Frank Hugh Hann (19 October 184521 August 1921) was an Australian pastoralist and explorer.

Early life

Hann was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Hann. Fellow explorer William Hann was his older brother. They were born in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England and migrated with the family to the

Western Port Western Port, ( Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it ...

area of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in 1851. In 1862 the family moved to the

Burdekin River The Burdekin River is a river in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea at Upsta ...

district, just north of

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits und ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Queensland 1862 – 1895

The Hann family with Richard Daintree and two others took up several holdings along the Clarke River, a tributary of the Burdekin River. The properties included Lolworth, Maryvale and Kangerong Stations. The young Hann boys grew up handling cattle and when their father died in January 1864, followed by their mother in June the same year, they assumed responsibility for the family's share of the properties. Frank became manager of Lolworth prior to turning 20 years old. By 1875 he had done well enough to stock Lawn Hill Station with wild cattle, and for twenty years made a business of supplying cattle to widespread goldfields throughout Queensland and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. In 1881 he acted as a guide on a survey for a proposed transcontinental railway in northern Queensland. He discovered deposits of silver and lead in the Lawn Hill area, but commercial operation of the finds did not occur until 100 years later, leading to the present name of

Century Mine Century Mine was a large open cut zinc, lead and silver mine at Lawn Hill, northwest of Mount Isa in North West Queensland, Australia. It was Australia's largest open pit zinc mine. Discovered by CRA Limited, mining was initiated by Pasminc ...

. Frank Hann and Jack Watson conducted a punitive massacre of

Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

on Waanyi country in 1883 and nailed the ears of forty people to the outside of the Lawn Hill homestead. An escaped Indigenous outlaw named

Joe Flick Joe Flick (c.1865 – 28 October 1889) was an Indigenous Australian outlaw famous for being one of the few people to have killed a Native Police officer. He also wounded the well-known British colonist Frank Hann in a shootout at Lawn Hill S ...

nearly ended Hann's life in 1889. Flick was hiding in Hann's Lawn Hill homestead after fatally shooting an officer of the

Native Police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...

(Alfred Wavell), when Hann confronted him upon returning home from a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...

where he was out hunting "the blacks". The intruder agreed to converse with Hann but instead shot him in the chest at close range. Hann survived, but Flick was cornered and shot dead by other police in the early hours next morning.

Western Australia 1896 – 1921

By 1895 economic conditions had taken a downturn resulting in Hann walking off the station. He decided to try his luck in the north of Western Australia, so in 1896 with six Aboriginal companions and 67 horses he travelled overland from Lawn Hill to Halls Creek. Once in the west, despite being more than 50 years old, he carried out numerous expeditions partly financed by the government. In 1897 from a base at Nullagine, Hann explored the east

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

, and noticed creeks in the area flowed inland. He followed them expecting to find a large fresh water lake, but to his disappointment the lake turned out to be salt. Consequently, he named the feature Lake Disappointment. Hann's explorations covered a great deal of the state while searching for mineral wealth and pastoral prospects. From 1903 he based himself in a tent about east of Laverton. His expeditions from the locality (shown as "Hann's Camp" on modern maps), extended as far as the Petermann Ranges in central Australia and

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta ...

in South Australia. He left a legacy having named over 500 geographical features, including the rivers Rudall, Isdell, Charnley and Phillips (now the Hann); lakes Yeo and Rason; and ranges Mackay, Sir Frederick Bedford and McFadden Range. In 1909 Hann shocked people in Perth by a report saying that he had an encounter with Wongi warriors north of Laverton, and regretted not shooting one as he wanted to get a skull for Fred Brockman to send to London. When outrage followed, he retracted his statement and later the authorities stated that he was just exaggerating, but was also no longer in the employ of the Surveyor General. Brockman subsequently wrote that Hann did get him a skull but it was from a person who had died four years earlier.

Talbot

Hann maintained an association with an aboriginal man, Talbot, who seems to have been an assistant and possible companion. Daisy Bates, a good friend Hann's recalled: "Talbot was as well educated as Frank Hann, and stayed with him, on terms of equality, at all hotels. Talbot was a Normanton native, & a very well mannered man."

Later life

"Hann ruined himself," wrote Daisy Bates,"in his generosity to the groups round & about him." In 1918 he was injured in an accident which left him on crutches after which he retired to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, where he died in 1921. Hann was buried in the

Karrakatta cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

in Perth, and in October 1986 a memorial plaque was added to the gravesite.

Legacy

Frank Hann National Park Frank Hann National Park is a national park in Western Australia, located east-southeast of the capital, Perth in the Shire of Lake Grace. It was named for Frank Hann, an early explorer of the district. The park contains a wide array of flora, ...

Hann River The Hann River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The traditional owners of the areas around the river are the Wurla. It was named after the first European to explore the river, Frank Hann, who had seen it during his ...

and Mount Hann () are named in his honour.

References

External links

Biographical article
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hann, Frank 1845 births 1921 deaths Aboriginal genocide perpetrators 19th-century Australian explorers Explorers of Western Australia Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery