Jupiter Mosman facts for kids
John Joseph (Jupiter) Mosman (1861-1945) was an Aboriginal Australian gold prospector. He was part of a small group that found gold in Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia. This discovery led to one of Australia's most important goldfields. It produced a huge amount of gold, worth millions of pounds. Many people say Jupiter Mosman was the first to find the special rock with gold in it.
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Early Life of Jupiter Mosman
Jupiter Mosman was born around 1861 in North-Western Queensland. We do not know his original tribal name. As a young boy, he came to live at Kynuna Station. In the late 1860s, a man named Hugh Mosman visited Kynuna. He was a pastoralist, meaning he owned a large farm for raising animals.
Hugh Mosman liked the boy very much. He arranged for Jupiter to come and live with him at Tarbrax Station. Hugh Mosman named him Jupiter because his eyes were "large, luminous, and as limpid as a planet." This means his eyes were big, bright, and clear like a planet. Jupiter became known as Jupiter Mosman and worked for Hugh Mosman.
Discovering Gold
Gold had already been found in places like Ravenswood in North Queensland. Hugh Mosman decided he wanted to search for gold too. He sold his farm, Tarbrax, to Duncan McIntyre. Hugh Mosman traveled to Ravenswood with Jupiter. There, he met another prospector named George Clarke.
In 1871, Hugh Mosman, George Clarke, Mr. Fraser, and Jupiter began their gold-seeking trip. They left Ravenswood and headed towards Mount Leyshon. Then they turned back towards a tall hill, now called Towers Hill. This hill was easy to see and helped them find their way.
As they rode through a "Gap" and camped by a creek, Jupiter Mosman noticed a special stone. He saw "color" in it, which meant he saw traces of gold. The group soon realized that the ground was covered in gold-bearing quartz rock. They quickly marked out a mining claim, calling it "The North Australian." They found a lot of gold on the surface, worth about £6000. On January 2, 1872, they went back to Ravenswood to officially register their claim. This discovery started a huge gold rush to what is now Charters Towers.
Education and Sports
Hugh Mosman and his white friends made a lot of money from the Charters Towers goldfields. After some time, they went their separate ways. Hugh Mosman stayed the longest. He later lost his arm in an accident with explosives. After this, he decided to retire and move to Sydney.
Hugh Mosman took Jupiter with him to Sydney. There, Jupiter went to school in Newtown. Later, he attended Lyndhurst College in Sydney. He was baptized as a Roman Catholic and given the Christian names John Joseph. Jupiter did very well in sports at school. He was good at cricket, football, and running. In cricket, he was a fast bowler, a good fielder, and a strong batsman. He could run 100 yards in just 11 seconds.
Hugh Mosman loved horses and steeplechase races. He taught Jupiter how to ride and about horse racing. They often jumped their horses over gates instead of opening them.
Working with Cattle
After Jupiter finished school, he and Hugh Mosman returned to Charters Towers. In 1891, Hugh Mosman left Charters Towers for good. Jupiter decided to join Hugh Mosman's nephew as a drover. A drover moves large groups of cattle from one place to another.
Jupiter helped move a group of cattle from Beaudesert, near Kynuna, all the way to Wodonga in Victoria. This long journey took six months and five days. It was a successful trip, and no cattle were lost.
Later, Jupiter Mosman worked on several other large farms, called pastoral stations. These included Lolwoth Station at Dotswood, Wombiana, and Stockyard Creek. When he had the chance, Jupiter also continued to search for gold and other minerals. He is known for finding other areas with valuable minerals.
Later Life and Legacy
In his final years, Jupiter Mosman lived at the Eventide Home nursing home in Charters Towers. Usually, Aboriginal people were not allowed into this home. However, the people of Charters Towers asked the Queensland Government to make an exception for him. They wanted him to live there because of his important role in the town's history. Their request was successful.
Jupiter Mosman passed away at the Eventide nursing home on December 5, 1945. He was about 84 years old. His funeral was held the next day. At the time of his death, he was one of only two men still alive who were present at the very beginning of Charters Towers.
In December 1953, a large rock monument was put up to honor Jupiter Mosman. It recognized him as a founder of Charters Towers. The monument was placed in front of Syd N. Williams's house, across from the Charters Towers Hospital. A local Aboriginal leader named King Kiara, who was from the Dalleburra people, unveiled the monument. He wore his special breastplate for the event.
Another large monument, shaped like a boomerang, was built in memory of Mosman. It is located in Lissner Park in Charters Towers (20°04′25″S 146°15′38″E / 20.073586°S 146.260456°E). Today, the Jupiter Mosman Cooperative Society helps provide housing for Indigenous people in Charters Towers.
