Design and Art Australia Online

Arthur Essam was a painter, illustrator, drover, surveyor and explorer. He was born in London in 1850 and arrived in Victoria in 1870. He became a drover before being employed by the Lands Department in Adelaide in the 1870s and 1880s. He returned to droving after several explorations but rejoined the Lands Department in Adelaide. He was lured to Western Australia by gold. In 1893 he was the secretary of a brewery in Coolgardie and later joined the staff of the Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper. He also contributed to Frearson’s Weekly and other papers. He later settled in Melbourne. The J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History has an 1894 watercolour titled Gold Escourt in its collection.

Writers:

Dr Dorothy Erickson

Date written:

2010

Last updated:

2011