A Man of Many Parts

A Man of Many Parts, the Life and Times of Edward Charles Close 1790-1866

This lively narrative delves into the private and public worlds of Edward Charles Close, Father of the Hunter and one of the Duke of Wellington’s Men in Australia.

Based on extensive use of primary sources in England and Australia, private family papers, and diaries and correspondence of contemporaries, Ann Beaumont brings to life a man whose contribution to the colony of New South Wales has been largely undervalued. His prolific output of sketches and paintings throughout his lifetime enhances this long overdue biography.

Born in Bengal and raised to maturity on his uncle’s English estate, Edward Close served as a lieutenant in the 48th Northamptonshire Regiment of Foot during the Peninsular Wars, and later in Ireland. He arrived in the colony with his regiment in 1817, later resigning his commission and carving an estate from the wilderness with convict labour, and creating the town of Morpeth.

From soldier to settler Close shaped a world for himself that would have been impossible in England, leaving a legacy not only for his many descendants but for the wider community he served for more than forty years.

Author : Ann Beaumont
Publisher: Highland House Publications
Condition: New
ISBN: 9780994306517