Wright, William Henry

William Henry Wright, 1816-1877

Contents:Profile Biography Research Notes
Roles (R): = Government Office (Paid),   = Government Duties (Unpaid),   = On leave,   = To be determined,   = Squatter/Grazier,   = Private enterprise,   = Parliament/Council,
= British Army,   = Royal Marines,   = British Militia,   = State Militia,   = East India Company Army,   = Royal Navy,   = Other Maritime,
= Education,   = Army Education,   = Navy Education,   = Immigration,   = Emigration,   = Other voyage.
Abbreviations: BB = Blue Book,  CL = Commissioner of Crown Lands,  CP = Chinese Protector,  CPS = Clerk of Petty Sessions,  GC = Gold Commissioner,  GR = Gold Receiver,
GW = Warden of the Gold Fields,  JP = Justice of the Peace (Magistrate),  PM = Police Magistrate,
FN = Footnotes,  PSL = Public Service List  S/S1/S2 = Source,  TBC/TBD = To be confirmed/determined.
Appointments: = Appointed,   = Reappointed (under new legislation),   = Promoted,   = Demoted,   = Redesignated,   = Succeeded,   = Transferred,   = Replaced.
= Position made permanent,   = Paid as (role).
Sources (S): = Blue Book,   = Blue Book derived,   = Government Gazette,   = Government Gazette derived,   = Public Service List,   = Public Service List derived,
= Report,   = Birth/Baptism/Marriage/Death document,   = Birth/Baptism/Marriage/Death extract,   = Cemetery,   = Census,   = Legal,
= Newspaper family notice,   = Newspaper article,   = Book/Magazine,   = Other,   = Unconfirmed,   = Military service record,   = Internet.
Dates:Dates are in YYYY-MM-DD format,  "Ongoing" = Continues into next calendar year,  New date,  Date changed in source,  Date died,  Date to be confirmed.
"Original" is the date the person commenced the role. For example, when first appointed a Police Magistrate, regardless of later re-appointments and re-assignments.
Other Symbols: = External link,   = Army promotion by purchase of commission,   = By exchange.
Unconfirmed:All text in magenta is unconfirmed information.
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Life Events

Born:28 March 1816Sandhurst, Berkshire, England [01].
Arrived:6 June 1834Sydney, Colony of New South Wales, on the barque Moffatt. Departed Plymouth, 29 January 1834, via Hobart Town [02] [03] [04].
Married:28 August 1866St John's Church, Heidelberg, Colony of Victoria, to Mary Meek [c1836-1911] [05] [06].
Died:31 January 1877St Kilda Street, Middle Brighton, Colony of Victoria [residence], aged 60 years [07] [08] [09].
Buried:3 February 1877St Kilda Cemetery, East St Kilda, Colony of Victoria [Grave: Church of England, Compartment B, No 0315] [10] [11] [12].

Golden Colony Roles

Port Phillip:Crown Lands:18311832183318341835183618371838183918401841184218431844184518461847184818491850
1851
Victoria:Gold Commissioner:18511852185318541855
Crown Lands:1851185218531854185518561857185818591860

William Henry Wright [13]

Career

OriginalGazettedFromToAgeRTitleStateDepartmentDistrictSCommentsFN
1829-08-111832-12-3113Gentleman Cadet, Royal Military CollegeBritish ArmySandhurst Ensign.
1833-01-181837-09-2116Ensign, 50th Regiment of FootBritish Army Lieutenant.
1837-09-221839-02-0721Lieutenant, 50th Regiment of FootBritish ArmyRetired by sale of Commission
1838-09-011843-04-3022Assistant SurveyorNSWSurveyor-General
1843-05-011846-11-3027CommissionerNSWCrown LandsWellington
1846-11-261846-12-011851-06-3030CommissionerNSWCrown LandsWimmera Mayne. to Colony of Victoria.

References

Notes

Notes
01⇑ Date is from Wright's gravestone. The location comes from the Australian Dictionary of Biography, but I have not found a contemporary source as yet.
02⇑ Shipping Intelligence - Arrivals; The Sydney Herald, 9 June 1834, p 2 [Trove, 10 October 2023]. This newspaper report incorrectly identifies him as being with the 51st Regiment.
03⇑ Ian Hawkins Nicholson; Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Sydney, Volume 2 1826-1840; Roebuck Society, Canberra, 1977; p 113.
04⇑ Wright was in charge of a detachment of the 50th Regiment and 393 male convicts. The convicts and some of the soldiers were delivered to Hobart Town.
05⇑ Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria Marriage Index M1866-002226.
06⇑ Marriages - Wright-Meek; The Argus (Melbourne), 29 August 1866, p 4 [Trove, 10 October 2023].
07⇑ Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria Death Index D1877-000467.
08⇑ Death of Mr Wright, the Sheriff; The Herald (Melbourne), 1 February 1877, p 3 [Trove, 18 April 2023].
09⇑ Some reported it as being early on the morning of 1 February 1877.
10⇑ Funeral Notices - Wright; The Argus (Melbourne), 2 February 1877, p 8 [Trove, 10 October 2023].
11⇑ St Kilda Cemetery Deceased Search [ 10 October 2023].
12⇑ The St Kilda Cemetery website has the service date as 2 February, but the funeral notice in The Argus, published on 2 February, states that the funeral is to be on 3 February.
13⇑ The late Mr W H Wright; The Illustrated Australian News (Melbourne), 21 February 1877, p 20 [Trove, 24 October 2024].

Further Reading

Biography: Leslie James Blake; Wright, William Henry (1816-1877); Australian Dictionary of Biography [ 23 February 2024].
Profile:Wright, William Henry (1816-1877); in: Justin Corfield, Dorothy Wickham, Clare Gervasoni; The Eureka Encyclopaedia; Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004; pp 554-444.
Statistics:William Henry Wright; Parliament of Victoria [ 5 November 2024].

Updates

2024-10-13Page formatting revised.
2023-11-13Life Events updated and references added.