Edward Reeve (1822 – May 1889) was a journalist and public servant in New South Wales, remembered as an art connoisseur and playwright.

History

Reeve was born in Locking, Somerset, the fourth son of lieutenant John Andrewes Reeve, R.N., and educated at Bristol College when J. E. Bromby was principal, with a view to an ecclesiastical career. Reeve emigrated to New South Wales in 1840. He worked as a clerk in the Central Police Court, then around 1857 joined the literary staff of the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

, for many years on the Parliamentary reporting Parliament and the law courts. Around 1860, while holding that post, he was appointed Curator of the Nicholson Museum of Antiquities at the

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, and was energetic and assiduous in documenting the collection. He published its first catalogue, for which he was widely commended, and wrote on the early history of the university, with descriptions of the stained glass windows. He was the author of an historical drama ''Raymond, the Lord of Milan'', based on Milanese History in the 13th century, which was published by Hawksley and Cunninghame in 1851 and produced in Sydney, starring H. N. Warner, Mrs Charles Poole, and Mr. Burford. He was author of a ''Gazetteer of Central Polynesia'', published first in the ''Herald'', 14 May 1857 – 7 August 1857 then in booklet form, for which he received a vote of thanks from His Hawaiian Majesty

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on 13 September 1858. He also wrote many unpublished poems and several stories: ''The Caliph and the Slave'', ''The Holy Child'', ''The Schoolboy's Reverie''. He also published a ''Treatise on Education in New South Wales'', held by the Parliamentary Library. He is acknowledged as the founder (or with E. L. Montefiore (c. 1820 – October 1894) cofounder) in 1871, of the New South Wales Academy of Art, whose patron was the Governor, the

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; president Thomas Sutcliffe Mort; vice-president Montefiore and Reeve himself as secretary. The Council included J. H. Thomas, William Wallis, James A. C. Willis, Thomas Hodgson, Lewis Steffanoni (c. 1836 – 29 May 1880), Professor Charles Badham, and Robert Tooth. Reeve was forced to resign the secretaryship on 7 October 1873, and was succeeded by Eccleston Du Faur. None of these gentlemen was a recognised artist (though J. H. Thomas was a brother of

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); rather they were wealthy collectors who were content to show their collections, and perhaps dispose of some works by means of raffles or art unions. Of ordinary members, one whose name is recognised today as an artist is Conrad Martens. The Academy eventually became the

National Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

. He returned to the Civil Service, and was appointed Police Magistrate at Gosford, and subsequently at Port Macquarie. He died after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeve, Edward 1822 births 1889 deaths Public servants of New South Wales 19th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian art patrons