John Helder Wedge
Encyclopedia
John Helder Wedge was a surveyor, explorer and politician in Van Diemen's Land
(now Tasmania
, Australia
).
Wedge was the second son of Charles Wedge
of Shudy Camps
, Cambridge
, England
. John Wedge learned the basics of surveying from his father. Due to financial losses during the post-war depression in agriculture, Wedge and his brother Edward decided to migrate to Van Diemen's Land
; before leaving London
Wedge had obtained an appointment in the colony as assistant surveyor.
Wedge led several expeditions through heavily timbered and mountainous country in the north-east and central highlands of the island. On one of these journeys Wedge he found a camp of the bushrangers led by Matthew Brady
. For Wedge's efforts in their capture he was rewarded with a land grant in 1826; later he applied for another grant for the capture of five absconders. Wedge was sent to the far north-west in 1828 to examine the lands of the Van Diemen's Land Company
. Wedge reported much rich soil in the heavily timbered area but the Company wanted pasture land immediately available and disputed the accuracy of Wedge's map. Part of Wedge's work included investigating grants surveyed earlier by George Evans
and Thomas Scott who were both accused of receiving bribes for measuring more than the authorized area to settlers. Wedge proved that the accusations were well founded.
A large expedition was organized by the surveyor-general, George Frankland
, in February 1835 to explore the country lying between the [Derwent River (Tasmania)|Derwent]], Gordon
and Huon
Rivers. Wedge, as leader of one of the parties, proved a resourceful and intelligent bushman, covering much difficult territory. Wedge won Frankland's praise for his efforts in the Survey Department whose staff was overworked. Wedge was keen for promotion and came to believe that his hopes were being frustrated by nepotism at the Colonial Office. In his survey work Wedge had often visited John Batman
at Kingston
, and together they planned an expedition across Bass Strait
.
and surveyed the 600000 acres (2,428.1 km²) 'acquired' by Batman's Port Phillip Association
from the Indigenous Australians
. Wedge arrived the site of Melbourne
on 2 September 1835, where he discovered members of a party organized by John Pascoe Fawkner
. Wedge was against the forceful removal of Fawkner's party by its rivals, and played an important part in the founding of the settlement of Melbourne
. Wedge named the Yarra River
on 13 September 1835. Wedge was one of the first to bring over sheep from Tasmania, to his station at Werribee. Wedge also reported to Lieutenant-Governor Arthur on the wild white man, William Buckley
, whose pardon he recommended, and on outrages against the Aboriginals, for whose hopeless condition he had much compassion. He had earlier adopted an Aboriginal boy, May Day, rescued from the surf near Circular Head, Victoria. His 'Narrative of an excursion amongst the natives of Port Phillip' and a 'Description of the country around Port Phillip' were among the expedition papers published as a Tasmanian parliamentary paper (1885). The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society
(1836) printed Wedge's paper 'On the country around Port Phillip, South Australia'. The diaries of his explorations and survey work were sent to his father in England; the Royal Society of Tasmania
published them in 1962.
From 1838-43 Wedge visited England; on the death of his father he returned to Tasmania
to find his finances reduced by economic depression. In 1843 Wedge married Maria Medland Wills, who had been governess to Bishop Francis Russell Nixon
's children, but within a year she died in childbirth. Wedge was then appointed by Nixon from 1846-51 to manage the farms which formed the endowment of Christ's College
at Bishopsbourne
. In 1855 Wedge was elected to the district of Morven in Tasmanian Legislative Council
. Wedge held office in the short-lived ministry of Thomas Gregson
in 1857, as member for North Esk, and initiated the inquiry into the convict department under its comptroller, Stephen Hampton. Wedge was an active Anglican; one of his last acts before withdrawing from parliament in 1868 was to support the commutation bill that granted £100,000 to religious denominations in place of annual state aid. Wedge died on 22 November 1872 at his home Medlands which he had built on the Forth River in 1865.
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(now Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
).
