William Wentworth
Encyclopedia
William Charles Wentworth (13? August 1790 – 20 March 1872) was an Australian poet, explorer, journalist and politician, and one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales
. He was the first native-born Australian to achieve a reputation overseas, and a leading advocate for self-government for the Australian colonies.
, a penal settlement in the Tasman Sea
, where his parents D'Arcy Wentworth
and Catherine Crowley (who were not married) were being transported from Australasia. Strictly speaking D'Arcy Wentworth, a surgeon, was not a convict, since although he was accused of highway robbery
he accepted transportation in order to avoid conviction. He was a descendant of the Anglo-Irish Earl of Roscommon
. Catherine Crowley was a convict, an Irish teenager who was transported for stealing clothing.
In 1796 young Wentworth arrived in Sydney, then a squalid prison settlement, with his parents. The family lived at Parramatta
, where his father became a prosperous landowner. In 1803 he was sent to England, where he was educated at a school in London. He returned to Sydney in 1810, where he was appointed acting Provost-Marshall by Governor Lachlan Macquarie
, and given a land grant of 1750 acres (7 km²) on the Nepean River
.
As a youth, Wentworth earned money by racing as a jockey around what is now Hyde Park
, Sydney.
In 1813 Wentworth, along with Gregory Blaxland
and William Lawson, led the expedition which found a route across the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and opened up the grazing lands of inland New South Wales. The town of Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains commemorates his role in the expedition. As a reward he was granted another 1000 acres (4 km²). He then combined farming with sandalwood
trading in the South Pacific, where the captain of the ship died at Rarotonga
and Wentworth safely brought the ship back to Sydney. He returned to England in 1816. There he was admitted to the bar, travelled in Europe, and studied at Cambridge University
.
In 1819 Wentworth published the first book written by an Australian: A Statistical, Historical, and Political Description of the Colony of New South Wales and Its Dependent Settlements in Van Diemen's Land, With a Particular Enumeration of the Advantages Which These Colonies Offer for Emigration and Their Superiority in Many Respects Over Those Possessed by the United States of America, in which he advocated an elected assembly for New South Wales, trial by jury and settlement of Australia by free emigrants rather than convicts.
Wentworth successfully completed his legal studies by 1822 and was called to the bar. In 1823 he was admitted to Peterhouse, Cambridge
. That year he also published an epic poem Australasia, which contains lines now famous in Australia:
Wentworth returned to Sydney in 1824, accompanied by Robert Wardell
. D'Arcy Wentworth died in 1827 and William inherited his property, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the colony. He bought land in eastern Sydney and built a mansion, Vaucluse House
, from which the modern suburb takes its name. But because his parents had never married, and his mother had been a convict, he could not become a member of Sydney's "respectable" class, known as "the exclusives." Embittered by this rejection, he placed himself at the head of the "emancipist" party, which sought equal rights and status for ex-convicts and their descendants.
A wild but gifted orator and a vitriolic journalist, Wentworth became the colony's leading political figure of the 1820s and '30s, calling for representative government, the abolition of transportation, freedom of the press and trial by jury. He became a bitter enemy of Governor Ralph Darling
and the exclusives, led by the wealthy grazier John Macarthur
and his friends. Macarthur's opposition to Wentworth was personal as well as political. Macarthur had broken up the relationship between his daughter Elizabeth and Wentworth, as he would not allow his daughter to marry someone with convict parents.
Wentworth became Vice-President of the Australian Patriotic Association and founded a newspaper, The Australian, the colony's first privately owned paper, to champion his causes. (This paper has no connection with the current Australian
, which was established by Rupert Murdoch
in 1964.)
By 1840, however, the political climate in New South Wales had changed. With the abolition of transportation and the establishment of an elected Legislative Council
, the dominant issue became the campaign to break the grip of the squatter (pastoral) class over the colony's lands, and on this issue Wentworth sided with his fellow landowners against the democratic party, who wanted to break up the squatters' runs for small farmers. He was elected to the Council in 1843 and soon became the leader of the conservative party, opposed to the liberals led by Charles Cowper
.
