Russian Jack Explained

Ivan Fredericks (1864–1904), known as Russian Jack (Русский Джек), was a goldminer of the Western Australian gold rush in the 1880s.[1] In 1885, while working in the Halls Creek goldmines, he pushed his sick friend in a wheelbarrow 300 km through the Great Sandy Desert to Wyndham, the nearest town with a medical centre.[2] A statue was erected to him in Halls Creek.[3] He is buried in Fremantle Cemetery.[4] [5] [6] While he may not be very well known in Russia,[7] Russian Jack is a famous figure in Western Australia.[8]

The Peter J. Bridge work Russian Jack[9] claims the actual distance travelled to the nearest medical centre was not 300 km but actually closer to 50 km.[10]

Notes and References

  1. News: MURCHISON DAYS. . . Perth . 16 October 1924 . 4 July 2011 . 43 . National Library of Australia.
  2. News: THE STORIED PAST. . . Perth . 15 October 1932 . 4 July 2011 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
  3. Russian Jack sculpture collection [manuscript]. /A competition was held in 1977 under the auspices of the Western Australian State Government, the Western Australian Art Gallery and the Hall's Creek Shire Council to provide and erect a statue in Halls Creek to Ivan Fredericks, known as "Russian Jack'. C.P. Somers was the successful artist amongst eleven applicants.' Battye Library, Minnesota 1767, Records concerning the Russian Jack sculpture, ACC 5336A.
  4. Bridge, Peter J. (2002)Russian Jack with an essay, The twilight of the gods of truth and perfection by Leslie R. Marchant. Carlisle, W.A. : Hesperian Press. – : This publication includes two separate works: – "Russian Jack" is the biography of Ivan Fredericks, a Russian Finn who immigrated to Western Australia in the 1880s and prospected for gold in the Kimberleys and later became known as a humanitarian who carried a sick man in his wheelbarrow to safety ; "The twilight of the gods of truth and perfection" highlights the errors and misconceptions created in the historical record due to misrepresentation in historical displays and memorials by museums and public monuments as well as distortions that occur in the public written record by public authorities, illustrated with examples from government bodies in Western Australia.' from Trove summary of the publication
  5. Web site: RUSSIAN JACK . Western Australia Now and Then. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090319075300/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/95993/20090319-1853/nowandthen.noadsfree.com/russianjack.html . dead . 2009-03-19. 2012-12-03.
  6. Web site: Biographical cuttings on Ivan Fredericks, known as Russian Jack of the Halls Creek area, containing one or more cuttings from newspapers or journals. Libraries Australia. 2012-12-03.
  7. Web site: Halls Creek Travel & Tourism - Russian Jack a Pioneering Hero . www.hallscreektourism.com.au . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141103210653/http://www.hallscreektourism.com.au/russian-jack-a-pioneering-hero . 2014-11-03.
  8. Web site: Russian Jack | Monument Australia.
  9. Web site: Russian Jack.
  10. Web site: Ivan Fredericks (Russian Jack) | Monument Australia.

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