Charles Gould


Mount Darwin, named by Charles Gould (AOT, PH30/1/4848)

Charles Gould (1834–93), geologist. After working with the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Gould was appointed the first Geological Surveyor in Tasmania (1859–69). In an unsuccessful search for gold, he led three expeditions into the wilds of western Tasmania, during which he named Mount Murchison and five other peaks after prominent British geologists. As a geologist, he set up a framework of understanding of rock succession and structure in western Tasmania, and established that Mersey River coals were separate from and older than east coast coals. He was the first to recognise that glaciers had affected Tasmania in the last ice age. His opinion was valued by prospectors for tin in north-eastern Tasmania; Goulds Country near St Helens, Mount Gould and Goulds Plateau near Lake St Clair were named after him.

Further reading: ADB 1.

Max Banks