James Crotty (prospector) explained

James Crotty (c. 1845–1898) was an Irish-born Australian mining prospector who formed a mining company, the North Mount Lyell mining company, in the western region of Tasmania, just before the turn of the twentieth century.

His mining company was in fierce competition with Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company that operated on the western side of Mount Lyell and he was in London seeking further investment funds for his mine when he died.^[1]

After he died,^{[2] [3] [4]} and the failure of the North Mount Lyell smelters at Crotty^[5] his company was amalgamated with the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company in 1903.^[6]

His estate, being left to the Roman Catholic Church, enabled the completion of St Patrick's Catherdral in Melbourne, Victoria.^[7]

His legacy currently is in the name of a now drowned townsite, Crotty, and Crotty Dam.

Further reading

• Book: Blainey, Geoffrey. Geoffrey Blainey. The Peaks of Lyell . 6th . St. David's Park Publishing . Hobart. 2000. 0-7246-2265-9. The Peaks of Lyell.
• Book: Whitham, Charles. Charles Whitham. Western Tasmania – A land of riches and beauty. Reprint 2003. Municipality of Queenstown. Queenstown. 2003.

Notes and References

1. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/crotty-james-5830 Biography
2. News: THE LATE MR. JAMES CROTTY: A SKETCH. By J. J. W. . The Advocate . Melbourne . 4 June 1898 . 19 April 2016 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
3. News: HIS WILL: FURTHER PARTICULARS . The Advocate . Melbourne . 4 June 1898 . 19 April 2016 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
4. News: OBITUARY. . . Launceston, Tas. . 20 April 1898 . 22 June 2015 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
5. News: CROTTY. . . XXIII . 189 . Tasmania, Australia . 10 August 1903 . 4 June 2016 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
6. News: MOUNT LYELL AND NORTH MOUNT LYELL COMPANIES . . 14683 . Victoria, Australia . 25 May 1903 . 4 June 2016 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
7. Rimon, Wendy (2004) Bicentenary of Tasmania website