William Paterson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1stCommandant at Port Dalrymple | |
| In office 16 February 1804 – 24 March 1808 | |
| Succeeded by | John Brabyn |
| Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales | |
| In office 13 December 1794[1] – 1 September 1795 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Grose |
| Succeeded by | Office Vacant |
| In office 24 March 1806 – 26 January 1808 | |
| Preceded by | Office Vacant |
| Succeeded by | George Johnston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1755-08-17)17 August 1755 Montrose, Scotland |
| Died | 21 June 1810(1810-06-21) (aged 54) At sea aboardHMSDromedary offCape Horn |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Driver |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1781–1810 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | 98th Regiment of Foot 73rd Regiment of Foot |
| Commands | New South Wales Corps |
ColonelWilliam Paterson,FRS (17 August 1755 – 21 June 1810) was a Scottish soldier,explorer,Lieutenant Governor andbotanist best known for leading early settlement atPort Dalrymple inTasmania.
A native ofMontrose,Scotland, Paterson was interested inbotany as a boy and trained in horticulture at Syon in London.[2] Paterson was sent to theCape Colony by the wealthy and eccentricCountess of Strathmore to collect plants, he arrived inTable Bay on board the "Houghton" in May 1777. He made four trips into the interior between May 1777 and March 1780, when he departed. In 1789 Paterson publishedNarrative of Four Journeys into the Country of the Hottentots and Caffraria,[3] which he dedicated toSir Joseph Banks.[4]
Paterson was originally commissioned as anensign in the98th Regiment of Foot and served inIndia. He later transferred to the73rd Regiment of Foot after the 98th's disbandment in 1787. In 1789, he was promoted tocaptain in theNew South Wales Corps, serving under MajorFrancis Grose.[5] After some time spent recruiting, he arrived in Sydney in October 1791. From November 1791 until March 1793 he served in command onNorfolk Island. Whilst there he collected botanical, geological and insect specimens and sent them to Banks. He also provided seed to theLee and Kennedy and Colvill nurseries.[2] He was elected aFellow of the Royal Society in May 1798.[6]
In 1794 he served for a year asLieutenant Governor of New South Wales. In 1800 he was re-appointed to the post and served a second term until 1808.
In May 1795, following the killing of two unarmed settlers, Paterson ordered a party of corps to the area:
destroy as many (Aboriginal Australians) as they could meet with ... in the hope of striking terror, to erect gibbets in different places, whereon the bodies of all they might kill were to be hung ...[7]: p 288
Seven or eightBediagal people were allegedly killed, although their bodies were never found, it is possible they had been recovered by the Bediagal people. A crippled man, some children and five women were taken to Sydney as prisoners. The crippled man, escaped. One of the women had sustained a gunshot wound to her shoulder, her weaning child was also injured. The child died not long after arriving at the settlement. One of the women delivered a child while in custody, unfortunately her newborn son died shortly after the birth. The remaining children along with all of the women where released.[7]: p 299
Afterwards Patterson ordered the soldiers withdraw from the area, soon after the Bediagal people attacked another farm, and put an unarmed settler and his son to death: after having seen her husband and her child slaughtered, the wife and mother was then also seriously wounded in the attack. In consequence, another party of the corps was sent out; while they were there the Bediagal did not attack and remained at a distance. Patterson had no other choice than to assign the soldiers permanently to avoid the ongoing cycle of attack followed by reprisal.[7]: p 299
In 1801, Paterson fought a duel withJohn Macarthur and was wounded in the shoulder.[8]
He led an expedition to theHunter Region in 1801 and up thePaterson River (later named in his honour byGovernor King).[9] The expedition discovered coal in the area that would later become the vastSouth Maitland Coalfields; it was a discovery of great economic significance.[10] In 1804, he led an expedition toPort Dalrymple, in what is now Tasmania, exploring theTamar River and going up theNorth Esk River farther than European had previously gone.[9]
Between 1804 and 1808 Paterson was also appointedCommandant at Port Dalrymple, the administrator of the colony in the north of Van Diemen's Land.[11] In 1806, Paterson's duties as commander of the New South Wales Corps required him to return to Sydney, but he went back to Van Diemen's Land in 1807, and stayed until December 1808. During this time he corresponded regularly with the eminent naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, sending a number of specimens.[8]
The New South Wales Corps selected Paterson as actingGovernor of New South Wales on 1 January 1809 after the deposition of Governor CaptainWilliam Bligh in the so-called "Rum Rebellion." He was replaced by the newly arrivedLachlan Macquarie by the end of the year. He left Sydney for England on 12 May 1810, but died on boardHMSDromedary while offCape Horn just a few weeks later.[8]
His widow Elizabeth marriedFrancis Grose, Paterson's predecessor as Lieutenant Governor, in April 1814, but Grose died a month later. Elizabeth died in Liverpool, England in 1839.[8]
The standardauthor abbreviationPaterson is used to indicate this person as the author whenciting abotanical name.[12]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales 1794–1795 | Succeeded by Office vacant |
| Preceded by Office Vacant | Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales 1800–1808 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New position | Commandant at Port Dalrymple 1804–1808 | Succeeded by |
