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Sidney Evan Pearson (1880–1954)

Sidney Pearson, n.d.

Sidney Pearson, n.d.

from Pastoral Review and Graziers' Record, 19 January 1954

We have only just learned, with regret, of the death of one of our best known literary contributors of former years, Mr. Sidney Evan Pearson, at the age of 74. He had suffered a heart attack some time ago, and on 3rd November was found dead beside his camp on the Cloncurry-Julia Creek Road, about two miles from Cloncurry, Q.

Mr. Pearson had a varied and colourful career, practically the whole of which was devoted to the primary industries in the outback of Australia, and he had the happy knack of being able to recount his experiences in a gifted, fluent style of writing. Although he did not refer to his own personal history to any extent, it is known that he was born in Victoria of a Western District family and went to Queensland as a young man. He worked first on Afton Downs, Hughenden, then and still owned by the Armytages, and gained the reputation of being a first rate stockman and bushman. About this time he accompanied some of the first cattle from the Victoria River area of the Northern Territory eastwards, but his real love was mining, upon which he was an authority, and there are few, if any, of the lonely ranges of northern Australia which he had not inspected. He also spent some time on the Westralian minefields and on Woodlark Island, while in association with Ernest Henry, the pioneer of Cloncurry, Q., he gained an intimate knowledge of the mining possibilities of the Cloncurry Ranges.

Mr. Pearson was a keen historian, a great authority on the Australian bush, and an ardent geologist, and was never happier than when camped out by himself in the outback. However, he broke from his nomadic, lonely life to join the First A.I.F. and saw service for his country in Egypt and France during World War I. Later he returned to the bush and spent a good deal of his time writing the many interesting articles covering a whole host of subjects which were widely read through the columns of The Review and other papers. His contributions "In the Tracks of the Pioneers," "Crossing the Great Divide," "Through Central Queensland in the Autumn," and many others, will be remembered by our older subscribers, who we are sure join with us in expressing sympathy to his widow (a daughter of the late P. G. Skipper, formerly manager of the A.M.L. and F. Co. Ltd., Brisbane) and sons at their loss.

Original publication

Citation details

'Pearson, Sidney Evan (1880–1954)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/pearson-sidney-evan-804/text805, accessed 17 February 2025.

© Copyright Obituaries Australia, 2010-2025

Sidney Pearson, n.d.

Sidney Pearson, n.d.

from Pastoral Review and Graziers' Record, 19 January 1954

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1880
Victoria, Australia

Death

3 November, 1954 (aged ~ 74)
Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia

Occupation or Descriptor