Edward William Price (1832 – 14 November 1893) was an Irish-born Australian civil servant, who served as Government Resident of the Northern Territory between 1876 and 1883.

Life and career

Price was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland in 1832. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1851, serving initially as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

aboard HMS ''Ajax''. During the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

, he was a member of the crew of HMS ''Simoon''. For his service, he was awarded the

British Crimean War Medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of th ...

and the

Turkish Crimean War Medal The Turkish Crimean War Medal ( tr, Kırım Harbi Madalyası) is a campaign medal issued by Sultan Abdülmecid I of the Ottoman Empire to allied military personnel involved in the Crimean War of 1854–56. It was only awarded to those who survive ...

. He asked to be discharged in 1856, and this request was granted. Price moved to South Australia in 1859, and became a civil servant the following year. He spent several years working as a

court clerk A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

, initially for Gawler Town Local Court and later for the Police Court at Adelaide. In 1873, he was appointed a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and Special Magistrate for South Australia. Price married Mina Hamilton, a fellow Irish emigrant, on 6 November 1860 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. They had six children. Price's wife and children all died together in 1875 when a ship they were travelling on, the SS Gothenburg, was wrecked off the coast of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. On 1 July 1876, Price was appointed Government Resident of the Northern Territory, succeeding George Byng Scott. He remained in this position until 6 March 1883. During his tenure, he was a prominent proponent of Christian values, especially on the issue of alcohol. He also started a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

congregation in the Residency, partly funded by the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

. After resigning from his position as Government Resident, he travelled to London aboard SS ''Bowen''. He died in London on 14 November 1893.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Edward William Government Resident of the Northern Territory 1832 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Irish people People from County Dublin Irish emigrants to Australia Australian Anglicans Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War