Robert White MLC JP
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Robert Hoddle Driberg White MLC JP (1838 - 1900)

Hon Robert Hoddle Driberg White MLC JP
Born in Stroud, New South Wales, Australiamap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of , , [half], [half], [half] and [half]
Husband of — married 2 May 1863 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australiamap
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , , and
Died at age 62 in Callan Park Hospital, Leichhardt, Sydney, New South Wales, Australiamap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Marc Whitaker private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 10 May 2017
This page has been accessed 424 times.

Contents

Biography

Notables Project
Robert White MLC JP is Notable.

Politician, bank manager, he was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Gloucester (1883), represented Australia at the Colonial Exhibition in London (1886), given a seat in the Legislative Council (1887); of Tahlee House, Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia.

The Romantic Career of the late Mr R H D White

"On 5 November 1900 Mr Robert Hoddle Driberg White died at Callan Park Asylum, where he had been for some months, suffering from softening of the brain. It is a melancholy and instructive fact that in the same institution within that same year, there died two other clever brainy Mudgee men — A G Taylor and De Courcy Brown.

"Mr White was a native of the colony, born at Stroud, Gloucester on 19 May 1838. His father, Mr James Charles White, arrived some time in the eighteen twenties, in charge of stud stock for the English syndicate known as the Australian Agricultural Company, but better known as the A A Company, with large interests in the chief coalfields of the colony. The headquarters of the company were then at Stroud. Mr J C White subsequently received the appointment of Super-intendent of Agriculture, which practically meant that he had charge of the large number of convicts assigned to the service of the company.

"This Mr White married a daughter of Mr Robert Hoddle, a surveyor in the service of the New South Wales Government, who, in 1837 with other officials, accompanied Governor Bourke to Port Phillip, and laid out the present city of Melbourne. Before that time the place was known as 'Beargrass.' John Batman and John P Fawkner each claimed to be the founder of the city by the Yarra Yarra, and Robert Hoddle and Robert Russell — the latter only dead a couple of months before Mr White — each claimed to have surveyed the city. Hoddle, however, was the senior officer though Russell is understood to have done most of the work.

"The first land sale at Melbourne was held on 1 June 1837, Mr Hoddle acting as auctioneer, 100 allotments of half an acre each being put up for sale, bringing prices averaging £35 per lot, and from this land sale and Surveyor Hoddle's purchases thereat, Mr R H D White obtained the big fortune which he enjoyed until he became mentally clouded. Mr Hoddle held office as Surveyor General until 1858, when he retired on pension, residing in the later years of his life in a secluded cottage in Hoddle Street, Collingwood. He died in 1881 at a great age."

Some interesting incidents of his life; the perils of an early day bank clerk

"Mr R H D White commenced his business career in the Bank of New South Wales. At one time he was at Deniliquin. Then he was manager of the bank's branch at Rockhampton, at the time the Gympie goldfield broke out, and many lawless men were in the neighborhood of the 'City of Sin, Sorrow and Sweat.' Mr White was subsequently manager of the bank's branch at Mudgee, and in that town he wound up his long official connection with the oldest bank in the colonies, though from the access of fortune he continued to hold large monetary interests in it."

Encounters with bushrangers

"Mr White was not deficient in animal courage, as was proved on 20 April 1868, when five armed men stuck up Currie's Hotel, some miles out of Gympie. Mr White happened to be stopping at the hotel. He had been to Gympie gold buying, and was thought to be worth powder and shot. Three of the men entered the room where he was seated and ordered him to 'bail up.' Mr White, in reply, drew a Tranter revolver, which missed fire. He then used another revolver, with which he wounded one of the men and was fired at by one of the bushrangers with a double-barrelled gun. Mr White returned the fire and made good his escape to the bush. The robbers only got £15 and some provisions. The police went in pursuit, and discovered the camping-place of the bushrangers, but they had fled. A blood-stained shirt, a saddle, and some provisions were left behind by the rangers in their hurried departure. The Queensland police followed them up, and on 2 May captured one of the gang at the Royal Hotel, Tenterfield, while getting his wounded arm dressed by Dr Mason. The prisoner gave his name as John Devine, but was also known as Parker.

"In acknowledgment of his services on the occasion, Mr White received a handsome service of plate from the board of directors of the bank. The plate consisted of richly-chased solid silver spoons and forks, each bearing Mr White's initials. They were enclosed in a handsome mahogany chest, on which was a silver plate bearing an inscription commemorative of the event. The value of the gift was £100."

