Editing Lang Hancock

{{short description|Australian businessman (1909–1992)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Lang Hancock
| image              = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = 
| birth_name         = Langley Frederick George Hancock
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1909|06|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Perth, Western Australia]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1992|03|27|1909|06|10|df=yes}}
| death_place        = Prix D'Amour, [[Mosman Park, Western Australia]]
| nationality        = 
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = Discovery of the world's largest iron deposit; [[Secessionism in Western Australia|Western Australian secessionism]];<br>[[Hancock Prospecting|other business and mining interests]]
| boards             = [[Hancock Prospecting|Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd]]
| occupation         = [[iron ore|Mining]] [[Business magnate|magnate]]
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Susette Maley|1935|1944|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Hope Nicholas Clark|1947|1983|reason=died}}
* {{marriage|[[Rose Lacson]]|1985}}
}}
| children           = [[Gina Rinehart]]
}}

'''Langley Frederick George "Lang" Hancock''' (10 June 1909{{spaced ndash}} 27 March 1992) was an Australian [[iron ore]] [[Business magnate|magnate]] from [[Western Australia]] who maintained a high profile in the spheres of business and politics.  Famous initially for discovering the world's largest iron ore deposit in 1952 and becoming one of the richest men in Australia, he is now perhaps best remembered for his marriage to the much-younger [[Rose Porteous]], a [[Filipino people|Filipino]] woman and his former maid.  Hancock's daughter, [[Gina Rinehart]], was bitterly opposed to Hancock's relationship with Porteous. The conflicts between Rinehart and Porteous overshadowed his final years and continued until more than a decade after his death.

==Early life==
Hancock was born on 10 June 1909 in [[Leederville, Western Australia|Leederville, Perth, Western Australia]]. He was the oldest of four children born to Lilian ({{nee|Prior}}) and George Hancock; his mother was born in [[South Australia]] and his father in Western Australia. His father's great-aunt was [[Emma Withnell]], while a cousin was [[Valston Hancock|Sir Valston Hancock]].<ref name=adb>Melville J. Davies, 'Hancock, Langley Frederick (Lang) (1909–1992)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hancock-langley-frederick-lang-17492/text29181, published online 2016, accessed online 15 August 2018.</ref> Hancock spent his early childhood on his family's [[station (Australian agriculture)|station]] at [[Ashburton Downs]], later moving to [[Mulga Downs Station]] in the north-west after his father, George Hancock, bought a farming estate there.<ref name=iron>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42113367 |title="That's iron", he said. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]]|date=15 August 1962 |accessdate=14 January 2011 |page=14 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> After initially being educated at home, at the age of eight he began boarding at the [[St Aloysius Convent of Mercy]] in [[Toodyay]]. He later attended [[Hale School]] in Perth from 1924 to 1927, where he played for the school cricket and football teams.<ref name=adb/> Upon completing his secondary education, he returned to Mulga Downs Station to help his father manage the property.<ref name=iron/>

In 1935 he married Susette Maley. The couple lived at Mulga Downs, but Maley left Hancock to return to Perth. Their separation was formalised in 1944. Also in 1935, Hancock took over the management of Mulga Downs station from his father. He partnered with his old schoolmate [[Peter Wright (mining entrepreneur)|E. A. "Peter" Wright]] in running the property, later boasting that no deals between the two men were ever sealed with anything stronger than a [[handshake]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/news/malcolm-maiden/case-of-wrights--but-any-wrong/2005/07/12/1120934241936.html |title=Case of Wrights – but any wrong? |author=Maiden, Malcolm |work=The Age |date=13 July 2005 |location=Australia |accessdate=10 September 2011 }}</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], Hancock served in a [[Citizens Military Force|militia]] unit, the 11th (North-West) Battalion, [[Volunteer Defence Corps (Australia)|Volunteer Defence Corps]], and attained the rank of [[sergeant]].<ref name="World War II">{{cite web|url=http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=A&veteranId=836176|title=HANCOCK, LANGLEY GEORGE|accessdate=26 December 2008|work=World War II Nominal Roll|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |year=2002}}</ref> On 4 August 1947, he married his second wife, Hope Margaret Nicholas, the mother of his only acknowledged child, [[Gina Rinehart]].  Lang and Hope remained married for 35 years, until her death in 1983 at the age of 66. In 2012, Hilda Kickett, who had long claimed to be Lang Hancock's illegitimate daughter, claimed that the late mining magnate had had an illicit affair with an Aboriginal cook on his property at Mulga Downs resulting in her conception.<ref name="Courier Mail">{{cite web|url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/hancocks-love-child-reveals-secrets/story-e6freooo-1226270235403|title=Lang Hancock's love child reveals secrets|accessdate=19 February 2015|work=Courier Mail|year=2012}}</ref><ref name="Sydney Morning Herald">{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/rineharts-halfsister-speaks-out-on-family-20120703-21fia.html|title=Rinehart's 'half-sister' speaks out on family|accessdate=19 February 2015|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |year=2012}}</ref> These claims have not been corroborated.<ref name="Sydney Morning Herald2">{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/hancock-casts-doubt-over-rinehart-halfsister-claims-20120704-21gg7.html|title=Hancock casts doubt over Rinehart 'half-sister' claims|accessdate=19 February 2015|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |year=2012}}</ref>

