James Stirling (naval officer)

James Stirling (Australia)

Sir James Stirling (born January 28, 1791 in Drumpellier , Lanarkshire , Scotland , † April 22, 1865 in Surrey ) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He became the first governor of Western Australia .

Life

James Stirling was the fifth son of Andrew Stirling, Esq., Of Drumpellier, Lanarkshire , Scotland. His mother was the daughter of Sir Walter Stirling. He joined the Royal Navy in early youth and took part in the war against France and as captain of HMS Brazen against America. For seven years, from June 1, 1829 to September 30, 1832, and again from August 1834 to December 1838, he was Governor and Commander-in-Chief in Western Australia. During a stay in England he was knighted around 1833 . He later became Commander-in-Chief in China and, in 1852, Lord of the Admiralty for a few weeks.

Relationship with the Aborigines

In the so-called Battle of Pinjarra called on 28 October 1834 and the massacre of Pinjarra, he commanded a group of 25 mounted police, the 15 to 30 depending on the reports Aborigines of Noongar massacred.

Honors

In 1838 the Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher named the plant Stirlingia in his honor. The Australian constituency of Stirling and a suburb of Perth are named after him. HMAS Stirling is a land base of the Royal Australian Navy . The Stirling Highway connects Perth with Fremantle .

literature

• JH Heaton: Australian dictionary of dates and men of the time . 1879
• Pamela Statham-Drew: James Stirling: Admiral and Founding Governor of Western Australia. University of Western Australia Press, Crawley 2003, ISBN 978-1876268947 .

Web links

• Short biography of Sir James Stirling on "anbg.gov.au" (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ John Connor (2002): The Australian frontier wars, 1788-1838 (English). P. 79 ff. ISBN 0868407569