Edward Henty 1809-1878
from West Tarring, Sussex, England
and his "Muntham" Pastoral Run, near Casterton, Australia

Edward Henty, the founder of Victorian settlement, was born at West Tarring, in Sussex, 1809. He came to Van Diemen's Land with his father Thomas in 1832, landed in Portland Bay November 19, 1834. Pushed inland from Portland about September 1836 with Stephen and established a sheep station at Mt. Eckersley. From this point the Henty brothers (without Edward) proceeded the following year to the Wannon. Edward was the owner of Connell's Run from 1844 to 1866, and Richmond 1866 to 1879. In 1854 he left Muntham and retired to Portland, building the Burswood residence. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1856 for the Normanby constituency, and remained in Parliament till 1861. About 1873 he left Portland and resided in St. Kilda Road, where he died August 14, 1878. In October 1840 Edward married Annie Maria, daughter of Hugh Gallie, of Melbourne, but had no children.

Source : "The Portland Bay Settlement",
By Noel Learmonth, 1834


Born West Tarring, March 14th, 1809. Arrived Van Dieman's Land on Tamar in 1832. Set out exploring along coast of what is now Victoria looking for grazing land. Visited Western Australia and Twofold Bay (S.A.). Visited whaling establishment at Portland Bay and explored inland. Decided to settle there and arrived November 19th, 1834, with 13 heifers, 5 pigs, 4 working bullocks, 2 turkeys, 6 dogs, ploughs, plants, vines and seeds.

December 6th, land ploughed and on February 19th, 1835, home called "Richmond Cottage" was commenced. Edward, called "The Pioneer," married Miss Anna GALLIE. Later he had Muntham Station near Casterton, and after his death on August 14th, 1878, his wife held 18,970 acres.

  • 1845-Justice of the Peace at Casterton.
  • 1859-Elected for Normanby.
  • 1861-Released pheasants at Bolwarra.
  • 1863-Elected to First Road Board.
  • 1865-Imported thrushes and blackbirds.
  • 1876-Drove first train to Portland.

Extract taken from "The Clarion," the Victorian Number, 27th April, 1901:- "Francis HENTY joined Edward in December, 1834, and in December, 1836, Stephen HENTY brought his bride to the settlement, where Richmond HENTY, the second white native in Victoria, was born in August, 1837. Then John HENTY came from Launceston with a number of sheep and cattle so that 1837 saw the four brothers, assisted be 30 laborers, fairly started on their work as pastoral pioneers. And that pioneering work they did well, even in the face of its insecurity; although they had opened the Western District they were made to pay the Government in after years top prices for their holdings, recovering only a remission of £1738 of the purchase money, and even paying £100 an acre for the town of Portland, which they themselves had built.

"By 1840 they had six sheep stations, three along the coast and three inland on the Merino Downs, and in the same year they shipped 1700 bales of wool worth £30,000."

Source : "Historic Souvenir of the Back to Merino and Henty Centenary Celebrations",
November, 11th to 15th, 1937


