William Field (Australian pastoralist)
William Field (Snr.) (c. 1774 – 1837) was a convict turned pastoralist, meat contractor, and publican in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia).
Early life
[edit]Born in Enfield, near London in about 1774, Field began his working life as a farmer and butcher.[1] In 1800, at the age of 26, he was convicted of receiving nine stolen sheep from his brother, Richard[2] and in 1806 was transported to the then newly established colony of Van Diemen’s Land, now Tasmania. Leaving behind a wife, Sarah, and an infant daughter, Ann (whom he would never see again)[3] Field travelled en route to Launceston on the Fortune to Sydney and then the Sophia to Port Dalrymple.[4] After Field's sentence ended in 1814 he went on to lease land, purchase cattle and supply meat to the colony.
Career
[edit]By the time his 14-year sentence[5] had been completed Field had already proven himself useful to the new colony as a farmer and merchant. As a free man he continued acquiring land and cattle and by 1820 had become the main supplier of meat for the Launceston region.
By 1828, Field was running 3,000 head of cattle and 2,000 sheep between Longford and Westbury. This had increased to 10,000 cattle by the 1830s, by which time he had enough of a monopoly to be known as the ‘Cattle King of Van Diemen’s Land’.[6]
Field's property holding also increased in the 1820s and 1830s including his acquisition of Enfield (1,040 acres) at Bishopsbourne, Westfield (1,640 acres) and Roxford (2,470 acres) at Westbury, and Eastfield (2,200 acres) and Woodfield (2000 acres) at Cressy.[7] Further town properties were purchased, and as a result, Field reportedly owned one-third of the land and buildings in central Launceston at one time.[8] By one estimate, around his death in 1837 Field owned over 16,000 acres (65 km2) of land, and had amassed had a fortune that ranked him - as proportion of Australia’s GDP - as the 7th richest Australian, and richest Tasmanian, ever to have lived.[9][10]
Personal life
[edit]Field's partner was Elizabeth Richards, who herself had been a convict. Richards had been sentenced to death in 1806 for stealing cotton and lace but her sentence had been commuted to transportation for life. Together they had five children,[4] William (1816–??) (married Sarah Lucas, 1839),[11] Thomas (1817–??) (married Elizabeth Lindsay, 1847),[12] Richard (born 1820 who died seven weeks later), John (1821–??) (married Mary Anne Lindsay, 1854),[13] and Charles (1826–??) (married Margaret Eddington, 1848).[14]
William Field Snr. died in Launceston aged 63 in 1837, survived by four sons.[15] Field's son Thomas had a daughter who would go on to become the famed woodcarver, Ellen Nora Payne.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ AlanDyer, Nova (11 March 2019). "(20) Field Bros – Cattle Kings in Kentish – 1840-1940". Alan Dyer. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ R. v. William Field (Old Bailey 28 May 1800), Text.
- ^ AlanDyer, Nova (11 March 2019). "(20) Field Bros – Cattle Kings in Kentish – 1840-1940". Alan Dyer. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b Dent, John (16 February 2004). "Field biggest success story". Way Back When... People Places Events. Launceston Historical Society. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ Judgments (Old Bailey 28 May 1800), Text.
- ^ AlanDyer, Nova (11 March 2019). "(20) Field Bros – Cattle Kings in Kentish – 1840-1940". Alan Dyer. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ AlanDyer, Nova (11 March 2019). "(20) Field Bros – Cattle Kings in Kentish – 1840-1940". Alan Dyer. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ AlanDyer, Nova (11 March 2019). "(20) Field Bros – Cattle Kings in Kentish – 1840-1940". Alan Dyer. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Dean, Claudia M. (1998). Cattle King of Van Diemen's Land, William Field (1774-1837). ISBN 0-646-36629-7.
- ^ Rubinstein, W (2004). The All-Time Australian 200 Rich List. Allen and Unwin (in association with BRW). ISBN 9781741769883.
- ^ "Field, William". Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Detail. Archives Office of Tasmania. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Field, Thomas William". Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Detail. Archives Office of Tasmania. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Field, John". Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Detail. Archives Office of Tasmania. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Field, Charles". Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Detail. Archives Office of Tasmania. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Field, William". Colonial Tasmanian Family Links Detail. Archives Office of Tasmania. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Field family history – Who was Nellie Payne?". Retrieved 20 February 2024.