Samuel Terry
Encyclopedia
Samuel Terry was transported
to Australia
as a criminal where he became a wealthy landowner, merchant and philanthropist. His extreme wealth made him by far the richest man in the colony and compared with the wealth of the richer in England. Terry’s estate at his death was valued at £200 000, an incredible sum.
The year and circumstances of his birth are unknown. While working as a labourer in Manchester, England, on 22 January 1800 he was sentenced to transportation to the colony of Australia for the crime of stealing 400 pairs of stockings. He was taken to Sydney, Australia where he served as a stone cutter. After working several jobs, he earned a farm in 1808. In 1810 he became an innkeeper in Sydney and married a widow with three children, who was herself an innkeeper. He continued to prosper, becoming a trader and became a supplier of food to the government.
By 1820 he possessed significant amounts of property and was a large shareholder in the Bank of New South Wales. There is some controversy about the means he used to acquire his wealth, and he became accused of extorsion by his enemies. It was alleged that he brought land owners to his inn, who would become intoxicate and sign away their property in payment of debts. By 1821 he also brought 28 actions to the Supreme Court.
In the 1820s he was wealthy and a public figure. He was also a philanthropist, contributing to local societies and schools. He also worked for the emancipist
s and, in 1826, became president of the Masonic Lodge
.
The Samuel Terry Public School, Cranebrook is named in his honor.
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to 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...
as a criminal where he became a wealthy landowner, merchant and philanthropist. His extreme wealth made him by far the richest man in the colony and compared with the wealth of the richer in England. Terry’s estate at his death was valued at £200 000, an incredible sum.
The year and circumstances of his birth are unknown. While working as a labourer in Manchester, England, on 22 January 1800 he was sentenced to transportation to the colony of Australia for the crime of stealing 400 pairs of stockings. He was taken to Sydney, Australia where he served as a stone cutter. After working several jobs, he earned a farm in 1808. In 1810 he became an innkeeper in Sydney and married a widow with three children, who was herself an innkeeper. He continued to prosper, becoming a trader and became a supplier of food to the government.
By 1820 he possessed significant amounts of property and was a large shareholder in the Bank of New South Wales. There is some controversy about the means he used to acquire his wealth, and he became accused of extorsion by his enemies. It was alleged that he brought land owners to his inn, who would become intoxicate and sign away their property in payment of debts. By 1821 he also brought 28 actions to the Supreme Court.
In the 1820s he was wealthy and a public figure. He was also a philanthropist, contributing to local societies and schools. He also worked for the emancipist
Emancipist
An emancipist was any of the convicts sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given conditional or absolute pardons...
s and, in 1826, became president of the Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
.
The Samuel Terry Public School, Cranebrook is named in his honor.