Peter Barrow (30 July 1813 – 6 October 1899) was a son of Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet,Sydney Morning Herald. 6 April 1849, p. 3. and an early settler in the colony of Western Australia, becoming a magistrate and Guardian of Aborigines, Anglican priest and school teacher in York, Western Australia. He left the colony after two years and became a British consul.

In Western Australia Barrow was sent from England to be a Protector of Aborigines.West Australian, 25 April, 1936, p.5. He arrived in Western Australia on 2 January 1840 on Westmoreland,Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 11 January 1840, p. 6. and was very quickly appointed as a magistrate and as a Guardian of Aborigines in York.Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 1 February 1840, p. 18.Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 8 February 1840, p. 22.; 11 November 1840, p. 59.

York Barrow was fortunate to secure the close friendship of the resident magistrate, Rivett Henry Bland,J. E. Deacon: "Peter Barrow—A York Personality". West Australian. 22 March 1947, p. 4.i and bought a property from him for 10 pounds,Landgate, Deeds and Ordinances II/143/27 Deed of Conveyance dated 5 April 1841. on which he built a "small house".Inquirer, 21 October 1840; cited in Jennings, Rodger: Over the Hills, A History of York 1834-1880, Hesperian Press, 2020, pp.18-19.

Barrow was involved in the formation of the York Agricultural Society on 3 August 1840, becoming its first secretary and treasurer.Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 11 July 1840, p. 2; Inquirer. 12 August 1840, p. 7. However, Barrow came under the displeasure of certain of the members so that he was forced to resign before the first show was held.Inquirer. 18 November 1840, p. 62.

He arranged the construction of a Church (St John’s) which could accommodate 100 people, and Barrow read church services; on one occasion he is reported to have delivered a "capital sermon".

Guardian of Aborigines As Guardian of Aborigines, Barrow at first found his duties difficult; he reported in June 1840:

Nine months later, on 31 March 1841, Barrow reported :

To quote McLaren and Cooper:

Barrow published an advertisement about the cow: "A report having gone abroad that a cow had been speared, killed and eaten by natives in the neighbourhood of Addington, I beg leave, through the public press, to contradict the report, inasmuch as the same cow is now alive and well at Addington Farm. I am informed however that suspicions are entertained that a spear was thrown at it."Inquirer. 3 February 1841, p. 1. A year before Barrow's arrival at York, two Aboriginal people had been hanged near York at the site of where they had murdered Sarah Cook and her baby daughter. In 1841, their bodies were still hanging at the site and Barrow commented: "The execution of the two natives, Barrabong and Doojeep, for the murder of Mrs Cook, appears to have had the most beneficial effect: their bodies are still hanging in chains, a terror to evil doers."Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 1 May 1841.

In Barrow's June 1841 report as Protector of Aborigines, he reported that in the northern and southern extremes of his territory, the Aboriginal tribes were not so peaceably disposed as those who are more directly in the heart of the settlement. He also refers to having "native constables". He visited Albany during the year in his capacity as Protector of Aborigines.Albany Advertiser. 11 November 1935, p.5.

School Barrow offered to teach gratuitously any children that were sent to him, but he only had two students, the families in the York district being so spread out, with most children being taught by their parents or a tutor.John E Deacon: A Survey of the Historical Development of the Avon Valley with Particular Reference to York, Western Australia During the Years 1830–1850, UWA, 1948. He also gave instruction to Aboriginal children and taught four of them the alphabet, including Cowits.CSR89/np.

In April 1841, the "indefatigable" Barrow devised an ambitious plan to use his five room home as an international school, named Wallingford Classical and Mathematical Academy, teaching "the classics, mathematics, geography, polite literature and the rudiments of the Eastern languages".Inquirer 2 April 1841, p.3. He published an advertisement aimed at "educating the rising generations of Western Australians"Inquirer. 24 April 1841. and also courting the hope of inducing families resident in India to send their children there, instead of to England. Fees were £100 a year. In the advertisement, he named as instructors John Burdett Wittenoom, Reverend Mears, Henry Maxwell Lefroy and himself, and Viveash as medical officer.Inquirer. 8 May 1841, p.2. In another newspaper of the same date, Barrow published an advertisement saying "in consequence of unforeseen obstacles, Wallingford Academy will not be opened until further notice."Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 8 May 1841, p.1. Barrow then advertised his house to let for three to seven years.Inquirer. 26 May 1841, p. 6.

On 3 September 1841, Barrow gave notice that he intended to leave the colony,Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 9 October 1841, p. 1. and he sold his home to Bland for 200 pounds.Landgate, Deeds and Ordinances II/244/46 Deed of Conveyance dated 4 October 1841. He left the colony on 7 October, bound for Singapore.Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal. 9 October 1841, p. 2.

Later life Barrow became British vice-consul of Caen, then of Rabat and Sallee in Morocco, then in 1862 of Nantes, then from 1866 to 1879 of Kerch.Gentleman's Magazine. 1849, "Obituary Sir John Barrow".Empire. 18 November 1859, p. 3.The London Gazette. 20 June 1862. He died childless in Ouistreham, France on 6 October 1899.Helen Tredoux family tree on Ancestry.com.

Notes

References