In 1853 Wentworth chaired the committee to draft a new constitution for New South Wales, which was to receive full responsible self-government from Britain. His draft provided for a powerful unelected Legislative Council and an elected Legislative Assembly
with high property qualifications for voting and membership. He also suggested the establishment of a colonial peerage
drawn from the landowning class. This draft aroused the bitter opposition of the democrats and radicals such as Daniel Deniehy
, who ridiculed Wentworth's plans for what he called a "bunyip
aristocracy."
The draft constitution was substantially changed to make it more democratic, although the Legislative Council remained unelected. With the establishment of responsible government in 1856 Wentworth retired from the Council and settled in England. He refused several offers of honours, and was a member of the Conservative Party
in the 1860s. He died in England, but at his request his body was returned to Sydney for burial. His family has remained prominent in Sydney society, and his great-grandson William Wentworth IV was a Liberal
member of Parliament 1949-77.
He fathered at least one other child out of wedlock with Jamima Eagar, the estranged wife of Edward Eagar
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20050407051.
and Wentworth Falls
, the federal Division of Wentworth
, an electorate in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, the Wentworth Falls
waterfall, and Wentworth Avenue which runs through the suburb of Kingston
in Canberra
, were named after him.
In 1963 he was honoured, together with Blaxland and Lawson, on a postage stamp
issued by Australia Post
depicting the Blue Mountains crossing, http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0007540.jpg and again in 1974 on the anniversary of the first newspaper publication.http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0010970.jpg
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. He was the first native-born Australian to achieve a reputation overseas, and a leading advocate for self-government for the Australian colonies.
Life
Wentworth was born at sea, at least five weeks premature, shortly before arriving at Norfolk IslandNorfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
, a penal settlement in the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
, where his parents D'Arcy Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth was born in Portadown, County Armagh, Ireland and emigrated to Australia as an assistant surgeon to then-new colony of Sydney.- Emigration to Australia :...
and Catherine Crowley (who were not married) were being transported from Australasia. Strictly speaking D'Arcy Wentworth, a surgeon, was not a convict, since although he was accused of highway robbery
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
he accepted transportation in order to avoid conviction. He was a descendant of the Anglo-Irish Earl of Roscommon
Earl of Roscommon
Earl of Roscommon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 August 1622 for James Dillon, 1st Baron Dillon. He had already been created Baron Dillon on 24 January 1619, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The fourth Earl was a courtier, poet and critic. The titles became dormant on the...
. Catherine Crowley was a convict, an Irish teenager who was transported for stealing clothing.
In 1796 young Wentworth arrived in Sydney, then a squalid prison settlement, with his parents. The family lived at Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
, where his father became a prosperous landowner. In 1803 he was sent to England, where he was educated at a school in London. He returned to Sydney in 1810, where he was appointed acting Provost-Marshall by Governor Lachlan Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
, and given a land grant of 1750 acres (7 km²) on the Nepean River
Nepean River
The Nepean River is a river in the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia.The headwaters of the Nepean River rise near Robertson, about 100 kilometres south of Sydney and about 15 kilometres from the coast. The river flows north in an unpopulated water catchment area into Nepean Dam, which...
.
As a youth, Wentworth earned money by racing as a jockey around what is now Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Sydney
Hyde Park is a large park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hyde Park is on the eastern side of the Sydney central business district. It is the southernmost of a chain of parkland that extends north to the shore of Port Jackson . It is approximately rectangular in shape, being squared at the...
, Sydney.
In 1813 Wentworth, along with Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland was a pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia.- Early life :Gregory Blaxland was born 17 June 1778 at Fordwich, Kent, England, the fourth son of John Blaxland, mayor from 1767 to 1774, whose family had owned estates nearby for generations, and Mary, daughter of Captain Parker,...
and William Lawson, led the expedition which found a route across the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and opened up the grazing lands of inland New South Wales. The town of Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains commemorates his role in the expedition. As a reward he was granted another 1000 acres (4 km²). He then combined farming with sandalwood
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
trading in the South Pacific, where the captain of the ship died at Rarotonga
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...
and Wentworth safely brought the ship back to Sydney. He returned to England in 1816. There he was admitted to the bar, travelled in Europe, and studied at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
In 1819 Wentworth published the first book written by an Australian: A Statistical, Historical, and Political Description of the Colony of New South Wales and Its Dependent Settlements in Van Diemen's Land, With a Particular Enumeration of the Advantages Which These Colonies Offer for Emigration and Their Superiority in Many Respects Over Those Possessed by the United States of America, in which he advocated an elected assembly for New South Wales, trial by jury and settlement of Australia by free emigrants rather than convicts.