Wedge was the second son of Charles Wedge
Charles Wedge
Charles Wedge was a surveyor and explorer of the North West of Western Australia. He was the eldest son of Edward Davy Wedge and the nephew of John Helder Wedge, with whom he arrived, together with his cousin John Charles Darke in 1824 in Van Diemens Land...
of Shudy Camps
Shudy Camps
Shudy Camps is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. As of the 2001 census the population is 310. The area of the village is .-External links:*...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. John Wedge learned the basics of surveying from his father. Due to financial losses during the post-war depression in agriculture, Wedge and his brother Edward decided to migrate to Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
; before leaving London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Wedge had obtained an appointment in the colony as assistant surveyor.
Van Diemens Land
The brothers arrived in Van Diemen's Land aboard the Heroine on the morning of the 15th of April 1824.Wedge led several expeditions through heavily timbered and mountainous country in the north-east and central highlands of the island. On one of these journeys Wedge he found a camp of the bushrangers led by Matthew Brady
Matthew Brady
Matthew Brady was a notorious bushranger in Van Diemen's Land in the early 19th century. Born from two immigrants from Ireland, he was sometimes known as the "Gentleman Bushranger" due to his good treatment and fine manners when robbing his victims.Originally a corporal in a British regiment, he...
. For Wedge's efforts in their capture he was rewarded with a land grant in 1826; later he applied for another grant for the capture of five absconders. Wedge was sent to the far north-west in 1828 to examine the lands of the Van Diemen's Land Company
Van Diemen's Land Company
The Van Diemen's Land Company was created in 1824, received a Royal Charter in 1825, and was granted 250,000 acres in northwest Tasmania in 1826...
. Wedge reported much rich soil in the heavily timbered area but the Company wanted pasture land immediately available and disputed the accuracy of Wedge's map. Part of Wedge's work included investigating grants surveyed earlier by George Evans
George Evans (explorer)
George William Evans was a surveyor and early explorer in the colony of New South Wales. Evans was born in Warwick, England, migrating to Australia in October 1802.-Early Career:...
and Thomas Scott who were both accused of receiving bribes for measuring more than the authorized area to settlers. Wedge proved that the accusations were well founded.
A large expedition was organized by the surveyor-general, George Frankland
George Frankland
George Frankland was an English surveyor and Surveyor-General of Van Diemen's Land .In 1823, Frankland was appointed surveyor-general at Poona, India, where he became acquainted with Edward Dumaresq. In 1827 Frankland arrived in Van Diemen's Land as first assistant surveyor, in March 1828 he...
, in February 1835 to explore the country lying between the [Derwent River (Tasmania)|Derwent]], Gordon
Gordon River
The Gordon River is one of the major rivers of Tasmania, Australia. It rises in the centre of the island at Lake Richmond and flows westward for about 193km where it empties into Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast of Tasmania. Major tributaries include the Serpentine River and the Franklin...
and Huon
Huon River
The Huon River is the fourth largest river in Tasmania, Australia. It is 170 km in length, and runs through the fertile Huon Valley. From Scotts Peak Dam at Lake Pedder where it begins, it flows south-east to the Tahune Airwalk, where the Picton River joins, before heading through the rural...
Rivers. Wedge, as leader of one of the parties, proved a resourceful and intelligent bushman, covering much difficult territory. Wedge won Frankland's praise for his efforts in the Survey Department whose staff was overworked. Wedge was keen for promotion and came to believe that his hopes were being frustrated by nepotism at the Colonial Office. In his survey work Wedge had often visited John Batman
John Batman
John Batman was an Australian grazier, businessman and explorer who is best known for his role in the founding of a settlement which became Melbourne and the colony of Victoria.-Life:...
at Kingston
Kingston, Tasmania
Kingston is a township and region on the outskirts of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Nestled 15 km south of the city between and around several hills, Kingston is the council seat of its wider municipality, the Kingborough Council, and today serves as the gateway between Hobart and the...
, and together they planned an expedition across Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
.
