John Piper (military officer)
Encyclopedia
John Piper was a military officer, public servant and landowner in the colony of New South Wales
.
Piper was born in Maybole
, Ayrshire
Scotland
, son of Hugh Piper, a doctor; his family came from Cornwall
. He was commissioned as an ensign in the New South Wales Corps
in 1791, and sailed on the convict ship Pitt, arriving in Sydney in February 1792. In 1793 he was sent, at his own request, to the convict settlement of Norfolk Island
, perhaps because of a scandalous love affair. There was certainly an illegitimate daughter born around this time.
Piper was promoted lieutenant and returned to Sydney in 1795; from 1797 to 1799 he was on leave. In 1800 Piper was promoted to captain. Piper supported John Macarthur
in the struggle between the New South Wales Corps and Governor King
, and acted as his second in a duel with Colonel Paterson, his commanding officer. Piper was arrested and court-martial
led in 1802, but apologised and was acquitted, to King's disgust.
Piper returned to Norfolk Island in 1804 and, when Lieutenant-Governor Joseph Foveaux
left on prolonged sick leave, became acting commandant. His rule was mild, one of the convicts later writing that he "had the good will and respect of everyone, for he had always conducted himself as a Christian and a gentleman." He was promoted to captain in 1806. During Piper's period of leadership on Norfolk Island the British government decided it was too costly to maintain, and planned to close the settlement and transfer the inhabitants to Sydney or Van Diemen's Land
. Piper showed both tact and organising ability in arranging for the transfers, especially of those settlers who had built up farms and families on the island.
Piper returned to Sydney in 1810, having avoided all the turmoil of the Rum Rebellion
. He sailed for England in 1811, but resigned his commission and returned to Sydney in February 1814, as Naval Officer. In 1816 he married Mary Ann Shears, the daughter of two First Fleet
convicts, who had already borne several children by him.
As Naval Officer, Piper was responsible for the collection of customs duties, excise on spirits, harbour dues, control of lighthouses, and crime on water. This post proved very remunerative, and he was able to purchase the property now known as Vaucluse House. He was granted 190 acres (0.8 km²) on what is now Point Piper
and built Henrietta Pavilion at the large cost of £10,000. He was appointed a magistrate by Governor Macquarie
in 1819, was chairman of directors of the Bank of New South Wales
, sat on the local committee of the Australian Agricultural Co.
, was president of the Scots Church committee, and was involved in many social and sporting activities. As well as Point Piper
he had 475 acres (1.9 km²) at Vaucluse
, 1130 acres (4.6 km²) at Woollahra
and Rose Bay
, a farm of 295 acres (1.2 km²) at Petersham
, 700 at Neutral Bay
, 80 at Botany Bay
, 2000 at Bathurst
, 300 in Van Diemen's Land, and an acre (4,000 m²) of commercial land in George Street, Sydney
.
Piper however, had financial difficulties; in 1826 he raised a mortgage of £20,000. He was forced to resign his bank chairmanship after an enquiry into its affairs in January 1827, and that April was suspended from his position as Naval Officer when mismanagement of customs collection was discovered. Piper unsuccessfully tried to drown himself, and was forced to sell most of his property to repay his debts in full. Piper retired to his farm at Bathurst and became an important person in the town, but was forced to mortgage the property in the drought of 1838. Piper was saved by his friends who re-established the family to a property beside the Macquarie River
. Here Piper died on 8 June 1851, and Mary Ann continued to live until her death twenty years later, supported by her numerous children.
Marjorie Barnard
claims that "John Piper was a man of his times. He personified the colonial dream." He was an officer during the military rule, a civil servant when New South Wales became a civil state, and a land pioneer during the pastoral age. "He was honourable, generous, gay and so well loved that he was forgiven things which would have wrecked a stronger man. … He was a master of the bright illusion."
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...
.
Piper was born in Maybole
Maybole
Maybole is a burgh of barony and police burgh of South Ayrshire, Scotland. Pop. 4,552. It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. ...
, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, son of Hugh Piper, a doctor; his family came from Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. He was commissioned as an ensign in the New South Wales Corps
New South Wales Corps
The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment to relieve the marines who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. The regiment, led by Major Francis Grose, consisted of three companies...
in 1791, and sailed on the convict ship Pitt, arriving in Sydney in February 1792. In 1793 he was sent, at his own request, to the convict settlement of Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
, perhaps because of a scandalous love affair. There was certainly an illegitimate daughter born around this time.
