Regency Personalities Series-Anna Josepha King

Regency Personalities Series

In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

Anna Josepha King
1765–1844

Anna Josepha King

Anna Josepha King was born Anna Josepha Coombe in 1765 at Hatherleigh in Devonshire. At the age of 26 she married her first cousin Philip Gidley King who was a 33-year-old officer in the Royal Navy. He had recently returned from Norfolk Island where he had been in charge of establishing a penal settlement for two years under the direction of Captain Arthur Phillip.

The marriage took place on 11 March 1791 at St Martin in the Fields, London. Only four days later the couple sailed on the frigate Gorgon for Norfolk Island where King was to resume his duties as Lieutenant-Governor of the penal colony. Anna King and the captain’s wife, Mary Ann Parker, were the only women on the outward journey. Parker wrote an account of the voyage which described Mrs. King as her “amiable companion”.

The Kings arrived at Norfolk Island in November 1791 and six weeks later Anna gave birth to her first child Philip Parker King. Life was not easy on the island. Their home which at that time was Government House has been described as a “dilapidated little building twenty four feet by twelve, falling to pieces and unsafe to live in”. Not only did Anna have her own baby to attend to, she was also required to care for two illegitimate children of her husband. These two children named Norfolk and Sydney were born to Anne Innet a female convict who was King’s mistress during his previous term as Governor on Norfolk Island before he married Anna.

Life on the island was very isolated. In 1792, there was no communication for nine months with Sydney, which was their only link with the outside world. News from England, when it did arrive, was often almost 12 months old. Two daughters were born on the island – Anna Maria in 1793 and Utricia in 1795. Utricia died when she was a small child.

Illness plagued both Anna King and her husband during their stay on Norfolk Island. King suffered frequently from gout and other illnesses and in 1795 almost died. The following year he applied for leave to return to England for proper medical advice. In April 1796 the King family sailed aboard the Britannia and then the Contractor for England. During the voyage another daughter, Elizabeth, was born. Over a year after leaving Norfolk Island, the family arrived in England in May 1797.

During the next two years in England King sought to improve his health. He also wanted to find further employment as the Kings were not financially secure. In 1798, it was decided that King would go to New South Wales to succeed John Hunter as Governor in the event of his death or absence from the colony. In the following year, in August 1799, Anna and her husband with their youngest daughter, Elizabeth, sailed in the ship Speedy for Sydney. Their other two children Philip and Anna Maria remained in England with friends to further their education.

During the voyage Mrs King kept a diary a page of which is pictured. In the diary she describes the hardships they endured and the frequent storms and gales they encountered. On 30 March she said:

“It is out of my power to describe half of the melancholy situation we have been in, occasioned by a dreadful gale of wind which began at 12 oclock yesterday – gradually encreasing more and more – at ½ past one this morning it blew so heavy that the Captain took in all sail, but such as was necessary to keep the ship steady – and brought her too – the sea was dreadful which with the wind kept encreasing – at half past four oclock a sea struck and made a breach over the larboard side of the ship carrying away all before it stripped the larboard side of the railings and the boat cranes and all three water casks that was only put there the day before of course all went – every body’s cabin suffered by this dreadful sea. It burst down upon me, and poor Elizabeth, and completely wetted us through bed and all – and the bottom part of the cabin was shoe deep with water – for my part I thought the decks was falling in upon us – and that we was in great danger.” She concludes her diary as follows. “We however arrived safe – to Port Jackson on the 13th of April- and was very happy – to put my foot once more on dry land – and I hope never to take another voyage after arriving again in England – for I am quite sick of the seas.”

The journey took five months. The Kings arrived at Port Jackson in April 1800. Hunter still occupied Government House so at first they stayed with friends. King did not become Governor until five months later when Hunter left for England. He saw his new role as a reformist and his first task was to break the control of monopolist traders in the colony and the traffickers in liquor.

The Kings moved into Government House at Parramatta when Hunter departed. Mrs King was the first Governor’s wife in New South Wales as Governor Phillip had left his wife in England and Governor Hunter was unmarried.

One of first tasks undertaken by Governor King was to establish an institution for orphan children. Anna King took a particular interest in this and was one of the six members of the Committee appointed to set up the building. It was opened in 1801 and although it was officially called The Female Orphan Institution informally it was known as Mrs King’s Orphanage. It is shown in the picture (left). It is the central red brick building.

