Charles Pasley
Contents
Background
Charles Pasley was born on 14 November 1824 at Chatham, England. He was the eldest son of General Sir Charles William Pasley, a military engineer, and his second wife Martha Matilda (née Roberts). Pasley was educated at the King’s Grammar School, Rochester, and at the Woolwich Royal Military Academy in 1840, gaining a commission in the Royal Engineers on 20 December 1843. Pasley was posted to Canada in 1846 and then in Bermuda, returning owing to ill-health. He was on the staff of the Great Exhibition in 1851, and in April 1853 he was appointed colonial engineer of Victoria arriving in Melbourne on 17 September.[1]
He died on 11 November 1890 at Cheswick, England.[2]
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
With the troubles at Eureka, Pasley headed to Ballarat and reached the camp on 28 November. He as one of the two officers and eight men of the 12th Regiment who were attacked by the diggers on their arrival at the Ballarat Diggings on 28 November 1854.[3]
Pasley took part in the storming of the Eureka Stockade on the morning of 3 December, commanding the skirmishes in the centre. After the stockade was captured, he took an active role in restraining soldiers from taking reprisals in the camp.[4]
Post 1854 Experiences
An official nominee for the Legislative Council from October 1854 until November 1855, Pasley was involved in major public works projects at Parliament House, Victoria Barracks, the Pentridge Prison and the lunatic asylum at Kew (Willsmere), as well as many other buildings. Having ‘missed’ the Crimean War, Pasley was keen on serving in the Maori Wars in New Zealand and was invalided to Australia in November 1860 after having been wounded in action in the previous month. He then returned to England and was promoted to Major-General just before his retirement. He lived at 7 Queen Anne’s Grove, Bedford Park, Chiswick, London, until his death on 11 November 1890. Some of Pasley’s papers are held at the National Library of Australia.[5]
See also
Further Reading
Corfield, J.,Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
References
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
External links
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pasley-charles-4370/text7109