==Wittenoom Gorge==
As a child, Hancock showed a keen interest in mining and prospecting from his uncle John Hancock Jr , and discovered asbestos at [[Wittenoom Gorge]] at the age of ten.<ref name="mininghof">{{cite web|url=http://www.mininghall.com/minerals/people/database/details.htm?section=Entrepreneurs_and_Promoters&id=hancockl&sort=name&loc= |title=Lang Hancock, 1909–1992 |work=Mining Hall of Fame biography |accessdate=5 September 2005 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050701065957/http://mininghall.com/minerals/people/database/details.htm?section=Entrepreneurs_and_Promoters&id=hancockl&sort=name&loc= |archivedate=1 July 2005 }}</ref> He staked a claim at Wittenoom in 1934 and began mining [[Riebeckite|blue asbestos]] there in 1938 with the company [[Australian Blue Asbestos]].

The mine attracted the attention of national behemoths [[CSR Limited]], who purchased the claim in 1943.  Hancock retained a 49% share after the sale, but appears to have become quickly disillusioned about this arrangement, complaining that CSR viewed their 51% share as a licence to ignore his views.  He sold the remainder of his claim in 1948.  The mine would later become the source of much controversy, when hundreds of cases of [[Mesothelioma|asbestos-related diseases]] came to light.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asbestosdiseases.org.au/asbestosinfo/wittenoom_tragedies.htm |title=The Wittenoom Tragedy |work=Asbestos related information |publisher=Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia |year=2004 |accessdate=5 September 2005 }}</ref> He was aware of the dangers of asbestos prior to selling his stake in Australian Blue Asbestos (as recently discovered papers have shown) but never accepted any liability, nor have his companies since his death. Neither the Australian federal government nor the Western Australian state government have pursued his companies for damages as of 2017.

==The Pilbara discovery==
[[File:Regions of western australia nine plus perth.png|right|thumb|Hancock struck iron ore in the Pilbara region, in north-west WA]]
On 16 November 1952, Hancock claimed he discovered the world's largest deposit of iron ore in the [[Pilbara region of Western Australia]]. Hancock said he was flying from [[Nunyerry, Western Australia|Nunyerry]] to Perth with his wife, Hope, when they were forced by bad weather to fly low, through the gorges of the [[Turner River]].  In Hancock's own words,<ref name="chronology">{{cite web|url=http://www.hancockprospecting.com.au/lgh%20achievements.pdf|title=Lang Hancock Chronology: 50 Years Commemoration |publisher=Hancock Prospecting |accessdate=5 September 2005 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616170435/http://hancockprospecting.com.au/lgh%20achievements.pdf |archivedate=16 June 2005 }}</ref>
{{quote|In November 1952, I was flying down south with my wife Hope, and we left a bit later than usual and by the time we got over the [[Hamersley Range]]s, the clouds had formed and the ceiling got lower and lower. I got into the Turner River, knowing full well if I followed it through, I would come out into the Ashburton.  On going through a gorge in the Turner River, I noticed that the walls looked to me to be solid iron and was particularly alerted by the rusty looking colour of it, it showed to me to be oxidised iron.}}

