This book is about one of the least known yet most significant of those surveyors, Thomas Scott Townsend. In his own words: ‘I trust it will be sufficient to say, that I have inevitably completed all my duties and having done this my career has been comparatively unnoticed.’

Townsend of the Ranges rectifies this and brings to the attention of the general public the significance of Townsend whose work included surveying the Southern Highlands, the Monaro, Gippsland, the South Coast, Port Phillip and most significantly the Snowy Mountains.

Peter Crowley weaves together the story of Townsend from limited primary sources. Unlike many of his day Townsend did not keep a journal, nor did he seem to write any personal letters (or if he did, they have been lost). But from the official correspondence and the discovery of other correspondence he has woven the incredible yet sad life of Townsend.

Thomas Scott Townsend was born in 1812. He trained as a surveyor in England and then travelled out to Australia in 1829 without any prospects of a job. However, with perseverance he was appointed as a draughtsman in the Surveyor General’s Department, which was run by Thomas Mitchell. It isn’t until 1836 that he was promoted to Assistant Surveyor and began a career that lasted until 1854 when he returned to England a broken man.

Although this book is essentially about Townsend’s career, Crowley also weaves in the history of NSW and therefore provides the context of Townsend’s surveys. He also, more importantly, examines the consequences of the surveys, which was the opening up of land for pastoralists, the impact the surveys had on the local Indigenous peoples and also the ecology of the area. This is particularly so in examining the Gippsland and Port Phillip areas where he records the many massacres that are part of what is generally known as the Frontier Wars. Many of the early explorers and surveyors relied very heavily on local knowledge of the Indigenous peoples, many of whom served as guides but are now forgotten. Likewise, Mitchell the Surveyor General of NSW insisted that the local Indigenous names be used as much as possible to identify the landmarks which the surveyors came across.

I found this to be a most interesting and engaging read and while sometimes my geography let me down it did encourage me to dig out my atlas and follow Townsend’s journeys. The only frustrating element was that many of the maps in the book are too light to really appreciate (maybe because they have faded with age).

This story is about a man who has been forgotten by history and now has been hopefully rediscovered.

Reviewed by Anthony Llewellyn-Evans