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Stephen Henty

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Stephen George Henty (3 November 1811 – 18 December 1872)[1] was a farmer and politician in colonial Victoria, a member of the Victorian Legislative Council.[1]

Henty was born in West Tarring, Sussex, England,[1] the son of Thomas Henty (1775–1839) and Frances Elizabeth, née Hopkins.[2]

Henty arrived at the Swan River settlement with brothers James and John in 1829.[2] In 1836 Stephen settled in Portland.[2]

In 1839, Henty led an overland expedition to explore the Mount Gambier region. He was the first white man to climb the peak and view the blue crater lake.[3] In 1842, Henty and his brother Edward laid claim to the land around Mount Gambier and established a sheep station there.[4] Conflict with the local Aboriginal residents quickly ensued that same year with Henty's men shooting a number and burning their corpses.[5] In March 1844, a band of Aboriginal people led by Koort Kirrup took a large number of Henty's sheep. Henty's men pursued and engaged them in a prolonged skirmish which resulted in the colonists having to retreat.[6][7] The Southern Australian reported that other white pastoralists in the region were also having difficulties with Aboriginal attacks on their farmsteads and they resolved to form hunting parties and raid them "indiscriminately" if police protection did not come.[8] The situation proved too hard for Stephen Henty, and even though Koort Kirrup was captured,[9] Henty abandoned the Mount Gambier property later in 1844 with significant loss of capital.[10]

In November 1856, Henty was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for Western Province,[1] a position he held until November 1870.[1] For much of the period of Henty's Council membership, he and his family lived at Findon[2] a mansion he built in Kew[11] Melbourne.

Family

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Stephen George Henty married Barbara Whilemena Bayntun–Sandys (1806–1891), daughter of Sir Edwin Bayntun–Sandys, Bart.[12] Their children include:

  • Richmond Henty (August 1837 – April 1904) was born in Portland, Victoria, and is reckoned either the first[13] or second[14] white child born in Victoria. Richmond married his cousin Agnes Barbara Reed (c. 1837 – 9 September 1895), granddaughter of Sir E. Bayntun–Sandys;[15] they had three sons and one daughter:
  • Ernest George Henty MLC (17 September 1862 – 25 June 1895) married Katie Cobham on 12 June 1890
  • Eulalie Henty ( – ) married Lieut. R. C. Ferrers Creer, RAN, on 15 June 1917[16] (divorced 1925).[17] Their elder daughter Deirdre Henty-Creer (1918–2012) was a successful artist,[18] while their son Henty Henty-Creer commanded one of the three midget submarines that attacked the German battleship Tirpitz in World War II.[19]
  • George Henty ( – ) lived in Hamilton, Victoria
  • Walter Thomas (1856–1917), farmer at Hamilton

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Stephen George Henty". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Bassett, Marnie. "Henty, Stephen George (1811–1872)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  3. ^ Henty, Richmond (1886). Australiana. London: Sampson Low.
  4. ^ "To the editors of the Courier and teetotal advocate". Launceston Courier. 8 November 1842. p. 4. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via Trove.
  5. ^ Robinson, George Augustus; Clark, Ian D (2014). Travels of George Augustus Robinson, Chief Protector, Port Phillip Aboriginal Protectorate.
  6. ^ "Portland Bay". Southern Australian. 2 April 1844. p. 2. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via Trove.
  7. ^ "Port Phillip Extracts". Morning Chronicle. 20 April 1844. p. 3. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via Trove.
  8. ^ "Local News". Southern Australian. 20 August 1844. p. 3. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via Trove.
  9. ^ "Portland Bay". South Australian. 19 November 1844. p. 3. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via Trove.
  10. ^ "Portland Bay". South Australian Register. 15 May 1844. p. 3. Retrieved 10 July 2021 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "Henry "Money" Miller".
  12. ^ "Family Notices". The Argus. 14 February 1891. p. 1. Retrieved 25 September 2019 – via Trove.
  13. ^ "Obituary". Portland Guardian. 27 April 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 26 September 2019 – via Trove. This and other, later, publications also asserted that his mother was still alive.
  14. ^ "The Beginning of Farming in Victoria". The Daily Telegraph (Launceston). 6 May 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 25 September 2019 – via Trove.
  15. ^ "Family Notices". The Argus. 30 October 1895. p. 1. Retrieved 25 September 2019 – via Trove.
  16. ^ "Weddings". The Sun. 1 July 1917. p. 13. Retrieved 25 August 2020 – via Trove.
  17. ^ "Society woman who lives in tent". Truth. 5 February 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 25 August 2020 – via Trove.
  18. ^ "Intimate Jottings". The Australian Women's Weekly. 14 January 1950. p. 19. Retrieved 25 September 2019 – via Trove.
  19. ^ "SA Women in 5,000-Mile Search". The Advertiser. 29 November 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 25 August 2020 – via Trove.

 

Victorian Legislative Council
New district Member for Western Province
November 1856 – November 1870
With: Charles Vaughan 1856–64
Charles Sladen 1864–68
Robert Simson 1868–70
James Palmer 1856–70
Thomas McKellar 1870
Andrew Cruikshank 1856–58
Henry Miller 1858–66
James Strachan 1866–70
Daniel Tierney 1856–59
Niel Black 1859–70 		Succeeded by
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