Ranulph Dacre (23 April 1797 – 27 June 1884) was a British

master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location o ...

and merchant active in Australia and New Zealand.

Early life

He was born to George and Julia Dacre at Marwell Hall,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on 23 April 1797. His father was

High Sheriff of Hampshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Hampshire. This title was often given as High Sheriff of the County of Southampton until 1959. List of High Sheriffs *1070–1096: Hugh de Port "Domesday Book Online" *1105: Henry de Port (son of Hugh) *1129: W ...

and a colonial of militia. When he was 13 years of age Ranaulf joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

and remained in the service for six years. After leaving the navy he joined the merchant marine. His first voyage, in 1816, was to the West Indies. He was a master mariner by 1821, commanding the Barbados Packet for Thomas Barkworth between 1821 and 1823.

In Australia

He arrived in Australia in August 1823 as master of ''Elizabeth'' (363 tons) owned by London merchant

Robert Brooks Robert Darren Brooks (born June 23, 1970) is a former American football wide receiver who attended University of South Carolina and played for the Green Bay Packers (1992–1998) and the Denver Broncos. Biography Early life Brooks st ...

, who was also aboard. Dacre and Brooks jointly purchased the schooner ''Endeavour'' (61 tons) which Dacre commanded on a voyage to New Zealand and Tahiti. At Tahiti Dacare took aboard the Reverend Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet (missionary) on their famous inspection tour of South Sea missions, and gave them passage to Sydney. He continued to trade around the region, and made two voyages back to Britain on the ''Surry'', before deciding, in about 1830, to settle in Australia. He was the local agent for Robert Brooks in Sydney. He also became a prominent merchant in his own right. He owned a number of ships and a wharf, from which he traded to the islands and engaged in pelagic whaling. He was slow to repatriate funds to Brooks in London, sometimes using them for new speculative ventures in Sydney. A major economic depression began in 1840 and his financial situation became critical. His poor record-keeping was another issue that prompted Brooks to replace him as his agent in 1843 with another master mariner,

Robert Towns Robert Towns (10 November 1794 – 11 April 1873) was a British master mariner who settled in Australia as a businessman, sandalwood merchant, colonist, shipowner, pastoralist, politician, whaler and civic leader. He was the founder of Townsvi ...

In New Zealand

Dacre traded successfully with the Maori population of New Zealand, including

Eruera Maihi Patuone Eruera Maihi Patuone (c.1764 – 19 September 1872) was a Māori rangatira (chief), the son of the Ngāti Hao chief Tapua and his wife Te Kawehau. His exact birth year is not known, but it is estimated that he was at least 108 years old when he ...

. He moved to New Zealand in the mid 1840s and made claims on land he had bought from the Maori before 1840. In

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

he went into business in 1844 with James Macky. In 1848 he purchased a 3,334 acre block of land south of

Orewa Orewa is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. It lies on the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of the Whangaparāoa Peninsula and 40 kilometres north of central Auckland. It is a popular holiday destination. The Northern M ...

on which two of his sons later established a cattle station. Other land purchases included a 4,000 acre property at Omaha. In 1854 he went into business with Thomas Macky and they traded as merchants and shipping agents. After commuting between Australia and New Zealand, Dacre and family settled in

in 1859. T. Macky & Co had become by then one of the largest firms in the city. Dacre lived on the slopes of Official Bay and he was active in the Anglican church. By 1882, he had restored his fortunes and owned more than 9,000 acres of land, worth almost £10,000. He was living in London when he died on 27 June 1884. The couple had 7 sons and at least 1 daughter.dacre.org.nz
accessed 18 February 2019

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dacre, Ranulph 1797 births 1884 deaths New Zealand traders English emigrants to New Zealand People from the City of Winchester Australian people in whaling Australian sailors Australian ship owners Sea captains 19th-century Australian businesspeople