Martin Smith papers on George Druitt, ca 1970

MLMSS 9511

fonds

ca 1970

1145869

0.16 meters of textual records (1 box)

George Druitt was probably born in Ireland in 1775. He joined the military and was promoted to captain in 1803 and major in April 1813, he transferred to the 48th Regiment in October 1816 and accompanied it to New South Wales.

In December 1817 Druitt assumed the duties of civil engineer from J. M. Gill. The public works he supervised included Fort Macquarie, the government stables, St James's Church, the convict barracks and many roads and bridges, including those to South Head and Parramatta. In addition he controlled the dockyard and had responsibilities connected with the artillery and the quartermaster-general's branch. In August 1821 Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that Druitt should be granted 2000 acres (809 ha) for his extra services; before the end of the year he resigned as engineer.

After his resignation Druitt applied himself to the development of his grants and joined in the invasion of Liverpool Plains which John Oxley's expedition of 1818 had opened up. He was a member of the Parramatta Grand Jury in 1826 and next year a petitioner for trial by jury and a legislative assembly; none the less he signed an address of support to Governor (Sir) Ralph Darling, who made him a justice of the peace. He was a member of the Agricultural Society, a foundation member of the Australian Racing Club and a shareholder in the Bank of New South Wales. He gave evidence before the committee on immigration in 1835 when he strongly supported transportation. He died on 8 June 1842 a few months after his wife.

The western suburb of Mount Druitt is named after George Druitt.

(Source: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/druitt-george-1994)

Typed unpublished manuscript by Martin Smith on George Druitt. Includes chapters 2-12 and postscript. There are 2 copies of chapters 8 and 9.

Folder 1 - chapters 3-7
Folder 2 - chapters 8-12

Copyright status:: In copyright
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Martin Smith