Edwin Welch

Edwin James Welch (26 December 1838[1] – 24 September 1916)[2] was an English naval cadet, surveyor, photographer, newspaper proprietor, writer and journalist.

[4] The Crimean War was concluded in 1856 and Welch travelled to Australia, attracted it seems by the prospect of finding gold.

[5]These humble beginnings in Australia were recalled by the journalist in order to contrast Welch's position soon after arrival in Australia, with his circumstances at the time the article was written, by which time Welch had taken part in an expedition to discover the fate of members of the Burke and Wills expedition and had recently been appointed acting inspector and relieving officer in The Electric Telegraph Department in Queensland.

[6] Neumayer was a member of the organising committee of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which set out in August 1860 to cross Australia from South to North.

[7] On 15 September 1861 Welch was searching along Cooper Creek, ahead of the main body, and discovered John King, who proved to be the sole survivor of that ill-fated expedition.

A further expedition was organised to return to Cooper Creek and bring back the remains of Burke and Wills to Melbourne for a public funeral.

Less well known is the fact that he was also one of the most successful collectors on any expedition into the Australian interior, collecting European and Aboriginal material, much of which has survived to this day.

Some of the material appeared in From Melbourne to Myth curated by Tim Bonyhady for the National Library of Australia and exhibited in 2002.

In November 1865 Edwin Welch married Isabella Ord at Durah, Darling Downs, Queensland, at the residence of the bride's father.

[11] In mid 1872 Welch was appointed acting inspector and relieving officer with the electric Telegraph Department.

Finally, he settled for The World's News and was still writing articles for this newspaper until the time of his death, using the pen names "E.J.W.," "Edwin Halstead" and "Alwyn Alverstoke.

"[12] Welch wrote both factual and fictional articles and stories, the latter class including The Official Outlaw, Cressy Bend and Dinky Darbison: A Tale of the Early Sixties.

In the latter story one may catch a glimpse of Welch himself as the character Harold Armstead, a "surveyor in the government service."