William Henry Norman
William Henry Norman (1812–1869) was a
Early life
William Henry Norman was born in March 1812 in Upnor, Kent, England. He entered the mercantile marine service and became a master mariner.[2]
Marine commander
Norman was captain of Lord Hungerford, a vessel owned by Captain Farquharson for nine years. From 1848, he was the commander of Coromandel for four years. In 1851, he joined the General Screw Steam Shipping Company where he superintended the fit-out of Lady Jocelyn which he took to Australia. On returning to England, the company appointed him to Queen of the South, which he took to Australia.[2]
Victorian Government service
One of the passengers on Queen of the South was Sir
Norman's first duty was to commission the construction of the vessel,
Port Curtis rescue mission
The operations including sailing to
Assistance in the First Taranaki War
In 1860, the colonial government of Victoria decided to send Victoria to New Zealand, to support British colonists fighting in the
After delivering the soldiers to Auckland, Victoria performed shore bombardments and coastal patrols, while maintaining supply routes between Auckland and New Plymouth.[3]
In July, Victoria sailed to Sydney to transport General Thomas Pratt and his staff to New Zealand. Victoria was used to evacuate women and children from the town of New Plymouth, following Māori attacks on the town's fortifications. In October, the ship underwent refit in Wellington, and resumed duties by delivering British reinforcements to the combat areas. As the Victorian colonial government required the ship for urgent survey work, her return was requested at the end of the year, with Victoria arriving in Melbourne in March 1861.[3]
The New Zealand Wars deployment was the first time an Australian warship had been deployed to assist in a foreign war.[4]
The legal hazards of having a colonial warship operating outside her territorial limits was rectified by declaring that all Australian warships in international or foreign waters had to be commissioned into the Royal Navy.[3]
The 12 months spent in New Zealand won Captain Norman high praise from the
Burke and Wills rescue mission
On returning to Victoria, a few months later there was news that the Burke and Wills expedition commissioned by the Royal Society of Victoria to find an overland route from south to north of Australia were at the Gulf of Carpentaria without the means to support life. Norman and HMCS Victoria, together with other vessels, were immediately dispatched to take a search-and-rescue party to the Gulf to locate and assist Burke and Wills. While waiting in the Gulf for the search team to return, Norman undertook hydrological surveys of the Gulf and Torres Strait (an area notorious for its reefs).[2]
Rescue of Netherby
On 14 July 1866, the ship
Introduction of salmon in Tasmania
Another mission involved Norman delivering a cargo of salmon eggs to Tasmania on Victoria to introduce salmon to Tasmania.[2]
Commissioning of Cerberus
In about 1858, the British Government gave the Victorian Government the ironclad HMVS Cerberus. Norman was dispatched to England to supervise the fit-out and then bring the ship back to Victoria.[2]
Later life
On returning to England to fit-out Cerberus, Norman's health deteriorated. He died on 12 December 1869 in
Legacy
The Norman River and town of Normanton, both in Queensland, are named after him.[9][10]
References
- ^ "Commander William Henry Norman". Burke and Wills Web. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The Late Captain Norman". The Mercury. Vol. XVI, no. 2840. Tasmania. 28 January 1870. p. 3. Retrieved 4 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-74114-233-4
- ^ "Colonial Navies of Early Australia". Retrieved 23 August 2008.
- ^ "Wreck of the Ship Netherby". Bendigo Advertiser. Vol. XIII, no. 3480. Victoria, Australia. 23 July 1866. p. 2. Retrieved 4 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "THE Wreck of the Netherby". The Age. No. 3, 661. Victoria, Australia. 25 July 1866. p. 5. Retrieved 4 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Wreck of the Netherby on King's Islands". The Border Watch. Vol. 6, no. 288. South Australia. 1 August 1866. p. 3. Retrieved 4 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Wreck of the Netherby". The Cornwall Chronicle. Vol. XXXI, no. 3316. Tasmania. 4 August 1866. p. 2. Retrieved 4 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Norman River (entry 24545)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ "Normanton – town (entry 43962)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
External links
Media related to William Henry Norman at Wikimedia Commons