Richard Purvis Marshall (3 April 1818 – 15 August 1872) was a British pastoral squatter and high ranking

Native Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

officer in the colonies of

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 ...

and

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_ ...

. He was co-founder of the Gundi Windi cattle and sheep run which later evolved into the town of

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people. Geography Goondiwindi is on the MacInt ...

. He was appointed to the Native Police in 1850 and became Commandant of the force in 1855. He retired from the Native Police in 1856 and held various Justice of the Peace and police magistrate roles in Goondiwindi until his death in 1872.

Early life

Richard Purvis Marshall was born in

Hatherleigh Hatherleigh is a small market town in west Devon, England. It hosts an arts festival in July, and a carnival in November featuring two flaming tar barrel runs. The Walruses meet on New Year's Day to jump into the River Lew to raise money for ...

Devon, 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 i ...

in 1818. His father was Lieutenant Sampson B. Marshall of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and his mother was Mary Ann King. Sampson Marshall served on the navy ship ''Diadem'' during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and was severely wounded at the

Battle of Baltimore The Battle of Baltimore (September 12–15, 1814) was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland ...

in 1814. He received a pension and was retired from service. The Marshall family emigrated to

on the ''David Scott'', arriving in

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 ...

in 1834, although it appears Richard remained in England until a later date. Sampson Marshall received a land grant of 640 acres at

Jerry's Plains Jerrys Plains is a village in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia about 33 kilometres west of Singleton on the Golden Highway. The surrounding countryside is home to some substantial horse-breeding properties, notably the Australian b ...

in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

and later moved his family to Rosebrook near

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

in 1840.

Gundi Windi

In the late 1840s Richard Purvis Marshall in partnership with his brother Sampson Yeoval Marshall established the Gundi Windi pastoral station on the MacIntyre River along the northern frontier of the colony of New South Wales. This area straddled indigenous Bigambul and Gamilarai territory and armed opposition to British colonisation was fierce. Other new runs in the region faced similar resistance and conflict resulted in numerous deaths on either side. The invading armed British settlers augmented with constables under the command of Commissioner Richard John Bligh from

Warialda Warialda is a town in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Gwydir Shire. Situated on the banks of Warialda Creek, the town's name means "Place of Wild Honey" in local aboriginal language. At the , Warialda had a populati ...

were unable to defeat the Aboriginals and as result some squatting leases were abandoned.

Augustus Morris Augustus Morris ( – 29 August 1895) was a pastoralist and politician in New South Wales, Australia. He was born in Van Diemen's Land around 1820 to ex-convict and farmer Augustus Morris and Constantia Hibbins. He was educated at Hobart an ...

, who held the Callandoon lease adjoining Gundi Windi was also a politician in the colonial New South Wales government. He recognised the need for a strong paramilitary force to enforce British control in the MacIntyre River region and recommended legislation to set up a

to be deployed in the area. In 1848, funds were set aside by the New South Wales government for this purpose and by mid 1849, fourteen aboriginal troopers from the

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...

region in the south of the colony were sent to the MacIntyre under the command of Frederick Walker. This force rapidly extinguished Aboriginal resistance in the region in a number of skirmishes including those at Carbucky, Beeboo and along the Severn River, where the indigenous groups "suffered so severely" in their defeats. When Frederick Walker and his troopers were to leave to patrol and pacify 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 ...

region to the north, the settlers of the MacIntyre, including Richard Purvis Marshall, wrote a letter to the government demanding a continuation of the protection given by the Native Police in their area.

Lieutenant in the Native Police

With the expansion of the Native Police, Richard Purvis Marshall was appointed on 5 January 1850 as Lieutenant of the 1st Division. He was in command of 10 troopers to patrol the MacIntyre and Condamine regions. Almost immediately, Commandant Walker left on a recruiting drive in the southern districts leaving Marshall as highest-ranking officer of the force in the area. Marshall directed a number of punitive expeditions and

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...

s against aboriginal people in 1850 including the execution of "Nobody" and the shootings at Wallann station. Further missions resulted in aboriginals being killed at Booranga and there was a large "dispersal" at Copranoranbilla lagoon, where Marshall divided his troopers along each side to entrap an indigenous camp. In 1851, Marshall's 1st Division was deployed to the Burnett and Wide Bay regions where missions extended across a number of pastoral stations including Toomcul,

Widgee Widgee is a rural Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Widgee had a population of 794 people. History The name is believed to have originated from the Aboriginal words ''Witchee Witche ...

and Rawbelle. At the end of this year, the report on the activities of Marshall's division was sent to Governor Fitzroy which invoked the response that "a great many blacks are reported as having been killed by the Police..these acts of severity..have been unavoidable."

Commandant of the Native Police

Marshall was appointed acting Commandant in mid 1854 after the suspension of Frederick Walker. He was officially appointed Commandant in 1855, but due to complaining about poor funding of the force he was dismissed soon after. However, Marshall was allowed to continue as an unpaid officer in the Native Police until early 1856.

Magistrate roles in Goondiwindi

After leaving the Native Police, Marshall held various Justice of the Peace and regular police magistrate roles in the Goondiwindi locality. He and his brother sold out of the Gundi Windi station in 1870.

Death and legacy

Richard Purvis Marshall died on 15 August 1872 at his home "Corcoran" in Goondiwindi due to a chronic urinary tract infection. He was interred on the property. Marshall married twice and had several children. The main street in Goondiwindi, Marshall St, is named after him and his brothers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Richard 1818 births 1872 deaths People from the Borough of West Devon People from New South Wales British emigrants to Australia