Wentworth successfully completed his legal studies by 1822 and was called to the bar. In 1823 he was admitted to Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
. That year he also published an epic poem Australasia, which contains lines now famous in Australia:
- And, O Britannia!... may this — thy last-born infant — then arise,
- To glad thy heart, and greet thy parent eyes;
- And Australasia float, with flag unfurl’d,
- A new Britannia in another world!
Wentworth returned to Sydney in 1824, accompanied by Robert Wardell
Robert Wardell
Robert Wardell was an English-born Australian barrister and newspaper editor.-Early life:Wardell was born in England and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he matriculated 1810, gained his LL.B. in 1817 and a LL.D. in 1823. Wardell was editor and proprietor of the Statesman, a London...
. D'Arcy Wentworth died in 1827 and William inherited his property, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the colony. He bought land in eastern Sydney and built a mansion, Vaucluse House
Vaucluse House
Vaucluse House is a historic estate in Gothic Revival style in the harbourside suburb of Vaucluse in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb takes its name from this house. Vaucluse House is a 19th century estate with house, kitchen wing, stables and outbuildings, surrounded by 28 acres of...
, from which the modern suburb takes its name. But because his parents had never married, and his mother had been a convict, he could not become a member of Sydney's "respectable" class, known as "the exclusives." Embittered by this rejection, he placed himself at the head of the "emancipist" party, which sought equal rights and status for ex-convicts and their descendants.
A wild but gifted orator and a vitriolic journalist, Wentworth became the colony's leading political figure of the 1820s and '30s, calling for representative government, the abolition of transportation, freedom of the press and trial by jury. He became a bitter enemy of Governor Ralph Darling
Ralph Darling
General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH was a British colonial Governor and Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831.-Early career:...
and the exclusives, led by the wealthy grazier John Macarthur
John Macarthur (wool pioneer)
John Macarthur was a British army officer, entrepreneur, politician, architect and pioneer of settlement in Australia. Macarthur is recognised as the pioneer of the wool industry that was to boom in Australia in the early 19th century and become a trademark of the nation...
and his friends. Macarthur's opposition to Wentworth was personal as well as political. Macarthur had broken up the relationship between his daughter Elizabeth and Wentworth, as he would not allow his daughter to marry someone with convict parents.
Wentworth became Vice-President of the Australian Patriotic Association and founded a newspaper, The Australian, the colony's first privately owned paper, to champion his causes. (This paper has no connection with the current Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
, which was established by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
in 1964.)
By 1840, however, the political climate in New South Wales had changed. With the abolition of transportation and the establishment of an elected Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
, the dominant issue became the campaign to break the grip of the squatter (pastoral) class over the colony's lands, and on this issue Wentworth sided with his fellow landowners against the democratic party, who wanted to break up the squatters' runs for small farmers. He was elected to the Council in 1843 and soon became the leader of the conservative party, opposed to the liberals led by Charles Cowper
Charles Cowper
Sir Charles Cowper, KCMG was an Australian politician and the Premier of New South Wales on five different occasions from 1856 to 1870....
.
In 1853 Wentworth chaired the committee to draft a new constitution for New South Wales, which was to receive full responsible self-government from Britain. His draft provided for a powerful unelected Legislative Council and an elected Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
with high property qualifications for voting and membership. He also suggested the establishment of a colonial peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
drawn from the landowning class. This draft aroused the bitter opposition of the democrats and radicals such as Daniel Deniehy
Daniel Deniehy
Daniel Henry Deniehy was an Australian journalist, orator and politician; and early advocate of democracy in colonial New South Wales.-Early life:...
, who ridiculed Wentworth's plans for what he called a "bunyip
Bunyip
The bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes....
aristocracy."
The draft constitution was substantially changed to make it more democratic, although the Legislative Council remained unelected. With the establishment of responsible government in 1856 Wentworth retired from the Council and settled in England. He refused several offers of honours, and was a member of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in the 1860s. He died in England, but at his request his body was returned to Sydney for burial. His family has remained prominent in Sydney society, and his great-grandson William Wentworth IV was a Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
member of Parliament 1949-77.
