Robert William Rede
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Robert William Rede (13 July 1815 – 13 July 1904) was a member of
Career
Robert Rede was born at Asham's Hall,
He had a fair knowledge of medicine, and became popularly known as the "little doctor". He was shortly hired by
At that time, a monthly fee of 30 shillings was required of diggers on Victorian goldfields for a
After the death of digger James Scobie, and the exoneration of hotel-keeper Bentley by a bench consisting of Rede, Dewes (a magistrate for whom Rede had little affection, and suspected of corruption)[1] and Johnstone/Johnston? (Rede's assistant), meetings were called which resulted in more unrest. Rede was rumoured to be a secret partner in Bentley's hotel.[1]
Rede was attending a dinner in honour of the visiting American Consul, Tarlton/Tarleton?, who he praised for his generous speech, while suspecting him of ulterior motives,[4] and had been allocated the honour of proposing the loyal toast, but he received news that a contingent of troopers being deployed to the goldfields had been set upon by diggers. He hurried to where a couple of soldiers had been wounded, but the culprits had vanished.[1]
On 29 November the diggers, some 12,000 in number, held a meeting at Bakery Hill, condemning the treatment they had suffered at the hands of the Victorian government. Johnstone/Johnston?, led a party of police to the "Gravel Pits" diggings in a determined raid to apprehend unlicensed miners, and were met with a shower of stones and the occasional pistol shot. Rede and the few police and militia not already engaged in the affray arrived on the scene.[1]
Rede reminded them that a commission of enquiry had been promised them to find a more equitable system, and urged restraint. He then
As Major Rede, he organised the Geelong Rifles and, by the time he retired from the militia, had been promoted to
Family
Robert Rede was married twice: first in 1859 to Isabella Strachan ( – 18 December 1862), a daughter of J. F. Strachan; then on 9 January 1873 to Margaret Geraldine Clendinning (c. 1847 – 18 August 1936) of Ballarat. He had one son, pastoralist Robert Rede, by his first marriage. He had two sons and three daughters by his second marriage.
- Robert Paisley Anderson Strachan Rede (22 January 1861 – 10 January 1944) married Rahel Bridge
- Geraldine Rede (1 December 1873 – 3 September 1943) collaborated with Violet Teague in production of the book Night Fall in the Ti-Tree (1905)[8]
- George Clendinning Rede (c. August 1875 – 5 July 1879)
- Roger L'Estrange Murray Rede (30 August 1878 – 4 March 1930) As Commander Rede R.N. he won the DSO and the Croix de Guerre for the part he took as senior officer in command in a battle on 21 March 1918 in the English Channel off the coast of France, when his flotilla of five destroyers chased 18 of the enemy, sinking three destroyers and two torpedo boats.[9]
- Fairlie Margaret Rede (1 July 1880 – 1968) was a horticulturist, for many years the hon. secretary of the Frankston Horticultural Society. The rose "Fairlie Rede" is named for her.[10]
- Paston Hubert Rede (16 January 1882 – 12 May 1924) fought in the Boer War and in the Middle East during World War I. He was awarded the DCMfor conspicuous bravery.
Sources
- Weston Bate, 'Rede, Robert William (1815–1904)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/rede-robert-william-4457/text7263, accessed 13 August 2013.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Gold-Seekers of the Fifties". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 22 July 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ a b c "Death of Colonel Rede". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 14 July 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ "Robert Rede: Eureka's villan [sic] or Victorian patriot?". 17 October 2003.
- ^ http://wiki.prov.vic.gov.au/index.php/Eureka Stockade:Rede reports on a dinner held for the American Consul and states his mistrust of the Americans
- ^ "Geelong Circuit District". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 25 July 1857. p. 5. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- The Ballarat Star. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 15 January 1869. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ "Colonel Rede". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 19 November 1889. p. 7. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ "Night fall in the ti-tree".
- ^ "Mainly About People". The Daily News. Perth: National Library of Australia. 21 August 1918. p. 4 Edition: Third Edition. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
- ^ "In the Garden". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 11 May 1940. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2013.