Henry Stuart Russell (16 March 1818 – 5 March 1889) was an English-born explorer, politician, historian and pastoralist, best known for establishing the Cecil Plains Station around the

Condamine River The Condamine River, part of the Balonne catchment that is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia. The river is approximately 500 kilometers (31 ...

area of Australia.

Early life

Russell was born in Halliford,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, England, the son of an

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

officer. He was educated at Harrow and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He migrated to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia in 1840, where he stayed at a New England station belonging to

Arthur Hodgson __NOTOC__ Sir Arthur Hodgson Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (29 June 1818 – 24 December 1902) was an Australian pioneer and politician. Early life Hodgson was born in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England; the second son of the Rev. ...

, his second cousin.

Career

In May 1842, Russell joined an exploration party in search of sheep country in Wide Bay. The party were the first Europeans to discover the river later named the Mary River. They also found and brought back two escaped convicts from the penal settlement. Russell made a subsequent journey in November 1842, where he was the first European to discover the river he named the Boyne River. This expedition resulted in Russell taking up Burrandowan station. Russell sold Burrandowan in 1847 to Philip Friell. His pastoral career ended in 1849. In January 1853, he was elected to the

Legislative Council of New South Wales The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

for Stanley Boroughs. In 1859, his interest in Cecil Plains was sold to James Taylor. He returned to Sydney, living at Mosman Bay for the following seven years. Suffering financial setbacks, he sailed for England in 1888. Also in 1888, he published a book, ''The Genesis of Queensland'', detailing the early settlement and the growth of the pastoral industry in the area. He died at Ottery St. Mary,

Devon 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 ...

, on 5 March 1889.

Personal life

Russell was married twice. His first marriage was in 1851 to Charlotte, sister of Philip Pinnock, a senior police magistrate and sheriff 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_ ...

. In 1874, he married Selina Oakes, who survived him with five sons from the first marriage, and a daughter from the second.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Henry Stuart 1818 births 1889 deaths Australian pastoralists Explorers of Queensland Australian publishers (people) People from Shepperton Cricketers from Greater London English emigrants to colonial Australia Oxford University cricketers People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Pre-Separation Queensland Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers 19th-century Australian historians 19th-century Australian businesspeople Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council