Person

Berry, Alexander (1781 - 1873)

Born
30 November 1781
Fife, Scotland
Died
17 September 1873
Crows Nest, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Businessman, Medical practitioner and Pastoralist

Summary

Alexander Berry, having studied medicine at the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh, joined the East India Company as a surgeon's mate. Finding medicine not to his taste, in 1806 he embarked on a mercantile career. His short-lived partnership with Francis Shortt foundered when their ship, City of Edinburgh, came to grief. More enduring was his partnership with Edward Wollstonecraft, ultimately his brother-in-law. Together they established a trading store in the centre of Sydney and became considerable land holders in the Shoalhaven area. Berry was a member of the Philosophical Society of Australasia, the first learned society established in New South Wales. His broad interests were such that he joined several later societies, including the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1867. His personal library was reputed to hold 2,000 volumes. For over 30 years Berry was a Member of the colony's Legislative Council where, being of a conservative bent, he opposed representative and municipal government.

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Details

Chronology

1796 - 1798
Education - Studied medicine at St Andrews University, Scotland
1798 - 1801
Education - Studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh
1801 - ?
Career position - Surgeon's mate, East India Company
July 1819
Life event - Arrived in Sydney
December 1821 - 1822
Career position - Member, Philosophical Society of Australasia
January 1822 - February 1822
Career event - With Hamilton Hume and Robert Johns exploring Shoalhaven area
1828 - 1861
Career position - Member, Legislative Council, Parliament of New South Wales
1850 - 1855
Career position - Member of Council, Australian Philosophical Society
1855 - 1866
Career position - Member, Philosophical Society of New South Wales
1867 - 1873
Career position - Member, Royal Society of New South Wales

Related People

Published resources

Books

  • Berry, Alexander, Reminiscences of Alexander Berry (Sydney: Angus a& Robertson, 1912), 194 pp. Details
  • Swords, Meg, Alexander Berry and Elizabeth Wollstonecraft (Surry Hills, N.S.W: North Shore Historical Society, 1978), 44 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Berry, Alexander, 'On the geology of the coast of New South Wales' in Geographical memoirs on New South Wales, Barron Field, ed. (London: John Murray, 1825), pp. 231-54. Details
  • Perry, T. M., 'Alexander Berry (1781 - 1873), merchant and settler' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 1: 1788 - 1850 A-H, Douglas Pike, ed. (Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Press, 1966), pp. 92-5, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/berry-alexander-1773. Details

Journal Articles

  • Jervis, J., 'Alexander Berry, the laird of Shoalhaven', Journal and proceedings of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 21 (1) (1941), 18-87. Details

Theses

  • Bridges, Barry John, 'Aspects of the career of Alexander Berry, 1781- 1873', PhD thesis, University of Wollongong, 1992. Details

See also

  • Cambage, R.H., 'Biographical Sketches of Some of the Members of the Philosophical Society of Australasia', Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, lv (1921), xxxiii-xlii. Details

Helen Cohn

Created: 20 March 2025

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