Royal Commonwealth Society : Gold-mining District, Darwin

Foelsche, Paul (1831-1914)

Royal Commonwealth Society

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Paul Foelsche (1831-1914) was born at Moorburg, near Hamburg, Germany. After serving in a German cavalry regiment, he emigrated to South Australia in 1856, joining its Mounted Police. In 1870 he moved to the newly-formed Northern Territory Mounted Police and spent the rest of his career with the force, winning a great reputation as a detective. Foelsche was a gifted photographer and from about 1873 began creating an important visual record of the landscape, peoples and development of the territory. He freely distributed thousands of his photographs to notable individuals and societies within Australia and abroad, promoting the potential of the colony.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'> A view of an unidentified building, possibly a store, with horses, carts and aboriginal people standing in front. In the background a Chinese labourer can be identified by his hat. The first major find of gold in the Northern Territory occurred in 1872 at Pine Creek, about 150 miles south of Darwin. In 1897, there was another important discovery at Arltunga, approximately 65 miles east of Alice Springs.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>See Janus record <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0115%2FY3083A%2F8'>here</a></p>