From 1800 until 1806 Anna played the part of Governors wife being the hostess and friend to those who were influential. In 1805 she gave birth to another daughter Mary so that now she had two daughters living with her in Sydney (Elizabeth and Mary) and one daughter Anna Maria and one son Philip Parker King who were still at school in England. However, by 1806 King’s health deteriorated and at his request he was replaced by William Bligh who was an officer in the British Navy. Soon after his arrival Bligh made a grant of 790 acres (3.2 km2) of land to Anna. The land was situated at the junction of Rope’s Creek and South Creek near the now suburb of Rooty Hill, NSW.

In February 1807 the King family left New South Wales to return to England. They arrived in November 1807 and soon after King became ill once more mainly with gout. Although he was only 49 he realised he could no longer work and applied for a pension. Unfortunately King died in September 1808 before the pension was granted and Anna was left in difficult financial circumstances. She sought financial assistance from the Secretary of State and eventually was granted a small life annuity. Her land in NSW was an additional source of income. Since her departure from Sydney, it had become quite productive as in 1810 Governor Macquarie made the following comment in a report.

“to Mrs. King’s Farm on the Right Bank of the South Creek; where we halted for a short while to look at her fine numerous Herds of Horned Cattle, of which she has upwards of 700 Head of all descriptions. — Her agent Mr. Hassall was here for the purpose of shewing them to us, and we found them in very high condition.”

During the time that Anna was in England between 1807 and 1832 all of her children married. In 1812, Anna Maria married Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur who had already settled in NSW but was staying in London for a short visit. The couple returned to NSW after their marriage and resided at Hannibal’s recently purchased farm near Parramatta called “The Vineyard”. In 1817 Philip married Harriet Lethbridge and went to live in Sydney for some years but returned in 1822. In 1826 Mary married the brother of Harriet, Robert Copeland Lethbridge and they too decided to emigrate to NSW. Harriet decided to accompany them with her children alone as Philip had been ordered to command a ship for several years. Elizabeth married Charles Runciman a well known London artist soon after this and was the only one of Anna’s children to remain in England.

In 1832 her son Philip decided to retire from the Royal Navy and return to NSW to reunite with his wife Harriet. Anna decided to accompany him and was met at the dock in Sydney by her son in law Hannibal Macarthur and taken to their home “The Vineyard” to live. She remained here for the rest of her life.

One of her interests was the building of a local church and in 1837 her son Philip acquired 2 acres (8,100 m2) of land and donated it so that St Mary Magdalene Anglican Church could be built. It was designed by Francis Crick and was completed in 1840. When Anna died in 1844 she was buried here. In 1988 the descendents of the Kings arranged for the tombstone of her husband Philip Gidley King to be brought to Australia where it was placed in an enclosure next to Anna’s grave

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Regency Personalities Series-John Septimus Roe

Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

John Septimus Roe
8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878

John Septimus Roe

John Septimus Roe was born at Newbury, Berkshire on 8 May 1797. He was the seventh son of James Roe, the rector of Newbury. At ten, Roe was sent to Christ’s Hospital School in London, to study for a career as a school teacher. There, he showed a great aptitude for mathematics, and was selected for training by the Mathematical School, which trained selected students for service in the Royal Navy. He was an outstanding student, and was apprenticed to the Navy at the age of 15.

John Septimus Roe entered the Naval service on 11 June 1813. His first appointment was as a midshipman on HMS Rippon, captained by Sir Christopher Cole. Over the next year, the Rippon was engaged in a blockade of the French coast. After the Napoleonic wars ended in 1814, the Rippon returned to England, and Roe was appointed as a midshipman to HMS Horatio under Captain Dillon on 17 August. Roe travelled with HMS Horatio‘ until January 1817. On 4 February 1817, the Admiralty appointed him to the surveying service in New South Wales, under the command of Captain Phillip Parker King; Roe sailed for New South Wales on the troopship Dick, arriving on 3 September 1817.

