John Clements Wickham

Captain
John Clements Wickham
Portrait of John Clements Wickham
Police Magistrate,
District of Moreton Bay,
New South Wales
In office
1 January 1843[1] – 8 April 1853[1]
Appointed bySir George Gipps
Preceded byGilbert Elliot[2]
Succeeded byNone;
position renamed Police Magistrate, Brisbane[1]
Government Resident,
District of Moreton Bay,
New South Wales
In office
8 April 1853[2] – 1858[2]
Appointed bySir Charles Augustus FitzRoy
Preceded byNone[2]
Succeeded byFrederick Rawkins[2]
Personal details
Born(1798-11-21)21 November 1798
Leith, Scotland
Died6 January 1864(1864-01-06) (aged 65)
Biarritz, France
Resting placechurchyard of St Jean de Luz[3]
Military service
Branch/serviceRoyal Navy
Years of service1812 – 1841
RankCaptain
CommandsHMS Beagle

John Clements Wickham (21 November 1798 – 6 January 1864) was a Scottish explorer, naval officer, magistrate and administrator. He was first lieutenant on HMS Beagle during its second survey mission, 1831–1836, under captain Robert FitzRoy. The young naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin was a supernumerary on the ship, and his journal was published as The Voyage of the Beagle. After that expedition, Wickham was promoted to Commander and made captain of the Beagle on its third voyage, from 1837 and conducted various maritime expeditions and hydrographic surveys along the Australian coastline.[4]

In 1843, after his retirement from the Royal Navy, Wickham was made Police Magistrate and, later, Government Resident of the Moreton Bay District, in the Colony of New South Wales (NSW). Wickham retired in 1859, when the Moreton Bay District was separated from NSW, forming basis of the Colony of Queensland. When the Queensland and NSW governments disagreed over which was responsible for his pension, Wickham moved to France, where he died.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Queensland State Archives Agency ID2700, Police Magistrate, Moreton Bay Archived 20 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The State of Queensland (Department of Public Works) 2004–2006 accessed 9 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e Queensland State Archives Agency ID2193, Government Resident, Moreton Bay Archived 20 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The State of Queensland (Department of Public Works) 2004–2006 accessed 9 September 2011.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference AYRADV was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ADB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).