Gother Kerr Mann
Captain Gother Kerr Mann (February 1808 – 1 January 1899), often referred to as Captain Mann, was a consulting engineer in New South Wales.
History[edit]
Mann was born in England, a son of General Cornelius Mann R.E., and secured a commission with the Bombay Horse Artillery, which saw considerable action. He left India for Australia in 1836, settling in Sydney, where he helped found the Volunteer Artillery Corps.[1] He was a member of Archibald Boyd's exploration party, active in the Clarence area around 1838.[2] He married a daughter of Frederick Augustus Hely (died 1836),[3] from whom he inherited 438 acres (177 ha) on Narara Creek and 738 acres (299 ha) on Wyong Creek, which may be the properties named Cungelbung and Buccarumbi.[4] He operated a sawmill at Wyoming, New South Wales with James Hooke, another son-in-law of Hely, and built a cottage nearby.[5]
He was appointed magistrate at Gosford in 1850.[5]
In July 1855 he was appointed the first Railways Commissioner for New South Wales.[1]
He supervised the construction of Fitzroy Dry Dock at Cockatoo Island and designed the wharf layout at Circular Quay.[5] In 1859 he was appointed Superintendent of the Penal Establishment and Engineer-in-Chief of the dock establishment at Cockatoo Island.[6]
He retired from government service in 1870[1] and was appointed captain of the Volunteer Engineering Corps.[7]
Recognition[edit]
Mann Street, Gosford, was name for him,[1] as was the Mann River,[4] although the latter has been disputed.[8]
The eastern tip of Greenwich, where their home "Greenwich House" was situated, is called Manns Point.
Personal[edit]
Mann married Mary Johanna Hely of Wyoming, New South Wales, on 3 January 1838[9] and had 12 children.
In 1853 he purchased "Greenwich House"[a] at Greenwich Point,[10] Sydney, where he lived the rest of his life.[5]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Greenwich House was built for shipbuilder George Green (1809 – 30 Aug 1872), who purchased much land along the Lane Cove River.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Captain Gother Kerr Mann". The Week (Brisbane). Vol. XLVII, no. 1, 202. Queensland, Australia. 6 January 1899. p. 11. Retrieved 27 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Early History". Glen Innes Examiner. Vol. 12, no. 1718. New South Wales, Australia. 16 March 1937. p. 3. Retrieved 28 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ C. Swancott (30 January 1953). "Life Story of First Narara Settler". The Gosford Times and Wyong District Advocate. New South Wales, Australia. p. 6. Retrieved 28 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia. elsewhere named Francis Augustus Hely
- ^ a b "Clarence River Historical Society". The Daily Examiner. Vol. 29, no. 9440. New South Wales, Australia. 5 November 1938. p. 8. Retrieved 28 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c d C. Swancott (31 July 1951). "Origin of Mann St". The Gosford Times and Wyong District Advocate. New South Wales, Australia. p. 3. Retrieved 27 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Government Gazette". The Northern Times (Newcastle). No. 315. New South Wales, Australia. 17 August 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 28 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Government Gazette". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. LXII, no. 10, 176. New South Wales, Australia. 31 December 1870. p. 7. Retrieved 28 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Mann River". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ "1838.—Diamond Wedding.—1898". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. LXV, no. 1959. New South Wales, Australia. 22 January 1898. p. 182. Retrieved 28 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "An Old-Fashioned Home in an Old-World Garden". The Sydney Mail. Vol. XXII, no. 555. New South Wales, Australia. 15 November 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 28 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