Roe’s first survey journey as assistant to King was the King expedition of 1817, a rough survey of the northern and north-west coast of Australia. The party sailed from Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) on board the Mermaid on 21 December 1817, sailing south then west along the south coast of Australia. While anchored at King George Sound in January 1818, Roe nearly drowned in the Kalgan River while trying to circumnavigate Oyster Harbour. Later, Roe was permitted to name a bay on the north west coast, which he named Nickol Bay in honour of a man who had been lost overboard. On the north coast, King named a point on the peninsula Mount Roe in Roe’s honour. The Mermaid eventually returned down the west coast and back along the south coast to Sydney, arriving on 29 July.

At the end of December 1818, the Mermaid sailed to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) to survey the Derwent River and the eastern coast to Macquarie Harbour. It was a simple task, and they were back in Sydney by the middle of February 1819.

The next voyage, the King expedition of 1819, was expected to last eight or nine months. Their mission was to make a proper survey of the northern coast. After leaving Sydney on 8 May 1819, the Mermaid rounded Cape York and crossed the Gulf of Carpentaria. They then spent a substantial period exploring and surveying the coast and islands of Arnhem Land, before surveying Bathurst Island, then discovering and surveying Cambridge Gulf. They then continued their survey of the coast, past Cape Londonderry and westwards as far as the Bonaparte Archipelago. Again they crossed to Timor for provisions, then returned to Sydney.

Roe’s next voyage, the King expedition of 1820, was again intended to survey along the north coast, but they ran into violent weather almost as soon as they left Sydney. Mermaid’s bowsprit was lost, and she was forced to return to Sydney with three feet of water in the hold. After taking repairs, she left without incident, rounded Cape York and again headed west along the coast of Arnhem Land. At Goulburn Island, Roe was ambushed by natives and narrowly escaped with his life. Continuing west, Mermaid developed such a bad leak that King decided to careen her at a bay that was in consequence named Careening Bay. On completion of repairs, the Mermaid was still found to be leaking, so the decision was taken to return to Sydney along the west and south coasts. In York Sound, two rivers were discovered and traced, one of them being named Roe River in honour of Roe’s father.

On return to Port Jackson, the Mermaid was found to be no longer seaworthy, and was replaced by the brig Bathurst. In May 1821, Roe sailed in the Bathurst on the King expedition of 1821. They sailed north up the coast, anchoring at Cairncross Island in bad weather on 30 June. When the sails were hauled in, the fore top-mast stay-sail halliards were accidentally let go, and Roe, who was at the masthead holding onto them, fell 50 feet (15 m) onto the deck. He was knocked unconscious, but was not badly hurt; he recovered quickly, but in later years would attribute to this accident the loss of sight in his right eye.

Despite the accident, the expedition proceeded to the west coast, which was surveyed as far as Roebuck Bay. At the end of August, they sailed for Mauritius. After three weeks there, they headed south to King George Sound. They then sailed north up the west coast, surveying as they went, before returning to Port Jackson. During this voyage, Roe was promoted to lieutenant.

Back in Sydney, Roe carried out a survey of Sydney Harbour. Despite the capsizing of his boat on 19 August 1822, with the loss of four lives, the survey was completed, to be published by the Admiralty in 1826. Shortly after completion of the survey, Roe returned to England on the Bathurst, arriving in June 1823.

Roe received his next commission on 2 February 1824. His instructions were to return to Australia on board the Tamar. The Tamar arrived in Sydney in July, and the following month was sent to help establish a settlement at Melville Island. The Melville Island settlement was officially established on 21 October, and shortly afterwards the Tamar sailed for Bombay, where she was refitted and reprovisioned. She then spent some time in surveying and naval duties between Ceylon, India and Rangoon. Britain was then at war with Burma, and Roe’s services in the Burma War were later recognised when he was awarded the Burma Medal in 1827. After a number of other excursions, Tamar returned to England, arriving late in November.

Back in England, Roe spent some time recovering his health, which had been poor, and visiting his family. He also spent some time courting his future wife, Matilda Bennett. When the position of Surveyor-General of New South Wales became vacant, he expressed interest, but was informed it had already been filled. Shortly afterwards, however, he was offered the position of Surveyor-General of Western Australia, to be attached to an intended new settlement at the Swan River. Roe accepted on the condition that the position be a civilian appointment, as he was keen to leave the navy.

