Collection RS95 - Giblin Letters

Arrived in the V.D.L from England on 3rd January, 1827, with his father, mother and family in the ship Sir Charles Forbes. He became manager of the Bank of Van Diemen's Land. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hobart Town Gas Company, and a Director of the Colonial Mutual Insurance Company. He also took a lively interest in the Royal Society of Tasmania, and was for a long time a member of the Salman Commission. Amongst other offices which he held were the following :—Member of the Hospital Board, churchwarden of St. David's Cathedral, trustee of the Public Library, trustee of the Savings' Bank, and chairman of the West Bischoff Mining Company. He was a man of an enterprising spirit, and contributed in no inconsiderable degree to the development of the mining resources of the colony.
For more information see: http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/giblin-thomas-16396

Surgeon, born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Appointed as surgeon to the Van Diemen's Land Co.'s 1830. During his appointment as surgeon, and later surgeon-superintendent, he became interested in the natural history of the island, formed a close acquaintance with R. C. Gunn and collected specimens for W. J. Hooker. In December 1843 he was appointed superintendent and medical officer of the Aboriginals, a position which he occupied until 1855. Through his interest in natural history he became secretary of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land in 1848-60, its members and activities increasing under his guidance. Milligan's thirty years in Tasmania were marked by immense industry. His official duties were carried out with conscientiousness and good sense. J. D. Hooker called him 'one of the most indefatigable and able of Tasmanian botanists' and gave his name to the native lily genus Milligania and a number of species of other plants. He was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1850. As a geologist he carried out surveys in all parts of the colony, discovering coal, copper and gold as well as numerous fossils. But perhaps his most notable work was his study of Aboriginal languages. For more information see: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/milligan-joseph-2456