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NameWALBS bios - James Stirling
DescriptionBiographical data and locations of James Stirling from 1826-1839, as part of research into people of interest for WA Legacies of British Slavery project (ARC)
TypeOther
Subject
Linkback
Image
Content Warning
Number of places13
ContributorIsabel Smith
Creator
Publisher
Contact
DOI
Source URL
License
Allow ANPS? No
Citation
Usage Rights
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Latitude From
Longitude From
Latitude To
Longitude To
Date From
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Date Created (externally)
Added2022-12-15 15:27:46
Updated2022-12-15 15:27:56

🌏 James Stirling - London

Placename
London, England
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
51.505833
Longitude
-0.071056
Start Date
1826-06-09
End Date
1826-06-09

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Though we have selected St Katharine Docks, we do not know which dock the Success left from.
Date notes
Biographical information
James Stirling was born on 28 January 1791 at Drumpellier, an estate in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the fifth son of second cousins Andrew and Anne Stirling. [1, p 1] Stirling's maternal side had a strong naval tradition. He entered the navy as a first-class volunteer when he was 12 and went to the West Indies. He first saw action in the Napoleonic Wars when he joined HMS Glory as a Midshipman, aged 14. [1, p 13] While stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, with his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief, they received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. [Georgie ref] After the end of the wars Stirling moved around Europe and English 'society'. In Woodbridge, Surrey, he became acquainted with the Mangles family, including his wife-to-be, Ellen Mangles. [2] They had 11 children, five daughters and six sons. Ellen's father James Mangles was Director of the East India Company and also owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs] Following renewed naval activity and the possibility of colonisation in the Pacific by the French, Stirling was tasked with bringing a supply of currency to New South Wales and moving the location of the British garrison at at Meville Island to a more strategic location. [2] In April 1826 he was given command of the new Success; they sailed on 9 June. [1]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
In her biography of Stirling, Pamela Statham-Drew states that from his father Andrew's side came 'an enviable Scottish pedigree and enormous family pride.' Statham-Drew explains that Stirling's father Andrew 'often reminded his children they were descendants of one of the oldest untitled families in Europe who could trace their ancestry from Willielmus de Strivelyn, named in the early twelfth century Chartulary of Glasgow as the rightful owner of lands in the county of Lanark.' [1, p 1]
Attitudes around labour
Images
Wikimedia Commons portrait: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jamesstirling.jpg State Library of NSW portrait: https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/9yM6GLV9
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References
[1] Pamela Statham-Drew, James Stirling: Admiral and Founding Governor of Western Australia, University of Western Australia Press, 2003 [2] Frank Crowley, The Australian Dictionary of Biography, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702 [3] Chris Owen, "The Pinjarra massacre: it's time to speak the truth of this terrible slaughter", The Guardian, November 18, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/18/the-pinjarra-massacre-its-time-to-speak-the-truth-of-this-terrible-slaughter [4] https://govhouse.wa.gov.au/history-of-government-house/

Sources

TLCMap ID
t1772f
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Warrane

Placename
Warrane (Sydney Cove)
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-33.857583
Longitude
151.210194
Start Date
1826-11-28
End Date
1826-11-28

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
Before reaching Sydney, Success rounded the southern tip of Western Australia. Pamela Statham-Drew estimates it was around this time, above Cape Leeuwin, that Stirling decided to explore the west coast. The Success reached Sydney heads on 28 November 1826. [1, p 57]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
Lithograph by Guerard of Sydney Cove, 1826-1829: https://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10421250
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17730
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Derbarl Yerrigan

Placename
Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River)
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-32.035861
Longitude
115.758806
Start Date
1827-03-06
End Date
1827-03-06

