Edward Hardman

Who was Edward Hardman?

Edward Townley Hardman was a geologist who played a key role in the discovery of Western Australia's Kimberley goldfields.

Edward Hardman was born in Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland on 6 April 1845. He graduated in mining from the Royal College of Science in Dublin, and in 1870 was appointed as a geologist in the Geological Survey of Ireland.

In 1882, small gold finds in the Kimberley region of Western Australia prompted the Government of Western Australia to appoint a temporary Government Geologist to examine the area. The British Colonial Office chose Hardman for the position, and he arrived in Perth, Western Australia in March 1883. Hardman immediately joined Alexander Forrest's survey expedition to the Kimberley, but the party was confined to the western part of the Kimberley, and no indications of gold were found. The following year, he joined Harry Johnston's survey, which covered most of the Kimberley. Hardman found traces of gold throughout the east Kimberley, especially in the area around the present-day town of Halls Creek. In his published report, he complained that he had received little assistance in his work, as the surveying took priority.