Thomas Moore (1762 – 24 December 1840) was an early European

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 ...

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Biography

Moore was born in

Lesbury Lesbury is a small rural village in Northumberland in the north of England. It is built on the main coastal road southeast of Alnwick, on the north bank of the River Aln. Alnmouth railway station is about half a mile away. History The villag ...

, Northumberland. In 1792 he arrived in Australia as the ship's carpenter on

William Raven William Raven (1756–1814) was an English master mariner, naval officer and merchant. He commanded the whaler and sealing vessel ''Britannia'' and the naval store ship in Australian and New Zealand waters from 1792 until 1799. While in command ...

's ''

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

''. In October 1792 Raven left a sealing crew at

Dusky Sound Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park. Geography One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wi ...

, New Zealand while he went off to obtain supplies for the colony. During that time a vessel (later finished and called the "Providence") was built. It is believed Thomas Moore, as ship’s carpenter was the person mainly responsible for its construction. (Ref Letters Raven to Lieutenant Governor King 1793). In 1796 he was appointed master

boatbuilder Boat building is the design and construction of boats (instead of the larger ships) — and their on-board systems. This includes at minimum the construction of a hull, with any necessary propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other serv ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

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. He married Rachel Turner in January 1797, who had come to NSW on '' Lady Juliana'' as a convict, been assigned to Surgeon John White, and to whom she bore a son, Andrew Douglas White. In January 1804 Governor

Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1800 to 1806. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detai ...

launched what was believed to be the first vessel ever built in the colony, the armed cutter ''

Integrity Integrity is the quality of being honest and having a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and Honesty, truthfulness or of one's actions. Integr ...

'', of 50 tons ( bm). Thomas Moore built her at Sydney Cove. In October 1809 Moore resigned from the dockyard and by mid-1810 was residing at the house he had built on the

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, that is located in Sydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the Sydney central business district, w ...

, Moore Bank. Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...

appointed him

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of the Georges River district in 1810, a position he filled until he died on Christmas Eve 1840. When Macquarie proclaimed the new town of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 7 November 1810, he commissioned Moore to build the town. Moore was supervisor of public works for the next decade. He became a good friend of Macquarie, who appointed Rachel and Thomas Moore the guardians of Lachlan Macquarie jnr, in case anything happened to Lachlan and

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while they were in NSW. He was the recipient of numerous land grants, including land between Petersham Hill and Cook's River, Moorebank in the

district, Airds and Sutton Forest. His land holdings enabled him to breed cattle and horses, as well as to rent property to tenants, which brought him much wealth. Moore was one of the founding directors of the Bank of New South Wales, now known as

Westpac Banking Corporation Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...

. Moore died in 1840. In his will he left his substantial fortune to the Church of England, and, in particular, for the establishment of a college for the education of men of "the Protestant persuasion". The college, now known as

Moore Theological College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney holds ''ex officio'' the presidency of t ...

was opened on 1 March 1856.

References

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External links

Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

- includes digitised letters written by Moore to the

Colonial Secretary of New South Wales Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French colonial architecture * Spanish colonial architecture Automobiles * Col ...

Settlers of Australia 1762 births 1840 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia {{Australia-bio-stub