James Venture Mulligan
Irish-born prospector and explorer James Venture Mulligan (1837 – 1907) emigrated to Australia in 1860 and lived in Armidale before he joined the Gympie gold rush in 1867.
After he moved to the Etheridge goldfield in the early 1870s, he led the group of prospectors who found payable gold on the Palmer River after William Hann's expedition found traces of gold there.
Mulligan led five more prospecting expeditions, discovering the Hodgkinson goldfield (1876) and other less significant deposits.
He involved himself in various enterprises, mining tin, antimony, copper and tungsten before he purchased the Mount Molloy Hotel in 1903 and died from pneumonia in August 1907 after he broke several ribs breaking up a fight at Mount Carbine.
Links:
Etheridge goldfield
Mount Molloy Hotel
Mount Carbine
Palmer River
William Hann
William Hann's expedition
