William Thomas Napier Champ (15 April 1808 – 25 August 1892) was a soldier and politician who served as the first

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

from 1856 to 1857. He was born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early life

Champ was born in

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced ...

, Essex, England the son of Captain Thomas Champ and his wife Mary Anne ''née'' Blackaller. Champ was educated at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

. He joined the army as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

when 18 years old and later became an adjutant.

Army and police career

Champ was serving with the

63rd Regiment of Foot The 63rd Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 96th Regiment of Foot to form the Manchester Regiment in 1881. History Formation and service in the Seven Years' War The fo ...

as an ensign by 1826 and was posted with them to Sydney,

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 ...

in October 1828. Some of the regiment was detached as a garrison force for the

Macquarie Harbour Penal Station The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former British colonial penal settlement, established on Sarah Island, Macquarie Harbour, in the former colony of Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, operated between 1822 and 1833. The settlement housed ma ...

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 ...

(now

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) in 1829, and Champ was amongst them. As a lieutenant with the 63rd, he took part in the

Black War } The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. The conflict, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 to 900 Aborig ...

campaign which was an attempt to segregate

Tasmanian Aborigines The Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. For much of the 20th century, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people were widely, and ...

near the end of 1830. The 63rd left New South Wales and Van Diemens Land in 1834 to deploy to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and Champ left with the regiment. However, he had apparently enjoyed his time in Australia and later in 1834 he resigned his army commission and returned to Van Diemens Land to enter the civil service. Champ then became an assistant police magistrate, before being appointed as the commandant of Port Arthur penitentiary (succeeding Charles O'Hara Booth) in 1844.

Political career

In 1852 Champ became a colonial secretary to Governor Denison. In the 1850s, the British parliament passed legislation that would give

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

a responsible 'independent' government. This created the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

. The first elections for the House of Assembly took place in 1856. Prior to this Champ was a member of the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, ...

chosen by the Governor from 1852 until 1856. He was elected as the member for Launceston in the new House of Assembly and became first Premier of the responsible government on 1 November 1856. Champ held office of premier for 117 days, until 26 February 1857. Shortly into his term, his ministry collapsed and he was unable to govern. He was briefly opposition leader in 1857 but resigned shortly after. He left Tasmania and became inspector-general of penal establishments in

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 ...

. He later entered politics in Victoria, becoming a member of the

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

for East Bourke Boroughs from April 1871 until May 1873. He died in Melbourne, Victoria on 25 August 1892.

References

Other references listed by the ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'': *'' The Argus'', Melbourne, 27 August 1892 *P. Mennell, ''The Dictionary of Australasian Biography'' *J. Fenton, ''A History of Tasmania'', pp. 287–92 *J. W. Beattie, ''Port Arthur''. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Champ, William 1808 births 1892 deaths People from Maldon, Essex Premiers of Tasmania Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Colonial Secretaries of Tasmania 63rd Regiment of Foot officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian public servants English emigrants to colonial Australia