56-887: Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Royal Navy , who served as the first Governor of New Zealand . He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi . Hobson was dispatched from London in July 1839, with instructions to take the constitutional steps needed to establish a British colony in New Zealand. He was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor in Sydney (under George Gipps ) and arrived in New Zealand on 29 January 1840. On 5 February 1840, Hobson met with Māori chiefs at Waitangi , and
112-627: A (barely) private school, but despite this disadvantage he joined the Royal Navy on 25 August 1803 as a second-class volunteer. He served in the Napoleonic Wars and was later involved in the suppression of piracy in the Caribbean . He became a midshipman in 1806 and some seven years later was a first lieutenant . In September 1822 merchants at Nassau equipped two sloops to cruise against pirates, with HMS Tyne proving officers and seamen to man
168-562: A cargo of 500 sheep and 50 Hereford cattle which had been consigned by Dr. Alexander Thomson . After reaching the coastline of Port Phillip , Captain Coltish chose the area now known as Port Gellibrand, as a suitable place to unload his cargo . When Governor Richard Bourke and Captain William Lonsdale visited the emergent settlement at Port Phillip in 1837, they both felt the main site of settlement at Point Gellibrand would emerge at
224-757: A language group known as the Bunurong , which included six clans along the coast from the Werribee River , across the Mornington Peninsula , Western Port Bay to Wilsons Promontory . The Yalukit-willam referred to the Williamstown area as "koort-boork-boork", a term meaning "clump of she-oaks ", literally "She-oak, She-oak, many." In November 1835, Captain Robson Coltish, master of the barque Norval sailed from Launceston , then crossing Bass Strait with
280-740: A peace agreement was negotiated by Tareha. On his return to England in 1838, Hobson submitted a report on New Zealand, in which he proposed establishing British sovereignty over the islands in small pockets similar to the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. At the time, the British government recognised the sovereignty of the Māori people, as represented in the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand of October 1835. Hobson
336-691: A petition to the Foreign Secretary to have Hobson recalled. One of Hobson's last actions was to declare an Auckland Anniversary Day , to mark the anniversary of his arrival in the Bay of Islands. Hobson suffered a second stroke and died on 10 September 1842, prior to being recalled from office. He was buried in the Symonds Street cemetery in Auckland. Several places in New Zealand are named after Hobson including: Captain (Royal Navy) Captain ( Capt )
392-623: A royal charter for New Zealand to become a Crown Colony separate from New South Wales . Hobson was sworn in by the Chief Justice as Governor of New Zealand on 3 May 1841. On the same day, the General Legislative Council came into being, with Hobson in charge of appointing its membership. Hobson travelled to Wellington in August 1841, where he heard the complaints of settlers and selected magistrates. He then visited Akaroa to settle
448-423: A time when fellow Heidelberg School impressionist artist Frederick McCubbin was also painting the Williamstown landscape. Between 1909 and 1915, McCubbin visited Williamstown on numerous occasions and produced sketches and watercolours of the foreshore and the old shipyards. He also produced a major oil painting of the Williamstown docks in 1915. Williamstown was proclaimed a City on 17 May 1919. Construction of
504-482: A very different result with a huge swing against the government. The ALP's primary vote was 46.75% (compared to 61.7 in 2007), with the Liberal Party polling 32.5% of the primary vote. In the 2014 State Election , Noonan retained the seat with a primary vote of 44.6%. Primary schools in the area include St. Mary's Primary School, Williamstown Primary School and Williamstown North Primary School. State High schools in
560-687: A visibility of 15 nautical miles (28 km) and operated as a lighthouse from 1934 to 1987. Also in 1946, nine Williamstown residents met to form the Williamstown Little Theatre Movement. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Williamstown Little Theatre had several homes in Williamstown; from the Mechanic's Institute to the Williamstown Town Hall Supper Room and the former Missions to Seamen building in Nelson Place. In 1967
616-577: Is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy . It ranks above commander and below commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a colonel in the British Army and Royal Marines , and to a group captain in the Royal Air Force . There are similarly named equivalent ranks in the navies of many other countries. In the Royal Navy, the officer in command of any warship of
