinka, New South Wales
Milparinka is a small settlement in north-west New South Wales, Australia about north of Broken Hill on the Silver City Highway. At the time of the 2006 census, Milparinka had a population of 55 people....
, Mount Browne, and Tibooburra
Tibooburra, New South Wales
Tibooburra has an arid, desert climate with temperatures soaring above 40°Celsius in summer, often reaching as high as 47°C . Temperatures are milder in winter, averaging around 20°C in the daytime. These extreme temperatures make Tibooburra the hottest town in New South Wales, as reported on...
goldfields, known as the Albert Goldfield, opened up in remote western NSW, he was appointed Goldfields Warden and Mines Inspector, spending several years there, assisted by warden’s clerks (such as at the new mines at Silverton
Silverton, New South Wales
Silverton is a small village at the far west of New South Wales, Australia, 25 kilometres north-west of Broken Hill. At the 2006 census, Silverton had a population of 89 people....
region), at the conclusion of which the people of these districts subscribed to present him with a gold watch and address in appreciation of his services. The Linnean Society of NSW published his observations on Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
customs in that region.
With increased use of diamond drills for mineral exploration
Mineral exploration
Mineral exploration is the process of finding ore to mine. Mineral exploration is a much more intensive, organized and professional form of mineral prospecting and, though it frequently uses the services of prospecting, the process of mineral exploration on the whole is much more involved.-Stages...
and sourcing artesian water, he gained such expertise that in 1885 he was also appointed NSW Superintendent of Diamond Drills, a program that under his guidance made valuable developments, particularly as to engineering and public health. On 5 December 1888 he was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society, London.
In 1890 he was appointed Chief Inspector of Mines for NSW, based in Sydney, with a staff that grew to nine mining inspectors. By now he was a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, as well as a member of the Prospecting Board. On 1 June 1896 he was additionally appointed Mining Warden for the entire colony of New South Wales, the first such appointment. Commencing that same year, 1896, he actively advised and assisted several geological expeditions of The Royal Society that had been appointed to investigate coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
structures by boring at Funafuti
Funafuti
Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...
atoll.
In 1899 newspapers reported that W.H.J. Slee was ill at his Sydney home suffering from chronic bronchitis. In August 1903, after 28 years of public service to the NSW mining industry, he was granted leave of absence so as to retire in August 1904. W.H.J. Slee died at his home at Turramurra, on Sydney’s North Shore, on 10 April 1907, aged 71. His major published works include Mineral Deposits, etc., in New South Wales, 1896. His numerous published reports on mining districts and principal mines throughout NSW now form an important part of the historical record of those districts. Slee Street, Wyalong, is named after him.