Thomas Hudson Beare (30 December 1792 – 7 November 1861) was an early settler of South Australia, regarded as the colony's first storekeeper. His daughter Arabella has been cited as the first of the fleet to set foot on South Australian shores, and his wife Lucy as the first white woman to die in South Australia.

History

Thomas H Beare of

Netley Netley, officially referred to as Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the R ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, his wife Lucy, and their four children arrived at

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

, South Australia aboard , one of the "

First Fleet of South Australia In 1836, at least nine ships in 1836 carried the first European settlers from England to the south coast of Australia for the establishment of the City of Adelaide and the province of South Australia. Although not all of the ships sailed toge ...

", on 27 or 28 July 1836. Lucy, who had given birth on board the ship to a daughter who died shortly after, died within six weeks of giving birth again, this time to a healthy daughter. Charlotte Hudson Beare (c. 1782 – 16 December 1875), a sister of Thomas, was also a passenger. She married Samuel Stephens (1808 – 18 January 1840), the Colonial Manager, on 24 September 1836. This marriage, the second in the Colony and the source of much gossip on account of their age difference, was performed by Captain George Martin aboard the anchored at

Nepean Bay Nepean Bay is a bay located on the north-east coast of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia about south-south-west of Adelaide. It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders, after Sir Evan Nepean on 21 March 1 ...

. Shortly after arrival, Beare, William Giles and

Henry Mildred Henry Richard Mildred (9 March 1795 – 22 March 1877) was a politician in the early days of the Colony of South Australia. History Mildred was born in Portsea, Hampshire, England. Trained as a shipbuilder, he was contracted by the South Aust ...

imported a batch of

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

ewes from

Van Diemens Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

, some of the first brought into the colony, though stock losses on the unusually long trip aboard the were considerable. In 1838 he purchased section 101, Hundred of Adelaide, and named it

, by which name the modern suburb is known. He supported his brother-in-law

John Wrathall Bull John Wrathall Bull (23 June 1804 – 21 September 1886) was a settler, inventor and author in the early days of colonial South Australia.H. J. Finnis (1966)''Bull, John Wrathall (1804-1886)''/ref> History Early life and emigration Born in S ...

in his claim against

John Ridley John Ridley IV (born 1965) is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for '' 12 Years a Slave'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the a ...

as the true inventor of the stripper, having built the prototype. His widow raised their five remaining dependent children by teaching music, and died at the home of her step-daughter Mrs. F. E. Archer.

Family

Thomas Hudson Beare (30 December 1792 – 7 November 1861) married Lucy Ann Loose (c. 1803 – 3 September 1837) in 1819. Their children included: *William Loose Beare JP (7 February 1826 – 16 July 1910) married Agnes Charlotte Alston (1833 – 29 May 1892) on 17 July 1854. He is remembered for using

's stripper, built by Samuel Marshall, to harvest wheat at "Netley", his father's property, and testifying to Bull's priority. He farmed at "Bungaree" station, then lived in Clare, where he built a fine house later owned by John Christison, retired to Glenelg. :*Agnes Maria Christina Beare (1855–1942) married Adolphe Carnie (died 1909) in 1870 :*Emmy Lucy Charlotte Beare (1857–1934) married George Klewitz Soward (died 1941) in 1880 :*Violet Dora Beare (1859–1910) :*William George Douglass Beare (1861– ) :*Charles Alston Beare (1863–1935) married Catherine Amy Howard (died 1930) in 1893 :*Nellie Laura Beare (1866– ) attended Miss Steele's Seminary. :*(Margaret) Doris Beatrice "Dody" Beare (1875– ) married Archie Maclagan :*Noel Gilbert Beare (1878– ) *Lucy Anne Beare (1 March 1827 – 12 October 1861) married Francis Duval (c. 1819 – 21 October 1856) on 28 December 1843 and lived at Mypolonga. One report says she married again, to Thomas Howell Plummer in 1860. In her last weeks she was nursed by her friend

Catherine Helen Spence Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) was a Scottish-born Australian author, teacher, journalist, politician, leading suffragist, and Georgist. Spence was also a minister of religion and social worker, and supporter of ...

, who acted as guardian to her five orphaned children. *Arabella Charlotte "Baby" Beare (27 Jul 1831 – 7 November 1905), claimed to be first of the new settlers to set foot on Kangaroo Island, married G. H. Williams, solicitor, of Auburn, and Quorn. married solicitor George Edwin Williams (1824 – 8 June 1897) on 8 September 1849, lived at Auburn. *Elizabeth Beare (16 October 1834 – 9 January 1846), credited with being the first child ashore in South Australia at

. She died from burns sustained at "Netley" when her dress caught fire *Girl child, name unknown, was born 1836 aboard , perhaps in South Australian waters, died on the same ship some time between 5 May 1836 and 27 July 1836. She has been claimed as South Australia's first white birth. *Mary Ann Beare (21? 26 August 1837 – 2 July 1907) married Frederick Edwards Archer (21 Mar 1830 – 18 January 1903) on 29 December 1860. Beare married again on 24 October 1840, to Lucy Bull (c. 1819 – 16 September 1887), by whom he had nine children. She had emigrated with her brothers Joseph Bull and John Wrathall Bull and his family aboard ''Canton'', which arrived in May 1838. *Thomas Henry Beare (14 November 1841 – 10 March 1848) This article has several dates that contradict newspaper reports, notably 30 December 1792 for T.H.B.'s date of birth *Emily Beare (17 June 1844 – 28 May 1925) married Robert Henry Edmunds in 1863 *John James Beare (1 March 1850 – 17 November 1884) married Sarah Edmunds ( – 1 July 1925) in 1875. He was a solicitor at Moonta. *(Martha) Elizabeth "Bessie" Beare (10 August 1852 – 25 December 1941) married W. J. Kennedy; in later years lived with her youngest daughter, Mrs. L. G. Harrison, at the Gap, Naracoorte. *Edwin Arthur Beare (23 June 1855 – 7 March 1912), married Charlotte Jane Downing ( – 10 August 1933) on 15 June 1897. He was a solicitor at Kadina, and Mayor of

Wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'', and not a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wal ...

. *

Thomas Hudson Beare Sir Thomas Hudson Beare FRSE RSSA (30 June 1859 – 10 June 1940) was an eminent British engineer. He was successively Professor of Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, at University College, London (where he was a colleague of ...

(30 June 1859 – 10 June 1940) married Louise Newman ( – 1954) on 24 December 1885. He was a famous engineer and academic

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beare, Thomas 1798 births 1861 deaths Settlers of South Australia