William Cox (19 December 1764 – 15 March 1837) was an English soldier, known as an explorer, road builder and pioneer in the early period of British settlement of Australia.

Early life

Cox was born in

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poo ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

, son of William Cox and Jane Harvey, and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in the town. He married Rebecca Upjohn in 1789.

Military career

Cox had served in the Wiltshire militia before being commissioned as

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 diff ...

(without

purchase Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly betwe ...

) in the 117th Regiment of Foot on 11 July 1795, transferring on 23 January 1796 to the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the 68th Foot on 21 February 1797. He transferred to the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying ...

on 30 September 1797, having changed places with a certain Lieutenant Beckwith, and was made paymaster on 23 June 1798. Cox sailed for

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 ...

on 24 August 1799 on the ''Minerva'', with his wife and four sons. Aboard the ship were around 160 convicts, including

Joseph Holt Joseph Holt (January 6, 1807 – August 1, 1894) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. As a leading member of the Buchanan administration, he succeeded in convincing Buchanan to oppose the secession of the South. He returned to Ke ...

and

Henry Fulton Henry Fulton (1761 – 17 November 1840) was a Church of Ireland curate who, as a United Irishman in 1798, was transported to New South Wales where in the Rum Rebellion, and the subsequent inquiries, he took the part of Governor William Bligh. __N ...

who were among many political prisoners. Cox used his influence so that the prisoners were often allowed up on deck for fresh air, and Holt in his memoirs states that as a result "the ship was the healthiest and best regulated which had ever reached the colony". The ''Minerva'' arrived in Sydney on 11 January 1800. Cox purchased a farm and made Holt its manager. Further land was purchased but in 1803 large liabilities led to Cox's estate being placed into the hands of trustees. He was suspended from office due to allegations that regimental accounts were involved. Cox returned to England in 1807 to answer allegations that he had misused army funds. The ''

Dictionary of Australian Biography The ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published in 1949, is a reference work by Percival Serle containing information on notable people associated with Australian history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the docum ...

'' records that Cox was cleared in 1808, and was promoted to Captain of 102nd Regiment of Foot, and placed in charge of Irish

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their politics, political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, al ...

s. However, the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

'' of 19 April 1808 records, "Paymaster William Cox, of the New South Wales Corps, is dismissed the Service."

Building career

In 1811 Cox returned to Australia. Once back there, he resigned his commission and became principal magistrate at Hawkesbury. He was also responsible for erecting many government buildings. In 1814, Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

approved Cox's 'voluntary offer of your superintending and directing the working party' that would build a road crossing the Blue Mountains, between Sydney and Bathurst. The completed dirt track was wide by long, built between 18 July 1814 to 14 January 1815 using five free men, 30 convict labourers and eight soldiers. Macquarie surveyed the finished road in April 1815 by driving his carriage along it from Sydney to Bathurst. He commended Cox and stated that the project would have taken three years if it had been done under a contract. As a reward Cox was awarded of land near Bathurst. The road became known as Cox's Road and over time much of it has been bypassed in favour of easier grades.

Family

Rebecca Cox died in 1819, having borne five sons. In 1821, Cox married Anna Blachford, by whom he had another three sons and a daughter. Their son Alfred Cox was a large landholder in New Zealand and a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. Another son, Edward Cox, was a pastoralist who served on the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in t ...

. The

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

television programme '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', which aired on 30 August 2010, traced the ancestry of Australian soap and pop star

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap '' Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 ...

through his mother Sue Menlove's side of the family back to William Cox.

References

External links

Local Family History Links, Penrith City Council
(links t
Cox of Dorset
also se

* Memoirs of William Cox, J.P. * ''

Historical Records of Australia The ''Historical Records of Australia'' (''HRA'') were collected and published by the Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament, to create a series of accurate publications on the history of Australia. The records begin shortly before 1788, ...