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son of Captain John Scott
Lindsay formerly of Dundee, Scotland, was born at Goolwa, South Australia,
on 20 June 1856. He entered the state government survey department in
1872, and was gazetted as a senior surveyor in March 1875. In 1878 he was
appointed surveyor-general for the Northern Territory. In 1882 he resigned
from the government service to take up private practice, but about a year
later was placed in charge of a government expedition to the Northern
Territory. The party, consisting of four white men and two blacks, fell in
with hostile aborigines who attacked them and were only driven off by the
use of fire-arms. Some of the horses had been stampeded during the
conflict and the explorers only reached civilization after suffering many
privations. Lindsay subsequently explored territory between the overland
telegraph line and the Queensland border and discovered a payable mica
field. In 1886 he was exploring in the region of the MacDonnell Ranges and
discovered so-called rubies. Early in 1891 he was placed in charge of the
Elder scientific exploring expedition entirely equipped by Sir Thomas
Elder (q.v.). Starting from Warrina, South Australia, on 2 May 1891 with
the intention of covering as much unexplored territory as possible between
there and the western coast of Australia, the expedition was unfortunate
in striking an extremely dry season, the results were disappointing, and
the expedition was abandoned without completing much that had been
intended. However, in the 11 months to 4 April 1892 over 4000 miles were
traversed, and about 80,000 square miles were mapped. Charges were made by
the second officer and three other members of the party concerning
Lindsay's management of the expedition, but after an inquiry had been held
he was exonerated. In 1895 Lindsay was in business as a stockbroker,
formed various companies in connexion with Western Australian mines, and
not long before war broke out in 1914 was in London raising capital for
development work in the Northern Territory. This work and other projects
had to be abandoned on account of the war. After the war Lindsay was in
the Northern Territory for three and a half years carrying out
topographical surveys for the federal government. Some good pastoral land
was discovered, and Lindsay satisfied himself that the Queensland artesian
water system extended some 150 miles farther west than its supposed
limits. He was working in the north again in 1922 but was attacked by
illness an died in the Darwin hospital of heart disease on 17 December
1922. He married Annie T. S. Lindsay who survive him with four sons and a
daughter. Lindsay was tall and broad-shouldered of a genial disposition, a
typical and capable bushman. |
