William Westgarth (1815 - 1889)

Descendants

Biography

William Westgarth was born in 1815, son of John Westgarth (~1769 - 1854) and Christian (Thomson) Westgarth (1796 - 1898).

His siblings were:

1. John Westgarth (1815 - 1836)
2. Christina Robinson Westgarth (1827 - 1828)
3. Ellison (Westgarth) Macfie (1828 - 1911)

William married Ellison Macfie (1828 - 1911) on 6 Jun 1854 in Leith. Their children were:

1. Alice (Westgarth) Voelcker (1856 - )
2. Annie Christina (Westgarth) Spowers (1861 - 1957)
3. Mary Ethel Westgarth (1867 - 1936).

William Westgarth is remembered as a merchant, financier, politician and an early Australian historian.^[1]

Westgarth emigrated to the Colony of Victoria in 1840 and became a general import merchant.^[1]

Westgarth was elected unopposed in November 1850 to the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the City of Melbourne.^[2] When the new Colony of Victoria was formed in 1851 Westgarth was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council.^[3]

Westgarth was involved in the events surrounding the Eureka rebellion on the Victoria goldfields as outlined the by the Australian Dictionary of Biography:

"appointed by Lieutenant-Governor Sir Charles Hotham to the commission of inquiry into the goldfields of Victoria and was a natural choice as chairman. Backed by strong-minded colleagues like Fawkner and (Sir) John O'Shanassy, Westgarth led the commission in refusing to comply with Hotham's order not to investigate the immediate causes of Eureka. In January 1855 they recommended a general amnesty — but Hotham pressed on with the treason trials. On the other hand, the commission avoided public investigation of some of the more inflammable features of the conflict. After three months work they presented a statesmanlike report which abounded in generalizations bearing the mark of Westgarth's pen. The major recommendations — an export duty in place of the licence fee, a miner's right which gave legal rights and the vote, and the creation of local courts — were adopted, and brought peace to the goldfields. Westgarth and his fellow commissioners, who were amazed by the extent of resistance to capitalist organization, also paved the way for legislation enabling the formation of limited liability mining companies."^[1]

On 28 October 1889 he fell from an attic window of his South Kensington home at 10 Bolton Gardens, and died. A verdict of accidental death was found at the inquest when it was suggested that in a weakened physical state and being a fanatic for ventilation he had probably climbed up and forced open the window. The funeral was held in Edinburgh.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Geoffrey Serle, 'Westgarth, William (1815–1889)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/westgarth-william-4830/text8057, published first in hardcopy 1976, accessed online 9 December 2022
2. ↑ Mr William Westgarth (1815–1889)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/formermembers/Pages/former-member-details.aspx?pk=428
3. ↑ THE CITY ELECTION. (1851, September 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 2. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4780415

• John Westgarth grave monument in Dean 2h cemetery, Edinburgh, Lothian, Scotland
• Wikipedia entry for William Westgarth