Theodore Buxton died after an illness extending over six months, on December 20th, 1918, aged 36 years.
He began his professional career in 1892, being engaged for about five years on prospecting and alluvial mining in North Queensland, in the districts of Charters Towers, the Gilbert River and the Cape York Peninsula. In 1898 he was occupied in similar work at Kanowna and Coolgardie, Western Australia.
From 1901-2, he was manager of the Atlas Gold Mines, West Africa, during which period three shafts were sunk and the concession was surveyed, and in 1904-5 he was mine manager for the Nubia (Sudan) Development Co., for whom he sunk four shafts and undertook a number of surveys. During 1906-7 he was prospector and surveyor for the Ashanti Goldfields Auxiliary, Ltd., in West Africa, where his work included boring and levels and the survey of a road running 27 miles through forest land.
In November, 1909, Mr. Buxton accepted an appointment for service under the Belgian Government in Central Africa, and he was engaged continuously from Christmas, 1909, to Christmas, 1916, in pioneer work in the Kilo Mines district, Lake Albert. During that long period, which is almost a record for endurance of the arduous conditions in the Congo, and which undoubtedly conduced largely to his final breakdown of health, he was occupied successively in sluicing gold and in prospecting the Chari River and in supervising the installation of a dredge, which despite the delays consequent on the outbreak of war) he had the satisfaction of seeing successfully installed before he returned home.
Mr. Buxton was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1907.
Vol. 29, Trans I.M.M. 1919-20, pp. 420-21