Family
In 1829 Wentworth married Sarah Cox (1805–1880), with whom he had seven daughters and three sons including:- Thomasine Wentworth (1825–1913)
- William Charles Wentworth (1827–1859) died without issue
- Fanny Wentworth (1829–1893)
- FitzWilliam Wentworth (1833–1915) father of:
- William Charles Wentworth III (1871–1949) father and grandfather respectively of
- William Charles Wentworth IV; and
- Mungo Wentworth MacCallumMungo Wentworth MacCallumMungo Wentworth MacCallum is an Australian political journalist and commentator.He is the son of Mungo Ballardie MacCallum , and Diana Wentworth a great granddaughter of the Australian explorer and politician William Charles Wentworth...
- William Charles Wentworth III (1871–1949) father and grandfather respectively of
- Sarah Wentworth (1835–1857)
- Eliza Sophia Wentworth (1838–1898)
- Isabella Wentworth (1840–1856)
- Laura Wentworth (1842–1887)
- Edith Wentworth (1845–1891) married Rev. Sir Charles Gordon-Cumming Dunbar of Northfield, 9th Bt. in 1872
- D'Arcy Bland Wentworth (1848–1922)
He fathered at least one other child out of wedlock with Jamima Eagar, the estranged wife of Edward Eagar
Edward Eagar
-Early life:Eagar was born in Killarney, Ireland. His parents were landed gentry so he was well educated. He trained as a solicitor and became an attorney to His Majesty's Courts in Ireland. In 1809 he was charged with forging a bill of exchange, and he was convicted and sentenced to death...
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20050407051.
Recognition
The towns of WentworthWentworth, New South Wales
Wentworth is a small border town in the far south west of the state of New South Wales, Australia. It lies at the confluence of Australia's two most important rivers, the Darling and the Murray, the latter forming the border with the state of Victoria to the south. The border with the state of...
and Wentworth Falls
Wentworth Falls, New South Wales
Wentworth Falls is a town in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales located 100 kilometres west of Sydney, and about 8 kilometres east of Katoomba, Australia on the Great Western Highway, with a Wentworth Falls railway station on the Main Western line. The town is situated at an elevation of...
, the federal Division of Wentworth
Division of Wentworth
The Division of Wentworth is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was proclaimed in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. The Division is named after William Charles Wentworth , a noted Australian explorer and statesman...
, an electorate in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, the Wentworth Falls
Wentworth Falls (waterfall)
Wentworth Falls is a three-tiered seasonal waterfall fed by the Kedumba Creek, near the Blue Mountains town of Wentworth Falls in New South Wales, Australia. The falls are accessible via the National Pass and the Overcliff/Undercliff Walk...
waterfall, and Wentworth Avenue which runs through the suburb of Kingston
Kingston, Australian Capital Territory
Kingston is the oldest and most densely populated suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The suburb is named after Charles Cameron Kingston, the former Premier of South Australia and minister in the first Australian Commonwealth Government. It is adjacent to the suburbs of...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, were named after him.
In 1963 he was honoured, together with Blaxland and Lawson, on a postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
issued by Australia Post
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
depicting the Blue Mountains crossing, http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0007540.jpg and again in 1974 on the anniversary of the first newspaper publication.http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0010970.jpg
Works
- A Statistical Account of the British Settlements in Australasia (1819)
- Journal of an expedition, across the Blue Mountains, 11 May-6 June 1813, 1813
- Australasia: a poem written for the Chancellor's Medal at the Cambridge commencement, July 1823, London: G. and W.B. Whittaker, 1823
Sources
- BartonBernard Barton-External links:* at Find-A-Grave...
, The Poets and Prose Writers of New South Wales (Sydney, 1866) - Rusden, History of Australia (London, 1883)
External links
- Portrait of William Charles Wentworth (bronze medallion) in the National Portrait Gallery, London
- Portrait of William Charles Wentworth (copy print) digitised and held by the State Library of QueenslandState Library of QueenslandThe State Library of Queensland is a large public library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988...
- The Wentworth family
- Crossing the Blue Mountains - State Library of NSW
- Biography in archives of NSW State Parliament