Edward Biddulph^{[1, 2]}

1790 - 1851  (61 years)

• Name	Edward Biddulph
  Birth	16 Jan 1790	Halesowen, Worcestershire, England   [1, 3]
  Gender	Male
  1820 Lineage	Yes
  Immigration	1830	New South Wales, Australia   [1]
  Occupation	a Royal Naval Officer  [1]
  Death	28 Jan 1851	Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia   [1, 3]
  Person ID	I59023	master
  Last Modified	25 Jul 2021

  
  

  Father	Simon Biddulph, 1820 Settler,   b. 17 May 1761, Tamworth, Stafford, England d. 5 Jan 1842, Bathurst, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 80 years)
  Mother	Ann Burnet, 1820 Settler,   b. Aug 1765   d. 10 Feb 1844, Bathurst, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 78 years)
  Family ID	F20655	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lieut. Mary Stuart Chase,   b. 28 Jul 1798   d. 21 Sep 1878, St Ronans, New South Wales, Australia (Age 80 years)
  Marriage	10 Feb 1821	London Church (St James - Westminster), Picadilly, London, England   [1, 3]
  Children	+ 1. Walter John Biddulph,   b. 25 Feb 1827, Dolcorswyn, Wales. d. Ellendate, Springsure, Queensland, Australia   2. Charlotte Jane Biddulph,   b. 13 Mar 1828   d. 1830 (Age 1 year)   3. Edward Joseph Biddulph,   b. 3 Jun 1830   d. 1831 (Age 0 years)   4. Harriet Burnet Biddulph,   b. 16 Jul 1832, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia   5. Thomas Biddulph,   b. 1833   d. 1833 (Age 0 years) + 6. Francis Henry Biddulph,   b. 4 Oct 1839   7. Anna Maria Biddulph,   b. 19 Dec 1842, Camberwell, New South Wales, Australia
  Family ID	F21402	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	25 Nov 2020

  
  

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  Birth - 16 Jan 1790 - Halesowen, Worcestershire, England Marriage - 10 Feb 1821 - London Church (St James - Westminster), Picadilly, London, England Immigration - 1830 - New South Wales, Australia Death - 28 Jan 1851 - Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Edward (1790-1851), third son of Simon Biddulph, entered the Royal Navy in 1803, was commissioned Lieutenant in 1809 and placed on half-pay in 1815. In May 1819 he was appointed First Lieutenant in HMS Menai, but he left his ship at Algoa Bay in May 1820 to join his parents as a settler in Albany. A grant of land was approved for him, but he left the Albany settlement in August to return to England. In February 1821 he married J.C. Chase's sister Mary Stuart Chase at St James's, Westminster, and in the following month sailed for Cape Town to rejoin HMS Menai. He continued to serve in her until she was placed out of commission in 1823. Edward Biddulph emigrated with his wife and two children to New South Wales in 1830, making the voyage from Plymouth to Sydney in a 154-ton single-decked steam packet, the Sophia Jane, of which he was Captain and owner. The 'Sophia Jane' was the first working steamship to be seen in Sydney Harbour. She arrived from England in May 1831 after being built by Barnes and Miller in 1826. She was 153 tons and had one engine of 50 horse power. While the 'Sophia Jane' was having her paddles fitted in readiness for her maiden voyage another steamer made its first voyage - the 'Surprise' set off for Parramatta amid a volley of smoke and steam on 1st June, thereby becoming the first steam powered vessel in Australia. When the 'Sophia Jane' was launched later in June 1831 the 'Australian' reported: 'Steam navigation will help greatly to raise the character of this Colony abroad, and to improve it at home. The addition of such a vessel as the 'Sophia Jane' to our coasting trade is a most gratifying event. It is almost in the trading world what a new governor would be in our political hemisphere. A fresh spirit will be infused into all our settle and unsettled district that can be approached by water. Persons will shortly be able, we expect, to breakfast in town, lunch at Newcastle, dine at Port Stephens, and put up comfortably at Port Macquarie next morning, at half the present expense and in quarter the time, for the journey to Wallis's Plains. Should she not find enough to do between this and Newcastle the route to and from Hobart Town lies open, and the Western Port, when the fine line of coast about there shall be settled.' The 'Sophia Jane' was said to be of very beautiful build and a good sea boat. In 1842 she was plying regularly between Sydney and Wollongong. FIRST STEAMER ON THE HUNTER IN 1831. The first steam vessel to plough Australian waters, and notably the Hunter River, was the Sophia Jane, commanded by Lieutenant Edward Biddulph, R.N. She was built in 1826 by Barnes and Miller, pupils of the celebrated Watt, and carried passengers between England and France. She was 126ft in length, 20ft in breadth, 256 in tonnage, and her power 50 horse. She had three separate cabins, 16 beds in the gentlemen's cabin, 16 beds in the ladies' cabin, and 20 in the steerage. In smooth water she travelled eight miles an hour and drew 6ft of water, and could easily be made to draw only 5. Being intended for Calcutta, where wood was cheapest for fuel, she was adapted for the consumption of that article as well as coal. She cost £8000, and narrowly escaped being sold at the Cape for that sum. However, the contract fell through, and she reached Port Jackson on 14th May, 1831. On the 19th of June, 1831, she steamed into Newcastle Harbour, and created quite as much sensation among the residents of the district as she had done at Sydney. Her first trip to Morpeth, then called Greenhills, was witnessed by tribes of blacks, who called her "the fire devil," as her funnel belched forth smoke and sparks, and when her whistle gave a screech the blacks yelled at her, and sometimes made a stampede into the bush howling and screaming. From 1831 to 1834 she ran between Sydney and Morpeth under command of Captain Pearse. Lieutenant Biddulph, who was part owner, sold out to Joseph Hickey Grose, who became the pioneer steamship owner of Australia. It may be mentioned that Lieutenant Biddulph's daughter was the mother of J. S.Ranclaud, manager of the Bank of Australasia. REF: ´Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) ´Wednesday 11 May 1898 p 7 [1, 3]

  
  

• Sources

  [S439] Nash, MD, "Bailie's Party of 1820 Settlers", (ISBN 0 86961 140 2). [S6] M D Nash, "The Settler Handbook", (Chameleon Press ISBN 0 620 10940 8). [S4554] McLeod, Byrne, Descendant Report Simon Biddulph.pdf (Reliability: 2).