Charles Grimes (surveyor)
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Charles Grimes (24 February 1772 – 19 February 1858) was an English surveyor who worked in colonial Australia. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and found the
Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...
in what is now the
state of Victoria Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state i ...
. During his career, he mapped the route of the Hobart Road,
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
's main north-south arterial route. Much of the modern Midland Highway still follows the route that he planned.


Early life

Grimes was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, son of Joseph Grimes, a laceman, and his wife Esther. Towards the end of 1790 Grimes was appointed deputy surveyor of roads in
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 ...
and allocated work at Norfolk Island. Grimes did not arrive at Sydney until 21 September 1791 on the . From there he went to Norfolk Island. Soon after his arrival on 4 November 1791, Governor King appointed him deputy surveyor-general of New South Wales.


Surveying in Australia

At Norfolk Island he was employed correcting a previous survey which had been made without proper instruments, and he also undertook some of the administrative work. Grimes returned to Sydney in April 1794 and with the surveyor-general
Augustus Alt Augustus Theodore Henry Alt (1731 – 9 January 1815) was a British soldier and Australia's first Surveyor-General. Early life Augustus Theodore Harman Alt was born to father Jost Heinrich (anglicised to Just Henry), a Hessian, and mother Jean ...
being in bad health, he was required to take over most of Alt's work. In February 1795 he sailed north in the '' Francis'' and spent approximately one week at Port Stephens and reported unfavourably on the locality. Grimes is responsible for fully surveying the
Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...
in November 1801 with
Francis Barrallier Francis Louis Barrallier (19 October 1773 – 11 June 1853) was a French-born explorer of Australia. Life and career Francis Barrallier was the eldest son of Jean-Louis Barrallier, a French marine engineer and Royalist supporter who escaped ...
. In late 1802 Grimes commenced a survey of King Island and
Port Phillip Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is com ...
with Charles Robbins in . On 30 January 1803, whilst on his survey of Port Phillip he and his party landed at Frankston where he met around thirty Indigenous people. On 2 February 1803 he reached the mouth of the
Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...
. Next day Grimes ascended the river in a boat and explored what is now the
Maribyrnong River The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the northwestern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria. Course The Maribyrnong River draws its headwaters from near Mount Macedon within ...
for several miles. Returning to the Yarra it was explored for several miles but the boat was stopped by
Dights Falls Dights Falls is a rapid and weir on the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, just downstream of the junction with the Merri Creek. At this point the river narrows and is constricted between 800,000-year-old volcanic, basaltic lava flow and a mu ...
. The journal of another member of the party, James Flemming, has been preserved,THE VOYAGE OF HIS MAJESTY'S COLONIAL SCHOONER "CUMBERLAND,"FROM SYDNEY TO KING ISLAND AND PORT PHILLIP IN 1802-3. A Journal of the Explorations of Charles Grimes, Acting Surveyor-General of New South Wales. Kept by James Flemming
/ref> and in it he several times refers to finding good soil. Although it was evidently a dry season Flemming, who was described by King as "very intelligent", thought from the appearance of the herbage that "there is not often so great a scarcity of water as at present". He suggested that the "most eligible place for a settlement I have seen is on the Freshwater (Yarra) River". A plaque at the site marks the event. Grimes returned to Sydney on 7 March 1803 and, in spite of Flemming's opinions, reported adversely against a settlement at Port Phillip. Some accounts state that Grimes acquired a block of land in Sydney from Robert Ryan. The land was a grant of which comprised effectively the entire modern suburb of
Kirribilli Kirribilli is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. One of the city's most established and affluent neighbourhoods, it is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area administere ...
. Grimes sold the land to Robert Campbell in about 1806. Grimes obtained leave of absence and went to England in August 1803. It was nearly three years before he was back in Sydney. In March 1807 he was sent to
Port Dalrymple George Town (Palawa_kani: ''kinimathatakinta'') is a large town in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. The Australian Bureau of Statistics records the George Town Municipal Area had a population of 6,764 as ...
, and using the advice of
Thomas Laycock Thomas Laycock (1786 – 7 November 1823) was an English soldier, explorer, and later businessman, who served in North America during the War of 1812, but is most famous for being the first European to travel overland through the interior of Ta ...
, who a month earlier had become the first European to traverse the interior of
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
, Grimes made a survey of the district and examined the route to Hobart. Much of the route he surveyed became the Hobart Road, and many sections of the original 1808 road still form part of the Midland Highway. Grimes returned at the end of the year, and became involved in the deposition of Governor William Bligh in the
Rum Rebellion The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a ''coup d'état'' in the then-British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, the name derives fr ...
on 26 January 1808. He was one of the members of a committee formed to examine the administration of Bligh, and was appointed acting judge-advocate. In this capacity, he sat at the token trial of John Macarthur. Grimes realised, however, that his lack of legal training made it difficult for him to act effectively in his judicial position and he resigned on 5 April 1808. He was sent to England with dispatches that same month.


Later life in the army

Grimes was not well received in England, and his salary was held back for a long period because of his association with the mutineers. Grimes resigned his position on 18 July 1811. The following year he became a paymaster of the 13th Regiment of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and served in Canada, Great Britain and
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 ...
. He was appointed paymaster at the recruiting depot,
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...
, in September 1833 and was transferred to Chatham, Kent in 1836. He retired from the army on a pension in July 1848, and died at Milton-next-Gravesend, Kent on 19 February 1858. Grimes had two sons in New South Wales by Elizabeth Matthews. In 1815 he married Cassandra Atkinson in Woodford, Essex, and they had four children. A bridge over the Yarra at
Melbourne Docklands Docklands, also known as Melbourne Docklands, is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Docklands recorded a population ...
was named after him. Built in the 1970s, it has subsequently been substantially altered and was officially re-opened on 16 September 2000.


References

*John Currey (ed.), ''James Fleming, A Journal of Grimes' Survey: The Cumberland in Port Phillip January – February 1803'', Banks Society Publications, Malvern ic. 2002 * *Bernard T. Dowd,
Grimes, Charles (1772–1858)
, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, MUP, 1966, pp 487–488. Retrieved on 29 December 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grimes, Charles History of Melbourne Explorers of Australia English surveyors People from Aylesbury 1772 births 1858 deaths 19th-century Australian public servants Surveyors General of New South Wales