Australian Dictionary of Biography

  • Tip: searches only the name field
  • Tip: Use double quotes to search for a phrase

Cultural Advice

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains names, images, and voices of deceased persons.

In addition, some articles contain terms or views that were acceptable within mainstream Australian culture in the period in which they were written, but may no longer be considered appropriate.

These articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Australian National University.

Older articles are being reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with contemporary values but the original text will remain available for historical context.

William Faithful (1774–1847)

by Vivienne Parsons

This article was published:

William Faithful (1774-1847), soldier and settler, arrived in New South Wales as a private in Captain Joseph Foveaux's company in the New South Wales Corps in the Pitt in February 1792. In 1795 he was sued by John Boston after being ordered by Quartermaster Thomas Laycock to shoot one of Boston's pigs which was trespassing on Foveaux's land. Both Laycock and Faithful were found liable for damages. On his discharge from the army in 1799 Faithful was employed by Foveaux in the management of his farms, and when Foveaux left the colony in 1801 he settled part of his flock on his former manager.

Faithful became a farmer on his own account when he received a grant of 25 acres (10 ha) at Petersham Hill in May 1799, and a further 1000 acres (405 ha) at Liberty Plains from Foveaux in November 1808. This second grant was made in consequence of a recommendation by Lord Nelson in favour of his wife Susannah, a daughter of Mrs Mary Pitt, née Matcham, and a relation of Nelson. Macquarie regranted the land at Liberty Plains in 1811, but Faithful later exchanged it for better land at Jordan Hill. He became a prominent settler in the Richmond district, gradually extending his holdings so that in 1828 he owned 2190 acres (886 ha). In November 1834 he received a grant of 100 acres (40 ha) near Goulburn.

William Faithful had married Susannah Pitt on 21 November 1804. Of their four children, a daughter Alice married Dr Andrew Gibson, surgeon of the 39th Regiment and a pioneer of the Goulburn district; one son, William Pitt, established Springfield station on the Goulburn plains about 1827, later became a member of the Legislative Council, and resigned when Sir Charles Cowper 'stacked' it in May 1861; the other son, George, established Wangaratta station on the Ovens River in Victoria in 1838 after being turned back from Broken River by a party of Aboriginals who slaughtered many of the party. On 7 September 1820 Susannah died and, after a marriage with his deceased wife's sister was annulled, Faithful married Margaret Thompson of Bringelly on 21 November 1821. They had two children, of whom Helen Eliza married Thomas Matcham Pitt Wilshire. Margaret died on 28 July 1842, and Faithful married Maria, daughter of Archibald Bell, on 13 June 1843. He died on 16 April 1847 age 73, and Maria on 29 May 1859. He is buried in St Peter's cemetery, Richmond, with his three wives. In 1864 four of his grandsons held off the bushrangers Ben Hall, John Gilbert and Dunn at Springfield, for which they received a gold medal from the government of New South Wales.

Select Bibliography

  • Historical Records of Australia, series 1, vols 2, 6, 7
  • C. H. Bertie, ‘Pioneer Families of Australia: The Faithfulls’, Home (Sydney), vol 12, no 11, Nov 1931, pp 40, 67, 69
  • newspaper cuttings, vol 116 (State Library of New South Wales).

Citation details

Vivienne Parsons, 'Faithful, William (1774–1847)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/faithful-william-2035/text2513, published first in hardcopy 1966, accessed online 19 March 2024.

This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, (Melbourne University Press), 1966

View the front pages for Volume 1

© Copyright Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2024

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1774

Death

16 April, 1847 (aged ~ 73)
New South Wales, Australia

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Passenger Ship
Occupation
Maps