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#1732838017996672-565: The Californian gold fields, the settlement's growth was phenomenal. The first Williamstown Post Office opened on 1 March 1850. Australia's first telegraph line began operating between Melbourne and Williamstown on 3 March 1854. At this time, the timeball was moved to the Telegraph Station at Point Gellibrand. The Williamstown Chronicle , the first Victorian suburban newspaper, was established in 1854. The Williamstown Freemasons chapter
728-561: The City of Hobsons Bay local government area . Williamstown recorded a population of 14,407 at the 2021 census . Indigenous Australians occupied the area long before maritime activities shaped the modern historical development of Williamstown. The Yalukit-willam clan of the Kulin nation were the first people to call Hobsons Bay home. They roamed the thin coastal strip from Werribee to Williamstown/Hobsons Bay. The Yalukit-willam were one clan in
784-795: The Indian Ocean , sailed into Hobsons Bay on the afternoon of 25 January 1865. An 1871 hearing at the International Court in Geneva awarded damages of £820,000 against Britain to the US government for use of the port at Williamstown by the CSS Shenandoah . Between 1857 and 1889, the main railway workshops of the Victorian Railways were at Point Gellibrand, and at their height covered 85% of Point Gellibrand. Imported steam locomotives were assembled at
840-556: The Kororoit Creek . Williamstown is within the Victorian electoral district of Williamstown . The 2007 by-election was triggered by the resignation of Steve Bracks as both Premier of Victoria and the Member for Williamstown. Wade Noonan successfully contested the election with 61.7% of the primary vote. The Liberal Party did not contest the seat in 2007. The 2010 State Election saw
896-563: The Williamstown Town Hall on Ferguson Street commenced a year earlier in 1918, but it was not officially opened until 1927. The Williamstown and Newport Anglers Club was formed in 1933 and rented premises at 221 Nelson Place, moving next door to 223 in March 1935. In August 1939, the club was granted a site on the Esplanade and in 1941 a clubhouse was opened. A jetty and slipway were built
952-667: The Williamstown Workshops . After 1889 the extensive workshops were moved to nearby Newport . The Alfred Graving Dock is historically significant as the first graving dock in Victoria and the third in Australia at that time, for its role in the development of the shipping industry in Port Phillip, for its continuous use as a Dockyard since its completion and for association with William Wardell during his term as Inspector General of
1008-544: The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand. Hobson headed the British signatories. Of the 40 or so Māori chiefs, the Ngāpuhi chief Hōne Heke was the first to sign the treaty. As each chief signed, Hobson said " He iwi tahi tātou ", meaning "We are [now] one people". To enhance the authority of the treaty eight further copies were made and sent around the country to gather additional signatures. After obtaining signatures to
1064-625: The French claims. Back in Auckland, he had some difficulty with the Māori, and his government was ridiculed by journalists in Wellington and Auckland. He responded by closing down the New Zealand Herald and Auckland Gazette . With his government low on funds, he resorted to issuing unauthorised bills on the British Treasury in 1842. Hobson faced opposition from the "Senate clique" radicals who sent
1120-681: The Port Phillip Yacht Club , moved to its present site at 120 Nelson Place, adjacent to Gem Pier. Williamstown North Primary School was established in 1874 and in that same year part of the market reserve was purchased from the Williamstown Council by the Education Department in order to build the Williamstown Primary School No. 1183. The Williamstown CYMS football club was formed in 1886 and remains one of
1176-620: The Public Works Department. Williamstown Baptist Church was officially founded in 1868, though a congregation had begun to form eight years earlier in response to an advertisement in the Williamstown Chronicle dated Saturday, 24 November 1860. Baptismal services were performed at the back beach at Williamstown from 1861 through to 1868, the first being performed 10 March 1861 by the Rev. David Rees of South Yarra. The Oddfellows' Hall
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#17328380179961232-566: The Treaty at the Bay of Islands (6 February 1840), he travelled to Waitematā Harbour to obtain more signatures and to survey a suitable location for a new capital (he also sent the Deputy Surveyor-General, William Cornwallis Symonds , to other areas to obtain more signatures). After suffering a stroke on 1 March 1840, he was taken back to the Bay of Islands, where he recovered sufficiently to continue work. On 21 May 1840, in response to
1288-617: The Williamstown Baptist Sunday School called by Arthur Whitley (son of the Minister). Arthur Whitley became the first Captain and Fred Scott the first secretary. Williamstown Pier railway station was opened on 8 January 1905. The station existed primarily to serve the Williamstown docks precinct and was the terminus of the Williamstown line . In 1906, one of the largest undertakings attempted by ship repairers in Australia
1344-474: The above officials and three Justices of the Peace . Hobson appointed as three Magistrates, Messrs. Shortland, Johnson, and Matthew. The Treaty of Waitangi was first proposed by Hobson on his return to Britain from his first visit to New Zealand. Upon arrival in New Zealand, Hobson almost immediately drafted the Treaty of Waitangi together with his secretary James Freeman and James Busby. Busby had previously drafted
1400-409: The community responded to the increasing risk of accidents from a busy port, the railway workshops and the growing industrial area of Newport , Spotswood and Footscray to establish Melbourne's first suburban public general hospital. Williamstown Central Tennis Club is on a site at the corner of Ferguson Street and Melbourne Road. The Williamstown Lacrosse Club was founded in 1898 at a meeting in
1456-520: The creation of a "republic" by the New Zealand Company settlers of Port Nicholson , who were laying out a new town under the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand , Hobson asserted British sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand, despite the incompleteness of the treaty signing. He sent Willoughby Shortland and some soldiers to Port Nicholson on 25 May 1840, and the council of the settlers
1512-564: The estuary and they renamed it William's Town after King William IV , then the English monarch. It served as the Settlement of Port Phillip's first anchorage and as the centre for port facilities until the late 19th century. Williamstown was initially considered along with the sites that became known as Geelong and Melbourne for the capital of the new colony at Port Phillip. Although Williamstown offered excellent proximity to anchorage, Melbourne
1568-482: The following morning they signed a treaty by which the chiefs purportedly voluntarily transferred sovereignty to the British Crown in return for guarantees respecting their lands and possessions and their rights as British subjects. Three months later, Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over the islands of New Zealand. He also selected the site for a new capital , which he named Auckland . In May 1841, New Zealand
1624-529: The following year. In 1934, the bluestone time ball tower (the former lighthouse) was extended by 30 feet (9.1 m) with a circular brick tower on top. The extension was then painted with a coat of aluminium paint and it was re-established as a lighthouse due to the loss of singularity against the light of the City behind the Point Gellibrand Pile Light. It was electric, gave a green and red light, had
1680-592: The more junior Army and Royal Marines rank , and in naval contexts, as a "four-ring captain" (referring to the uniform lace) to avoid confusion with the title of a seagoing commanding officer. In the Ministry of Defence , and in joint service establishments, a captain may be referred to as a "DACOS" (standing for deputy assistant chief of staff) or an "AH" (assistant head), from the usual job title of OF5-ranked individuals who work with civil servants. The rank insignia features four rings of gold braid with an executive curl in
1736-400: The new colony. During the next three months, Hobson and his officers thoroughly surveyed Port Phillip , the northern portion of which, by direction of Governor Sir Richard Bourke , was named Hobsons Bay , after him. (Thus the local government area of the City of Hobsons Bay is indirectly named after him.) His ship was involved in the founding of the port of Williamstown . He was offered
William Hobson - Misplaced Pages Continue
1792-729: The nickname "Lion Hobson". He was promoted to commander on 18 March 1824 and commanded HMS Scylla between 1826 and 1828. In December 1834 he obtained a commission from the First Lord of the Admiralty – George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland – to the East Indies on HMS Rattlesnake . In 1836, he was ordered to Australia, arriving at Hobart on 5 August 1836, and at Sydney 18 days later. On 18 September 1836, HMS Rattlesnake left for Port Phillip District (later Melbourne ) conveying Captain William Lonsdale and other officials to
1848-467: The old rifle range was preserved, refurbished and is now as a funeral home set in a large formal garden. The remaining 50 hectares was reserved for the protection of the surrounding environmentally sensitive area. This area, now known as the Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve consists of open grasslands for passive recreation, two wetland lakes, the saltmarsh and mangrove conservation area, Wader Beach and
1904-539: The oldest sporting clubs in Australia. The Hobsons Bay Yacht Club, situated on Nelson Place at the end of Ferguson Street and adjacent to the pier. The Yacht Club Hotel was built in 1892 at 207 Nelson Place, a site previously occupied by an iron-framed 'wooden' hotel called the Lord Clyde. It was owned by Carlton and West End Breweries, later the Carlton Brewery Ltd. The Williamstown Hospital opened in 1894 when
1960-672: The position of Superintendent of the Bombay Marine at a salary of £2000 a year, but he had taken a liking to Australia and was a candidate for the governorship of Port Phillip, although the salary was not expected to be more than £800 a year. On 26 May 1837 Hobson sailed to the Bay of Islands , New Zealand, in response to a request for help from James Busby , the British Resident, who felt threatened by wars between Māori tribes. For three months in 1837 Pōmare II (Whiria) fought with Tītore until
2016-452: The rank of commander and below is informally referred to as "the captain" on board, even though holding a junior rank, but formally is titled "the commanding officer" (or CO). Until the nineteenth century, Royal Navy officers who were captains by rank and in command of a naval vessel were referred to as post-captains ; this practice is now defunct. Captain (D) or Captain Destroyers, afloat,
2072-582: The settlement plan of the Nanto-Bordelaise Company . Hobson immediately sent two magistrates to Akaroa to establish the British claim to sovereignty by holding courts. Near the end of 1840, the Port Nicholson settlers sent a petition to Queen Victoria calling for Hobson's dismissal over his treatment of them. Hobson responded on 26 May 1841 to the Foreign Secretary. In November 1840, the Queen signed
2128-403: The sloops. One sloop, with 23 men under the command of a midshipman, encountered a pirate schooner and felucca . The British repulsed the schooner and captured the felucca. Those of the felucca's crew who were not killed jumped overboard and were drowned. British casualties amounted to two men killed and seven, including the midshipman, wounded. The second sloop had a worse fortune. The sloop Whim
2184-513: The theatre company moved into its current venue, a converted bakery on Albert Street. In 1948, an electoral redistribution saw Williamstown included in the new Australian Federal electoral Division of Gellibrand , named after Joseph Tice Gellibrand (1786–1836). It was proclaimed in 1949 and was first won in that year by the Australian Labor Party candidate, John Michael Mullens. He held the seat until 1955. The destroyer HMAS Anzac
2240-546: The upper ring. When in mess dress or mess undress, officers of the rank of captain and above wear gold-laced trousers (the trousers are known as "tin trousers", and the gold lace stripes thereon are nicknamed "lightning conductors"), and may wear the undress tailcoat (without epaulettes). Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia , 11 km (6.8 mi) south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District , located within
2296-682: Was also established in 1854. Fort Gellibrand was built in 1855 during the Crimean War , to guard against a possible Russian invasion. The first lightship to mark the reef off Point Gellibrand was the former barque New Constitution which the Government purchased in October 1856 for £1050. It took up station on 25 July 1859. In May 1860, tenders were called for construction of a new lightship off Point Gellibrand. The new lightship consisted of two white lights of equal height, 24 feet (7.3 m) apart, and
William Hobson - Misplaced Pages Continue
2352-445: Was an operational appointment commanding a destroyer flotilla or squadron , and there was a corresponding administrative appointment ashore, until at least a decade after the Second World War . The title was probably used informally up until the abolition of frigate and destroyer squadrons with the Fleet FIRST reorganisation circa 2001. Ashore, the rank of captain is often verbally described as "captain RN" to distinguish it from
2408-449: Was appointed lieutenant-governor under the Governor of New South Wales , Sir George Gipps —ratified on 30 July 1839—and British consul to New Zealand—confirmed on 13 August 1839. On 14 August 1839, Constantine Henry Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby issued Hobson with detailed instructions, giving the British government's reasons for intervention in New Zealand and directions for the purchase of land "by fair and equal contracts". The land
2464-403: Was built in 1849–50 to replace the original wooden one. It only operated as a lighthouse until 1860, when a Pile Light was built and anchored off Shelly Beach, after which it served as a time ball tower. Williamstown had been a primitive settlement until the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, but after the gold seekers began to arrive, many from the tin mines of Cornwall , and many more from
2520-403: Was commissioned at Williamstown Naval Dockyard on 14 March 1951 under the command of Commander John Plunkett-Cole RAN. The Merrett Rifle Range at Williamstown was the rifle-shooting venue for the 1956 Olympic Games . In May 1962, the City of Williamstown annexed 83 hectares (210 acres) from the Shire of Altona . The Pile Light anchored off Shelly Beach in 1860 was destroyed in 1976 when it
2576-409: Was constituted as a separate Crown colony , with Hobson promoted to Governor and Commander in Chief. In his final months Hobson was dogged by poor health which left him detached from political affairs. He died in office in September 1842. William Hobson was born in Waterford , Ireland, the son of Samuel Hobson, a barrister and Martha Jones. He grew up in an Anglo-Irish Anglican family. He attended
2632-422: Was disbanded. Their leader, William Wakefield , later travelled to the Bay of Islands to pledge allegiance to the Crown. His suggestion to make Port Nicholson the capital was rejected in favour of Hobson's plan for a new town on Waitematā Harbour, to be named Auckland after the Earl of Auckland . On 11 July 1840, the French frigate L'Aube arrived at the Bay of Islands on its way to Banks Peninsula as part of
2688-424: Was established aboard the steamer Fire Fly . It was used to convey passengers, as well as sheep and cattle from Tasmania. The first lighthouse, a wooden one with an oil-burning beacon at the top, was erected at Point Gellibrand in 1840. In that same year a water police superintendent was appointed to Williamstown. Williamstown remains the present-day home of the Victorian Water Police. A bluestone lighthouse
2744-514: Was hit by the Melbourne Trader , a vessel of 7,000 tonnes. The force of the collision snapped the piles at waterline area, the light was sheared off its piles at water level, pushed 7 metres (23 feet) sideways, and was left hanging precariously on several of the remaining piles. The Urban Land Authority developed 60 hectares of the estate for housing and related commercial and community activities. Residential allotments were progressively released for sale from May 1991. The historic armoury building of
2800-400: Was later resold to European settlers at a profit to provide for further operations. Hobson arrived in the Bay of Islands aboard HMS Herald on 29 January 1840 with a small group of officials, including an executive council consisting of Colonial Secretary Willoughby Shortland , Colonial Treasurer George Cooper and Attorney-General Francis Fisher. The legislative council comprised
2856-441: Was once one of the senior thoroughbred racing clubs in Victoria. Built in 1872, the Williamstown Racecourse, with its large and elaborately decorated grandstand facing out to the sea, was considered one of the finest in Australia. The Williamstown Football Club , an Australian rules football club was formed in 1864. The Confederate States Navy warship CSS Shenandoah , which had successfully attacked several Union ships in
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#17328380179962912-436: Was rented for services from December 1868. The Presbyterian schoolroom in Cecil Street was later used, followed by the Temperance Hall from April 1870. The Tabernacle, now the Church of Christ on Douglas Parade, was used after this. In January 1876 services reverted to the Oddfellows' Hall. In 1884 the Baptist Church building on Cecil Street was officially opened. In 1873, the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, founded in May 1853 as
2968-638: Was shown from a temporary anchor in 4.5 fathoms of water. This lightship guarded Gellibrand's Point reef from 1861 until 1895. Williamstown Post Office (the oldest post office building still standing in Victoria) and a Mechanics Institute were built in 1860. By 1861 Williamstown had 13 slips for boat repairs and building, and pier accommodation for 40 vessels. In 1864, the town boundaries of Williamstown were expanded to take in Newport and Spottiswoode, later to become Spotswood . Piped water from Yan Yean water supply subsequently arrived, allowing more rapid growth. The Williamstown Racing Club, founded in 1864,
3024-481: Was successfully accomplished at the Williamstown Dockyard. SS Peregrine , a 1,660 GRT vessel of the Howard Smith Line, was lengthened amidships by 40 feet (12 m). This was perhaps the first jumboising operation undertaken in Australia. The Williamstown Hospital was expanded with the addition of the Male Ward in 1911 and the Female Ward in 1917. Heidelberg School impressionist artist Walter Withers painted numerous landscapes of Williamstown around 1910, at
3080-414: Was ultimately chosen due to its abundance of fresh water. Wiliamstown remained an important port of the new colony, and the first streets of old William's Town were laid out in 1837 with that in mind. The first land sales in the area took place in 1837. A 30-metre stone jetty was built by convict labour in 1838 where Gem Pier now stands. That same year a ferry service between Melbourne and Williamstown
3136-410: Was under the command of Lieutenant William Hobson and two midshipmen from Tyne when on 29 September a pirate schooner captured her at Guanaha . The pirates held the British captive for several days, treating their prisoners badly, but all the British survived. Between March 1823 and May 1824 Hobson commanded the schooner HMS Lion , in which he captured several pirate vessels, earning himself
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