William Whitfield Mills (19 November 1844 – 18 August 1916), usually referred to as "W. Whitfield Mills" or "W. W. Mills", was an English

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

of the

Australian Overland Telegraph Line The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was an electrical telegraph system for sending messages the between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Completed in 1872 (with a li ...

who is best known for naming a waterhole in Central Australia Alice Spring, from which the town of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

now takes its name. He also named

Heavitree Gap The Heavitree Gap, or ''Ntaripe'' in the Arrernte language, is a water gap in the Northern Territory of Australia in the MacDonnell Ranges. It is the southern entrance to the city of Alice Springs and in addition to the Todd River it carrie ...

as a tribute to his old school in Devon, England.

Early life

Mills was born on 19 November 1844 at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in England. He went to school at Heavitree School in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. Mills immigrated to Australia on board the ''Atlanta'' from England, arriving in South Australia on 8 April 1866 at the age of 21.

Goyder's Expedition

Mills was a surveyor on

George Goyder George Woodroffe Goyder (24 June 1826 – 2 November 1898) was a surveyor in the Colony of South Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He rose rapidly in the civil service, becoming Assistant Surveyor-General by 1856 ...

's mission to survey a northern capital Palmerston, later renamed Darwin. He arrived on the ''Moonta'' on 5 February 1869 leaving just short of a year later, the team having surveyed more than 2700 square kilometres of land.

Surveying the Overland Telegraph Line

On 5 September 1870, he joined Charles Todd's party to build the central section of the Overland Telegraph Line. On 7 March 1871, Mills and his companion

Gilbert McMinn Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn CE, SM, (1841 – 18 October 1924) was an Australian surveyor born in Ireland noted for his work in the Northern Territory surveying the Overland Telegraph Line. His middle name is occasionally spelt "Rutherdale". E ...

, having found a gap in the McDonnell Ranges through which to feed the telegraph line, and which he named Heavitree Gap, then came across a string of waterholes along what is now called the

Todd River The Todd River (Arrernte language, Arrernte: ''Lhere Mparntwe / Lhere Imatukua / Artepe Ulpaye'') is an Ephemeral, ephemeral river in the southern Northern Territory, central Australia. The origins of the Todd River are in the MacDonnell Ranges ...

, which were already frequented by local

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...

people. Mills named one Alice Spring, after the wife of Charles Todd, from which the town of Alice Springs now takes its name.

Later life

Mills married Mary Jane Mullen on 24 March 1879. They had two daughters Alice Thornton and Ethel May. After completion of the telegraph line, Mills returned to the Northern Territory to work in mining and undertake further surveying. In the early 1880s, he managed a camel transport company carrying freight from

Farina Farina may refer to: Places * Farina, South Australia, a former town in outback South Australia * Farina, Illinois, a village in the United States * Farina railway station, a former railway station on the Central Australian Railway, South Australi ...

to Peake and

Charlotte Waters Charlotte Waters was a tiny settlement in the Northern Territory of Australia located close to the South Australian border, not far from Aputula. It was known for its telegraph station, the Charlotte Waters Telegraph Station, which became a hub ...

. He delivered 30 camels from

Beltana Station Beltana (or Beltana Station) is a pastoral lease in the Australian state of South Australia which operates as a sheep station. Established in 1854, it now covers an area of on land located between Lake Torrens in the west and the Flinders Ra ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

for Sir Thomas Elder. He went across the centre of Australia on the

Canning Stock Route The Canning Stock Route is a track that runs from Halls Creek, Western Australia, Halls Creek in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna, Western Australia, Wiluna in the Mid West (Western Australia), ...

before heading to Northampton. They went for long periods without water but after 25 weeks, completed the journey. Mary Jane died on 1 October 1888 at just 30 years of age. The Mills children were then brought up by extended family, while Mills spent time in Broken Hill before eventually moving to Western Australia. Mills died on 18 August 1916 at the age of 72. He is buried in the Widgiemooltha Cemetery in Western Australia. Mills Street in East Side in Alice Springs is named after Mills.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, William 1916 deaths 1844 births People from Plymouth, Devon Australian surveyors English emigrants to colonial Australia