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George Woodroffe Goyder | |
|---|---|
 George Woodroffe Goyder in 1869 | |
| Surveyor General of South Australia | |
| In office 31 January 1861 – 30 June 1894 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Arthur Freeling |
| Succeeded by | William Strawbridge |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 June 1826 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 2 November 1898 (aged 72) Mylor, South Australia |
| Resting place | Stirling District Cemetery |
| Spouses | Frances Mary Smith
(m. 1851; died 1870)Ellen Priscilla Smith
(m. 1871) |
| Children | 12 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Edwin Mitchell Smith (nephew) |
| Occupation | Surveyor |
George Woodroffe Goyder (24 June 1826 – 2 November 1898) was a surveyor in the Colony of South Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
He rose rapidly in the civil service, becoming Assistant Surveyor-General by 1856 and the Surveyor General of South Australia in 1861. He is remembered today for Goyder's Line of rainfall, a line used in South Australia to demarcate land climatically suitable for arable farming from that suitable only for light grazing, and for the siting, planning and initial development of Darwin, the Northern Territory capital and principal population centre. However, Goyder was an avid researcher into the lands of South Australia (including the present-day Northern Territory) and made recommendations to a great number of settlers in the newly developing colony, especially to those exploiting the newly discovered mineral resources of the state.