Edward Curr (1 July 1798 – 16 November 1850) was an Australian settler and politician. Curr was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He travelled to

Hobart Town Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, arriving in February 1820. In 1823 he returned to England. In 1824 he was appointed manager of the newly formed

Van Diemen's Land Company The Van Diemen's Land Company (also known as Van Dieman Land Company) is a farming corporation in the Australian state of Tasmania. It was founded in 1825 and received a royal charter the same year, and was granted 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) ...

which had arranged to buy 250,000 acres (101,173 ha) of land in the north-west of the colony. Curr arrived back in Hobart in May 1826 and headed north to survey his company's land. He established the company's base at

Circular Head Circular Head Council is a Local government in Australia, local government body in Tasmania covering the far north-west mainland. It is classified as a rural local government area with a population of 8,066, and its major towns and localities ...

by September 1826. Curr was a member of the Legislative Council of Van Diemen's Land 1825 to 1826 (later Tasmania). As a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, Curr refused to take the required oath – that he did not believe in fundamental tenets of the Catholic faith and that he deny any allegiance to the descendants of Catholic monarch James II. Governor Arthur waived the requirement and wrote to Secretary for Colonies, Earl Bathurst, for advice on 21 April 1826. In the reply of 11 December, the advice confirmed that Curr was not prevented from taking his position. Curr visited

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1839 and returned to settle in 1842. He was elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council for the District of Port Phillip (later to become the colony of

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 ...

) for two periods (from 1 September 1845 to 31 May 1846 and from 1 September 1848 to 31 May 1849). From 1844 until his death in 1850, he was extremely active in the movement for separation of Victoria from New South Wales. He became known as the "Father of Separation". Curr had a wife (Elizabeth) and eleven surviving children, the eldest being

Edward Micklethwaite Curr Edward Micklethwaite Curr (25 December 1820 – 3 August 1889) was an Australian pastoralist, author, advocate of Australian Aboriginal peoples, and squatter. Biography Curr was born in Hobart, Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land), the e ...

. The town of

Sheffield, Tasmania Sheffield is a town 23 kilometres inland from Devonport on the north-west coast of Tasmania. Sheffield has long been the rural hub for the Mount Roland area. The Sheffield area is well known for its high quality butterfat production via dairy ...

was named by Curr after his home town in England.Sheffield, Tasmania
''Tourism Tasmania''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curr, Edward 1798 births 1850 deaths People from Sheffield Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians Australian pastoralists 19th-century Australian businesspeople