Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur (16 January 1788 – 21 October 1861) was an Australian colonist, politician, businessman and

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

pioneer. The nephew of John Macarthur and son-in-law of former New South Wales governor,

Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence an ...

, he was well-connected in the early colony of New South Wales.

First sojourn in New South Wales

Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur was born on 16 January 1788 at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Devonshire, England Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a ...

. His father, James Macarthur, a draper, was the elder brother of John Macarthur. When his uncle John returned to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

after resigning his commission to avoid being posted to

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

, he persuaded Hannibal to join him. Hannibal arrived at Sydney on 9 June 1805.Margaret Steven, "Macarthur, John (1766–1834)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur (1788–1861): accessed 15 September 2011. He left

in 1808 for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

by way of China and the Philippines, where he unsuccessfully traded sandalwood for his uncle John, arriving home in 1810.

Return to New South Wales

Hannibal arrived back in Sydney in August 1812 per his uncle's ship, the ''Isabella'' with a cargo for sale in the colony and to help his uncle's wife,

Elizabeth Macarthur Elizabeth Macarthur (14 August 1766 – 9 February 1850) was an Anglo-Australian pastoralist and merchant, and wife of John Macarthur. Early life Elizabeth Macarthur was born in Bridgerule, Devon, England, the daughter of provincial farmers, ...

in John's absence. He gained recognition while caring for his uncle's

merino 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 bree ...

sheep during his absences, and by 1817 was able secure land for his own merino flocks, and run a trading store. He actively participated in the intrigues of the time and through his connections became prominent in the community and local politics. He joined the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1830, representing the conservatives in the nominated, and then part-elected Council for

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

until 1848. He also had a directorship in the newly created

Bank of Australia The Bank of Australia was a failed financial institution of early colonial New South Wales formed in 1826 by a producers' and merchants' group as a rival to the Bank of New South Wales. Brian Fitzpatrick, ''British Imperialism and Australia 178 ...

, but at its collapse in 1843 Macarthur became insolvent, lost most of his property, and relocated to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, in the Moreton Bay District of the Colony of New South Wales (later the

Colony of Queensland The Colony of Queensland was a colony of the British Empire from 1859 to 1901, when it became a State in the federal Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. At its greatest extent, the colony included the present-day State of Queensland, ...

), where he was given a commission as police magistrate from 1 January 1852.

Family

In 1812 at St Marylebow, London, Hannibal Macarthur married Anna Maria King. Anna was born on 22 April 1793 on

, the daughter of

, later governor of

, and his wife Anna Josepha (née Coombe). The couple had at least four daughters. One, Elizabeth (17 May 181527 November 1899), married Philip Gidley King, son of

Philip Parker King Rear Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts. Early life and education King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna J ...

. Another, Anna (7 December 181623 June 1852), married

John Clements Wickham John Clements Wickham (21 November 17986 January 1864) was a Scottish explorer, naval officer, magistrate and administrator. He was first lieutenant on during its second survey mission, 1831–1836, under captain Robert FitzRoy. The young ...

. A third, Catherine (14 June 181810 April 1894) married

Patrick Leslie Patrick Leslie (25 September 1815 – 12 August 1881) was a Scottish settler in Australia. Leslie and his two brothers (Walter and George) were the first to settle on the Darling Downs, and he was the first person to buy land in Warwick ...

.C.G. Drury Clarke, "Captain John Clements Wickham, R.N. his antecedents and descendants" (1984) ''Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland'', Vol. 12 no. 1, pp. 1–25 . A fourth, Emmeline (10 July 1828 – 23 December 1911), married George Farquhar Leslie (brother to Patrick Leslie). A son, John Alexander (January 1827 - June 23, 1904), married Clara Pollard and after her death, Mary Goodrich.

Later years and death

His wife Anna died on 1 September 1852 at Woodend, Ipswich and was buried in the

Ipswich General Cemetery The Ipswich General Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It is the second oldest cemetery in Queensland. It is owned by Ipswich City Council, but the council have outsourced the day-to-day operations to a private c ...

. After her death, Hannibal Macarthur returned to England, where he died at Norwood on 21 October 1861, and is buried at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

. His wife Anna was commemorated with a baptismal font bowl and plaque at St Pauls Anglican Church at Ipswich by

Queensland Women's Historical Association The Queensland Women's Historical Association is a historical society in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia which studies the history and heritage of Queensland, including its pioneer families and the contribution made by women. The Association is ...

, unveiled on 25 February 1966 by Sir Henry Abel Smith,

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor Governors of the Australian states, performs c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur, Hannibal Hawkins Settlers of Australia 1788 births 1861 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Burials at West Norwood Cemetery 19th-century Australian businesspeople 19th-century Australian politicians