The story is widely accepted in modern descriptions of the discovery, but one biographer, [[Neill Phillipson]], disputes Hancock's account.  In ''Man of Iron'' he argues that there was no rain in the area of the Turner River on 16 November 1952 or indeed on ''any'' day in November 1952, a fact the [[Australian Bureau of Meteorology]] confirms.  Hancock returned to the area many times and, accompanied by prospector Ken McCamey, followed the iron ore over a distance of {{convert|112|km|mile|abbr=on}}.  He soon came to realise that he had stumbled across reserves of iron ore so vast that they could supply the entire world, thus confirming the discovery of the geologist [[Harry Page Woodward]], who after his survey asserted:
{{quote|"[t]his is essentially an iron ore country. There is enough iron ore to supply the whole world, should the present sources be worked out". – ''Annual General Report of the Government Geologist, 1890'' But overseas demand at that time was negligible and development of the formations was uneconomic.<ref name="20030303-HANSARD">{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/HANSARD/reps/dailys/dr030303.pdf | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20111124154244/http://aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr030303.pdf| archivedate=24 November 2011|url-status=dead|title=Private Members Business: Hancock, Mr Lang |work=House of Representatives, Hansard |date=3 March 2003|pages=11959–11964 |accessdate=5 September 2005 }}</ref><ref name=Legend>{{cite news | url=http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/holes-in-the-fabric-of-the-hancock-legend/338/ | title=Holes in the Fabric of the Hancock Legend | work=[[The Global Mail]] | date=3 September 2012 | accessdate=14 January 2015 | author=Lagan, Bernard | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907013541/http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/holes-in-the-fabric-of-the-hancock-legend/338/ | archivedate=7 September 2012}}</ref><ref name=Report>{{cite web |url=https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/FullTextFiles/007648.pdf |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20210921050914/https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/FullTextFiles/007648.pdf |archivedate=21 September 2021 |url-status=live|title=Mineral Resources of Western Australia |work=Department of Mines |date=1980|pages=27–28 |accessdate=23 November 2021}}</ref>}}

After 1920 development of the [[Yampi Sound]] deposits started but exports to Japan were curtailed by the [[Commonwealth Government]] in 1938. Prospecting and exploration of other ore deposits continued until 1952 where an agreement between the [[Government of Western Australia]] and BHP to build a steel mill and smelter in [[City of Kwinana|Kwinana]] was established. All other iron ore, known or unknown, was reserved to the Crown for 9 years. Representations were made to the Commonwealth Government to have the embargo lifted and in 1960 limited approval was granted for the export of iron ore from non-BHP deposits. This sparked a wave of intensive prospecting and exploration concentrated in the North West, the Hamersley Ranges in particular, where formation had been known but ore bodies not yet delineated. At this time Hancock revealed his discovery. Hancock had lobbied furiously for a decade to get the ban lifted and in 1961 was finally able to reveal his discovery and stake his claim.<ref name=Legend/><ref name=Report/>

In the mid-1960s Hancock turned once more to Peter Wright and the pair entered into a deal with mining giant [[Rio Tinto Group]] to develop the iron ore find.  Hancock named it "Hope Downs" after his wife.  Under the terms of the deal Rio Tinto set up and still administer a mine in the area. Wright and Hancock walked away with annual royalties of [[Australian dollar|A]]$25 million, split evenly between the two men.  In 1990, Hancock was [[BRW Rich 200|estimated]] by ''[[Business Review Weekly]]'' to be worth a minimum of A$125 million.<ref name="brw-worth">{{cite news |title=Lang Hancock |work=[[Business Review Weekly]] |date=6 April 1990 |location=Australia }}</ref>

==Political activity==
Although Lang Hancock never aspired to political office, he held strong [[conservative]] political views and often entered the political arena.  In addition to his activities in the 1950s, lobbying against government restrictions on the mining of iron ore, Hancock [[Political donations in Australia|donated]] considerable sums of money to politicians of many political stripes.  His political views aligned most closely with the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]] and [[National Party of Australia|National]] [[Parties of Australia]].  He was a good friend and strong supporter of [[Queensland]] [[Premier of Queensland|Premier]] [[Joh Bjelke-Petersen]] and donated A$632,000 to the Queensland National Party while Bjelke-Petersen was in charge. He gave A$314,000 to their counterparts in Western Australia, but also gave the Western [[Australian Labor Party]] A$985,000; because "at least they can't do any harm". Hancock had had a falling-out with [[Sir Charles Court]] and the Western Australian Liberals and was adamant that the Liberals should be kept out of power as long as possible.<ref name="age-millions">{{cite news |title=Why Hancock Gave Millions For Nothing |author=Light, Deborah |work=The Age |location=Australia |date=6 June 1991 }}</ref>

Hancock also offered strong advice to the politicians he favoured.  In 1977 he sent a [[Teleprinter|Telex]] to the then-[[Treasurer of Australia]] Sir [[Phillip Lynch]], telling him he needed to "stop money coming in to finance subversive activities, such as [[Friends of the Earth]], which is a well-heeled foreign operation."  He also suggested to Bjelke-Petersen that the Federal Government should attempt to censor the works of [[Ralph Nader]] and [[John Kenneth Galbraith]], lest they "wreck [[Malcolm Fraser|Fraser]]'s government".

