William Champ

William Champ

William Thomas Napier Champ (born April 15, 1808 in Maldon , Essex , England , † August 25, 1892 in Melbourne , Victoria ) was a politician who was the first Prime Minister of Tasmania between 1856 and 1857 .

Life

Officer, Tasmanian Settler and Family

Champ, son of Captain Thomas Champ, trained as an officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) and entered the 63rd regiment as an ensign on November 16, 1826 . He was then transferred as a lieutenant in November 1828 as part of a prisoner transport to the convict colony of Australia and in January 1829 transferred to Van Diemens Land, where he became a member of the military garrison and acting engineer of the Macquarie Harbor penal colony .

In 1830 Champ took part in the failed attempt to capture the Aborigines led by Lieutenant Governor George Arthur . Afterwards he wanted to settle in Van Diemens Land and leave the military. But since his certificate of discharge did not arrive in Hobart , he and his regiment were transferred to India . There he received his certificate of discharge, but bought himself back into an ensign position with his small fortune.

On April 5, 1832, Champ was reappointed lieutenant in the 39th regiment, before he was reassigned to the 63rd regiment on May 18, 1832. Some time later he resigned from military service and returned to Van Diemens Land in 1834, where he settled down as a farmer. In January 1836, he began his long career as an employee of the public service, first as a magistrate (justice of the peace) , then as deputy chief of police in Hobart as well as a clerk in the reservation office.

In March 1837, Champ married Helen Abigail Gibson, the daughter of his neighbor James Gibson, who previously served as a major in the 15th The King's Hussars . The marriage produced three sons and five daughters between 1839 and 1851.

Port Arthur Commander and Colonial Secretary

Criticized by him, Lieutenant Governor William Denison later became a key supporter of Champ's political and professional career

In December 1838, Champ became head of the Caveat Board , which dealt with land permits, and reorganized the office. He was then appointed in January 1844 to succeed Captain O'Hara Booth in command of Port Arthur , a prison in the Australian convict colony. In addition, he was general controller for convicts in Van Diemens Land for a short time, before this position was taken over by John Hampton in October 1846 . As commandant of Port Arthur, he came into conflict with Lieutenant Governor William Denison because of his criticism of the prison system . After the post of prison commandant was abolished, he was granted a pension of £ 160 .

Despite the previous conflict, Denison Champ proposed as colonial secretary and file administrator, so that he was appointed to these offices in November 1852 and in 1853 to a permanent position. Between 1852 and 1856 he was also a member of the Legislative Council , the then parliament and today's upper house of the Tasmanian parliament. In 1855 he was appointed Commissioner for the Insane (Commissioner in Lunacy ) and Chairman of the Intercolonial Commission for Lighthouses.

First Prime Minister of Tasmania 1856 to 1857

He was elected in the first elections to the House of Representatives (Tasmanian House of Assembly) , the lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament, on September 8, 1856 in the constituency of Launceston and was a member until his resignation in May 1857. After the establishment of the permanent government, he was granted a severance payment of £ 6,000 for losing his previous positions.

A few months later, Champ became the first Prime Minister of Tasmania on November 1, 1856 and held this post for almost four months until his resignation and his replacement by Thomas Gregson on February 26, 1857. His resignation was due to problems in obtaining a majority in the House of Assembly because of a resolution to reduce the governor's salary, which he criticized unsuccessfully.

He then acted as opposition leader between February and April 1857 .

Correctional Officer and member of the Victoria Legislative Assembly

The entrance gate of HM Prison Pentridge

After the assassination of John Giles Price on March 27, 1857 in Williamstown , Champ was proposed by Denison, who was now governor of New South Wales , for the office of inspector general of the correctional facilities in Victoria and was then appointed by the government. He held this office until he retired on December 31, 1868.

During this time, the Pentridge prison in Coburg was expanded and the penal system was humanized. During his tenure, there were no investigative proceedings against judicial officers, no inquiries about the work of the prison administration or public criticism in the press.

As inspector general, Champ created his own military unit, the Pentridge Rifles , and was promoted to lieutenant colonel and later colonel of the Victorian Military Forces .

After his retirement he settled as a farmer in Meredith , where he founded the Darra farm . During this time, he also helped raise funds for the local rifle club by editing a Melbourne book entitled The Animal Called Man .

In March 1871 he returned to political life and was until 1873 a member of the House of Representatives of Victoria (Victorian Legislative Assembly) , the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria , and represented the constituency of East Bourke Boroughs there . He resigned before the end of the legislative period in March 1874.

Web links

• Entry on the homepage of the Parliament of Tasmania
• Ministers - House of Assembly - 1856 to 1950
• Entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography

Individual evidence

1. ^ HA White: Crime and Criminals , p. 190, Ballarat, 1890