Henty, Edward (the late), of Portland, a son of Mr. Thomas Henty, and the pioneer settler Victoria, was born at West Tarring, Sussex, England, in 1810. The foundation of the Swan River settlement, in Western Australia, in 1829, turned the attention of many besides Mr. Thomas Henty to these colonies. Hundreds of thousands of acres had been granted to one and another applicant. From the Lieutenant-Governor, with his 100,000 acres, to the ship's cook of the King's surveying ship, with his fifty, the Crown lands of the colony were lavished on all who would go to the new settlement, where, separated by the whole breadth of a continent from the convicts of the eastern seaboard, a new Arcadia was to be planted. Thomas Henty had several sons of the right stuff to make colonists, and determined to send them to the new land. Their names were James, John, Francis, Edward and Stephen. Mr. Henty chartered a vessel, and put on board labourers and their families, twelve month's supply of provisions, and some valuable stock in the shape of thoroughbred blood horses, pure merino sheep, cattle, and appliances for establishing an agricultural and pastoral settlement. The three sons - James, John, and Stephen - duly arrived at Perth, where the elder purchased land for the purpose of locating the families, stock, &c., in his charge until he could obtain suitable grants from the Government, Mr Henty was about to follow with the rest of his family, when, in 1831 he received advices from his son James that they saw no prospect of doing good in West Australia, and had determined to proceed to Launceston in Tasmania. This information entirely altered the plans of the father, who accordingly, instead of going with his family to Swan River, followed them to Van Diemen's Land in a vessel carrying immigrants, valuable stock, &c. They arrived in the latter part of 1831 and settled down. A twelve month, however sufficed to dishearten Mr. Edward Henty of his prospects in the island. he determined to cross Bass's Straits, and seek suitable land on the southern shores of the continent. He left Launceston in the barque Caernarvon in 1832, and landed at Memory Cove, in Spencer's Gulf, and afterwards at Port Lincoln places discovered by Flinders. he remained there looking for a location until he was called for, as arranged, by the brigantine Thistle, on her way from Swan River to Tasmania. On the passage back he anchored in Portland Bay, which place so took his fancy that he returned in the Elizabeth from Launceston, and a more extended examination of he country determined him to form a settlement there. Before doing so he and his father again visited Portland in the Thistle, and on their way to Swan River, to settle about the land Mr. Thomas Henty held there, they called in at Kangaroo Island, Spencer's Gulf, &c. In October, 1834, having completed his arrangements, Mr Edward Henty sailed in the Thistle Captain Liddle, and conveyed to Portland labourers, cattle, farming implements, fruit-trees, vines, seeds &c., and landed at eight a.m. on the 19th November, I834. He at once set about planting, and raised a good crop of vegetables. In the first two years of the settlement the Thistle was regularly employed bringing over sheep, cattle, horses, and provisions, which clearly proves that all residents in and about Launceston, including Battnan and Fawkner, were perfectly aware of the settlement being formed in what is now known as Victoria. It was commonly regarded as a dangerous undertaking, and caused no little excitement. The very fruit trees planted by Mr Edward Henty at Portland were purchased from Fawkner who at that time kept a nursery-garden at on Windmill Hill, Launceton. A month after the first arrival Mr. Edward Henty landed the first pure merino sheep, and at the same time his brother Francis paid him a visit, and remained a month. Shortly afterwards the brothers joined their fortunes; the success which attended their gradual settlement of the beautiful Wannon country, and the high estimation in which the family has always been regarded in the colony belong to history. Mr. Edward Henty was not twenty-five years of age when he put together the first plough that ever broke Victorian soil, and welded with his own hands the chains by which it was drawn. His roof-tree was more than 500 miles from the nearest house, and he was often put to straits in dealing with the wild cannibal blacks surrounding him but on no occasion did he ever have need to fire on them. Two years afterwards Stephen Henty gave up Swan River and joined his brother at Portland Bay. Mr. Henty for many years represented the county of Normanby in the Legislative Assembly. In 1872 Mr. Edward Henty gave a monster picnic to all the school children in Portland to celebrate the completion of his thirty-eighth year's residence there. In addressing the assemblage he said: - " I have invited you here today as wish to impress upon your minds the fact that I was the pioneer of t colony. When you are grown up and hear people talking about the matters, you can say you knew Mr. Henty, the pioneer, and that you were brought up in the town with him. That I am the oldest Victorian is proved by this book, the " Old Colonist's Address to Prince Alfred," signed by 700 old colonists; you can tell them it is true Mr, Henty made a home for himself, and it is equally true that he was instrumental in making homes for us." Mr. Henty died at his residence, St. Kilda-road, in 1878. [Mr. Edward Henty's portrait appears in the first volume of this work, Chapter Vl.]

Source : "Victoria and its Metropolis : The Colony and its People 1888 Vol.2."