Robert Wardell, marble tablet, St James Church, Sydney Robert Wardell (1793 – 7 September 1834) was an English-born

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 ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and newspaper editor.

Early life

Wardell was born in England and educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he matriculated 1810, gained his LL.B. in 1817 and a LL.D. in 1823. Wardell was editor and proprietor of the ''Statesman'', a London evening paper, when in 1819 he met

William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian statesman, pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures in colonial New South Wales. He ...

. In 1821, Wardell was one of a number of newspaper editors in London accused of “the publication of seditious libels.” In 1823, Wardell applied for the new position of

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

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 ...

but was unsuccessful; the position went instead to Saxe Bannister.

Australia

In 1824 Wardell sold his ''Statesman'' paper and formed a partnership with Wentworth. Printing materials were purchased as part of a plan to found an Australian newspaper, and they sailed for Australia, arriving about September. Soon afterwards they started ''The Australian'', the first number appearing on 14 October 1824 and was to be published weekly at a cost of one

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

. It was the first independent paper to be published in Australia, and Governor Thomas Brisbane who was approaching the end of his term was inclined to welcome it. After the arrival of Governor Ralph Darling in December 1825, friction between the governor and the paper developed. Early in 1827 governor Darling was devising means to control its criticism of his actions; he brought in a newspaper tax of fourpence a copy, but chief justice Francis Forbes refused to sanction the act. In September 1827 Wardell who had referred to the governor in ''The Australian'' as "an ignorant and obstinate man" was charged with libel. Wardell conducted his own defence with great ability and the jury failed to agree. Wardell was again on trial for libel in December, and Wentworth who was defending him asserted that the jurors, who were members of the military, might lose their commissions if they did not return a verdict for Darling. The jury again disagreed. He fought a duel, in late 1826, with the then former Attorney-General, Saxe Bannister. An item in ''The Australian'' titled, '''How-e to live by plunder, resulted in a second duel, in 1827, this time with Governor Darling's brother-in-law and private secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dumaresq; nobody was injured in either duel, Wardell was now editor and sole proprietor of ''The Australian'' and his practice as a barrister was increasing; early in 1831 the government was glad to brief him in an action for damages against it. Towards the end of 1831 Governor Darling was informed by Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich that his six-year term as governor would soon be expiring, and after the arrival of the liberal-minded Governor Richard Bourke, Wardell's writing became much more temperate in tone. In 1834, having made a moderate fortune, he was intending to go to England, but on 7 September 1834 when inspecting his estate on horseback at Petersham, New South Wales he came across three runaway convicts and tried to persuade them to give themselves up. The leader of the men, John Jenkins, however, picked up a gun and fatally shot Wardell. The men were arrested a few days later and two of them were subsequently hanged. Wardell was unmarried. Wardell Road, which runs south from Petersham, in Sydney, is named after him.

Popular culture

Wardell appears as a character in the radio play '' Spoiled Darlings'' and the mini series '' The Patriots''.

References

* Additional resources listed by the ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'': *Aubrey Halloran, ''Journal and Proceedings Royal Australian Historical Society'', vol. X, pp. 337–47; ''The Sydney Herald'', 11 and 15 September 1834; G. B. Barton, ''Literature in New South Wales'', pp. 20–4; R. Therry, ''Reminiscences of Thirty Years' Residence in New South Wales and Victoria'', 2nd ed. pp. 349–52. Additional resources listed by the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'': * '' Historical Records of Australia'', Series I, vols 11-17 * newspaper indices under Wardell (

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...

) * W. C. Wentworth, legal letterbook (

) * family bible (1660) annotated by T. D. Mutch (

) * Supreme Court records (

State Records New South Wales The NSW State Archives Collection is an agency of the New South Wales Government that archives and records management, manages the records of the history of the Government of New South Wales in Australia and is part of Museums of History NSW. Pri ...

) * CO 201/147/540.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wardell, Robert 1793 births 1834 deaths Australian barristers Australian people of English descent 19th-century Australian newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century British newspaper publishers (people) Australian mass media owners Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Australian newspaper editors Australian newspaper publishers (people) Australian murder victims 19th-century Australian journalists 19th-century Australian male writers Australian duellists Australian male journalists Australian newspaper founders 19th-century British newspaper founders