Edward Eagar
Edward Eagar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1787 Killarney,Ireland |
| Died | 1866 (aged 78–79) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer,merchant |
| Criminal status | Pardoned |
| Children | Geoffrey Eagar |
| Conviction(s) | Forgery |
| Criminal penalty | Transportation toNew South Wales |
Edward Eagar(1787–1866) was a lawyer, merchant and criminal.
Early life
[edit]Eagar was born inKillarney,Ireland. His parents werelanded gentryso he was well educated. He trained as a solicitor and became an attorney to His Majesty's Courts in Ireland. In 1809 he was charged with forging a bill of exchange, and he was convicted and sentenced to death. He pleaded forclemencyand either his family influence or his conversion to Christianity saw him gaoled for 18 months until he was transported to Sydney.[1]The chaplain sent with him to Australia a letter to ReverendSamuel Marsdenthat said, "Edward Eagar has really become a new creature."[2]
Transportation
[edit]The shipProvidencearrived in Sydney in 1811 and Eagar was assigned to teach children. He soon commenced Bible classes in the Windsor district. He was then given charge of the local school. In 1812 he met with two newcomers, Thomas Bowden and John Hoskin, and they formed the first membership of the firstMethodist churchin Australia, known asWesley Mission,on 12 March 1812. Eagar wrote to the Methodist Conference in England to "send us a Minister lest we die in our sins". The Minister, ReverendSamuel Leigh,arrived in 1815, and Eagar introduced him toGovernor Macquarie.Reverend Leigh was the first Methodist minister in Australia, and he is remembered by the Leigh Memorial Church inParramatta.[2]Leigh was formerly remembered in the name of the Methodist Theological College,Leigh College,atStrathfield South, New South Walesand, with its absorption into the new United Theological College atNorth Parramatta, New South Wales,he is now remembered in the Leigh Theological Library of the Centre for Ministry which houses the college.
Eagar assisted in founding theSydney Benevolent Society,[3]and subsequently the Royal Women's Hospital at Paddington, theBritish and Foreign Bible Society,and the AustralianReligious Tract Society.He established the Society for the Protection and Civilisation of Distressed Islanders of the South Seas. He also planned the first mission toAboriginal Australians.He also put up 10 per cent of the funding capital to establish theBank of New South Wales,now known asWestpac,but he was angry that he was not allowed to become a director of the bank because he had been a convict.[2]
Convict rights
[edit]In 1818 Eagar was granted a full pardon. However, JudgeJeffery Hart Bentdid not let him forget he had been a convict and had been discarded from practice as a lawyer. He lost a court case because pardoned convicts did not have a right to own property, to sue, to give evidence in court or to have other civil rights. Other emancipated convicts also saw their rights denied. So Eagar took up their case with theBritish Government.He fought for trial by jury and for freedom to trade commercially. This was the first Australian attempt to change government policy. DrWilliam Redfern,after whom the Sydney suburb of Redfern is named, and Edward Eagar sailed to London in 1821 to argue the case in theCourt of St. James'son behalf of otheremancipatedconvicts. Eagar fought the case for 20 years, and eventually won.[2]
Legacy
[edit]Eagar was one of Australia's first liberal political agitators. He left his wife and three sons behind, taking his daughter with him to London. He was never to return. He married a 16-year-old girl and they had 10 children. His Sydney wife, Jemima, moved into a new house in Macquarie Street, just down the road from Parliament House, paid for byWilliam Wentworth,with whom she had a son.[4]At the time Wentworth was arguably Australia's most famous citizen. He was among the first settlers tocrosstheBlue Mountainsand the most powerful member of the Legislative Council. Eagar's sonGeoffreybecame the first accountant of the Bank of New South Wales, a leading public servant, a member of theLegislative Counciland eventuallyTreasurer of New South Wales,[5]described as the best Treasurer of the nineteenth century,[2]and a long-serving Cabinet Minister.
TheWesley Mission's Edward Eagar Lodge inSurry Hillsis named after Edward.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^McLachlan, N D (1966)."Eagar, Edward (1787–1866)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Vol. 1. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.pp. 343–344.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved17 January2021.
- ^abcdefGordon Moyes(7 April 2005)."Tribute to Mr Edward Eagar".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).New South Wales: Legislative Council. pp. 15263–15264.Retrieved16 January2021.
- ^"Association for the relief of the poor, aged and infirm, and for other benevloent purposes".The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser.9 May 1818. p. 2.Retrieved16 January2021– via Trove.
- ^Tink, Andrew (2009).William Charles Wentworth: Australia's greatest native son.Allen & Unwin.ISBN978-1-74175-192-5.
- ^Lamb, P N (1972)."Eagar, Geoffrey (1818-1891)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved16 January2021.
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