Wallace Alexander Bickley (11 October 1810 – 30 June 1876) was an early settler in 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 ...

of Western Australia, who became a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the Western Australian Legislative Council. Born in Kent, England on 11 October 1810, he was christened Samuel Wallace Alexander Bickley but his first name was dropped to distinguish him from his father Samuel. He was educated at Dr Butters' College in Shropshire, and spent some time in Germany, before emigrating to Western Australia on board the in February 1830. He set up a trading business and in April 1833 he married Marianne Thomson. In 1837 he emigrated to India to work for the British East India Company, developing the trade in horses between Western Australia and India. His wife died in June 1841, and the following February he married Elizabeth Burke née Tynan. In 1851, Bickley returned to Western Australia. He became the owner of ''Kenwick Park'' in the

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

district. Over time he became one of the leading merchants in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, becoming an agent for Lloyd's of London and a representative of the Melbourne Shipowners' Association. In the 1860s he invested in mining in the Geraldton district. Bickley donated the Canning community a parcel of land on Bickley brook near Albany Highway for the building of a school, police station, church and cemetery. In 1867 he became a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He was a regular contributor to the ''

Fremantle Herald ''Fremantle Herald'' and similar names have been used for three different newspapers serving Fremantle, Western Australia: ''The Herald'' (1867–1886), ''Fremantle Herald'' (1913–1919) and a current publication, founded in 1989. Colonial ''H ...

'', and became Chairman of the Marine Survey Board. On 29 July 1872, Bickley was nominated to the Western Australian Legislative Council, remaining in the seat until his death at Fremantle on 30 June 1876. The Perth suburb of

Bickley Bickley is a district and a local government electoral ward in South East London, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located 10.4 miles (16.7 km) south east of Charing Cross, bordering Elmstead, London, Elmstead to the north, Chis ...

is named after him.

References

Further reading