Joseph Bradshaw's Biography
Pastoralist, who took the name of his father, was born and educated in Melbourne. Joseph’s parents owned stations at Bacchus Marsh and Avoca in Victoria. Little is known of his early childhood and youth, but it would seem that he possessed an adventurous spirit from a very early age.
At the age of 22, he sailed his own vessel from Melbourne up the north-western coast of Australia to Darwin and took up land on the Liverpool River. His sailing master on the voyage was Aeneas Gunn, later to become the Manager of Elsey Station. Ten years later, in 1886, Joseph and his brother Frederick became owners of land at Victoria River Station, with Aeneas Gunn acting as their Manager. The now well-known Bradshaw’s Run, which lies between the northern bank of the Victoria River and the mangrove swamps of the Fitzmaurice River is said to have been carved out of a wilderness.
Joseph Bradshaw was known as an intrepid explorer. He navigated and charted a number of rivers in the Victoria River region, notably the Prince Regent River. He owned several vessels that he used in his explorations and settlement and development schemes. He had frequent contact with the Aborigines of the area and it is said that the majority of encounters were not hostile. He also made several journeys to the interior of Australia.
Descriptions depict Joseph Bradshaw as a fearless pioneer and some of his ideas as half a century ahead of their time. He envisaged a transcontinental railway going north to Darwin. Some of his plans, such as Victoria River Downs becoming a horse-breeding station, did not ever come to fruition and attempts at sheep breeding on the Fitzmaurice Run proved to be unsuccessful. The success of Bradshaw’s Run is still something of an enigma.
Little is know of his family life except for the working relationship he had with his brother Frederick. He died in Darwin Hospital on 23 July 1916 form injuries sustained during a journey to the interior. Joseph Bradshaw left a wife and son.
Source: Maynard, Robyn. Bradshaw, Joseph. Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography, Revised edition. Casuarina, N.T. : NTU Press, 2008.