Hovenden Hely (1823 – 8 October 1872) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for one term between 1856 and 1857.

Early life

Hely was the son of Frederick Augustus Hely, an Irish public servant who was appointed as the Superintendent of Convicts in 1823. He was educated at

The King's School, Parramatta , motto_translation = "Bravely and Faithfully" , streetaddress = 87–129 Pennant Hills Road , city = North Parramatta, Sydney , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinat ...

and was initially employed as a clerk in the Colonial Secretary's office. He took part in the 1846-47 expedition of

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

but was accused by Leichhardt of indolence, disloyalty and "disgusting" behaviour. Nonetheless, he was put in charge of the official expedition to find Leichhardt in 1852. After 1841 Hely managed his deceased father's estates in the

Brisbane Water Brisbane Water is a wave-dominated barrier estuary located in the Central Coast region, north of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Brisbane Water has its origin at the confluence of the Narara and Coorumbine Creeks, to the south–east ...

district including

Wyoming Cottage Wyoming Cottage is a heritage-listed residence at 1 Wyoming Road, Cnr. Pacific Highway, Wyoming, Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Verge and built with convict labour. The suburb Wyoming is named for the Cotta ...

. He inherited a fifth share of the estate when he turned 21 and borrowed heavily against it, to finance a trip to England in 1858. As a result of these debts, Hely was bankrupted in 1865.

Colonial Parliament

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...

Hely was elected as one of the three members for Northumberland and Hunter in the first New South Wales Legislative Assembly under responsible government. His parliamentary performance was uninspiring and he did not hold office. He did not contest the next election in

1858 Events January–March * January – ** Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. ** William I of Prussia becomes regen ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hely, Hovendon 1823 births 1872 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians People from Tullamore, County Offaly Irish emigrants to colonial Australia People educated at The King's School, Parramatta 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Australia Infectious disease deaths in New South Wales