John Oxley, in full John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley, (born 1783/85?, near Westow, Yorkshire, England—died May 26, 1828, Kirkham, Australia), surveyor-general and explorer who played an important part in the exploration of eastern Australia and also helped open up Van Diemen’s Land (later Tasmania).
Oxley joined the British navy as a midshipman in 1799 and arrived in Australia as a master’s mate in 1802. He worked on coastal surveys and in 1805 was put in command of the Buffalo by Governor Philip King, and in 1806 he commanded another ship to Van Diemen’s Land. Commissioned a lieutenant in England in 1807, he returned to Sydney (1808) with a land grant of 600 acres (240 hectares), bringing goods as an investment. In 1809 he wrote a report on the settling of Van Diemen’s Land and returned to England.
Oxley was appointed surveyor-general of New South Wales, retired from the navy, and returned to Sydney in 1812. He then explored as much territory as he had surveyed in the early years: in 1817 with George Evans in the Lachlan River region and in 1818 along the Macquarie River, failing to find these rivers’ sources but opening up much land for sheepherding. His Two Expeditions into the Interior of New South Wales (1820) was the first description of the area and provided the basis for later explorations by Charles Sturt and T.L. Mitchell.
His coastal surveys included the charting of Jervis Bay and Port Macquarie (1819). In 1823, returning from Port Curtis, he explored Moreton Bay and 50 miles (80 km) up the Brisbane River. His reports led to penal settlements at Port Macquarie and Port Curtis.
From his return in 1812, Oxley had business interests; he was agent for companies and creditors, engaged in cattle raising, and was a breeder of prize sheep; he also served as bank director and agricultural adviser. On his expanded holdings he built his estate at Kirkham in 1815. Oxley was also active in the Bible Society, institutions for orphans, and the Philosophical Society and served as a magistrate and legislator. He died in straitened circumstances.