Oliver Trickett ( 1847 - 1934)

English born surveyor, draftsman and pioneer of Australian speleology whose work laid the foundations for the scientific study of limestone caves in New South Wales. Born at Bridlington, Yorkshire, he migrated to Victoria as a teenager and entered the Office of Mines in Melbourne in 1865. He qualified as a mineral surveyor and, after moving to New South Wales in 1876, was licensed as a government surveyor and undertook work across the colony.

In the 1880s Trickett combined public service with private practice as a mining surveyor and agent in Sydney, managing and promoting mining ventures in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. After financial reverses he rejoined the New South Wales Department of Mines in 1892 as a draftsman and surveyor in the geological survey branch, where he began the work for which he became best known.

Trickett devoted himself to the survey, mapping and conservation of the limestone caves of New South Wales, notably at Jenolan, Wombeyan, Wellington and Yarrangobilly. He devised improved surveying methods for underground work and advised on the protection of fragile cave formations and the development of the caves for tourism. His publications, including Notes on the Limestone Caves of New South Wales and a series of widely used cave guides, established him as the leading authority on Australian karst landscapes.

As chief draftsman in the geological survey branch he produced an exceptional body of cartographic and model work, including maps of the Maitland coalfield, a geological map of New South Wales, and prize-winning models of Sydney Harbour and the Broken Hill lode. His detailed cave models became popular exhibits in the Mining and Geological Museum, Sydney.