Robert Wettenhall
| First name | Robert |
|---|---|
| Last name | Wettenhall |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 8/18/1793 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1835 |
| Submitted by | Roland Seton Wettenhall |
Story
WETTENHALL FAMILY TO AUSTRALIA
The Wettenhall family since 1835 reflects the social changes and history of Australia. They emigrated from impoverished conditions to much of the same. Subsequent generations have produced members of the armed forces including those who died for their country as well as politicians (Victoria and Queensland), pioneering sheep breeders (Polworths, Corriedales and Merinos), innovators in medicine and medical research, accountants, philanthropists, police officers, sports men and women, transport operators, aviators and many other occupations.
Robert Wettenhall born 1793 entered the Royal Navy in 1810 and during the next 20 years served on 12 vessels until being laid off as a Lieutenant as part of the peace time reduction in the Royal Navy. He secured a position as a Chief Officer in the Coast Guard in 1832 but by 1835 he left to emigrate to Van Diemans Land. The economic malaise and poverty in England drove them to seek a better life.
Robert and Mary Burgess Wettenhall, nee Bussell, and their 2 children, Mary Frances and Allan Ravenscroft arrived in Hobart on 10th December 1835; having left Gravesend on 8th August 1835 in company with Capt. Edward Tregurtha and Elizabeth Tregurtha, Mary\’s sister, on the 262 ton ‘Derwent’, the Wettenhalls eventually settled near Sorell on the Carlton River south east of Hobart.
Despite the economic difficulties for farming and the Colony in general, they farmed the Sorell property for around 9 years. During this period a further 5 children were born Ð Editha Caroline (1836), Edwy (1838), Holford Highlord (1840) and Llewellyn (1843). In June 1846, the family left Hobart to take up a lighthouse keeper position on Swan Island, N W Tasmania. This position lasted for 6 months until Robert was attacked by a ticket-of-leave worker.
Over the next few years the family lived from hand to mouth as Robert ventured over the Bass\’ Strait to the Port Phillip District (1849) and to San Francisco, California (1850). Further, 2 more children were born, Bertha Bulkeley (1847) and Warwick Edgar (1848). Robert was appointed a Deputy Harbour Master in Launceston in 1852 but promptly resigned and 1853 saw him ‘splitting’ timber.
Robert and Mary struggled for the rest of their lives and lived variously with extended family and their children. Robert died in 1877 to be buried at Pleasant Creek (now Stawell) cemetery in Victoria; Mary died in 1896 and is buried next to Robert.
Mary Frances Wettenhall, who travelled to Australia as a 5 year old, married Henry Martin Imrie in 1860 and moved to Queensland as Henry helped establish the Bank of Australasia in Ipswich. He later took on government positions and died in 1890. Mary Frances died in 1927 having had 2 daughters Maud (Ida) and Irene (Bertha).
Allan Ravenscroft Wettenhall crossed the oceans as an 18 month old and was an early student in 1847 at Launceston Grammar School which opened its doors in 1846. After having worked in a counting house in Melbourne, Allan eventually moved to Queensland working as a police magistrate, an accountant and in other government positions. The family had 9 children of whom 5 survived to adulthood. He and Sarah (Saran) eventually moved to Ringarooma, Tasmania and he died at Launceston in 1894.
The other children of Robert and Mary Wettenhall were all born in Australia and along with their immigrant siblings went on to make significant contributions to their new country in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.
Holford Highlord Wettenhall was the first Australian born member of the Victorian Legislative Council. One of his sons, Marcus Edwy Wettenhall served as MLA for Lowan in Victoria for 15 years to 1935. One of his great grandsons, Stephen Peter Arthur Wettenhall was elected as Member for Barron River in the 2006 Queensland elections.
32 men and women of the family have served in the Armed Forces from World War 1 through to service in Iraq and East Timor. Four have died in service, John Harvey Lade (Passchendaele 1917), Colin Jocelyn Wilks (HMAS Yarra 1942), Marcus Cedric Wettenhall (Timor Sea 1943) and Llewellyn (New Britain 1943).
The Polworth breed of sheep was developed the late 1800s from flocks run by the Wettenhall and Dennis families (cousins) in Victoria. Polworths are now a recognised as a leading dual purpose breed providing both meat and wool production in Australia.
In many walks of life, the descendents of Robert and Mary Wettenhall continue to contribute to their communities with the benefit of good food, education and health care Ð all factors lacking when Robert and Mary took the decision to leave their English homes and families and never return.