William Whitfield Mills (19 November 1844 – 18 August 1916), usually referred to as "W. Whitfield Mills" or "W. W. Mills", was an English
surveyor of the
Australian Overland Telegraph Line 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 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'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, 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 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 to
Peake and
Charlotte Waters. He delivered 30 camels from
Beltana Station to
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 ...
in
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