In 1969 Hancock and his partner Peter Wright commenced publication in Perth of a weekly newspaper, [[Sunday Independent (Western Australia)|''The Sunday Independent'']], principally to help further their mining interests. Faced with strong competition, the newspaper is thought never to have turned a profit, Hancock largely relinquishing his interest in it in the early 70s and Wright selling it to [[The Truth (Melbourne newspaper)|''The Truth'']] in 1984.

Hancock was a staunch proponent of [[small government]] and resented what he considered to be interference by the Commonwealth Government in Western Australian affairs.  He declared before a state [[Royal Commission]] in 1991 that "I have always believed that the best government is the least government", and that "Although governments do not and cannot positively help business, they can be disruptive and destructive."<ref name="afr-tycoon">{{cite news |title=Hancock: The Enigmatic Tycoon |author=Beyer, Mark |work= [[The Australian Financial Review]] |date = 30 March 1992 }}</ref>

Hancock bankrolled an unsuccessful secessionist party in the 1970s,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sailplanes.com.au/sail-planes-articles/1994/2/20/west-of-a-greater-divide/ |title=West of a Greater Divide? |author=Walker, Frank |work=[[The Sun-Herald]] |location=Australia |date=20 February 1994 |accessdate=10 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402093631/http://www.sailplanes.com.au/sail-planes-articles/1994/2/20/west-of-a-greater-divide/ |archive-date=2 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and in 1979 published a book, ''Wake Up Australia'', outlining what he saw as the case for [[Secessionism in Western Australia|Western Australian secession]].  The book was launched by Gina Rinehart and Bjelke-Petersen.

==Attitudes towards Aboriginal people==

Hancock is quoted as saying,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://epress.anu.edu.au/bwwp/mobile_devices/ch10.html#d0e8316 |author1=Coyne, Michael |author2=Edwards, Leigh |title=The Oz Factor: Who's Doing What in Australia |location=East Malvern |year=1990 |page=68 |doi=10.22459/BWWP.03.2004 |isbn=9780975122952 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
:"Mining in Australia occupies less than one-fifth of one percent of the total surface of our continent and yet it supports 14 million people. Nothing should be sacred from mining whether it's your ground, my ground, the blackfellow's ground or anybody else's. So the question of [[native title|Aboriginal land rights]] and things of this nature shouldn't exist."

In a 1984 television interview,<ref>[https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/couldnt-be-fairer/clip2/ Couldn't Be Fairer (1984)]</ref> Hancock suggested forcing unemployed indigenous Australians − specifically "the ones that are no good to themselves and who can't accept things, the half-castes" − to collect their welfare cheques from a central location. "And when they had gravitated there, I would dope the water up so that they were sterile and would breed themselves out in the future, and that would solve the problem."

==Rose Porteous==
{{main|Rose Porteous}}
In 1983, the same year as Hope Hancock's death, Rose Lacson (now Porteous) arrived in Australia from the [[Philippines]] on a three-month [[Visa (document)|working visa]].  By the arrangement of Hancock's daughter, Gina Rinehart, Porteous began working as a [[Housekeeper (domestic worker)|maid]] for the newly widowed Lang Hancock.<ref name=Age-timeline>{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/26/1019441296313.html |title=Timeline: Events in the war between Rose and Gina |agency=[[Australian Associated Press]]|work=[[The Age]] |location=Australia |date=26 April 2002 |accessdate=10 September 2011 }}</ref>

Hancock and Porteous became romantically involved over the course of Porteous' employment and they were wed on 6 July 1985<ref name=Age-timeline/> in [[Sydney]].  It was a third marriage for each of them.  Porteous, who was thirty-nine years younger than her husband, was often accused of [[Gold digger|gold digging]] because of their [[age disparity]], as well as being unfaithful and promiscuous.  As Porteous later stated: "I have been accused of sleeping with every man in Australia ... I would have been a very busy woman."<ref name="age-quotes">{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/26/1019441296445.html |title=Quotes from the inquest |agency=AAP |work=The Age |location=Australia |date=26 April 2002 |accessdate=10 September 2011}}</ref> Hancock's daughter, Gina Rinehart, who stood to inherit his entire estate, did not attend the wedding.