How he came by his fortune

"There is a spice of romance about the manner in which Mr White acquired his fortune. When at Rockhampton, a Melbourne visitor whispered in his ear that if he (Mr White) had his rights he would be a wealthy man. The hint given, Mr White made inquiries, and by great perseverance was able to establish at last a prima facie case.

"It will be remembered that Mr White's mother was a daughter of Mr Robert Hoddle. The latter had purchased Melbourne town lots and took others in payment of his fees as surveyor and auctioneer.

"For the first 10 years the lots did not increase much in value; it was not until the eighteen-fifties that they began to jump up. It is understood that Mr Hoddle made a deed of gift or an assignment of some of these lots to his wife.

"The wife dying, she left what she possessed to her grandson, Mr Hoddle being wealthy, independent of his wife, and drawing a good pension from the Crown. Mr Hoddle asserted that his wife had nothing to leave, and it would appear as though the grandson, R H D White, was content to believe that it was so, until the visitor to Rockhampton put him on the scent.

"Such inquiries as he could make led him to believe that his grandmother had died wealthy, or rather - that the allotments of city lands had so increased in value that she thought when dying almost valueless, the unearned increment had made enormous value. The lots were situated in the best part of Elizabeth Street in the heart of the city. Mr Hoddle was now a very old man, living in retirement.

"Mr White was compelled to institute a suit for the enforcement of his rights. This cause celebre was tried in the Supremo Court at Melbourne, and some days of investigation, while in the witness box, poor old Hoddle broke down, and admitted that the grandson from whom he had been for years estranged was entitled to what he claimed. The scene in court was pathetic in the extreme.

"It is understood that Hoddle, at his death, left the best part of his wealth to Mr White. When fortune favored him, Mr White purchased the 'Tahlee' estate at Port Stevens, and went in for yachting, his steamer White Star, skippered by himself, being well-known in the harbour and on the coast. Mr White always used the vessel in his trips between Sydney and Port Stevens. In 1883, he was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly for Gloucester. In 1886, he represented the colony at the Colonial Exhibition in London, and in 1887 Sir Henry Parkes gave him a seat in the Legislative Council.

"From 1856 to 1858 the Venerable Dean Cowper, 90 years of age at the time of his son-in-law's death, was Chaplain to the A A Company at Stroud. The Dean's half-brother, the late Sedgwick Cowper, and Mr White were students under the chaplain. On Mr White's arrival at man's estate, he married a daughter of Dean Cowper, and the lady survives him. At a great age Mr White's father sailed in the Wairarapa on a visit to New Zealand, and was drowned in the wreck of that ill-fated vessel. — Truth."

Death and burial

He died on 20 October 1900 at Callan Park Hospital, Leichhardt, Sydney, aged 62.[1] He was buried at South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse, Sydney.[2]

Sources

  • Obit Thu 22 Nov 1900, Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative, The Romantic Career of the Late Mr R H D White, Some Interesting Incidents of His Life, The Perils of An Early Day Bank Clerk, Encounters with Bushrangers, How He Came by His Fortune. at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/156275832?
  • Find a Grave, database and images accessed 13 March 2022, memorial page for Robert Hoddle Driberg White (19 May 1838–1900), Find a Grave Memorial ID Find A Grave: Memorial #116774561, citing South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse, Waverley Council, New South Wales, Australia ; Maintained by Kenneth Decker (contributor 47305930) .




Is Robert your ancestor? Please don't go away!
 star icon Login to collaborate or comment, or
 star icon contact private message the profile manager, or
 star icon ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Robert by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Robert:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.

Images: 1
OUR PORTRAIT GALLERY: No. 61. THE COMMODORE OF THE R.S.Y.S.
OUR PORTRAIT GALLERY: No. 61. THE COMMODORE OF THE R.S.Y.S.


Comments

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.

Rejected matches › Robert White (abt.1839-) › Robert Charles Clappen White (1838-)

Featured National Park champion connections: Robert is 13 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 14 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 17 degrees from George Catlin, 19 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 26 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 16 degrees from George Grinnell, 17 degrees from Anton Kröller, 16 degrees from Stephen Mather, 16 degrees from Kara McKean, 21 degrees from John Muir, 12 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 29 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.

W  >  White  >  Robert Hoddle Driberg White MLC JP

Categories: Lilyfield, New South Wales | Yachting | Australia, Bankers | Stroud, New South Wales | New South Wales, Legislative Assembly | New South Wales, Legislative Council | St Philip's Anglican Church, Sydney, New South Wales | Australia, Notables in Government | Notables