Port Phillip District
When Batman returned from his first visit in 1835 Wedge resigned from the Survey Department and crossed to Port Phillip, arriving on 7 August 1835 where he explored along the Barwon RiverBarwon River (Victoria)
The Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
and surveyed the 600000 acres (2,428.1 km²) 'acquired' by Batman's Port Phillip Association
Port Phillip Association
The Port Phillip Association was formally formed in June 1835 to settle land in what would become Melbourne, which the association believed had been acquired by John Batman for the association from Wurundjeri elders after he had obtained their marks to a document, which came to be known as...
from the Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
. Wedge arrived the site of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 2 September 1835, where he discovered members of a party organized by John Pascoe Fawkner
John Pascoe Fawkner
John Pascoe Fawkner was an early pioneer, businessman and politician of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In 1835 he financed a party of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land , to sail to the mainland in his ship, Enterprize...
. Wedge was against the forceful removal of Fawkner's party by its rivals, and played an important part in the founding of the settlement of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Wedge named the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
on 13 September 1835. Wedge was one of the first to bring over sheep from Tasmania, to his station at Werribee. Wedge also reported to Lieutenant-Governor Arthur on the wild white man, William Buckley
William Buckley (convict)
William Buckley was an English convict who was transported to Australia, escaped, was given up for dead and lived in an Aboriginal community for many years....
, whose pardon he recommended, and on outrages against the Aboriginals, for whose hopeless condition he had much compassion. He had earlier adopted an Aboriginal boy, May Day, rescued from the surf near Circular Head, Victoria. His 'Narrative of an excursion amongst the natives of Port Phillip' and a 'Description of the country around Port Phillip' were among the expedition papers published as a Tasmanian parliamentary paper (1885). The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
(1836) printed Wedge's paper 'On the country around Port Phillip, South Australia'. The diaries of his explorations and survey work were sent to his father in England; the Royal Society of Tasmania
Royal Society of Tasmania
The Royal Society of Tasmania was formed in 1844.The RST was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom. It started as the "Tasmanian Society" formed by Sir John Franklin assisted by Ronald Campbell Gunn....
published them in 1962.
From 1838-43 Wedge visited England; on the death of his father he returned to Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
to find his finances reduced by economic depression. In 1843 Wedge married Maria Medland Wills, who had been governess to Bishop Francis Russell Nixon
Francis Russell Nixon
Francis Russell Nixon was the first Bishop of Tasmania.Nixon was the son of Rev. Robert Nixon, an amateur painter. Nixon was educated at the Merchant Taylors school and St John's College, Oxford, graduating BA 1827 and subsequently MA and DD. He was chaplain at Naples and afterwards held the...
's children, but within a year she died in childbirth. Wedge was then appointed by Nixon from 1846-51 to manage the farms which formed the endowment of Christ's College
Christ's College
Christ's College is a name shared by several educational establishments. Among them are:* Christ's College, Aberdeen, in Scotland* Christ's College, Cambridge, one of the constituent Colleges of the University of Cambridge, England...
at Bishopsbourne
Bishopsbourne, Tasmania
Bishopsbourne is a farming community in northern Tasmania. It has a population of fewer than 200. It has a church, graveyard and recreation ground. Nearby towns include Carrick, Bracknell and Longford...
. In 1855 Wedge was elected to the district of Morven in Tasmanian Legislative Council
Tasmanian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the House of Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart...
. Wedge held office in the short-lived ministry of Thomas Gregson
Thomas Gregson
Thomas George Gregson was the second Premier of Tasmania, serving from 26 February 1857 until 25 April 1857.-Early life:...
in 1857, as member for North Esk, and initiated the inquiry into the convict department under its comptroller, Stephen Hampton. Wedge was an active Anglican; one of his last acts before withdrawing from parliament in 1868 was to support the commutation bill that granted £100,000 to religious denominations in place of annual state aid. Wedge died on 22 November 1872 at his home Medlands which he had built on the Forth River in 1865.
External links
- Images and transcript of John Helder Wedge's field book
- Map of Port Phillip at the State Library of Victoria