Archibald Wilson
WILSON, Archibald Laurence, MAusIME MIMinEE (1850-1935)
WILSON, ARCHIBALD LAURENCE, mining engineer, was born and educated in Edinburgh, Scotland. As a young man he went to the New Zealand gold diggings in 1867, leaving for the Palmer River in north Queensland in early 1878. After some luck on the Palmer he went to Ravenswood, where he remained active in gold mining for the rest of his life. Through the prosperity of New Ravenswood Ltd, of which company Wilson was the promoter, a major shareholder and the General Manager, Ravenswood became an important centre and "Wilson's town".
Alluvial gold had been found near Ravenswood in 1868, and when reefs were discovered in 1870 the first stamp-mill was erected. Rich crushings followed, but the surface-oxidized quartz was succeeded at the water-table by pyritic ore which defied contemporary methods of gold recovery. The discovery of gold at Charters Towers in 1872 depleted Ravenswood of its population although in the 1880s the silver mine at nearby Totley helped keep mining alive in the district. Wilson first operated an hotel at Totley and then obtained interests in some small local mines but most of them closed during the severe general depression of the early 1890s. Wilson and local associates then took an option on the George Battery and the nearby John Bull leases at Sandy. Creek and successfully floated a company in London. By 1894 the mines had been equipped and a new shaft was being sunk by Wilson who had become General Manager. In 1897 other major mines at Ravenswood (including the Sunset and together with the Mabel Mill) were closed and under a bank lien; Wilson again went to London and in 1898 floated them as the New Ravenswood Ltd. The success of the new company from its inception was mainly due to Wilson's drive, initiative and ability. He re-equipped the mines, sank shafts and installed winders, compressors and rock-drills. At the mill the newly-invented Wilfley tables were installed to concentrate the sulphides produced; this was Wilson's metallurgical innovation. There was only a limited amount of free gold in the ore, the rest being associated with lead sulphide (galena) and iron, copper, and arsenical pyrites. In the Mabel Mill the ore was crushed in stamp batteries feeding direct to Wilfley tables, which produced concentrates of free gold, galena and other sulphides. The gold and galena were ground with mercury and produced most of the gold; the balance, which was in the pyritic concentrate, was sent to Queensland Smelting near Maryborough for recovery by smelting. Crushing commenced in January 1900, the company paying 50 per cent dividends on a capital of 50,000 pounds in each of the first two years, vindicating both the investors and Wilson. In the decade to 1912, it produced some 7 tonnes (200,000 fine ounces) of gold, paying almost 300 per cent in dividends. The tide turned in 1912, when lower grades of ore and a prolonged strike affected the mines, the company and the town. Wilson expended every effort to reduce costs but he is reported to have had an abrasive and demanding personality; the miners turned against him and the mines closed in 1917. He had come up the hard way, his energy and technical achievements are to be admired and although he was not always liked, he brought prosperity to the Ravenswood field.
Wilson was a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining Engineers and the Institution of Mining Engineers, and a Fellow of the Society of Accountants. He married and had two sons and two daughters; he died in October 1935.
References:
Eminent Queensland Engineers Vol 1 is available here.
'The Ravenswood Goldfield', Q.G.M.J., Vol. 2 (1901), pp. 404-6;
'A.L. Wilson', April frontispiece, Q.G.M.J., Vol.3 (1902);
Townsville Daily Bulletin, 20 & 21 March 1975;
K.H. Kennedy (edl. 'Lectures in North Queensland History', 2nd Series (T'ville, 1975);
K.H. Kennedy (ed). 'Readings In North Queensland Mining History', (T'ville, 1980), Vol. 1;
Information from Mr P. Kean, Ravenswood and Mr o.c. Roderick, Brisbane.
