The Lake Mac Heritage Series was placed to pay homage to the people, places and events that contributed to building and pioneering the Lake Macquarie region. The pick and shovel were chosen in this geoart series to symbolise the hard work the people of Lake Macquarie put forth into the region.

Joseph John Tucker

Joseph John Tucker was born at Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire England on 23.8.1845, the eldest son of Joseph Kidger Tucker and Elizabeth (nee Finn). In 1860 Joseph's father was appointed Australian agent for the British and Foreign Bible Society and the family migrated to Australia. photo: joseph john tucker On arrival in 1861, the duties of the Rev. Dr Tucker required him to travel extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand. Whether young Joseph John Tucker accompanied his father on any of these epic journeys is unknown, but it would certainly have been excellent training for a future surveyor. However, it seems likely that he was living in Victoria at the Wangaratta Anglican vicarage as he soon obtained an appointment as a schoolteacher at the Collegiate School in Wangaratta. In 1875, whilst in this employment, he qualified as a Licensed Surveyor.

In the early 1880s, Tucker and some other Newcastle business men formed the Fassifern Coal Company and took up a selection at Lake Macquarie (Fassifern), with the intent of mining coal. A condition of the agreement was that the property had to be continuously occupied for a period of three years, and a large wooden house was built (Fassifern House) and Tucker moved his family out there in 1885. His daughter Mary Moore (nee Tucker - 1875-1957) in her advanced years (c1955) wrote a charming account of life in Newcastle and Fassifern at this time.

In 1894 Tucker accepted the position of Town Clerk and Surveyor for the new gold mining settlement of Coolgardie in WA, leaving his family behind in Cootamundra. Joseph Tucker remained in this position until 1898 when his services were terminated, after which he became Special Commissioner for The Western Australia International Mining & Industrial Exhibition held at Coolgardie. He afterwards moved to Bunbury WA and accepted a position as Town Clerk, and Secretary/Engineer of the Water Board from 1899 to 1906. He was later employed by the Lands Department in Albany from 1911-1913, after which he resumed his teaching career in the south west of WA until retirement in 1918.

The puzzle

All historical and heritage information courtesy of Lake Mac Libraries

Any questions regarding this puzzle cache or the LMHS geoart series will be answered by clicking HERE

*** The LMHS geoart was placed in conjunction with the OzGeoMuster 2018 mega event. The Oz GeoMuster 2018 committee would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this series. ahomburg, day1976, sedgwickDave, The Morris, bobbiesgirl, and the_garbageman.***

Enjoy!

Marcus Vitruvius