Stephen George Henty (3 November 1811 – 18 December 1872) was a farmer and politician in colonial

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, a member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

. Henty was born in

West Tarring Tarring, officially West Tarring, is a neighbourhood of Worthing, in the borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road north-west of the town centre. It is called "West Tarring", or less commonly "Tarring Peverell", to di ...

, Sussex, England, the son of Thomas Henty (1775–1839) and Frances Elizabeth, ''née'' Hopkins. Henty arrived at the Swan River settlement with brothers

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and John in 1829. In 1836 Stephen settled in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. In 1839, Henty led an overland expedition to explore the

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

region. He was the first white man to climb the peak and view the blue crater lake. In 1842, Henty and his brother Edward laid claim to the land around Mount Gambier and established a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

there. Conflict with the local Aboriginal residents quickly ensued that same year with Henty's men shooting a number and burning their corpses. In March 1844, a band of Aboriginal people led by Koort Kirrup took a large number of Henty's sheep. Henty's men pursued and engaged them in a prolonged skirmish which resulted in the colonists having to retreat. The ''

Southern Australian ''The South Australian'' was a newspaper published in Adelaide, the capital of colonial South Australia from 2 June 1838 to 19 August 1851. Between 1838 and 1844, it was published as The ''Southern Australian.'' History ''The Southern Australia ...

'' reported that other white pastoralists in the region were also having difficulties with Aboriginal attacks on their farmsteads and they resolved to form hunting parties and raid them "indiscriminately" if police protection did not come. The situation proved too hard for Stephen Henty, and even though Koort Kirrup was captured, Henty abandoned the Mount Gambier property later in 1844 with significant loss of capital. In November 1856, Henty was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

, a position he held until November 1870. For much of the period of Henty's Council membership, he and his family lived at ''Findon'' a mansion he built in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

Melbourne.

Family

Stephen George Henty married Barbara Whilemena Bayntun–Sandys (1806–1891), daughter of Sir Edwin Bayntun–Sandys, Bart. Their children include: *Richmond Henty (August 1837 – April 1904) was born in

Portland, Victoria Portland is a city in Victoria, Australia, and is the oldest European settlement in the state. It is also the main urban centre in the Shire of Glenelg and is located on Portland Bay. As of the 2021 census the population was 10,016, increasing ...

, and is reckoned either the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

or second white child born in Victoria. Richmond married his cousin Agnes Barbara Reed (c. 1837 – 9 September 1895), granddaughter of Sir E. Bayntun–Sandys; they had three sons and one daughter: :* Ernest George Henty MLC (17 September 1862 – 25 June 1895) married Katie Cobham on 12 June 1890 ::* Eulalie Henty ( – ) married Lieut. R. C. Ferrers Creer, RAN, on 15 June 1917 (divorced 1925). Their elder daughter Deirdre Henty-Creer (1918–2012) was a successful artist, while their son Henty Henty-Creer commanded one of the three midget submarines that attacked the German battleship in World War II. :* Eveline Henty married Capt. E. C. Starker in August 1888 :* Percival Edward Henty (c. 1867 – 26 March 1889) *George Henty ( – ) lived in

Hamilton, Victoria Hamilton is a large town in south-western Victoria, Australia, at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway. The Hamilton Highway connects it to Geelong. Hamilton is in the federal Division of Wannon, and is in the Southern ...

*Walter Thomas (1856–1917), farmer at Hamilton

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henty, Stephen George 1811 births 1872 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council People from Tarring, West Sussex English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians Settlers of Victoria (Australia)

Family

See also

References