Panton, Joseph Anderson   (1831 - 1913)

Born in Knockiemil, Scotland, UK, on 2 June 1831; died at St. Kilda, VIC, on 25 October 1913.

He was the son of John Panton (of the Hudson's Bay Company service) and his wife Alexina McKay, née Anderson.

He was educated at the Scottish Naval and Military Academy, developing an interest in drawing. He later studied geology amongst other subjects at the University of Edinburgh, but did not finish a degree.

Panton arrived in Sydney aboard the Thomas Arbuthnot in March 1851.

He then went to the Port Phillip District, Victoria. After farming briefly at Mangalore, he tried for gold without luck at Mount Alexander. Then applied for a position as an officer in the gold escort and was appointed assistant commissioner in 1852 at Kangaroo Gully near Bendigo, Victoria. A year later he was senior assistant commissioner at Bendigo and then senior commissioner in 1854.

He was involved in an investigation of the situation of Chinese gold-diggers.

In 1858, Panton went to Scotland and then to Paris to study art with a friend of his, Hubert de Castella.

On his return to Australia, he was appointed warden and magistrate at the Jamieson-Wood's Point and next at the Anderson's Creek goldfields. Panton then became magistrate at Heidelberg, where he also mapped the Yarra Valley.

From Heidelberg, Panton was transferred to Geelong and moved to Melbourne as senior magistrate from 1874 to 1907.

Panton was active in the Victorian Artists Association and the Victorian Academy of Art which developed into the Victorian Artists Society. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (London), Panton was also vice-president of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, Victorian Branch.

Predeceased by his wife, he died at St. Kilda, Victoria on 25 October 1913, and was buried at St Kilda Cemetery.

Two books have been written about his life:
'Joseph Panton - the man history forgot'. by Vivienne Worthington, Yarra Plenty Library Local History (2018)
'Strength in Battle: The Memoirs of Joseph Anderson Panton, Goldfields Commissioner and Magistrate', by Hugh Anderson, Australian Scholarly Publishing (2018).

Source: Extracted from:
www.daao.org.au/bio/version_history/joseph-anderson-panton/biography/?p=1&revision_no=39
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Anderson_Panton
Portrait Painting: extracted from Frederick McCubbin portrait, NGV, 1904.

Collecting localities for 'Panton, J.A.' from AVH (2024)

Data from 128 specimens