Piper was promoted lieutenant and returned to Sydney in 1795; from 1797 to 1799 he was on leave. In 1800 Piper was promoted to captain. Piper supported John Macarthur
John Macarthur (wool pioneer)
John Macarthur was a British army officer, entrepreneur, politician, architect and pioneer of settlement in Australia. Macarthur is recognised as the pioneer of the wool industry that was to boom in Australia in the early 19th century and become a trademark of the nation...
in the struggle between the New South Wales Corps and Governor King
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
, and acted as his second in a duel with Colonel Paterson, his commanding officer. Piper was arrested and court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
led in 1802, but apologised and was acquitted, to King's disgust.
Piper returned to Norfolk Island in 1804 and, when Lieutenant-Governor Joseph Foveaux
Joseph Foveaux
Joseph Foveaux was a soldier and convict settlement administrator in colonial New South Wales, Australia.Foveaux was baptised on 6 April 1767 at Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England, the sixth child of Joseph Foveaux and his wife Elizabeth, née Wheeler...
left on prolonged sick leave, became acting commandant. His rule was mild, one of the convicts later writing that he "had the good will and respect of everyone, for he had always conducted himself as a Christian and a gentleman." He was promoted to captain in 1806. During Piper's period of leadership on Norfolk Island the British government decided it was too costly to maintain, and planned to close the settlement and transfer the inhabitants to Sydney or 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...
. Piper showed both tact and organising ability in arranging for the transfers, especially of those settlers who had built up farms and families on the island.
Piper returned to Sydney in 1810, having avoided all the turmoil of the Rum Rebellion
Rum Rebellion
The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia's history. The Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh, was deposed by the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with John Macarthur, on 26 January 1808, 20...
. He sailed for England in 1811, but resigned his commission and returned to Sydney in February 1814, as Naval Officer. In 1816 he married Mary Ann Shears, the daughter of two First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
convicts, who had already borne several children by him.
As Naval Officer, Piper was responsible for the collection of customs duties, excise on spirits, harbour dues, control of lighthouses, and crime on water. This post proved very remunerative, and he was able to purchase the property now known as Vaucluse House. He was granted 190 acres (0.8 km²) on what is now Point Piper
Point Piper, New South Wales
Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located six kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra....
and built Henrietta Pavilion at the large cost of £10,000. He was appointed a magistrate by Governor Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
in 1819, was chairman of directors of the Bank of New South Wales
Westpac
Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand....
, sat on the local committee of the Australian Agricultural Co.
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
, was president of the Scots Church committee, and was involved in many social and sporting activities. As well as Point Piper
Point Piper, New South Wales
Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located six kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra....
he had 475 acres (1.9 km²) at Vaucluse
Vaucluse, New South Wales
Vaucluse is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Vaucluse is located north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and the Municipality of Woollahra....
, 1130 acres (4.6 km²) at Woollahra
Woollahra, New South Wales
Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The Municipality of Woollahra takes its name from the...
and Rose Bay
Rose Bay, New South Wales
Rose Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rose Bay is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Municipal Council and Woollahra Council .Rose Bay has views of both the Sydney...
, a farm of 295 acres (1.2 km²) at Petersham
Petersham, New South Wales
Petersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council...
, 700 at Neutral Bay
Neutral Bay, New South Wales
Neutral Bay is a harbourside suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is located 5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council....
, 80 at Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
, 2000 at Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
, 300 in Van Diemen's Land, and an acre (4,000 m²) of commercial land in George Street, Sydney
George Street, Sydney
George Street is one of Sydney's most notable city streets. There are more high rise buildings and more ASX 100 companies located here than anywhere else in Australia, and is well known for being busy around-the-clock...
.
Piper however, had financial difficulties; in 1826 he raised a mortgage of £20,000. He was forced to resign his bank chairmanship after an enquiry into its affairs in January 1827, and that April was suspended from his position as Naval Officer when mismanagement of customs collection was discovered. Piper unsuccessfully tried to drown himself, and was forced to sell most of his property to repay his debts in full. Piper retired to his farm at Bathurst and became an important person in the town, but was forced to mortgage the property in the drought of 1838. Piper was saved by his friends who re-established the family to a property beside the Macquarie River
Macquarie River
The Macquarie River is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales. Its headwaters rise in the central highlands of New South Wales near the town of Oberon. The river travels generally northwest past the towns of Bathurst, Wellington, Dubbo, Narromine, and Warren to the Macquarie Marshes...
. Here Piper died on 8 June 1851, and Mary Ann continued to live until her death twenty years later, supported by her numerous children.
Marjorie Barnard
Marjorie Barnard
Marjorie Faith Barnard AO was an Australian novelist and short story writer, critic, historian - and librarian. She went to school and university in Sydney, and then trained as a librarian...
claims that "John Piper was a man of his times. He personified the colonial dream." He was an officer during the military rule, a civil servant when New South Wales became a civil state, and a land pioneer during the pastoral age. "He was honourable, generous, gay and so well loved that he was forgiven things which would have wrecked a stronger man. … He was a master of the bright illusion."