[[File:Prix d'Amour.jpg|thumb|right|Prix d'Amour, during its demolition in early 2006.]]
Although the marriage would later prove tumultuous, early on Hancock was clearly infatuated with his young wife.  He gave her money and investments in [[real estate]] in the Sydney area.  Porteous, in turn, helped Hancock to look and act like a much younger man, belying his eight decades.  As ''[[The Age]]'' put it, "Rose made Lang feel younger, sprucing up his wardrobe, dyeing his hair and getting rid of his cane."<ref name="age-marriedboss">{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/26/1019441295711.html |title=The maid who married the boss |agency=AAP |work=The Age |location=Australia |date=26 April 2002 |accessdate=10 September 2011}}</ref> Together they built the "Prix d'Amour", a lavish 16-block mansion overlooking the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan River]]. The mansion, which was modelled after [[Tara (plantation)|Tara]], the plantation mansion from the movie ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'', was the setting for many large parties at which Hancock and Porteous would "dance into the night".<ref name="age-marriedboss"/>

As the marriage wore on, however, the relationship between Lang and Rose began to break down.   Rinehart would later claim that Hancock's bride had paid little attention to his worsening health, but had instead "screeched at him for money".<ref name="age-marriedboss"/> Although there were many quarrels, the Hancocks remained married until Lang's death in 1992.<ref name=Age-timeline/>

On 25 June 1992, less than three months after Hancock's death, Porteous married for the fourth time, to Hancock's long-time friend [[William Porteous]].<ref name=Age-timeline/> Rinehart was indignant at the haste with which her stepmother had remarried.

The Prix d'Amour, built in 1990, was bulldozed in March 2006.<ref>{{cite news |title=Socialite's Perth home to be razed |work=[[The Mercury]] |location=Hobart, Australia |date=10 February 2006 }}</ref> Western Australian finance minister [[Max Evans (politician)|Max Evans]] mourned the loss of the home as the excavators moved in and recalled Hancock had been bemused by his wife's desire for the sprawling mansion:

"He'd say, 'Mr Evans, I don't know why Rose wants this house, I'd be happy sleeping in a transportable.' "

Mrs Porteous told him she'd always wanted to live in Prix D'Amour, "but I don't want to clean it", she had added quickly.<ref name="downsize">{{cite news | url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/how-to-downsize-your-home-in-the-style-of-rose-porteous/2006/03/25/1143084045400.html | title=How to downsize your home in the style of Rose Porteous | work=The Sydney Morning Herald| date=26 March 2006 | accessdate=14 January 2015 | author=Liza Kappelle}}</ref>

==Death and inquest==
In March 1992 Hancock died, aged 82 years,<ref name=Age-timeline/> while living in the guesthouse of the Prix D'Amour. According to his daughter, the death was "unexpected" and came "despite strong will to live".<ref name="chronology"/>

An autopsy showed that he had died of [[arteriosclerotic]] [[heart disease]] and police investigation revealed no evidence to contradict that.<ref name=Age-timeline/> However, Hancock's daughter insisted that her stepmother had unnaturally hastened his death. Two successive state coroners refused to allow an inquest, but one was eventually granted in 1999 under the direction of the [[Attorney-General of Western Australia|WA Attorney-General]], Peter Foss.<ref name=Age-timeline/>

After preliminary hearings during 2000, the inquest began in April 2001 with an initial estimate of 63 witnesses to be called over five weeks.<ref name=Age-timeline/> The inquest was dominated by claims that Porteous had literally nagged Hancock to death with shrill tantrums and arguments. Porteous denied the allegations, famously explaining: "For anyone else it would be a tantrum, for me it's just raising my voice."<ref name="age-quotes"/> In the last few days of Hancock's life, Porteous had attempted to pressure him into changing his [[will (legal)|will]] and Hancock eventually took out a restraining order against her.<ref>{{cite news |title=Test of Wills |author=McGeough, Paul |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=28 October 1995 }}</ref> The inquest was put on hold after allegations that Rinehart had paid witnesses to appear and that some had lied in their testimony.<ref name="abc-finalchapter">{{cite news |title=Lang Hancock – final chapter |author=Weber, David |work=ABC News |location=Australia |date=22 May 2003 }}</ref> It resumed three months later with a smaller witness list and ended with the finding that Hancock had died of natural causes and not as a result of Porteous' behaviour.<ref name=Age-timeline/>

