Benjamin Boyd | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Boyd, c. 1830s, State Library of New South Wales | |
| Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales | |
| In office 1 September 1844 – 1 August 1845 | |
| Constituency | Electoral district of Port Phillip |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 August 1801 Wigtownshire, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Died | 15 October 1851 (aged 48) Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands |
| Nationality | British |
| Residence | Eden district |
| Occupation | Stockbroker, pastoralist, entrepreneur |
Benjamin Boyd (21 August 1801 – 15 October 1851) was a Scottish entrepreneur who became a major shipowner, banker, grazier, politician and blackbirder in the British colony of New South Wales.[1][2] He was briefly a member of the Legislative Council.
Boyd became one of the largest landholders and graziers in the Colony of New South Wales before suffering financial difficulties and becoming bankrupt. Boyd briefly tried his luck on the Californian goldfields before venturing to establish a Pacific union, being purportedly murdered on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.[2] Many of his business ventures involved blackbirding, the practice of coercing South Sea Islanders to work in circumstances akin to slavery.[3]
Boyd was a man of "an imposing personal appearance, fluent oratory, aristocratic connections, and a fair share of commercial acuteness".[4] Georgiana McCrae, with whom he had dinner when he first came to the Port Phillip District, looked at him with an artist's eye and said: "He is Rubens over again. Tells me he went to a bal masque as Rubens with his broad-leafed hat".[1]
- ^ a b Walsh, G P (1966). "Boyd, Benjamin (1801 - 1851)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. pp. 140–142. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Mr Benjamin Boyd (1803-1851)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ "'Blackbirding' shame yet to be acknowledged in Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Sidney, Samuel (1852). The three colonies of Australia : New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia : their pastures, copper mines, & gold fields. Ingram, Cooke. ISBN 1-4374-4246-3.