Richard Purvis Marshall (3 April 1818 – 15 August 1872) was a British pastoral squatter and high ranking

Native Police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...

officer in the colonies of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. He was co-founder of the Gundi Windi cattle and sheep run which later evolved into the town of

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , the locality of Goondiwindi had a population of 6, ...

. He was appointed to the Native Police in 1850 and became Commandant of the force in 1855. He retired from the Native Police in 1856 and held various Justice of the Peace and police magistrate roles in Goondiwindi until his death in 1872.

Early life

Richard Purvis Marshall was born in

Hatherleigh Hatherleigh is a small market town in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1306. It hosts an arts festival in July, and a carnival in November featuring two flaming tar barrel runs. T ...

Devon, England Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in 1818. His father was Lieutenant Sampson B. Marshall of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and his mother was Mary Ann King. Sampson Marshall served on the navy ship ''Diadem'' during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and was severely wounded at the

Battle of Baltimore The Battle of Baltimore took place between British and American forces on September 12–15, 1814 during the War of 1812. Defending American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, by British fo ...

in 1814. He received a pension and was retired from service. The Marshall family emigrated to

on the ''David Scott'', arriving in

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 1834, although it appears Richard remained in England until a later date. Sampson Marshall received a land grant of 640 acres at

Jerry's Plains Jerrys Plains is a village in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia about 33 kilometres west of Singleton on the Golden Highway. The surrounding countryside is home to some substantial horse-breeding properties, notably the Australian ...

in 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 ...

and later moved his family to Rosebrook near Maitland in 1840.

Gundi Windi

In the late 1840s Richard Purvis Marshall in partnership with his brother Sampson Yeoval Marshall established the Gundi Windi pastoral station on the

MacIntyre River The Macintyre River, a perennial river that forms part of the Border Rivers group, is part of the Barwon catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, and the So ...

along the northern frontier of the colony of New South Wales. This area straddled indigenous

Bigambul The Bigambul people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Tablelands and Border Rivers regions of New South Wales and Queensland. Name In the traditional language, the name of this group is derived from the Bigambul word or wh ...

and Gamilarai territory and armed opposition to British colonisation was fierce. Other new runs in the region faced similar resistance and conflict resulted in numerous deaths on either side. The invading armed British settlers augmented with constables under the command of Commissioner Richard John Bligh from

Warialda Warialda is a town in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Gwydir Shire. It is situated on the banks of Warialda Creek. At the , Warialda had a population of 1,120. Transport The Gwydir Highway runs through town and ...

were unable to defeat the Aboriginals and as result some squatting leases were abandoned. Augustus Morris, who held the Callandoon lease adjoining Gundi Windi was also a politician in the colonial New South Wales government. He recognised the need for a strong paramilitary force to enforce British control in the MacIntyre River region and recommended legislation to set up a

to be deployed in the area. In 1848, funds were set aside by the New South Wales government for this purpose and by mid 1849, fourteen aboriginal troopers from the

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the inte ...

region in the south of the colony were sent to the MacIntyre under the command of Frederick Walker. This force rapidly extinguished Aboriginal resistance in the region in a number of skirmishes including those at Carbucky, Beeboo and along the Severn River, where the indigenous groups "suffered so severely" in their defeats. When Frederick Walker and his troopers were to leave to patrol and pacify the

Condamine River The Condamine River, part of the Balonne catchment that is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia. The river is approximately 500 kilometres (3 ...

region to the north, the settlers of the MacIntyre, including Richard Purvis Marshall, wrote a letter to the government demanding a continuation of the protection given by the Native Police in their area.

Lieutenant in the Native Police

With the expansion of the Native Police, Richard Purvis Marshall was appointed on 5 January 1850 as Lieutenant of the 1st Division. He was in command of 10 troopers to patrol the MacIntyre and Condamine regions. Almost immediately, Commandant Walker left on a recruiting drive in the southern districts leaving Marshall as highest-ranking officer of the force in the area. Marshall directed a number of punitive expeditions and

summary execution In civil and military jurisprudence, summary execution is the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial. The term results from the legal concept of summary justice to punish a summary offense, a ...

s against aboriginal people in 1850 including the execution of "Nobody" and the shootings at Wallann station. Further missions resulted in aboriginals being killed at Booranga and there was a large "dispersal" at Copranoranbilla lagoon, where Marshall divided his troopers along each side to entrap an indigenous camp. In 1851, Marshall's 1st Division was deployed to the Burnett and Wide Bay regions where missions extended across a number of pastoral stations including Toomcul, Widgee and Rawbelle. At the end of this year, the report on the activities of Marshall's division was sent to

Governor Fitzroy Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, (10 June 179616 February 1858) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who held governorships in several British colonies during the 19th century. Family and peerage ...

which invoked the response that "a great many blacks are reported as having been killed by the Police..these acts of severity..have been unavoidable."

Commandant of the Native Police

Marshall was appointed acting Commandant in mid 1854 after the suspension of Frederick Walker. He was officially appointed Commandant in 1855, but due to complaining about poor funding of the force he was dismissed soon after. However, Marshall was allowed to continue as an unpaid officer in the Native Police until early 1856.

Magistrate roles in Goondiwindi

After leaving the Native Police, Marshall held various Justice of the Peace and regular police magistrate roles in the Goondiwindi locality. He and his brother sold out of the Gundi Windi station in 1870.

Death and legacy

Richard Purvis Marshall died on 15 August 1872 at his home "Corcoran" in Goondiwindi due to a chronic urinary tract infection. He was interred on the property. Marshall married twice and had several children. The main street in Goondiwindi, Marshall St, is named after him and his brothers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Richard 1818 births 1872 deaths People from the Borough of West Devon People from New South Wales British emigrants to Australia