Richard John White Cartwright
| Town/City | Trigg, WA. |
|---|---|
| First name | Richard John White |
| Last name | Cartwright |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 1823 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1852 |
| Submitted by | Rev. L. Cartwright |
Story
RICHARD JOHN WHITE CARTWRIGHT
R.J.W CARTWRIGHTS GREAT GRANDFATHER WAS ADMIRAL RICHARD KEMPENFELT (1758-1782) AND HIS GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER (OF SWEDISH ARISTOCRACRY) WAS IN THE SERVICE OF JAMES 11 OF ENGLAND AND LATER A CAPTAIN IN THE BRITISH ARMY AND FOUGHT UNDER MARLBOROUGH. ADMIRAL KEMPENFELT\’S FLAG WAS ON THE ‘VICTORY’ (LATER NELSON\’S SHIP) AND HE HAD A REPUTATION AS A FEARLESS LEADER AND BRILLIANT TACTICIAN. THE FIRST ACTION FOUGHT ENTIRELY UNDER HIS COMMAND WAS A RESOUNDING TRIUMPH OVER A FAR SUPERIOR FRENCH FLEET.
LORD HOWE TOOK COMMAND OF THE BRITISH FLEET IN 1782 AND KEMPENFELT HOISTED HIS FLAG ON THE ‘ROYAL GEORGE’ (A SISTER SHIP OF THE ‘VICTORY’) AS A JUNIOR ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE AND ORDERED TO MAKE HASTE TO THE RELIEF OF GIBRALTAR. HE ANCHORED IN SPITHEAD OFF PORTSMOUTH FOR REPAIRS AND TO MAKE READY FOR SEA. THE SHIPS GUNS WERE MOVED TO HEEL THE SHIP OVER TO CARRY OUT A REPAIR JUST BELOW THE WATER LINE. A SUPPLY VESSEL APPROACHED THE LOW SIDE AND BEGAN TO TRANSFER A HEAVY CARGO OF RUM AND THE ADDITIONAL WEIGHT AND A STRONG BREEZE WHICH CAME UP ON THE OTHER SIDE CAUSED THE MAN-O-WAR TO HEEL OVER FURTHER AND THE SEA POURED INTO THE GUN PORTS. THE SHIP ROLLED OVER AND SANK WITHIN MINUTES. 900 PEOPLE WERE ESTIMATED TO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES. ADMIRAL KEMPENFELT WAS WRITING IN HIS CABIN AND THE DOOR JAMMED AS THE SHIP HEELED OVER AND HE PERISHED WITH THE REST. HE IS BURIED IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
WILLIAM COWPER\’S POEM ‘LOSS OF THE ROYAL GEORGE’ COMMEMORATES THIS DISASTER. ADMIRAL RICHARD KEMPENFELT TOOK A GREAT INTEREST IN EVANGELISM. HIS HYMNS WERE PUBLISHED IN ‘ORIGINAL HYMNS & POEMS’ BY PHILOTHEORUS (EXETER, ENGLAND B.THORN 1777)
RICHARD JOHN WHITE CARTWRIGHT (THE ADMIRAL\’S GREAT GRANDSON) MARRIED MARY BOLART OF CUDDESDON, OXFORDSHIRE ON 24TH DECEMBER 1848 AT ST. JAMES CLERKENWELL, LONDON. LATER, THEY DECIDED TO MIGRATE TO AUSTRALIA. WITH THEIR TWO CHILDREN, SARAH (BORN OCTOBER 1849) AND CHARLES HENRY (BORN 7TH MAY 1851) THEY LEFT ENGLAND ON THE SHIP ‘MARINER’ AND LANDED IN LANDRIDGE VICTORIA (NOW PORT MELBOURNE) IN APRIL 1852.
R.J.W. CARTWRIGHT, A PRINTER, FIRST LIVED IN COLLINGWOOD WHERE FREDERICK WAS BORN (1853) AND THEN ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA WHERE RICHARD WAS BORN (1856). THEY THEN RETURNED TO MELBOURNE AND SETTLED IN CLIFTON STREET, PRAHRAN WHERE ANOTHER FIVE CHILDREN WERE BORN Ð SAMUEL (1856), ALFRED (1860), AUGUSTUS (1862), EDWIN (1864) AND EDGAR (1866) (NINE CHILDREN IN ALL).
THEIR DESCENDANTS ARE TO BE FOUND IN VICTORIA AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA.