Hon. John Helder Wedge

John Helder Wedge (1793-1872) was an early Australian colonist noted for his surveying in Van Diemen’s Land in the 1820s and early 1830s and his involvement in the founding of Melbourne and the settlement of the Port Phillip District. Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ... Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ...

Family

Wedge was born in Stetchworth, Cambridgeshire, the youngest of seven surviving children of Charles Wedge of Shudy Camps, a prosperous farmer and surveyor, and his wife Elizabeth (nee Fletcher). Educated at the Linton Academy run by Mr Lodge in Linton, near Cambridge, at 18 Wedge went to assist his older brother Edward Davy Wedge run a large farm in Lincolnshire. His other brother Rev Charles Wedge (MA Cambridge) was Rector of Burrough Green, Cambridgeshire, and Richard Wedge, a Lieutenant in the 30th Regiment, died in Bengal in 1814.

The move abroad

The agricultural recession which followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars caused the brothers to suffer losses which their father was obliged to cover. Unable to achieve sufficient income to support his large family in respectable circumstances, Wedge’s brother Edward Davy was obliged to consider the colonies, and Wedge obtained an appointment as assistant surveyor in Van Diemen’s Land. In 1823 Wedge and his brother sailed in the Heroine for Van Diemen’s Land, with Edward Davy’s oldest son Charles and their nephew John Charles Darke. Edward Davy’s wife and remaining children eventually joined them in Van Diemen’s Land, as did other members of the family. Combatants Allies: • United Kingdom, • Prussia, • Austria, • Russia France Casualties Full list Full list The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ... Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ...

From 1824 to 1835 Wedge was employed as an assistant surveyor in Van Diemen’s Land, where he explored some of the most rugged country in the colony. In his numerous travels he had many adventures, including a run-in with the bushranger Matthew Brady. He also developed his 1,500-acre farm, Leighland, near the town of Perth, on the South Esk River. Mathew B. Brady (ca. ... The South Esk River is the longest river in Tasmania. ...

In 1835 Wedge joined with other prominent colonists in the Port Phillip Association, a private venture which aimed to obtain 500,000 acres of land by entering into a treaty with the aborigines. One of the aims of a treaty was to establish a long term relationship with the aborigines to avoid the bloodshed which the members had witnessed in Van Diemens Land. The Port Phillip Association was an early nineteenth century investment and pastoral company. ... Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ...

Wedge was one of the first to explore the new region, he named the Yarra River and was a prominent founding settler of the town of Melbourne. The Colonial Government of New South Wales repudiated the treaty, which had been negotiated by John Batman, but the settlement thrived and Wedge and his brother established themselves as “squatters” on a large tract at Werribee. Wedge was one of the purchasers of land at the first auctions in the new colony and prospered from the venture. Wedge petitioned the colonial government for greater protection of the aborigines, but official policy failed to afford proper protection in the remote settlements, where both whites and blacks continued to be killed in skirmishes. Melbourne as seen from south-east side along the Yarra River, home of many rowers and active crew teams The Yarra River is a river in southern Victoria (Australia); it is the river on which the city of Melbourne was founded. ... Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... John Batman John Batman (21 January 1801 - 5 May 1839) was an Australian farmer and businessman who was one of the first settlers of the Melbourne area. ... Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

In 1837 he returned home to England to visit his father. During his time in England Wedge continued to petition for the protection of the aborigines, writing letters to Lord Glenelg, the Colonial Secretary, and Lord John Russell who followed him, but official policy did not change. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg (26 October 1778 - 23 April 1866) was a Scottish politician and colonial administrator. ... The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (August 18, 1792 - May 28, 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a Whig politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. ...

After the death of his father Wedge returned to Australia on the Duke of Roxburgh, and during the voyage he became engaged Maria Medland Wills, who was governess to the children of Francis Russell Nixon, the first Bishop of Tasmania who was also sailing on the ship. Wedge and Maria were married the following year by the Bishop in old St David’s Cathedral, but his wife died in childbirth the following year at Leighland, and she was buried at the Perth cemetery.

Wedge subsequently entered the Tasmanian Parliament and assisted Bishop Nixon as Treasurer of the Diocese of Tasmania, as well as continuing his pastoral pursuits. He did not remarry and died without issue in 1872. He was buried with his wife at the Perth Cemetary.

External sources

• J. Uhl, 'The Men from East Anglia: the Wedge Family an early pioneering family in Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip', reprinted from the Victorian Historical Magazine Vol XXXVII No 1 (Melbourne 1966);
• Crawford et al (editors) The Diaries of John Helder Wedge, Royal Society of Tasmania, (Hobart 1962); Correspondence File for Wedge in Tasmanian Archives)