Richard Greaves (prospector)

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Richard Greaves at the time of receiving his life membership to the Perth Rifle Club

Richard Tuckey Greaves,[1] better known as Dick Greaves, was a prospector and an expert marksman with a rifle.

Biography

Greaves was born near

colony of Victoria in 1852 or 1853.[1] As a child he lived on the Victorian Goldfields, where his father was a prospector.[2][3]

After the death of both his parents Greaves settled in the Williamstown area, where in 1866 he joined the Williamstown Volunteer Artillery. In 1873 he joined the Victorian Permanent Artillery, one of the first paid forces in the colony. Greaves stayed with them for about two years. They spent every day drilling and marching; on parade they were renowned for their precision and skill. However rifle shooting was never practised, and during this time Greaves did not once fire a rifle.[3] He joined the Victoria Police, where his commanding presence and physical attributes made him an ideal recruit, but here again his interest in rifle shooting was not nurtured.[3]

He moved to New South Wales and joined the New South Wales Artillery unit, where he was encouraged by his officers to regularly shoot rifles; he was a leading marksman representing NSW in many interstate competitions. Greaves rose to the rank of sergeant and was assigned as the recruitment officer for the No 1 Battery of the Volunteer Artillery; this battery was set to embark to the Sudan. Just before the battery sailed his wife objected to the separation, so he left the artillery.[3]

In 1885 he moved to Western Australia, and began prospecting for gold, funded by £600 that he had brought with him.[2]

Greaves competed on over 50 different rifle ranges across Australia, representing Victoria, NSW, and later Western Australia, and collected over 300 prizes as a marksman. Greaves founded the Perth Rifle Club and was later recognised for his efforts with life membership.[3]

Due to ill-health caused by mining, Greaves became the caretaker of James Street State School. He died in the caretaker's quarters at the James Street school on 17 March 1916 and was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery in grave Baptist AA 160A.[1][2][4][5][6][7]

Prospecting

The syndicate that participated in the successful 1887 expedition

Just after arriving in Perth Greaves was shown a rock owned by William Lawrence, who thought it was copper. Due to his experience Greaves identified it as gold. Lawrence gave Greaves approximately 1 pound (0.45 kg) of the rock, from which he extracted 6 ounces (170 g) of gold, which he sold for £4 per ounce. This started Greaves on his search for gold in Western Australia, though it was some years before he was successful.[8]

Greaves and Ted Payne found gold in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia in 1887,[9] starting the first of the major gold rushes in Western Australia.[10]

Greaves struggled to be rewarded for his involvement in the discovery of gold.[11][12] As leader of the party, Harry Anstey collected a £500 reward for the discovery. Lawrence, on behalf of the syndicate, through the courts was able to recover £50 from Anesty for the expense in funding the expedition, while Greaves was given £5. It has never been established what Anstey did with the remaining £445.[13] In 1906 a petition was presented for the Government of Western Australia to pay Greaves an annuity of £100.[14]

In 1906 Greaves published a book called The Golden West,[15] which detailed the experiences of prospecting for gold and the people who were there. In it he noted that Anstey was rewarded for finding gold by the Western Australian Colonial Government, and would never had found anything without the support of Payne and himself.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Summary Of Record Information - Richard Tuckey Greaves". Metropolitan Cemeteries Board. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "A Pioneer Prospector". The West Australian. Vol. XXXII, no. 4, 356. Western Australia. 18 March 1916. p. 8. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b c d e "A Crack Marksman". Western Mail. Vol. XXIX, no. 1, 478. Western Australia. 24 April 1914. p. 34. Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "The Late Mr. Richard Greaves". The Daily News. Vol. XXXV, no. 12, 828. Perth, Western Australia. 21 March 1916. p. 6 (Third Edition). Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "A Pioneer Prospector—The Late Mr. Richard Greaves". Western Mail. Vol. XXXI, no. 1, 578. Perth, Western Australia. 24 March 1916. p. 25. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. Kalgoorlie Western Argus
    . Vol. 21, no. 4957. Western Australia. 28 March 1916. p. 11. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "SUDDEN DEATH". The Daily News. Vol. XXXV, no. 12, 825. Western Australia. 17 March 1916. p. 8 (THIRD EDITION). Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "GENERAL NEWS". The Murchison Times And Day Dawn Gazette. Vol. 12, no. 71. Western Australia. 27 January 1906. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ Greaves, Dick; Riseley, Tom (1900), The thirst for gold : being the adventures of the early prospectors, retrieved 22 January 2024
  10. Sunday Times (Perth)
    . No. 950. Western Australia. 19 March 1916. p. 3 (Country Edition : First Section). Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Mr. Richard Greaves". Geraldton Murchison Telegraph. Vol. VIII, no. 12. Western Australia. 18 July 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Richard Greaves Testimonial Fund". Geraldton Advertiser. No. 479. Western Australia. 19 October 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "THE DAWS OF THE EASTERN FIELDS". Kalgoorlie Miner. Vol. 18, no. 5247. Western Australia. 29 July 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "PROSPECTING PIONEERS". Coolgardie Miner. Vol. XII, no. 3462. Western Australia. 25 January 1906. p. 4. Retrieved 24 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ISBN 978-0-85905-009-8
  16. Sunday Times (Perth)
    . No. 306. Western Australia. 15 November 1903. p. 6. Retrieved 22 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "The Case of Richard Greaves". The West Australian. 11 August 1904. p. 5 – via Trove.
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