Francis Henty

Francis Henty
Born	Template:Birth date Worthing, Sussex, England
Died	January 15, 1889(1889-01-15) (aged 73) Kew, Victoria, Australia
Occupation(s)	Settler, pastoralist, whaler
Years active	1830s–1889
Known for	Early settlement of Victoria, Australia; founding Merino Downs

Francis Henty (30 November 1815 – 15 January 1889) was among the pioneering settlers in Australia.

Family

Born at Field Place in Worthing, Sussex, Francis was the youngest child of Thomas Henty (1775–1839) and Frances Elizabeth Henty (née Hopkins, 1777–1848). He was the junior sibling to James Henty (1800–1882), William Henty (1808–1881), and Edward Henty (1810–1878).

On 5 January 1842, he wed Mary Ann Lawrence (1821–1881), daughter of William Effingham Lawrence, in Launceston, Tasmania. Together, they had four children: one son and three daughters.

Background

In 1832, Francis relocated to Tasmania with his father and subsequently joined his brother Edward at Portland, Victoria, arriving there on 14 December 1834. During a trip to Tasmania in 1835, he paused at Port Phillip—now Melbourne—and contributed to early settlement initiatives alongside John Batman, recognized as the city's founder.

Major Thomas Mitchell visited Portland in August 1836 and informed the Henty family about the rich agricultural lands located inland along the Wannon River, which he termed Australia Felix. At that point, the Henty brothers had only extended their livestock operations approximately twenty miles inland.

Throughout the 1830s, the Hentys participated in bay whaling activities at Portland Bay during winter seasons. They exported products such as whale oil and baleen derived from southern right whales to markets in Britain.

Francis founded a settlement at Merino Downs near Hamilton, Victoria, on 3 August 1837. Although initial tensions with Indigenous inhabitants arose, these relations improved under his leadership. By 1839, settlement in the area had progressed sufficiently to allow James and Stephen G. Henty to journey overland from Geelong to Portland with accommodations available nightly en route.

Death

While Francis Henry continued managing Merino Downs, he spent his later life residing in Melbourne. He passed away at his home in Kew, Victoria on 15 January 1889.

Shipping

A vessel named Francis Henty arrived in Melbourne in 1851 and later encountered a typhoon in 1872. Moreover, a steam dredge called Francis Henty was constructed in Glasgow in 1889 by Wm. Simons & Co. Ltd. for the Melbourne Harbour Trust.

See also

• Henty Brothers

References

• Bassett, Marnie (1966), "Henty, Francis (1815–1889)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
• Hurse, J. Lewis (1933), "Venture and Adventure: The Romantic Story of the Henty Family"
  • "No.1", The (Launceston) Examiner, (31 July 1933), p. 8.
  • "No.2", The (Launceston) Examiner, (1 August 1933), p. 5.
  • "No.3", The (Launceston) Examiner, (2 August 1933), p. 9.
  • "No.4", The (Launceston) Examiner, (4 August 1933), p. 9.
  • "No.5", The (Launceston) Examiner, (9 August 1933), p. 3.
  • "No.6", The (Launceston) Examiner, (10 August 1933), p. 10.
  • "No.7", The (Launceston) Examiner, (14 August 1933), p. 8.
  • "No.8", The (Launceston) Examiner, (17 August 1933), p. 8.
  • "No.9", The (Launceston) Examiner, (22 August 1933), p. 9.
  • "No.10", The (Launceston) Examiner, (26 August 1933), p. 9.
  • "No.11", The (Launceston) Examiner, (29 August 1933), p. 8.