George Augustus Middleton (1791–1848) was an English-

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n pastor and farmer who spent his time in Australia between

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

and the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...

Early life

George Middleton was reportedly born on 31 August 1791 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. However, his age was often misreported throughout his life, including on his gravestone. A common rumour among his descendants suggests that he was the illegitimate son of a Lady Middleton and a member of the royal family.The Bulletin, 14 March 1928 His presumed father was Charles Middleton. Middleton was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

before attending St John's College at Cambridge University. There, he studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

while on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

as a bishop boy. However, he did not complete his degree. He began his career as a private

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

Holland House Holland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was an early Jacobean architecture, Jacobean country house in Kensington, London, situated in a country estate that is now Holland Park. It was built in 1605 by the diplomat Sir Walter Cope. The b ...

in London before returning to

as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. On 18 July 1818, he became a bishop of London. He was appointed as an ordained priest for the Australian

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

in 1819.

Time in Sydney

Middleton arrived in Port Jackson on 27 January 1820, accompanied by his son George. In August 1819, he had been commissioned as an assistant chaplain for New South Wales at the age of 29. Initially serving as an assistant chaplain, Middleton was also directed to work as

locum tenens A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

. While in Parramatta, he worked as a school examiner and contributed to

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

s. A significant portion of his income came from performing Wedding, marriage ceremonies.

Move from Sydney

In 1831, due to a prolonged drought, he decided to move his family from Sydney. They relocated to Waterview House, one of the first houses built in Balmain. The following year, in 1832 he established a school.

Time in Hunter Valley

Appointments and ministry

By December 1820, Middleton was appointed to serve in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, becoming the first

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

to serve north of the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

. In March 1821, he was appointed the Assistant Chaplain of Newcastle. During his time there, he created the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

of Christ Church. He travelled along the Paterson and Williams River, Patrick's Plain and Segenhoe in order to visit free settlers. In 1825, he visited

Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area (LGA) in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. The ...

. There, he worked with the

Awabakal The Awabakal people , are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Their traditional te ...

aboriginal people of

. He helped Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld establish a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

for Indigenous people in Belmont. In 1826, Middleton voiced strong objections to the treatment of

convicts A convict is "a person found Guilt (law), guilty of a crime and Sentence (law), sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a commo ...

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

Thomas Scott. The following year, in May 1827, he resigned when Scott attempted to transfer him to

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie, sometimes shortened to Port Mac and commonly locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane, on the Tasman Sea coast at the mouth of the ...

. Middleton then relocated to Moore Park near Hinton, where he established a travelling ministry independent of the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. Although Middleton had

on his

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

, his work with them was limited. He only interacted to convicts assigned to his property or those who worked on road gangs. His ministry was primarily performed on free

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s. From 1828 to 1830, he travelled across the regions of Morpeth, Maitland, Branxton, and Paterson, where he visited patrons and performed

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

s. In 1837, Bishop William Grant Broughton granted Middleton a

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to perform Wedding, marriage ceremonies at his home, as no churches existed in the area. Middleton conducted much of his work at Bishop Broughton's home in Phoenix Park. In 1845, he became the chaplain of St Paul's Church in Paterson when it opened. He also ran a school in Morpeth while working with the Butterwick

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. His duties as a priest included preparing children for

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

and performing Wedding, marriage ceremonies,

s, and

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

s including occasional ceremonies outside his

Farming

In 1821, Middleton selected 400 acres of land on the Patersons Plains, upstream from the government settlement. By the end of 1822, he had cleared 14 acres and grew 9 acres of

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

. He owned 3

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s, 54

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, and 52

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

s. In 1826, he was invited to surrender his land at Patersons Plains to the church and school corporation in return for compensation. He agreed in 1827 and received compensation. In 1828, he was granted 2,000 acres of

Crown Land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

at Patersons Plains adjoining James Webber's land, which he named Glenrose. On 8 May 1829, he received a

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

licence for 1,000 acres of land. On 19 April 1829, Sir George Gipps granted Middleton another 2,000 acres of land. Later, he was required to give a quarter acre of land to establish a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

Personal life

Organizations

Middleton was a member of the Agricultural Society of New South Wales, the Agricultural Society, and the Paterson Farmers' Club. He was also involved in the

Benevolent Society The Benevolent Society, founded by Edward Smith Hall in 1813, is Australia's first and oldest charity. The society is an independent, not-for-profit organization whose main goals include helping families, older Australians and people with disabil ...

where he became a regular donor and the treasurer of the committee. He also served as a justice of the peace. He previously joined a vogue with John Blaxland Junior where they discovered an overland route to Newcastle.

Marriages

On 17 March 1817, he married his first wife Mary Hull, who died before he came to Australia. He married his second wife, Sarah, on 12 February 1824 in Liverpool. They had fifteen children together.

Death

Middleton reportedly died on 15 May 1848 in Hinton. No

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...

was ever produced, and his cause of death remains unknown. His funeral took place on 18 May 1848 at St James Church in Morpeth. He is buried with his wife Sarah in Morpeth cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, George Augustus 1791 births 1848 deaths Australian Anglican priests Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge