(1792 - 1855)

Mitchell was born in Scotland in 1792 and joined the army, serving in the Peninsular War between 1811 and 1815, before being posted to New South Wales in 1827 as deputy surveyor-general. A year later, after the death of John Oxley, Mitchell was promoted to surveyor-general, a post he held until his death.

In 1834 he produced a three sheet map of the New South Wales colony, but he failed to acknowledge the extensive work of his employees and the scale of the maps made them impractical for settlers to use effectively. He also initiated a convict road building program to improve transport routes in the colony.

Mitchell spent two and a half years of his 28 year term of office on exploratory journeys into the interior. He never solved any major geographical problems and was berated for his maltreatment of the native Aborigines during an 1836 expedition.

He eventually gained fame following the publishing of several accounts of his journeys which included; "Three expeditions into the interior of eastern Australia" (2 vols, 1938) and "Journal of an expedition into the interior of tropical Australia in search of a route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria" (1848). These accounts helped to promote more extensive settlement.

In 1839 he was knighted, but experienced disappointment when he was passed over for the job of Governor of Victoria. He was in reality a poor administrator and manager of personnel, who often preferred to look after his own personal interests instead of attending to the affairs of the colony. It was as an explorer that he gained recognition. Mitchell died in 1855.

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