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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
Mr. Joseph Karley Birley
Mr. Joseph Karley Birley , Proprietor of Mount Earnslaw Hotel, Glenorchy, is a native of Yorkshire, England, where he was born in 1828. He has visited many American and Colonial goldfields and his recitals of Californian, Australian, and New Zealand mining experiences are highly entertaining. Mr. Birley left England for California in 1849, went to Victoria in 1852, came to Otago in 1863 and engaged in mining at the head of Lake Wakatipu, which is now known as Glenorchy. He was very successful at the Buckler Burn river, where he had one of the best claims in the district. Mr. Birley alleges he was the first to introduce hydraulic sluicing in Otago. He was married in 1866 to Sarah Ann, daughter of Mr. John Plummer, of Norfolk, and has three children, one of whom is Mr. Harry Birley, the well-known alpine climber, guide, and explorer, who was the first to make the ascent of Mount Earnslaw, a feat which was doubted for some years until confirmed by Mr. Malcolm Ross and others, who found actual traces of Mr. Birley's performance.
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Mount Earnslaw Hotel, Glenorchy.