Edward Denny Day (1801 - 6 May 1876) was an Irish-Australian police magistrate famous for arresting the perpetrators of the

Myall Creek Massacre The Myall Creek massacre was the killing of at least twenty-eight unarmed Indigenous Australians by twelve colonists on 10 June 1838 at the Myall Creek near the Gwydir River, in northern New South Wales. After two trials, seven of the twelve co ...

and capturing the bushranger Edward Davis.

Early life

He was born in Country Kerry, Ireland in 1801. In 1820 he joined the 46th Regiment. In 1833 he became a lieutenant in the 62nd Regiment. He served some time in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

until 1834 when he resigned due to ill health.

Duties of police magistrate

In 1835 he arrived in

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 ...

to work as

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

to the Executive Council. He worked in the office of the Colonial Secretary

Alexander Macleay Alexander Macleay (also spelt McLeay) MLC FLS FRS (24 June 1767 – 18 July 1848) was a leading member of the Linnean Society, a fellow of the Royal Society and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Life Macleay was born on Ro ...

. In January 1836 he became the magistrate for the Vale of Clywdd. In January 1837 he served as magistrate 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 ...

. In June 1838 he organised

mounted police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in the ...

to arrest the 11 of 12 men responsible for the

In 1840 he organised the capture of

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...

Edward Davis. He arranged the capture of two other

s Davidson and Smith. Between 1841 and 1842 he became the commissioner for the

Court of Requests The Court of Requests was a minor equity court in England and Wales. It was instituted by King Richard III in his 1484 parliament. It first became a formal tribunal with some Privy Council elements under Henry VII, hearing cases from the poor an ...

in Maitland mainly working on insolvent estates. In September he announced to the community that he was replacing Captain Inness as

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of Sydney Police. On 1 January 1851 he was appointed the provincial inspector of police for the northern district of Sydney. In 1853 he was

stipendiary magistrate Stipendiary magistrates were magistrates that were paid for their work (they received a stipend). They existed in the judiciaries of the United Kingdom and those of several former British territories, where they sat in the lowest-level criminal ...

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

. Between 1858 until his retirement in 1869 he served as magistrate in Maitland.

Personal life

In 1836 he married Margaret the daughter of postmaster-general James Raymond. The couple had eleven children together. After the capture of Davis the residents of

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of th ...

presented him with a plate for his services. He was a foundation member of the Australian Immigration Association and was elected chairman of the Maitland branch On 16 February 1844 he laid the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

for the new goal at

East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in the City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It is on the New England Highway and it has two railway stations, Victoria Street (opened in 1857 with the Newcastle-Maitland line) and East Maitland (opened initial ...

. In January 1846 he laid the foundation of a new hospital at Maitland. He was unsuccessful as a businessman and his estate was sequestrated in 1848. He died on 6 May 1876. He is buried at St Peter's Burial Ground,

. At St Peters Church, Maitland there is a stained glass window dating back to 1887 with the inscription: "To the Glory of God and in memory of Edward Denny Day of the 62nd Regiment who fell asleep 6 May 1876."

References

External links

Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877

State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research 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. It contai ...

- includes digitised letters written by Day to the

Colonial Secretary of New South Wales Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Denny Irish diaspora in Australia Australian police officers Lawyers from County Kerry 1801 births 1876 deaths Police officers from County Kerry People associated with massacres of Indigenous Australians