Parry, William Edward, Sir, 1790-1855

Sir (William) Edward Parry: b 1790; entered Royal Navy 1803; Lt 1810; in 1818 he commanded the ALEXANDER, a hired brig under the orders of Captain John Ross in his expedition to the Arctic; in 1819 he was appointed to the HECLA, in command of an expedition to discover the north-west passage; promoted Commander, 1820 and Captain 1821; led a further three expeditions to the Arctic, 1821-1825; Hydrographer to the Admiralty, 1825; led a further expedition to the North Pole, 1827, reaching further north than any previous expedition; knighted 1829; Commissioner, Australian Agricultural Company, 1829-1834; Assistant Poor-Law Commissioner in Norfolk, 1835-1836; controller of steam department of the Navy, 1837-1846; Captain-Superintendent, Haslar Hospital, 1846-1852; Rear Admiral, 1852; Lt Governor of Greenwich Hospital, 1853; died 1855. The Australian Agricultural Company was established by charter in 1824, with a grant of one million acres in New South Wales, and the object of breeding fine-woolled sheep and employing a large number of convicts. The directors of the company appointed Robert Dawson as chief agent, and appointed a local committee to supervise him. Dawson chose Port Stephens, an inlet about 100 miles from Sydney for the Company's grant. In time much of this land was pronounced unsuitable for sheep and Dawson was dismissed. Sir William Edward Parry was appointed Commissioner in 1829, with the task of finding better grazing land, and to arrange for the exchange of at least part of the grant.

From the guide to the PARRY, Rear Admiral Sir William Edward (1790-1855), 1829-1834, (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)

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