William Hann

William Hann ( born February 26, 1837 in Wiltshire, England; † April 5, 1889 in Townsville, Queensland, Australia ) was a British -born explorer and ranchers in Australia.

Early years

William was the son of Joseph Hann and his wife Elizabeth, née Sharpe. His parents, he and his younger brother Frank Hann emigrated in 1851 from the territory of the Western Wiltshire from ports in Victroria. 1862 was his father in the newly explored area of the Burdekin River in Queensland, where he led the cattle stations Bluff Downs, Maryvale and Lolworth built with Richard Daintree and other investors from Melbourne. After the great flood in January 1864 in the area of the Burdekin River, in the livelihood of his father was destroyed, William fought the Knolliger New Zealand Weevils, dingoes and falling wool prices and had to drive up to Victoria his last 19,000 sheep across the country. The cattle stations Lolworth and Bluff Downs had given up and the cattle are driven to Maryvale.

Expedition

1872 William was to explore the interior of the Cape York Peninsula the order. Despite great difficulties, both during the investigation and with unqualified staff, he reached the Endeavour River and has also identified land was suitable for agriculture. He discovered and named the Tate, Daintree River and Palmer River. Furthermore, he discovered a gold deposit, which he did not consider worthy of exploitation. James Mulligan explored the depravity accurate and sparked a gold rush. Hann drove his cattle in these gold fields, sold it and earned a fortune.

Later years

In 1886, after a trip to Ceylon, he linked these economic interest with the Maryvale area, financed the construction of the St James Cathedral in Townsville and was a member of the Dalrymple Divisional Board. He drowned while swimming in Townsville in 1889 and was buried in West End Cemetery, Townsville.

William Hann is one of the major explorers of the north of Queensland.