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
After New South Wales, Stirling returned to the west coast of Australia. Success reached Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar (Country), Wadjemup (Rottnest Island), on 5 March 1827. After staying the night outside Thomson Bay, Stirling and crew reached Derbarl Yerrigan (the Swan River), also Country belonging to Wadjuk Noongar, the following day. He spent a fortnight around here and was particularly impressed with the land. [1]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
Christopher Pease, Swan River 50 miles up, 2006: https://nga.gov.au/exhibition/niat07/Detail.cfm?IRN=163868&ViewID=2&MnuID=1 View of the Swan River, taken at the commencement of fresh water, in 1827, painted by Frederick Garling during the exploration by James Stirling: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_of_Swan_River_in_1827_by_Garling.png
Images notes
Christopher Pease on his artwork: 'This scene is taken from William John Huggins 1827 work Swan River 50 miles up. It depicts Captain Stirling’s exploration party coming ashore along the banks of the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River). In the foreground several Wajuk people sit passively as onlookers. On 29 September 1829 the first land grants were made open to the public. In 1839 the Ribbon Grants were initiated. These land grants divided the land into strips along the river. Each strip of land was given to individual families. For the Wajuk people this concept of individual land ownership was a foreign one. If you were to go to the river for water, egg, fish, waterfowl, turtle or worship after 1839 you were trespassing.'
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17731
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - England

Placename
England
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
51.505833
Longitude
-0.071056
Start Date
1828-07-07
End Date
1828-07-07

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
Stirling went on to South Asia after leaving Western Australia, reaching Java on 11 August 1827. The Success spent the next months in Madras, Penang and Ceylon. In Ceylon Stirling became ill - 'an intestinal inflammation with great derangement in the functions of the liver & bowels'. Certified to be unwell by Royal Navy surgeons, he was sent back to England on a merchant vessel, leaving the Success. He reached England on 7 July 1828. [1] After his initial trip, Stirling strongly advocated for a new colony in Western Australia. In his report to the Admiralty he concluded that 'I do not believe that a more eligible spot could be found in any part of the World.' [1, p 85] The Colonial Office had little interest in a new colony at Swan River, but Stirling was insistent in his campagining. [1, p 101]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Back in England, Stirling came to know Major Thomas Moody, an ex-West Indian Plantation owner. Statham-Drew explains that 'Moody had apparently persuaded Stirling that he could get a number of individuals interested in settling the Swan River area under the umbrella of a private company.' Moody also had ideas to 'set up three classes of settlement - one for convicts on what he termed "the Dutch system", a second "for the profits of the association, conducted by the parish paupers & persons of that class in Ireland", and a third "for the encouragement of half castes from India, Chines and others who may be induced to settle in the northern climates of the Colony to raise cotton &c".' [1, p 105]
Attitudes around labour
Images
1827 map of Stirling's journey up Derbarl Yerrigan: https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/chart-of-swan-river-by-captain-j-stirling-b-w-photographic-print-only-411
Images notes
This 1827 map of Stirling's journey up Derbarl Yerrigan marks 'lands intended for settlers and public persons', 'to be granted to Mr. T. Peel' and 'granted to Captn. Stirling R. N.'
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17732
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - London

Placename
Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River)
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-32.035861
Longitude
115.758806
Start Date
1829-06-02
End Date
1829-06-02

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
Stirling was successful in his campagining for the new colony. He returned to Western Australia in 1829. Aboard the Parmelia, Stirling and crew sighted Western Australia at noon on 31 May 1829, but they were unsuccessful entering Cockburn Sound so anchored off Rottnest Island for the night of 1 June. They reached the river mouth on 2 June 1829. [1, p 131]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Stirling's report to the Admiralty described Aboriginal people under the heading of 'Animal Productions'. He likened Indigenous people around Derbarl Yerrigan to people around New South Wales, with 'large Heads, spare Trunks, long and disproportionate limbs. They are active and hardy in habit, and seem to possess the qualities usually springing from such habits; Bravery, Vivacity, and Quickness, and a Temper alternating between kindness and ferocity.' [1, p 84]
Attitudes around labour
Images
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17733
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Woodbridge

Placename
Woodbridge
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-31.888778
Longitude
115.986361
Start Date
1829-09-29
End Date
1829-09-29