Having accepted the position, Roe had little time to set his affairs in order, as the official party would soon be leaving on the Parmelia. He then set about the purchase of equipment for his own requirements and for the surveying office. The Roes embarked upon the Parmelia on 3 February 1829.

Roe proposed to Matilda Bennett and they married before leaving for Australia in February 1829. Matilda Roe’s fondness for gardening is claimed to be the reason for the kink between St Georges Terrace and Adelaide Terrace, the main streets through Perth’s central business district. Their home in Western Australia for many years was “Mandalay”, Middle Swan.

Roe and his wife had thirteen children. The fifth son, Frederick Mackie Roe, was second-in-command on Charles Cooke Hunt’s 1866 expedition to Lake Lefroy in the Coolgardie region.

The Parmelia arrived at the Swan River on 1 June 1829. Roe immediately set about making preliminary surveys of the harbour, river and surrounding land. The sites of Perth and Fremantle were chosen on his recommendation, and he was responsible for laying out the towns. During this period, Roe had only a single assistant to help him. Because of the immediate need to survey the harbour and lay out the towns, no rural blocks were surveyed until September. The unexpected arrival of three shiploads of settlers in August, all of whom expected to take up land immediately, put Roe’s department under extreme pressure. By April the following year 36 ships had brought settlers to the colony, and Roe’s department had a massive backlog of blocks to survey. Roe later said of this period:

“I went there with the very first ship, with the first Governor, Captain Stirling. I had on my staff only one assistant surveyor, and what could be done with one assistant, with the whole of the townships to be fixed upon and surveyed, the country to be examined, the settlers located, the harbours to be surveyed, &c. &c.? It was perfectly impossible to do more than we did. Everything that could be done was done, but it was insufficient to place the people on their lands in time to prevent their sustaining very great losses.”

John Septimus Roe conducted numerous exploring expeditions between 1829 and 1849:

• In June 1829, he explored the Swan and Canning River;
• In January 1830, he explored the country around Leschenault, the Collie, Ferguson and Preston Rivers, Cape Naturaliste and Geographe Bay;
• In November 1831, he explored the area around Albany, Doubtful Island Bay, Torbay, Wilsons Inlet, the Kalgan River and Kojonup;
• In 1832 he explored around the Hotham and Williams Rivers;
• In 1834, he explored to Pinjarra on the Murray River, then Bunbury, Kojonup, Albany and back to Perth; the Battle of Pinjarra occurred during this expedition;
• In 1835, he explored the area around Moorilup on the Kalgan River, then explored the Hay and Sleeman Rivers.
• In October and November 1835, he was part of the Great Southern Expedition, which explored the country between Perth and Albany by two different routes, with a view to deciding on a route for a road between the two towns;
• In October and November the following year, he explored the land 180 miles east and 100 miles north from Perth;
• In December 1837 he discovered and surveyed Peel Harbour and Warnbro Sound.
• In January 1838 he explored the coast between the Swan River and Cape Naturaliste;
• In June 1838 he explored from the Swan River to Bunbury via the Murray, Harvey, Collie and Preston Rivers, then returned along the base of the Roe and Darling Ranges;
• In May 1839 he passed through unexplored country on an expedition to rescue from starvation three men who had been part of George Grey’s disastrous expedition to Shark Bay;
• In December the same year, he travelled overland with Governor Hutt to Albany and back, using new routes;
• In June 1847, he explored the country around and north of Champion Bay.
• From September 1848, he conducted a five-month-long expedition “from Avon River to Stirling Range, and thence eastward to Russell Range and Cape Pasley on the south coast, and 60 to 100 miles inland, returning by different routes on this occasion discovered coal on the Rivers Fitzgerald and Phillips.” Roe was seriously injured on this expedition, and undertook no additional ones.

In addition to the many expeditions undertaken by Roe, he inspired and directed others, including those of Robert Dale, Augustus and Francis Gregory, Robert Austin, Charles Hunt and John Forrest. For his broad influence on explorations, Roe has been described as the “father of Australian explorers”.

With the death of Matilda in 1871, Roe sought permission to retire. At 73 years of age, he had served the colony for more than 40 years. Already blind in one eye, he became increasingly infirm over the next five years. He died on 28 May 1878 and was honoured a public burial in East Perth Cemetery.

