Edward Henty (28 March 1810 – 14 August 1878), was a pioneer British colonist and is regarded as the first permanent settler in the Port Phillip district (later known as the colony of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

), Australia.

Early life and family background

Edward was born in

Tarring, West Sussex Tarring, officially West Tarring, is a neighbourhood of Worthing, in the borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road north-west of the town centre. It is called "West Tarring", or less commonly "Tarring Peverell", to di ...

, England, the fourth surviving son of Thomas Henty, who came of a well-known Sussex banking family, and his wife Frances Elizabeth Hopkins of

Poling, West Sussex Poling is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Arun District, Arun District of West Sussex, England, southeast of Arundel on a minor road south of the A27 road, A27. About 25% of the parish is wooded foothill slopes of ...

. His father inherited £30,000 and bought the property generally called the Church Farm at West Tarring, and bred high value

Merino sheep The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed ...

, some of which were purchased by capitalist entrepreneurs in the Australian colonies such as John Macarthur. After an economic downturn hit England in the mid 1820s, Edward's eldest brother

James Henty James Henty (24 September 1800 – 12 January 1882), was pioneer, merchant and politician in colonial Australia. Early life James Henty was the eldest son of Thomas Henty, a wealthy English land-owner and banker from Tarring, West Sussex. He w ...

thought that better opportunities for the family existed in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In 1829 James travelled to the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

with two other brothers, Stephen and John. Edward remained Sussex, studying and assisting his father with his business interests there.

Van Diemen's Land

Edward's brothers in the west of Australia had a difficult time obtaining grants to productive land and decided to move to Launceston in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

where their prospects would likely improve. In the meanwhile their father, Thomas Henty, decided to bring the rest of the family to the Australian colonies, selling most of his assets in England and sailing for Launceston. He arrived in April 1832 with Edward and the three remaining siblings Charles, Jane and Francis.

Portland

It was difficult to find suitable land in Tasmania and Edward was sent to explore the coast of the mainland. He reported that the district near

Portland Bay Portland Bay ( Dhauwurdwurrung: ''Kardermudelar / Pathowwererer'') is a small bay off the coast of Victoria, Australia. It is about west of Melbourne. The city of Portland is located on the bay. The western end of the bay is marked by the he ...

had good possibilities, and after revisiting it with his father, it was decided that the land was suitable for settlement. Edward went first on the ''Thistle'' with labourers, stock, potatoes and seed. After a voyage of 34 days the ''Thistle'' arrived at Portland Bay on 19 November 1834 at 8 a.m. Edward Henty told the anecdote, The second vessel brought Mr. Francis Henty, who landed on 11 December and in course of time Mr. Stephen and Mr. Thomas followed. Sheep were fetched across from Tasmania, pastures occupied, houses erected and land cultivated. The Henty brothers also engaged on bay whaling at Portland in the 1830s. The whale oil and baleen taken from southern right whales was shipped to Tasmania for export to London. The British government had been keen to have land taken up in Western Australia and the Hentys had assumed no objections would be raised to their obtaining land in the Port Phillip district. The application was first made in 1834 and negotiations continued for many years. The father, Thomas Henty, died in 1839, and it was not until 1846 that the matter was finally settled, when the Hentys were allowed £348 for improvements at the port, and were granted of land valued at £1290. The remainder of their land they had to buy at auction. The attitude of the government at Sydney to new settlers may be illustrated by an extract from a dispatch of the governor,

Sir George Gipps Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of the British colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights to land were bitterly conte ...

, to

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

, dated 11 April 1840. The thought that the many thousands of pounds spent by the Hentys in developing the country might eventually be of benefit to the state had apparently not entered into the minds of the authorities. Neither could they have anticipated that the first sale of crown lands which took place a few months later would yield the sum of £17,245. Edward Henty was determined to continue with his settlement; his brother, Francis, had joined him in December 1834, and during the next five years other members of the family joined him, and gradually all of their horses, cattle and sheep were transferred from Tasmania. On 29 August 1836 the exploring party headed by Major

Thomas Livingstone Mitchell Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (15 June 1792 – 5 October 1855), surveyor and explorer of Southeastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. In 1827 he took up an appointment as Assistant Surveyor General of New Sou ...

reached Portland Bay and were amazed to find the country already colonised. In later years Edward Henty was fond of telling the story of Major Mitchell when he came to a hut, from which blows of a hammer rang, saying, ''"Where is Mr Henty, my man,"'' and the reply of the burly blacksmith, ''"Here he is at your service."'' From Major Mitchell Henty learned the character of the land to the north, and gradually he was able to acquire more land. In 1845 he had over 70,000 acres (280 km²). Sometimes the price of wool and sheep fell very low and it was impossible to sell either to advantage; but over the years the stations prospered. In 1855 Edward Henty was elected a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

for Normanby and was re-elected in 1859. He was defeated in 1861 and did not sit again in parliament. Henty's last years were spent in retirement at his Melbourne mansion 'Offington' and he died on 14 August 1878. In October 1840 he married Annie Maria Gallie who survived him. They had no children. Edward Henty in addition to being the first permanent settler in Victoria was the founder of the wool industry in that colony. His portrait is in the historical collection at the Melbourne public library.

Affiliations

*TS Henty,

Australian Navy Cadets The Australian Navy Cadets (ANC) is a voluntary youth organisation owned and sponsored by the Royal Australian Navy. Together with the Australian Air Force Cadets and Australian Army Cadets, it forms the Australian Defence Force Cadets. It host ...

Victorian Railways S class The Victorian Railways S class was a class of 4-6-2 express passenger steam locomotive operated by the Victorian Railways (VR) in Australia between 1928 and 1954. Built when the VR was at its zenith and assigned to haul the broad gauge-leg of it ...

locomotive S302 ''Edward Henty''

References

External links

Images and transcripts of Edward Henty's journal
an
manifest of cargo on board the ''Thistle''
at the State Library of Victoria