Friends of Hastings Cemetery

Dalrymple Continued

After a summer in Scotland he went to St Leonards, Sussex, where he died, unmarried, on 22 January 1876.

Dalrymple had been elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in November 1867. He was a successful explorer, a dashing leader, restless, impatient of official parsimony and red tape. Through his policy of vigilance and restraint he seldom had trouble with the Aboriginals on his expeditions. Dalrymple's appreciation of natural beauty is amply expressed in his exploration reports. Many features of northern Queensland commemorate his name and many more were named by him. - http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/adbonline.htm

There is a folksong, ‘The Kennedy Men’, one verse of which says:

“Through swamps, through scrub, over ranges and sand,
Dalrymple - he led us, and here made a stand,
Say's he, "This will do -for a city I ken -
So three cheers for the queen and the Kennedy men"

[From the Queenslanders New Colonial Camp Fire Song Book.  These words copied from John Meredith's transcription of same in the National Library of Australia collection.]

But other verses are contrary to the general view of Dalrymple. [Dalrymple was essentially a frontiersman, and one of the most interesting facets of his career was his attitude to the Aborigines. He was continually trying to solve the problem of promoting white settlement on the frontier without animosity and bloodshed. [George Elphinstone Dalrymple - Problems of Early Queensland by Mrs. Jean Farnfield, M.A.]

One of his elder brothers, Ernest, also went to Queensland, and died there.(There is an entry for him in The Australian Dictionary of Biography - http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/adbonline.htm

Postscript:  ABC - Posted March 11, 2008 09:04:00

Today marks an historic moment for the Dalrymple Shire as the council meets for the last time.  The shire is being amalgamated with Charters Towers City Council this weekend.

Dalrymple Mayor Ben Callcott says the council is not planning any major celebration to farewell the entity.  He says while the name may be changing, at the end of the day it is still the same people and places.

"The country will still be there, the creeks will still run, the grass will still grow and everything will happen as usual it just won't bare [sic] the name Dalrymple," he said