Arguably the most significant legacy left by Roe was the setting aside of Kings Park. As early as December 1830, Roe responded to a request to cut timber below Mount Eliza with: “Mr. Mews to be informed that the neighbourhood of Mt. Eliza is reserved for public purposes”. Although it is widely accepted that Roe’s successors Malcolm Fraser and John Forrest were most instrumental in the establishment of Kings Park, Roe was clearly responsible for the initial setting aside of the park.

Roe was the founding president of the Swan River Mechanics’ Institute, holding the position until his death. Both the Western Australian Museum and the State Library of Western Australia emerged from the Institute, Roe’s large scientific collection forming the basis for the museum’s collection. Jackson (1982) has argued that Roe can be regarded as the founder of both institutions.

During Roe’s time in term in the Survey Office, he attempted to transcribe every journal of exploration in Western Australia. His Letterbook of Explorers’ Journals survives to this day, as a result of which Western Australia has an exceptionally good record of its early explorations, nearly every significant journal being extant from 1827 until Roe’s retirement in 1870.

In 1955 the State Library obtained on indefinite loan a large collection of log books, diaries and letters left by Roe. The collection constitutes one of the most important private collections ever to be lodged with the library.

John Septimus Roe was honored in numerous place names:

• The town of Roebourne, Western Australia;
• Mount Roe ;
• Roelands, a town near Bunbury;
• The Roe River;
• The Roe Range;
• The Roe Highway, a major highway in Perth;
• A poison weed found near Muntadgin, Western Australia was named Roe poison because Roe had found it near York;
• Roe Street, Perth;
• The electoral district of Roe in the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia;
• John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School in Mirrabooka;
• Caladenia roei, a species of Orchid published in Bentham’s Flora Australiensis; and
• Haliotis roei, a species of Abalone shell from Western Australia and South Australia

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Regency Personalities Series-Phillip Parker King

Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.

Admiral Phillip Parker King
13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856

Phillip Parker King

King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Josepha King née Coombe, and named after his father’s mentor, Arthur Phillip. King was sent to England for education in 1796, and he joined the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth, in 1802. King entered the Royal Navy in 1807, where he was commissioned lieutenant in 1814.

King was assigned to survey the parts of the Australian coast not already examined by Matthew Flinders, and made four voyages between 1817 and 1822. Amongst the 19-man crew were Allan Cunningham (botanist), John Septimus Roe and the aborigine Bungaree. The first three trips were in the 76 tonne cutter HMS Mermaid.

The Admiralty instructed King to discover whether there was any river ‘likely to lead to an interior navigation into this great continent’. The Colonial Office had given instructions to collect information about topography, fauna, timber, minerals, climate, and the natives and the prospects of developing trade with them.

In 1818, the coast was surveyed as far as Van Diemen’s Gulf and there were many meetings with Aboriginals and Malay proas. The Mermaid visited Timor and then returned to Sydney. Then King surveyed the recently discovered Macquarie Harbour in Van Diemen’s Land and sailed in 1819 for Torres Strait. King took John Oxley as far as the Hastings River, and continued on to survey the coast between Cape Wessel and Admiralty Gulf. King returned to Sydney in early 1820.

King’s fourth voyage was undertaken in the 154 tonne sloop HMS Bathurst. The ship headed north, through Torres Strait and to the north-west coast of the continent. Further survey of the west coast was made after a visit to Mauritius.

King had been promoted to commander in 1821, and in 1823 returned to England. He subsequently commanded the survey vessel HMS Adventure, and in company with HMS Beagle, spent five years surveying the complex coasts around the Strait of Magellan.

The result was presented at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society in 1831. His eldest son, also named Philip Gidley King accompanied his father and continued as a midshipman in HMS Beagle on the continuing survey of Patagonia under Robert FitzRoy, in the company of Charles Darwin. King owned a property at Dunheved in the western suburbs of Sydney where he entertained Charles Darwin on Darwin’s last night in Sydney in 1836.

In 1839, King was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council, and in April the same year, was appointed resident commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company, a position he held for ten years. In 1855 King was promoted to Rear admiral on the retired list. King was a Fellow of the Royal Society.

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