The Hamersley family were a wealthy and well-connected family of early settlers in the colony

Colony

In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. Members of the Hamersley family emigrated to Western Australia from England in 1837.

Prominent members and connections of the family include:

• Edward Hamersley
  Edward Hamersley (Snr)
  Edward Hamersley was an early settler in colonial Western Australia. He became a successful and wealthy pastoralist, and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council. The Hamersley family became one of the most prominent families in the colony.Edward Hamersley was born at Sandgate,...
  
  , pastoralist
  Pastoralism
  Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
  
   and MLC;
  • his sister Frances, who married William Locke Brockman
    William Locke Brockman
    William Locke Brockman was an early settler in Western Australia, who became a leading pastoralist and stock breeder, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council....
    
    ;
    • their son Edmund Ralph Brockman;
    • their son Henry Brockman
      Henry Brockman (Australian politician)
      Henry Brockman was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1884 to 1889.Born on 21 June 1845 at Herne Hill, Western Australia, Henry Brockman was the son of William Locke Brockman and Ann Frances Elizabeth née Hamersley, a nephew of Edward Hamersley , and a cousin of Edward ...
      
      ;
  • his son Edward
    Edward Hamersley (Jnr)
    Edward Hamersley was a Western Australian pastoralist, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for nearly ten years....
    
    , pastoralist and MLC;
    • his wife Jane, sister of Andrew and Charles Dempster
      Charles Dempster
      Charles Stewart 'Stewie' Dempster was a former New Zealand cricketer and coach...
      
      ;
  • his son Samuel
    Samuel Hamersley
    Samuel Richard Hamersley was a Western Australian pastoralist, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for six years....
    
    , pastoralist, explorer
    Exploration
    Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
    
    , MLA and MLC;
    • his wife Matilda, sister of Maitland Brown
      Maitland Brown
      Maitland Brown was an explorer, politician and pastoralist in colonial Western Australia. He is best remembered as the leader of the La Grange expedition, which searched for and recovered the bodies of three white settlers murdered by Indigenous Australians, and subsequently killed a number of...
      
      ;
    • his son Vernon
      Vernon Hamersley
      Vernon Hamersley served the longest term ever as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council.-Life and career:...
      
      , MLC;
  • his daughter Margaret
    Margaret Forrest
    Lady Forrest , born Margaret Elvire Hamersley, was the wife of Sir John Forrest. Born in Le Havre, France, she was a member of the prominent and wealthy Hamersley family; her father was Edward Hamersley , and amongst her brothers were Edward Hamersley and Samuel Hamersley...
    
    , who married Sir John Forrest
    John Forrest
    Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
    
    ;
  • his daughter Flora, who married Frederic North
    Frederic North
    Frederic Dudley North, CMG , was an England-born Australian public servant and cricketer.-Early life:...
    
    ;
    • their son Charles North
      Charles North (politician)
      Charles Frederic NorthBurke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition give his full name as "Charles Frederick John North", but most contemporary sources use "Charles Frederic". was an Australian soldier, lawyer and politician...
      
      ;
  • his nephew Malcolm, who accompanied John Forrest on his 1869 exploring expedition.

A number of places in Western Australia have been named after the Hamersley family. John Septimus Roe

John Septimus Roe

John Septimus Roe was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, and a Member of Western Australia's Legislative and Executive Councils for nearly 40 years.-Early life:...

 named the Hamersley River in their honour in 1848–49; and Francis Gregory

Francis Gregory

Francis Hoyt Gregory was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 through to the Civil War, serving then as a Rear Admiral.-Early life; service during the War of 1812:...

 also named the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region

Pilbara region of Western Australia

The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia known for its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore...

 in their honour. John Forrest, during his 1869 exploring expedition, named Mount Malcolm, Mount Flora and Mount Margaret

Mount Margaret, Western Australia

Mount Margaret also once known as Craiggiemore is an abandoned town in Western Australia located east of Perth situated North of Lake Carey and south West of Laverton in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia....

 all in honour of members of the Hamersley family.

The Hamersley Ward of the City of Stirling

Stirling, Western Australia

The City of Stirling is a Local Government Area in the northern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located about north of Perth's central business district...

 (formerly Perth Road Board), the suburb of Hamersley

Hamersley, Western Australia

Hamersley is a residential suburb 14 kilometres north-northwest of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and six kilometres from the Indian Ocean. The suburb adjoins two major arterial roads—Mitchell Freeway to the west and Reid Highway to the...

, settled in the late 1960s, and a golf course in North Beach

North Beach, Western Australia

North Beach is a northern coastal suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, and is located from Perth's central business district via Mitchell Freeway and Reid Highway. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.-History:...

are all named after them. Their 19th-century home, Hamersley House in Beachton Street, North Beach, was demolished in 1962.