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
Stirling was allocated 5,000 acres at Swan River on 29 September 1829. [1, p 149] Pamela Statham-Drew writes that 'James, Ellen and the children spent some of the hot days of January 1831 in the small brick house James had built on their Woodbridge grant at Guildford. Later in the year a visitor from India, Colonel J. Hanson, described their retreat as "a little cottage orné" built on an elevated and beautiful site "at a turn of the river commanding a view along two extensive reaches and the land in front of it being all meadow land, very beautifully studded with forest trees, you my without much imagination conceive yourself placed in the midst of a gentleman's park at home." Hanson added that the Governor did not seem to spend much time there, being caught up with official business at Perth.' [1, p 186]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
Christopher Pease, Land Release 3, 2008 [page 7]: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://rgcopcorpweb920-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/Project/COP/COP/COP/Documents-and-Forms/Council/Documents/Strategies/Reconciliation-Action-Plan---Directors-Only---Final.PDF?rev%3D5281d6c7c24c4cf3ad7383c499acadc0%26modified%3D20181128022141&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1641790611780642&usg=AOvVaw1QZ2QNrHO3harJeczxWLqZ
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17734
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Meeandip

Placename
Meeandip (Garden Island)
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-32.182833
Longitude
115.673222
Start Date
1829-06-01
End Date
1829-06-01

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
We do not know the exact date Stirling and family reached Garden Island, but records have indicated they were likely there from June 1829.
Biographical information
On 30 December 1828 Stirling became the first Governor of the Colony of Western Australia. He was in this role until October 1837. Before the first Government House was built in Perth, a tent residence was set up on Meeandup (Garden Island) between June and September of 1829.
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17735
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Perth

Placename
Government House, Perth
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-31.957833
Longitude
115.861944
Start Date
1834-01-01
End Date
1834-01-01

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
The first Government House was demolished in 1887, the site is now part of the gardens of the current Government House.
Date notes
We do not know the exact date that Stirling moved into Government House but we know it was in 1834.
Biographical information
In August 1829 Stirling and his family moved to canvas tents near Derbarl Yerrigan in an area today known as the Stirling Gardens, until a temporary wooden building was erected in 1832. Finally in 1834 Stirling moved into the first Government House. The building had issues such as leaking roofs, damp, termites, and no visitors' accommodation, however it was not replaced by a new Government House until the 1850s, well after Stirling had left the colony. [4] In 1831 Colonel J. Hanson noted that Stirling spent most of his time in Perth rather than his Woodbridge residence. [1, p 186]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
The first permanent Government House built in Perth: https://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b4164743_1
Images notes
This image shows the first Government House built in 1834. A new Government House was completed in 1864 (well after Stirling left the colony), the same building that stands today. [4]
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17736
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Kincinnup

Placename
Kincinnup (Albany)
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-35.028833
Longitude
117.882556
Start Date
1831-11-12
End Date
1831-11-12

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
To avoid the heat of the summer in 1831, Stiring and his family travelled south. They entered King George Sound on 12 November aboard the Sulphur and stayed in Kinjarling (Albany). In these early years Stirling led advances into Noongar land around the Swan, Murray, Collie, Preston, Blackwood and Vasse Rivers - NEED TO PINPOINT THESE LOCATIONS [2]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
Christopher Pease, New Water Dreaming, 2005: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Christopher-Pease-New-Water-Dreaming-2005-Oil-on-canvas-100-x-180cm-Source-Artist_fig24_337561561 Christopher Pease, Panoramic view of Minang Boojar Minang Land, 2013 [see heading 'New Panoramas]: https://theconversation.com/a-view-of-everything-panoramas-of-the-western-australian-coast-25656
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17737
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Isle of Wight

Placename
Isle of Wight, England
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
50.793
Longitude
-1.107389
Start Date
1832-12-11
End Date
1832-12-11

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
Stirling returned with his family to England for an extended visit in 1832. Aboard the Sulphur they reached the Isle of Wight on 11 December. They returned to the family home at Pirbright Lodge, as well as Ellen's family home in Woodbridge. [1, p 227]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17738
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Derbarl Yerrigan

Placename
Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River)
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-32.035861
Longitude
115.758806
Start Date
1834-08-19
End Date
1834-08-19

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
After reaching Kinjarling (Albany) on James Pattison on 19 June 1834 and staying for nearly two months, Stirling arrived back at Derbarl Yerrigan on 19 August.
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t17739
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Pinjarra

Placename
Pinjarra
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
-32.63
Longitude
115.871
Start Date
1834-10-28
End Date
1834-10-28

