Mitchell, Sir Thomas Livingstone (1792-1855) was an Australian explorer. He led four expeditions of exploration and carried out surveys of eastern Australia.
Mitchell’s first expedition lasted from November 1831 to March 1832. Mitchell planned to investigate reports of a large river to the northwest of Sydney. He and his party explored the Namoi, Gwydir, and Barwon rivers, which Mitchell concluded were all part of the Darling River system.
Mitchell’s second expedition, in 1835, planned to trace the course of the Darling River to the sea. The party started from Orange and followed the Bogan River to the Darling. Reaching the Darling, they followed it downstream to the site of Menindee.
In March 1836, Mitchell set off for the third time to complete the work of his previous expedition. The party followed the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, and Murray rivers to reach the Darling. After reaching the Darling and following it for a short way, Mitchell presumed it to be the same big river he had followed on his previous expedition. From the Murray, the party followed the Loddon River into the fertile country of northern Victoria, which Mitchell realized could be excellent grazing land. After a month of traveling southwest, they came to the Glenelg River, which they followed to the sea. Near Portland Bay, Mitchell’s party was surprised to find that the Henty brothers had set up a farming settlement. The party replenished their supplies before beginning their return journey. In November 1836, Mitchell reached Sydney.
Mitchell’s fourth and last expedition began in December 1845 and lasted just over a year. Mitchell hoped to find a route to the Gulf of Carpentaria and also a river flowing in that direction. Eventually, he encountered a river flowing north that he believed to be the right one. He named it the Victoria River. But an expedition led by Edmund Kennedy the following year proved this river to be the Barcoo.
Mitchell was born in Craigend, in Scotland. He served in the army before arriving in Sydney in 1827 to take up the post of deputy surveyor general under John Oxley. He succeeded Oxley as surveyor general in 1828.
