He was born to George and Julia Dacre at Marwell Hall, Hampshire, England on 23 April 1797.[1] His father was High Sheriff of Hampshire and a colonial of militia. When he was 13 years of age Ranaulf joined the Royal Navy and remained in the service for six years.[2] After leaving the navy he joined the merchant marine. His first voyage, in 1816, was to the West Indies. He was a master mariner by 1821, commanding the Barbados Packet for Thomas Barkworth between 1821 and 1823.[3]
In Australia
He arrived in Australia in August 1823 as master of Elizabeth (363 tons) owned by London merchant Robert Brooks, who was also aboard.[4] Dacre and Brooks jointly purchased the schooner Endeavour (61 tons) which Dacre commanded on a voyage to New Zealand and Tahiti.[5] At Tahiti Dacare took aboard the Reverend Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet (missionary) on their famous inspection tour of South Sea missions, and gave them passage to Sydney.[6] He continued to trade around the region, and made two voyages back to Britain on the Surry, before deciding, in about 1830, to settle in Australia.
He was the local agent for Robert Brooks in Sydney. He also became a prominent merchant in his own right. He owned a number of ships and a wharf, from which he traded to the islands and engaged in pelagic whaling. He was slow to repatriate funds to Brooks in London, sometimes using them for new speculative ventures in Sydney.[7] A major economic depression began in 1840 and his financial situation became critical. His poor record-keeping was another issue that prompted Brooks to replace him as his agent in 1843 with another master mariner, Robert Towns.
In New Zealand
Dacre traded successfully with the Maori population of New Zealand, including Eruera Maihi Patuone.[8] He moved to New Zealand in the mid 1840s and made claims on land he had bought from the Maori before 1840. In Auckland he went into business in 1844 with James Macky. In 1848 he purchased a 3,334 acre block of land south of Orewa on which two of his sons later established a cattle station. Other land purchases included a 4,000 acre property at Omaha. In 1854 he went into business with Thomas Macky and they traded as merchants and shipping agents.
After commuting between Australia and New Zealand, Dacre and family settled in Auckland in 1859. T. Macky & Co had become by then one of the largest firms in the city. Dacre lived on the slopes of Official Bay and he was active in the Anglican church. By 1882, he had restored his fortunes and owned more than 9,000 acres of land, worth almost £10,000. He was living in London when he died on 27 June 1884. The couple had 7 sons and at least 1 daughter.[9]
^Tom Hiney, On the missionery trail, Vintage, London, 2001, pp.127-40.
^Janette Holcomb, Early merchant families of Sydney, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Sydney, 2013, p.13.
^Rogers, Frank (1995). "Ranulph Dacre and Patuone's Topknot: The Vicissitudes of a 19th-Century Royal Navy Officer Who Became a Pacific Trader and Timber Merchant in Australia and New Zealand". Journal of New Zealand Studies. 5 (1). doi:10.26686/jnzs.v5i1.482. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
ranulph, dacre, april, 1797, june, 1884, british, master, mariner, merchant, active, australia, zealand, born23, april, 1797marwell, hall, hampshiredied27, june, 1884clapham, londonnationalitybritishoccupation, master, mariner, merchantyears, active1810, 1888c. Ranulph Dacre 23 April 1797 27 June 1884 was a British master mariner and merchant active in Australia and New Zealand Ranulph DacreBorn23 April 1797Marwell Hall HampshireDied27 June 1884Clapham LondonNationalityBritishOccupation s Master mariner and merchantYears active1810 1888Contents 1 Early life 2 In Australia 3 In New Zealand 4 References and notesEarly life EditHe was born to George and Julia Dacre at Marwell Hall Hampshire England on 23 April 1797 1 His father was High Sheriff of Hampshire and a colonial of militia When he was 13 years of age Ranaulf joined the Royal Navy and remained in the service for six years 2 After leaving the navy he joined the merchant marine His first voyage in 1816 was to the West Indies He was a master mariner by 1821 commanding the Barbados Packet for Thomas Barkworth between 1821 and 1823 3 In Australia EditHe arrived in Australia in August 1823 as master of Elizabeth 363 tons owned by London merchant Robert Brooks who was also aboard 4 Dacre and Brooks jointly purchased the schooner Endeavour 61 tons which Dacre commanded on a voyage to New Zealand and Tahiti 5 At Tahiti Dacare took aboard the Reverend Daniel Tyerman and George Bennet missionary on their famous inspection tour of South Sea missions and gave them passage to Sydney 6 He continued to trade around the region and made two voyages back to Britain on the Surry before deciding in about 1830 to settle in Australia He was the local agent for Robert Brooks in Sydney He also became a prominent merchant in his own right He owned a number of ships and a wharf from which he traded to the islands and engaged in pelagic whaling He was slow to repatriate funds to Brooks in London sometimes using them for new speculative ventures in Sydney 7 A major economic depression began in 1840 and his financial situation became critical His poor record keeping was another issue that prompted Brooks to replace him as his agent in 1843 with another master mariner Robert Towns In New Zealand EditDacre traded successfully with the Maori population of New Zealand including Eruera Maihi Patuone 8 He moved to New Zealand in the mid 1840s and made claims on land he had bought from the Maori before 1840 In Auckland he went into business in 1844 with James Macky In 1848 he purchased a 3 334 acre block of land south of Orewa on which two of his sons later established a cattle station Other land purchases included a 4 000 acre property at Omaha In 1854 he went into business with Thomas Macky and they traded as merchants and shipping agents After commuting between Australia and New Zealand Dacre and family settled in Auckland in 1859 T Macky amp Co had become by then one of the largest firms in the city Dacre lived on the slopes of Official Bay and he was active in the Anglican church By 1882 he had restored his fortunes and owned more than 9 000 acres of land worth almost 10 000 He was living in London when he died on 27 June 1884 The couple had 7 sons and at least 1 daughter 9 References and notes Edit Rogers Frank Ranulph Dacre Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Ministry for Culture and Heritage Retrieved 23 April 2017 D Shineberg Dacre Ranulph 1797 1884 Australian Dictionary of Biography 1966 1 Frank Broeze Mr Brooks and the Australian trade imperial business in the nineteenth century Melbourne University Press 1993 p 28 J S Cumpston Shipping arrivals amp departures Sydney 1788 1825 Roebuck Camberra 1977 p 143 Cumpston p 152 Broeze p 31 Tom Hiney On the missionery trail Vintage London 2001 pp 127 40 Janette Holcomb Early merchant families of Sydney Australian Scholarly Publishing Sydney 2013 p 13 Rogers Frank 1995 Ranulph Dacre and Patuone s Topknot The Vicissitudes of a 19th Century Royal Navy Officer Who Became a Pacific Trader and Timber Merchant in Australia and New Zealand Journal of New Zealand Studies 5 1 doi 10 26686 jnzs v5i1 482 Retrieved 13 March 2013 dacre org nz accessed 18 February 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ranulph Dacre amp oldid 1058487680, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
