William Cox (pioneer)

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William Cox (born December 19, 1764 in Wimborne Minster , Dorset , England , † March 15, 1837 in Windsor , Australia ) was a soldier and Australian pioneer who built the first road through the Blue Mountains from Sydney to Bathurst .

Life

Cox attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School at Wimborne Minster and later lived in Devizes , Wiltshire . He married Rebecca Upjohn in 1789.

Cox served in the military in England until he emigrated to New South Wales , Australia with his wife and four sons on August 24, 1799 on the ship Minerva . There were 160 convicts on the ship, including Joseph Holt and Henry Fulton , who were political prisoners from Ireland. Cox campaigned for more humanity on the ship and the Irish rebel Holt wrote in his memoir: "the ship was the healthiest and best regulated which had ever reached the colony" (the ship was the best in terms of health rules and organization, which ever reached the colony). The ship arrived in Sydney on January 11, 1800. Cox received 0.4 km² of farmland and made Holt his farm manager.

Cox was made a lieutenant in the New South Wales Corps and appointed paymaster . He was accused of irregularities in the administration of military funds, which is why he was recalled to England in 1807. However, he was never brought before a court there. After the matter was settled, he was made captain and had to guard Irish political prisoners. Since he was not present in Australia during the Rum Rebellion , his stance on William Bligh remained unclear. His wife and son voted for Bligh.

Road construction

Life-size bronze sculptures of the first road builders through the Blue Mountains. Location: Katoomba , not far from Echo-Point

When Cox returned to Australia in 1811, he was appointed the first administrator of Hawkesbury , where he was also responsible for the construction of government buildings. After Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth found their way through the Blue Mountains ( Blaxland Expedition ), Governor Lachlan Macquarie Cox commissioned the 163 km long and 3.7 m wide road between Sydney and Bathurst. 30 convicts and eight military guards were made available to him for this assignment and a period of three years was given. He promised the convicts freedom and a small piece of land with good work and loyalty. The road was made by hand. Cox completed the road between July 18, 1814 and January 14, 1815. Macquarie used the new road in April 1815 on his way to Bathurst. Cox received 8.1 km² of farmland near Bathurst in recognition of the prematurely completed road.

End of life

Cox's first wife died in 1819; with her he had five sons. In 1821 he married Anna Blachford, with whom he had three sons and a daughter. He died in 1837 and was buried in the grave next to his first wife at St Matthew's Cathedral in Windsor, Australia. A son from his first marriage donated a window to this church.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Percival Serle: Cox, William . In: Dictionary of Australian Biography . Angus & Robertson. 1949. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  2. ↑ Information on infobluemountains.net.au , accessed on May 29, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Cox, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soldier and Australian pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH December 19, 1764
PLACE OF BIRTH Wimborne Minster , Dorset , England
DATE OF DEATH March 15, 1837
Place of death Windsor , Australia