Charles Meredith was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n grazier and politician, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

n colonial treasurer

Treasurer

A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

 for several years in the mid-to-late 19th century.

Early life

Meredith was born at Poyston Lodge, Pembroke

Pembroke, Pembrokeshire

Pembroke is an historic settlement and former county town of Pembrokeshire in west Wales. The town and the county derive their name from that of the cantref of Penfro: Pen = "head" or "end", and bro = "region", "country", "land", and so it means essentially "Land's End".-History:The main point of...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, the youngest son of George Meredith

George Meredith

George Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...

 and his wife, Sarah Westall Hicks. His father saw service in the royal marines during the Napoleonic wars, and later decided to emigrate to Van Diemen's Land

Van Diemen's Land

Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...

 (later called Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

). He arrived at Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

 with his wife and family on 13 March 1821 and became one of the best known of the early pioneers. Charles assisted his father in farming in Tasmania for some time.

In 1834 Meredith went to New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and took up land on the Murrumbidgee River

Murrumbidgee River

The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory . A major tributary of the Murray River, the Murrumbidgee flows in a west-northwesterly direction from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains,...

 after being denied a grant of land by Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur

George Arthur

Lieutenant-General Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet KCH PC was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras , Van Diemen's Land and Upper Canada . He also served as Governor of Bombay .-Early life:George Arthur was born in Plymouth, England...

. He visited England in 1838 and on 18 April 1839 married his cousin, Louisa Anne Twamley

Louisa Anne Meredith

Louisa Anne Meredith , also known as Louisa Anne Twamley, was an Anglo/Australian writer and illustrator.-Biography:...

. On his return to Australia he spent two years in New South Wales, but it was a depressed period and he made heavy losses. He then went to Tasmania, and in 1843 was appointed a police magistrate at Port Sorell

Port Sorell, Tasmania

Port Sorell is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies on the waterway of the same name, just off Bass Strait, 20 km east of Devonport and close to Shearwater and Hawley Beach...

 in the north-east.

Political career

Meredith became a member of the original Tasmanian Legislative Council

Tasmanian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the House of Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart...

 and was elected for Glamorgan in the first house of assembly in 1856. He was colonial treasurer in the Thomas Gregson

Thomas Gregson

Thomas George Gregson was the second Premier of Tasmania, serving from 26 February 1857 until 25 April 1857.-Early life:...

 ministry for two months in 1857, and held the same position in the James Whyte

James Whyte (Australian politician)

James Whyte was a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as the sixth Premier of Tasmania, from 20 January 1863 to 24 November 1866.-Early life:...

 ministry from January 1863 to November 1866. He was opposition leader

Leader of the Opposition (Tasmania)

The role of Leader of the Opposition in Tasmania is a title held by the leader of the largest minority party in the state lower house, the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He or she acts as the public face of the opposition, leading the government on the floor of parliament...

 1862–63 and November 1866–72. He held the lands and works portfolios in the Frederick Innes cabinet from November 1872 to August 1873, and was again colonial treasurer in the Thomas Reibey

Thomas Reibey

Thomas Reibey was an Australian politician and Premier of Tasmania from 20 July 1876 until 9 August 1877....

 ministry from July 1876 to August 1877. In total, he was in parliament almost 24 years and was a member of the executive council for 17 years.

Late life and legacy

Meredith resigned his seat on account of ill-health in 1879, and died at Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...

, on 2 March 1880. His wife and children survived him.

Meredith was one of the few Tasmanians whose name has been publicly commemorated; a mountain range in north-east Tasmania is named for him and a fountain in his memory was erected in the Queen's domain, Hobart, in 1885.