Captain William Price (........)
- Back To . . Surnames
of the 40th Regiment's Soldiers who stayed
Born :
Where Born : Italy
Occupation : Soldier
Date Arrived : 1852
Ship Arrived on : "
H.M.S.S. Vulcan"
Rank attained : Captain
Regimental # :
Date of Enlistment :
Where Enlistment :
Date of Discharge :
Where Discharged :
Died :
Where Died /
Buried :
Parents Names :
Spouse's Name :
Born :
Where Born :
Occupation :
Date Arrived :
Ship Arrived on :
Date Married :
Where Married :
Died :
Where Died /
Buried :
Spouse's Parents :
- Descendants
Information kindley supplied
Veronica (Ronnie) Bates ronnie@southwest.com.au
Webpage. http://www.southwest.com.au/~ronnie
- Area Settled :
- New Zealand
- Children :
- 1 . Alice Louisa Price (.b.....d.)
- 2 . Charles Danvers Price (.b.....d.)
- 3 . Edward Guerin Price (.b.....d.)
- 4 . Grace Price (.b.....d.)
- 5 . Susan Burge Price (.b.....d.)
- 6 . Matthew Price Jr. (.b1854.....d.)
- 7 . (9th Child) Henry Gaunt Price in
. (.b.1857....d.)
- History &
Achievements :
- Captain Matthew Price arrived in
Australia, with his troops of the 40th (2nd
Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot. They would have embarked
in the UK on "H.M Steam Ship Vulcan " which
sailed from Cork, 15th July 1852 and arrived at Port
Phillip Bay Melbourne Victoria. After his
arrival in the Colony, Captain Matthew PRICE applied for
and received an appointment as Acting Police Inspector
commencing on 4 January 1853. Thus resigning his army
commission although for some reason he continued to be
known and early histories wrote about him as Captain
Matthew Price in the Colony.
- Captain Matthew Price met up with his wife
Elizabeth Donaldson Price when she and the
family arrived in the Port Phillip Colony on the Sailing
Ship "Kent" in April 1853, with their children,
Alice Louisa Price 8 years old , Charles
Danvers Price 5 years old, Edward Guerin Price
12 years old, Grace Price 2 years old, and Susan Burge
Price 1 year old. Edward Guerin Price. the first
grand-son, was mentioned in his grand-fathers will. 2
more children were born in Beechworth Victoria (their 7th
child) Matthew Price Jr. in 1854 and (9th Child) Henry
Gaunt Price in 1857. Matthew was Police
Magistrate at this time and was later appointed a
Magistrate in New Zealand where another child (9th Child)
Florence Blessington Price was born in 1861.
- Captain Matthew Price was only with the regt in
Australia for a short time after its arrival in Australia
before resigning after many years service. There
is a lot written about him while he served in Beechworth
Victoria before going to NZ. The following article
is a reprint from the Poverty Bay (NZ) Herald dated 26
July 1883. DEATH OF MR.MATTHEW PRICE: At five
o'clock this morning in the 66th year of his life the
merciful visitation of death put an end to the awful and
long protracted suffering of Mr. Price, who was so lately
the Resident Magistrate of our local court.
- The deceased gentleman having no fear of death
prayed for it that he might be released from a world
which had so long been a weariness and a long suffering
to him. Mr. Price had been esteemed and
respected all the days of his life by those to whom he
was well known, and he has been well known to many of
high and low degrees. It may be said of his
life to have "personified truth and
honesty. He was a man gold would not have
bought, nor any threats intimidated, nor persuasion have
turned him from the direct line of
duty. Having in his official capacity resolved
where his duty really was, nothing could have turned him,
or lead him to swerve from, or change his
purpose". That the deceased occasionally
exhibited irritability on the bench has been admitted and
as promptly pardoned. It was only at the time known to
very few that while he was listening to the evidence
analysing and sifting it, that while he was plagued with
opposing arguments of opposing lawyers, he was hearing
all this while under physical anguish unutterable.
- In his early days Mr. Price then Captain Matthew
Price, was one of the leaders of the 'beau mond' of
fashion, moving in the aristocratic circles of which Lord
Melbourne, Count D'Orsay and Countess Blessington, and
other distinguished persons were the principal members.
Mr. Price was born in Italy of English* parents.
At the age of 19 he was entered as an ensign in the First
Regiment of Light Infantry Militia, afterwards obtaining
his Captaincy and serving for some years on active
service in India. Mr. Price subsequently went
to Victoria where he obtained an appointment as Police
Magistrate, and became, we believe Commissioner of the
Mounted Police Force.
- Afterwards he was transferred to New Zealand and
received the appointment of Warden and Resident
Magistrate on the west coast of the Middle Island, from
whence he was transferred to Gisborne, where he has ended
his earthly career. The remains of Mr. Price will
be removed to the Cemetery tomorrow at 3
o'clock.
- All those who love that which is brave and self
denying, and all who love integrity, and those virtues
which constitute true manhood will be followers of the
deceased to his last resting place . * Italian mother.
I hope this is of interest to you for your
website. Let me know if I can be of any other
help. kind regards
- © Copyright B & M Chapman
(QLD) Australia
- Last revised: December 06, 2004.