Captain Peter Pégus was one of the first European settlers of 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 ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Peter was born to Peter Pégus (senior) in 1786, a wealthy cotton-plantation owner in

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, after whom Pégus Point on the southern tip of Carriacou is named. In 1806, he served as a Lieutenant with the Royal Tyrone Militia in Ireland. The following year, he transferred to the Connaught Rangers regiment, where he fought against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. Peter retired from the army in 1828, and applied for land grants in

, not on the basis of military service, but instead, on the basis of the property he would bring to Australia. Peter's application was successful, and he arrived at the Swan River on 19 October 1829 aboard , with his wife Mary Jane, his younger son William, 2 sheep, 5 servants, and £1,552. He was allowed to select of land, which he did in the area known today as Thornlie. This area was named "Coleraine". However, in 1834, Coleraine was largely destroyed in a bushfire, which ended the settlement. Peter, who had lost much of his wealth, then left for Tasmania, Van Diemen's land per ''Elizabeth'' (a ship also carrying convicts) in March 1836. Following the death of his first wife in 1839, Peter married Mary Sophia Skardon in Launceston in 1840.Public Record Office, Tasmania. Ref: MB 2/39/2p.49d Peter had two sons, Campbell John Pégus, born 1814 in Britain, and William Jeffries Pégus, born 1820 in Glasgow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pegus, Peter Settlers of Western Australia 1786 births Year of death missing