Bourn Russell (1 December 1794 – 4 July 1880) was a British/Australian

mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor' ...

, pastoralist, politician and businessman. He was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

between 1858 and 1880. He was also a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

for four months in 1856.

Early life

Russell was the son of Bourn Russell senior, a merchant sea captain, and Hannah Chandler. His father was killed at sea when Bourn was a boy. He received an elementary education at the Free Grammar School in

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

and was apprenticed to sea in the coal trade at age 15. He was 2nd mate on a vessel trading to the Mediterranean when he was pressed into service on a British naval warship during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. On discharge from the navy he resumed his career as a merchant mariner and was soon a

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

of sailing vessels. On turning 21 years of age he inherited his father's estate, that included the family home. This he sold and used the money to become part owner of the ship ''Lady Rowena'' (352 tons) built at

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in 1825.

In Australia

Master mariner

''Lady Rowena'' was serving as a convict transport under the command of Russell when she reached

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in May 1826. It was noted in the press the 100 female convicts aboard were landed in good health. ''Lady Rowena'' returned to Britain and again sailed to Australia, this time on a trading voyage, arriving

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in November 1828. Captain Russell came to Australia again on the same ship, arriving Sydney with a general cargo in August 1830, this time intending to stay. He commanded the ''Lady Rowena'' on two deep-sea whaling voyages from

between 1830 and 1835. Among the crewmen aboard were two of his sons, William and Bourn junior, serving as apprentice seamen. During these voyages he surveyed the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

and in 1835 he published the result in an early map of that group of islands. In March 1831, Captain Russell and his crew landed on the coast of Japan, possibly the first Australians to do so.

Businessman

Russell had established his family in New South Wales by 1834 and in the early 1840s he developed pastoral interests and settled in Maitland where he became a storekeeper. He was bankrupted in the recession of the late 1840s but restored his fortunes by establishing a boiling-down works near Maitland to produce

tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton suet, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, inc ...

for export to Britain. By 1855 he was chairman of the Hunter River New Steam Navigation Company. He and his wife had 5 sons and 2 daughters. His fourth son, Henry Russell, became the New South Wales government astronomer. His illegitimate son

William Watson William, Willie, Bill or Billy Watson may refer to: Arts * William Watson (songwriter) (1794–1840), English concert hall singer and songwriter * William Watson (poet) (1858–1935), English poet * William J. Watson (author) (1865-1948), Scott ...

was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1874 to 1877.

Parliamentarian

Russell was elected as the member for Northumberland Boroughs at the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

election held in New South Wales under responsible government. He was the second candidate, after Bob Nichols, to be elected for the two member seat and he defeated the next candidate,

Elias Weekes Elias Carpenter Weekes (13 July 1809 – 5 August 1881) was an Australian ironmonger and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1865 and 1880. He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assemb ...

, by 8 votes. However the election was contested on the grounds that more than 20 people who were unqualified to vote had voted for Russell. After investigating this claim, the Legislative Assembly's Committee of Elections and Qualifications overturned the result and awarded the seat to Weekes in a re-count. Russell was unsuccessful in an attempt to regain the seat at the

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, '' Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Ja ...

by-election caused by the death of Nichols. Following this defeat he accepted an appointment to the Legislative Council initially for a fixed term expiring in 1861 and then as a life member. He did not hold a ministerial or parliamentary position. He died in Sydney on 4 July 1880 and is buried in

Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Bourn 1794 births 1880 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians Australian people in whaling Australian pastoralists 19th-century Australian businesspeople Australian hydrographers