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Lean and wiry and of small stature, Goyder was a man of immense industry and capability. Nicknamed ‘Little
Energy’, he was something of a hero to his young surveyors. He was a practising Anglican with a strong spiritual
streak in his character, having been raised in a household where religion was an integral part of life. He had no
patience with undisciplined workers. His own life was strictly disciplined. He consumed alcohol in moderation on
occasion, but detested swearing, especially blasphemy.
In 1869 Goyder was sent to the Northern Territory, after the recall of B T Finniss, to complete a land survey
and select a site for the capital. With a handpicked party of 150 men, he travelled to the Northern Territory.
Arriving on 5 February, he selected Palmerston as the capital site and by August 1869, within a period of six
months, accomplished the survey of 665 886 acres (269 683 hectares). The surveys comprised portions of lands
belonging to four Aboriginal groups, known to Goyder as: the ‘Woolner’, ‘Wooner–Larakeeyah’, ‘Larakeyah’
and Warnunger’. Being a man of his time, Goyder adopted a wary attitude toward ‘these miserable specimens of
humanity’, but did have a more perceptive view of them than most of his contemporaries, writing in justification
of his refusal to retaliate for the spearing of draughtsman J W O Bennett: ‘We were on what to them appeared
unauthorised and unwarrantable occupation of their country... It is scarcely to be wondered at if, when opportunity
is allowed them, they should resent such acts by violence upon its perpetrators.’ He also reported over a million
acres (400 000 hectares) of average-quality land suited to the growth of tropical or semi-tropical products, to the
south of the Finniss River and extending in the direction of the rivers Daly and Victoria. On 28 September he sailed
for Adelaide aboard Gulnare.
In February 1870 Goyder went to Victoria to investigate land regulations. As a result of this venture, the
Strangways Act was amended. The 1870s witnessed a land boom. This was largely the result of the extended
availability of credit to farmers and good rainfall. The bleak times of drought forgotten and spurred on by the
desire to obtain land for growing wheat, settlers gradually approached Goyder’s line, reaching it in 1874. Ignoring
Goyder’s warnings, the government swiftly altered the land laws, allowing land to be obtained on credit as
far north as the border of the Northern Territory. Farmers surged north and the new townships of Hammond,
Carrieton, Cradock and Amyton, appeared on the map. However, in 1880 farmers experienced their first poor
harvest. The situation worsened in 1881 and in 1882 there was no yield. Farmers had to be moved south of the line
at great expense. Goyder’s worst critics now had to concede defeat.
Other works undertaken by Goyder involved afforestation, railways, bores and water conservation. He was
extremely concerned with the shortage of timber facing the colony and with conservation and planting of trees.
In 1873 he recommended that forest reserves be used and between 1875 and 1883, acted as chairman of the Forest
Board, with J E Brown acting as chief conservator. He was also concerned with water conservation and inspected
the wells and dams that lay on the northern stock route. Following his suggestion in 1867, the government spent
300 000 Pounds on drainage in the southeast. While in Britain and America in 1871 he had studied and observed
irrigation systems and pumping machinery and was well equipped to supervise boring for artesian water. Goyder
often advised pastoralists on water problems. In 1883 he produced a paper on water conservation, which clearly
demonstrated his expansive knowledge in this field.
In his career with the Lands Department, Goyder helped to amend over 60 Land Acts, survived thirty-four changes
of ministry and served under 24 different commissioners. Departmental expenditure rose from 15 000 Pounds in
1861 to 165 000 Pounds in 1883.
Goyder was responsible for the colony’s revenue from land sales and leases being quadrupled. However,
he was not without his critics and had been described by a South Australian satirist as ‘a parched lizard in a
pan’, as well as being accused of partiality by contemporary miners and pastoralists, a charge which was never
proved. Goyder’s reputation for honour and integrity and his scrupulous valuation of rents and properties made
his decisions noteworthy. Goyder had a flair for fieldwork, which materially assisted many an early settler to make
his fortune.
Goyder finally resigned on 30 June 1894, after three previous attempts in 1862, 1873 and 1878. On these occasions,
he had been persuaded to stay on with an increase in salary. A formal farewell was held in Sir Charles Todd’s
office. Todd said that ‘the successful carrying out of the Overland Telegraph line was largely due to Mr Goyder’.
In October, he was presented by leading citizens with a purse of a thousand Sovereigns. In 1889, he was appointed
Companion of the order of St Michael and St George (CMG).
The rigours of a life dedicated to surveying Australia’s harsh terrain, had taken their toll on Goyder. From the
days of his earliest surveys, he had suffered from scurvy. His difficult Northern Territory survey had resulted in a
nervous and muscular debility. After the death of his wife on 8 April 1870 at Bristol, Goyder returned to England
in 1871 on nine months leave. He visited America as well, leaving his nine children in the care of his wife’s sister,
Ellen Priscilla Smith. He later married her on 20 November and they had twin daughters and a son. After his
retirement he lived at Warrakilla near Echunga, where he had an orchard and a valuable estate. Captain Samuel
Sweet extensively photographed his survey of the Northern Territory. He died on 2 November 1898 at his home,
leaving an estate of 4 000 Pounds.
F Clune, Overland Telegraph, 1955; P F Donovan, Land of Promise, vol 1, 1976; M J Kerr, The Surveyors: The Story of the Founding of
Darwin, 1971; D Lockwood, The Front Door, 1969; J J Pascoe, History of Adelaide and Vicinity, 1901; A Powell, Far Country, 1982.
SHARON WATSON, Vol 1.
GRAHAM, CLIVE WILLIAM (1908–1983), electrical worker, hawker and policeman, was born in Sydney
on 14 April 1908, one of a family of seven. He was educated in various country schools, mainly in the remote
areas of New South Wales, and finally at East Maitland High School. He served an apprenticeship in electrical
engineering at BHP Steel Works, Newcastle from 1925 to 1930. In 1931 and 1932 during the Depression, he worked