Charles Fremantle | |
|---|---|
 Sir Charles Fremantle | |
| Born | 1 June 1800 (1800-06) |
| Died | 25 May 1869 (1869-05-26) (aged 68) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | HMSChallenger HMSInconstant HMSAlbion HMSJuno Channel Squadron Plymouth Command |
| Battles / wars | Crimean War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
AdmiralSir Charles Howe FremantleGCB (1 June 1800 – 25 May 1869) was a BritishRoyal Navy officer. The city ofFremantle, Western Australia, is named after him.
Fremantle was the second son ofThomas Fremantle,[1] an associate ofHoratio Nelson, and of Fremantle's wifeElizabeth, the diarist. His middle name, Howe, is derived from his date of birth: the anniversary ofLord Howe's victory over the French on theGlorious First of June, 1794.
Fremantle joined theRoyal Navy in 1812 and worked his way up the ranks on a number of vessels. From 1818 to 1819 he served on his father's flagship in theMediterranean Fleet.[1][2]
In 1824 Fremantle received the first gold gallantry medal of the new Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, later theRoyal National Lifeboat Institution, for an attempted rescue at Whitepit nearChristchurch, Dorset.[3][4]
In April 1826 Fremantle was charged with raping a 15-year-old girl. His family is said to have paid off witnesses and leant on the judiciary to avoid scandal. He then went on to groom 10 more girls under the age of 18, his family has denied all allegations.[5][6][7][8]
In August 1826 Fremantle was promoted to captain and in 1828 took command of the 26-gun frigateChallenger,[1] and sent to claim the west coast of Australia for the United Kingdom.Challenger was dispatched by the Admiralty from the Cape of Good Hope on 20 March 1829,[9] anchored inCockburn Sound on 27 April and landed onGarden Island the next day.[10] On 2 May he hoisted the British flag on the south head of the mouth of theSwan River and took formal possession in the name of His Majesty KingGeorge IV of "all that part ofNew Holland (Australia) which is not included within the territory ofNew South Wales."[9][10][11]
The appointed Lieutenant GovernorJames Stirling arrived in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia, on 2 June, aboard the hired transport barqueParmelia.[9][10] He brought his family and other intending settlers, numbering 69, to found a colony at the Swan River. On 8 June they were joined by a military detachment of some 56 officers and men who disembarked from the consort shipSulphur. On 17 June, a proxy proclamation was read by Stirling confirming Fremantle's earlier one. These immigrants, along withFrederick Town, thesemi-exclave military outpost of New South Wales established two years earlier, began the history of Western Australia as a British colony, then as a state of federal Australia.
Fremantle left theSwan River Colony on 28 August 1829,[10] heading for the British base atTrincomalee, Ceylon (nowSri Lanka), where he was based for a couple of years. While there he visited many locations, includingKowloon in China, which he recommended as a good site for a British settlement. The British government agreed andHong Kong Island was settled in 1841.
On his way back to England from Ceylon, Fremantle in September 1832 visited the Swan River Colony for a week, but never returned. In 1833 he stopped atPitcairn Island, where he tried to resolve a leadership dispute betweenJoshua Hill andGeorge Hunn Nobbs.[12] He was given command ofInconstant in theMediterranean Fleet in 1843 and ofAlbion, also in the Mediterranean, in 1847.[1] Then in 1853 he became Captain ofJuno on theAustralia Station.[1]
Fremantle served as Rear-Admiral controlling the naval transport service fromBalaclava during theCrimean War.[1] He went on to be Commander-in-Chief of theChannel Squadron in July 1858 andCommander-in-Chief, Plymouth in 1863.[1]
Fremantle married Isabella Wedderburn on 8 October 1836. They had three children:
Fremantle died in 1869 and is buried inBrompton Cemetery, London. The grave lies against the east wall, near a more prominent monument to the politicianDavid Lyon.
At the same time he reported his 25-year-old naval officer nephew Charles Fremantle's commitment on a capital charge of the aggravated rape of a female servant at his Portsmouth lodgings. As if he had never issued his ultimatum, Buckingham set about getting the young man 'out of the sad scrape', offering 'bail to any amount' and advising Fremantle 'at all hazards to buy off the evidence' and keep the scandal out of the press. Bail was granted and on Buckingham's advice a dubious attorney was employed to 'get rid of the evidence'. The 'unpleasant business' was successfully covered up, and in the course of time Charles Fremantle became an admiral.
Every now and again, someone claims Fremantle was only 'charged' with rape, never convicted. But simply read the correspondence between Buckingham and William Fremantle. There is no question about his guilt.
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| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New Post | Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet 1858–1860 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth 1863–1866 | Succeeded by |
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