Richard Spencer: Napoleonic War Naval Hero and Australian Pioneer by Gwen Chessell

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges. Previous owner has signed inside page, now covered with blank ex libris bookplate sticker. Dust jacket is in good condition with creasing to edges. Piece missing to spine tail now protected with book tape.

Captain Sir Richard Spencer RN is remembered today as the early Government Resident of the fledgling settlement in Albany on the south coast of Western Australia. Richard Spencer lived peacefully with the local Aboriginal people and worked diligently to guarantee Albany’s future as a settlement and port.

Albany was a shanty town when Richard, Ann Spencer, and their nine children anchored in Princess Royal Harbour in 1833. The family all but doubled the town’s population.

In Richard Spencer, Gwen Chessell has uncovered the richly varied life and career of an important figure in Australia’s early colonial history. She tells his story with authority, understanding and vivacity, whether she describes activity aboard a fighting ship or the domesticity of the Spencer household. (publisher blurb)

Part of the Staples South West Region Publication Series