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Biographical information
At 8am on 28 October 1834, Stirling led a party of 25 people to attack a Pindjarup Noongar encampment on the Murray River. His party including five mounted police officers, eight soldiers of the 21st Regiment, police superintendent Theophilus Ellis, surveyor general JS Roe, prominent colonist Thomas Peel, and eight civilians. They shot and killed between 15 and 80, or possibly more, Noongar women, men and children. [3] As Chris Owen demonstrates, quotes from the time indicate this was not a 'battle' but a massacre. In Stirling's letters to the colonial secretary in London, Lord Glenelg, he declared a 'check' was needed on Noongar as they had killed colonist Hugh Nesbitt, one of Peel's employees, and that he intended to inflict 'such acts of decisive severity as will appal them as people'. Stirling told surviving Noongar: 'If any person should be killed by them, not one would be allowed to remain alive this side of the mountains.' Owen states that 'Glenelg responded to Stirling’s report with alarm, suggesting that the attack was more a form of warfare than enforcement of British law. He pointed out that Aboriginal people were British subjects and thus protected under the law.' In 1868 a description attributed to Corporal Haggarty of the 63rd Regiment called it 'indiscriminate slaughter of a harmless and unoffending tribe' where '200 to 300 peaceable natives [were] deliberately shot down'. [3]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
At 8am on 28 October 1834, Stirling led a party of 25 people to attack a Pindjarup Noongar encampment on the Murray River. They shot and killed between 15 and 80, or possibly more, Noongar women, men and children. [3] As Chris Owen demonstrates, quotes from the time indicate this was not a 'battle' but a massacre. In Stirling's letters to the colonial secretary in London, Lord Glenelg, he declared a 'check' was needed on Noongar as they had killed colonist Hugh Nesbitt, one of Peel's employees, and that he intended to inflict 'such acts of decisive severity as will appal them as people'. Stirling told survivors: 'If any person should be killed by them, not one [Noongar] would be allowed to remain alive this side of the mountains.' In 1868 a description attributed to Corporal Haggarty of the 63rd Regiment called it 'indiscriminate slaughter of a harmless and unoffending tribe' where '200 to 300 peaceable natives [were] deliberately shot down'. [3]
Attitudes around labour
Images
Laurel Nannup, Quirriup, 2011: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2679424
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

TLCMap ID
t1773a
Created At
2022-12-15 15:27:56
Updated At
2023-12-11 17:49:40

🌏 James Stirling - Portsmouth

Placename
Portsmouth, England
Type
Other
3D Viewer Google Maps Trove Search

Location, Dates

Latitude
50.800222
Longitude
-1.10925
Start Date
1839-05-23
End Date
1839-05-23

Description

Extended Data

Location notes
Date notes
Pamela Statham-Drew writes that Stirling and his family 'arrived at Portsmouth around 23 May [1839].' [1, p 347]
Biographical information
Stirling and his family left Western Australia on 6 January 1839. Pamela Statham-Drew writes that 'The colony had weathered the storm of infancy but it was by no means prosperous, and any dreams he might have had of materially benefting from the position had not been realised.' [1, p 373] Stirling had struggled for colonial support in establishing the colony. The Australian Dictionary of Biography states: 'At various times Stirling was strongly criticized for his inept administration, for his aloofness or domineering attitude towards his civil officers, for his lack of humour, for his occasional acts of nepotism in the public service, and for his erratic and blundering land policies.' [2] After reaching Portsmouth in late May 1839, Stirling and family went to Ellen's family home in Woodbridge, Guildford. Within a week Stirling was back in London. [1] He considered another colonial appointment, but was appointed to command ships Indus and Howe in the Mediterranean. He continued campaigning for more land in Western Australia, but was unsuccessful. [2]
Links to slavery
Stirling had multiple connections to the slave trade. His intergenerational family businesses traded in slave-produced goods in the United States and Caribbean. His brother Walter Stirling received compensation for the loss of enslaved people in Guiana and Barbados. Stirling was stationed in the Royal Navy at Jamaica, where his Uncle Charles Stirling was Commander-in-Chief. They received prize money for capturing ships, some of which contained slave-produced goods. Stirling's father-in-law James Mangles owned a ship which transported enslaved people between Africa and the Caribbean. [Georgie refs]
Attitudes around race
Attitudes around labour
Images
Images notes
Link to People Australia entry
https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stirling-sir-james-2702/text3791
References

Sources

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Created At
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Updated At
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