William Balcombe

William Balcombe
Born	(1777-12-28)28 December 1777 Rottingdean, Sussex, England
Died	19 March 1829(1829-03-19) (aged 51) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Buried	Devonshire Street Cemetery, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Allegiance	United Kingdom British East India Company Colony of New South Wales
Service / branch	Colonial Service

William Balcombe (28 December 1777 – 19 March 1829) was an East India Company and colonial administrator. He came to fame as the father of a daughter (Betsy Balcombe) who befriended Napoleon Bonaparte^[1] whilst the Balcombe family were living on Saint Helena.^[2][3] The exiled Bonaparte had lodged with the Balcombes (at the Briars) whilst his permanent quarters at Longwood were being prepared.

William Balcombe spent some time in the Colony of New South Wales appointed as the first treasurer,^[4][5] arriving on 5 April 1824 with his family and servants aboard the Hibernia.^[6] He died there in 1829 (aged 51) and was buried in Sydney.^[7][8]

Gallery

• 
  Napoleon Bonaparte spent his first two months of exile living in the Pavilion, on the Balcombe Briars Estate on St Helena.
• 
  The painted silk flag with the 1806 emblem of the New South Wales colony
• 
  A modern rendition of the flag

References

1. "The Children of Longwood". www.napoleon-series.org. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
2. Thomson, Kathleen. "Balcombe, Alexander Beatson (1811–1877)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
3. "BBC – Radio 4 – Betsy and Napoleon". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
4. New South Wales, Australia, Record of Appointments to Government Offices, 1814–1825
5. "PFO-15 Colonial Treasurer (1856-1959) Treasurer (1959- )". NSW State Records & Archives. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
6. "Ship News". Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. 8 April 1824. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2017 – via Trove.
7. "William Balcombe (1779–1829) – Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
8. "Obituary – William Balcombe – Obituaries Australia". oa.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 21 June 2017.

Further reading

• "Chapter 1: William Balcombe – A Man of mystery". Pounding along to Singapore with the 2/20th Battalion AIF. 13 October 2015. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017.