D'Arcy Wentworth, born Dorset Crowley (23 June 1793 – 21 July 1861), was a

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

army captain, police magistrate and politician.

Early life

He was born Dorset Crowley on

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

D'Arcy Wentworth D'Arcy Wentworth (14 February 1762 – 7 July 1827) was an Irish-Australian surgeon and the first paying passenger to arrive in the new colony of New South Wales. He served under the first seven governors of the Colony, and from 1810 to 1821 ...

, a surgeon who was distantly related to the former

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pr ...

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782), styled The Honourable Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1739, Viscount Higham between 1739 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750, and the Marquess of R ...

, and Catherine Crowley, a convict from

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. They had met on board the

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, with D'Arcy being the ship's surgeon and Catherine being transported, which was part of the notorious Second Fleet. The family left Norfolk Island and sailed for Sydney on board HMS ''Reliance'' in February 1796. After his mother's death in January 1800, his father changed the then six-year-old's Dorset Crowley's name to D'Arcy Wentworth, and his younger brother Matthew's name to John Wentworth (1795-1820). He and his brothers

William Charles Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian statesman, pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures in colonial New South Wales. He ...

and John were sent to England for schooling in 1802, which began in October 1803. Wentworth enlisted in the army in England in 1811, as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the 63rd Regiment. His regiment was sent to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 1814. He later returned to New South Wales, rising to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1825. On 27 April 1826, he married Scottish born Elizabeth Macpherson, third daughter of Major Charles Macpherson (1751-1820) of Gordonhall in

Badenoch Badenoch (; ) is a district of the Scottish Highlands centred on the upper reaches of the River Spey, above Strathspey. The name Badenoch means the drowned land, with most of the population living close to the River Spey or its tributaries ...

, barrack-master general of Scotland and Margaret MacPherson of Inverhall near Killiehuntly, at St Cuthbert's Church in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

; they had no children.

Career

Wentworth was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace for Van Diemen's Land on 9 September 1830. Between 7 October and 24 November 1830, he was one of three commanders of a force of 2200 men, 550 soldiers and 1650 convicts and volunteer colonists, separated into three divisions. Wentworth led detachments of troops from Bothwell and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, as well as civilian volunteers, towards the Great Lake and the banks of the

Ouse Ouse ( ) may refer to: Places Rivers in England * River Ouse, Yorkshire * River Ouse, Sussex * River Great Ouse, Northamptonshire and East Anglia ** River Little Ouse, a tributary of the River Great Ouse Other places * Ouse, Tasmania, a town ...

, Shannon and Clyde rivers. The operation was known as the Black Line., its purpose was to "...capture those hostile Tribes of Natives which are daily committing renewed atrocities upon the Settlers..." This occurred as part of what has become known as 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 that precipitated the near-extermination of the indigenous population. The conflict was fought largely as ...

in Tasmania. While in Van Diemen's Land, Wentworth served as police magistrate in

Bothwell Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...

, where he built a significant Georgian sandstone house. It was started in 1830 and was originally called Inverhall but is now known as Wentworth House. He sold the house in 1833 to Charles Schaw, assistant police magistrate for Bothwell. From 1843 to 1845 he was a member of 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 New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

for the Northumberland boroughs, comprising East and West

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and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

Death

He died at Launceston on 21 July 1861 and was buried with his parents at

St John's Cemetery, Parramatta St John's Cemetery, Parramatta, also known as St John's Anglican Cemetery, Saint John's Cemetery, and First Fleet Cemetery, is a heritage-listed cemetery at 1 O'Connell Street, Parramatta, City of Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. The c ...

, on 6 August 1861. His funeral was attended by some of the colony's most celebrated and distinguished citizens.

References

External links

Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

- includes digitised letters written by Wentworth to the

Colonial Secretary of New South Wales Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French colonial architecture * Spanish colonial architecture Automobiles * Col ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, Darcy 1793 births 1861 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links