Bourn Russell (1 December 1794 – 4 July 1880) was a British/Australian
mariner
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
, pastoralist, politician and businessman. He was a member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...
between 1858 and 1880. He was also a member of the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
for four months in 1856.
Early life
Russell was the son of Bourn Russell senior, a merchant sea captain, and Hannah Chandler. His father was killed at sea when Bourn was a boy. He received an elementary education at the
Free Grammar School
Free Grammar Schools were schools which usually operated under the jurisdiction of the church in pre-modern England. Education had long been associated with religious institutions since a Cathedral grammar school was established at Canterbury unde ...
in
Rye and was apprenticed to sea in the
coal trade at age 15. He was 2nd mate on a vessel trading to the Mediterranean when he was
pressed into service on a British naval warship during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. On discharge from the navy he resumed his career as a
merchant mariner
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
and was soon a
master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
of sailing vessels. On turning 21 years of age he inherited his father's estate, that included the family home. This he sold and used the money to become part owner of the ship ''Lady Rowena'' (352 tons) built at
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
in 1825.
In Australia
Master mariner
''Lady Rowena'' was serving as a
convict transport
Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...
under the command of Russell when she reached
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in May 1826. It was noted in the press the 100 female convicts aboard were landed in good health. ''Lady Rowena'' returned to Britain and again sailed to Australia, this time on a trading voyage, arriving
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
in November 1828. Captain Russell came to Australia again on the same ship, arriving Sydney with a general cargo in August 1830, this time intending to stay. He commanded the ''Lady Rowena'' on two deep-sea whaling voyages from
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
between 1830 and 1835. Among the crewmen aboard were two of his sons, William and Bourn junior, serving as
apprentice seamen. During these voyages he surveyed the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
and in 1835 he published the result in an early map of that group of islands. In March 1831, Captain Russell and his crew landed on the coast of Japan, possibly the first Australians to do so.
Businessman
Russell had established his family in New South Wales by 1834 and in the early 1840s he developed pastoral interests and settled in
Maitland
Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...
where he became a storekeeper. He was bankrupted in the recession of the late 1840s but restored his fortunes by establishing a
boiling-down works near Maitland to produce
tallow
Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...
for export to Britain.
By 1855 he was chairman of the Hunter River New Steam Navigation Company.
He and his wife had 5 sons and 2 daughters. His fourth son,
Henry Russell, became the New South Wales government astronomer.
His illegitimate son
William Watson William, Willie, Bill or Billy Watson may refer to:
Entertainment
* William Watson (songwriter) (1794–1840), English concert hall singer and songwriter
* William Watson (poet) (1858–1935), English poet
* Billy Watson (actor) (1923–2022), Ame ...
was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1874 to 1877.
Parliamentarian
Russell was elected as the member for
Northumberland Boroughs at the
first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
election held in New South Wales under responsible government. He was the second candidate, after
Bob Nichols, to be elected for the two member seat and he defeated the next candidate,
Elias Weekes
Elias Carpenter Weekes (13 July 1809 – 5 August 1881) was an Australian ironmonger and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1865 and 1880. He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assem ...
, by 8 votes. However the election was contested on the grounds that more than 20 people who were unqualified to vote had voted for Russell. After investigating this claim, the Legislative Assembly's Committee of Elections and Qualifications overturned the result and awarded the seat to Weekes in a
re-count.
Russell was unsuccessful in an attempt to regain the seat at the
1857
Events January–March
* January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, ''Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen.
* January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating.
* Janua ...
by-election caused by the death of Nichols.
Following this defeat he accepted an appointment to the Legislative Council initially for a fixed term expiring in 1861 and then as a life member. He did not hold a ministerial or parliamentary position.
He died in Sydney on 4 July 1880 and is buried in
Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest List of necropolises, necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Bourn
1794 births
1880 deaths
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council
19th-century Australian politicians
Australian people in whaling
Australian pastoralists
19th-century Australian businesspeople
Australian hydrographers