With a legal bill of A$2.7m,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/26/1019441302945.html |title=The Rose and Gina show ain't over |author=Wainwright, Robert |date=27 April 2002 |work=The Age |location=Australia |accessdate=10 September 2011 }}</ref> Rose and William Porteous commenced action against Rinehart, that was eventually settled out of court in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2003/s953986.htm |title=Hancock heirs settle inheritance dispute |work=PM (ABC Radio) |location=Australia |date=25 September 2003 |author=Grimm, Nick |format=transcript |accessdate=10 September 2011 }}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{main|Hancock Prospecting}}
Hancock's daughter, Gina Rinehart, continues to chair Hancock Prospecting and its expansion into mining projects continues in Western Australia and other states of Australia,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/management/the-iron-lady-20120116-1q1u6.html |title=The iron lady |work=The Age |date=21 January 2012 |author=Cadzow, Jane |location=Australia |accessdate=17 February 2012}}</ref> estimated to be earning about A$870 million in revenue in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smartcompany.com.au/wealth/20110207-the-great-resources-rush.html|title=Gina Rinehart's great resources rush|date=7 February 2011|author=Thomson, James|work=SmartCompany|accessdate=2 February 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417061616/http://www.smartcompany.com.au/wealth/20110207-the-great-resources-rush.html|archivedate=17 April 2012}}</ref> 
Rinehart is Australia's richest person and was also the world's richest woman for a period of time, with a net worth of {{A$}}29.17 billion during 2012;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/the-2917-billion-woman-gina-rinehart-tops-brws-rich-list/story-e6frg996-1226364335069 |title=The $29.17 billion woman: Gina Rinehart tops BRW's Rich List |author=Jackson, Sally |work=The Australian |accessdate=23 May 2012}}</ref> by 2019, her wealth had eased to around $US14.8 billion, according to ''[[Forbes]]''.

The [[Hancock Range]], situated about {{convert|65|km}} north-west of the town of [[Newman, Western Australia|Newman]] at {{coord|23|00|23|S|119|12|31|E|display=inline}}, commemorates the family's contribution to the establishment of the pastoral and mining industry in the Pilbara region.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Geographic Name Approvals in Western Australia |journal=Geographic Name Approvals in Western Australia|date=December 1999 |volume=15 |number=4 |page=7}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |author=Duffield, Robert |title=Rogue Bull: The Story of Lang Hancock, King of the Pilbara |year=1979 |isbn=0-00-216423-X |location=Sydney |publisher=Collins |type=Hardback |pages=231 }}
*{{cite book 
  |author=Hancock, Lang 
  |title=Wake Up Australia! 
  |year=1979 
  |isbn=0-85574-163-5 
  |location=Sydney 
  |publisher=E J Dwyer 
  |url=https://archive.org/details/wakeupaustralia0000hanc 
  |access-date=2023-09-24 
  |via=Internet Archive
}}
*{{cite book |author=Marshall, Debi |title=Lang Hancock |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-86508-415-2 |location=Sydney |publisher=Allen & Unwin |type=Hardback |pages=288 }}
*{{cite book |author=Phillipson, Neill |title=Man of Iron |year=1974 |isbn=0-85885-079-6 |location=Melbourne |publisher=Wren |type=Hardback |pages=206 }}
*{{cite book |author=Wainwright, Robert |title=Rose |year=2003 |isbn=1-86508-934-6 |location=Sydney |publisher=Allen & Unwin |type=Hardback |pages=338 }}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140819195519/http://www.hancockprospecting.com.au/ Hancock Prospecting website]
*[http://www.abc.net.au/northwestwa/stories/s1409821.htm Why Gina just got richer], [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] North-West WA, 8 July 2005.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050908051239/http://www.aussiereviews.com/article1213.html Book review of Robert Wainwright's ''Rose''], from aussiereviews.com

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Lang}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Volunteer Defence Corps soldiers]]
[[Category:People educated at Hale School]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Perth, Western Australia]]
[[Category:Pilbara]]
[[Category:Australian prospectors]]
[[Category:Lang Hancock family|Lang]]
[[Category:Australian company founders]]
[[Category:Mining company founders]]
[[Category:Australian mining businesspeople]]
[[Category:Australian billionaires]]
[[Category:Conservatism in Australia]]