[Index]
Robert CAMPBELL (1804 - 1859)
MLC 1851, MLA 1856-9, colonian treasurer
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
Anne Sophia CAMPBELL (1837 - )
William Robert CAMPBELL (1838 - 1906)
Fanny CAMPBELL (1840 - )
Lucy CAMPBELL (1845 - )
Florence CAMPBELL (1846 - )
Francis Selwyn CAMPBELL (1850 - )
Mary Louisa CAMPBELL (1854 - )
 Robert CAMPBELL (1804 - 1859)

+

Anne Sophia RILEY (1817 - 1881)
 Robert CAMPBELL (1769 - 1846) John CAMPBELL (1728 - )



Agnes PATERSON (1729 - )



Sophia PALMER (1777 - 1833) John PALMER (1727 - 1808)



Sarah TAYLOR (1735 - 1796)



Robert CAMPBELL
Robert CAMPBELL
Robert CAMPBELL Robert CAMPBELL
Pic P1. Robert Campbell (1804 - 1859), by Thomas Edmund, courtesy of National Library of Australia. nla.pic-an9900772

Pic 1. Robert Campbell (1804 - 1859), by Thomas Edmund, courtesy of National Library of Australia. nla.pic-an9900772

b. 05 Oct 1804 at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
m. 1835 Anne Sophia RILEY (1817 - 1881) at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
d. 1859 at Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia aged 55
Near Relatives of Robert CAMPBELL (1804 - 1859)
Relationship Person Born Birth Place Died Death Place Age
Grandfather John CAMPBELL 1728
Grandmother Agnes PATERSON 1729
Grandfather John PALMER 1727 1808 81
Grandmother Sarah TAYLOR abt 1735 abt 1796 61

Father in Law Edward RILEY 30 Jan 1784 London, Middlesex, England 21 Feb 1825 New South Wales, Australia 41
Mother in Law Anne WILKINSON

Father Robert CAMPBELL 28 Apr 1769 Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland 15 Apr 1846 Duntroon, ACT, Australia 76
Mother Sophia PALMER 1777 Portsmouth, Hampshire, England 05 May 1833 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 56

Self Robert CAMPBELL 05 Oct 1804 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1859 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 55

Wife Anne Sophia RILEY 1817 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 10 May 1881 South Kensington, London, England 64

Daughter Anne Sophia CAMPBELL 1837 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Son William Robert CAMPBELL 1838 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 03 Jul 1906 Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 68
Daughter Fanny CAMPBELL 1840 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Daughter Lucy CAMPBELL 1845 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Daughter Florence CAMPBELL 1846 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Son Francis Selwyn CAMPBELL 1850 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Daughter Mary Louisa CAMPBELL 1854 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Brother John CAMPBELL 1802 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1886 Petersham, New South Wales, Australia 84
Sister Sophia Palmer CAMPBELL 1807 New South Wales, Australia abt 1811 England 4
Brother Charles CAMPBELL 20 Sep 1810 At sea 17 Aug 1888 Inverness, Inverness-shire, Scotland 77
Sister Sophia Ives CAMPBELL 1812 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sister Sarah CAMPBELL 1815 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 28 Mar 1856 Madeira, Atlantic Ocean 41
Brother George Palmer CAMPBELL 27 Jun 1818 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 25 Oct 1881 London, Middlesex, England 63
Brother Frederick Marsden CAMPBELL 1821 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1844 23

Uncle John PALMER 17 Jun 1760 Portsmouth, Hampshire, England 27 Sep 1833 Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia 73
Aunt Susan STILWELL 06 Aug 1762 Staten Island, Richmond, New York, USA 22 Nov 1832 Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia 70

Cousin George Thomas PALMER 26 Apr 1784 Brompton, Kent, England 26 Oct 1854 Bath, Somerset, England 70
Cousin John Westwick PALMER 1786 Brompton, Kent, England 1787 1
Cousin Henry Westwick PALMER 1787 Brompton, Kent, England 1788 Brompton, Kent, England 1
Cousin John PALMER 1797 Brompton, Kent, England 1839 42
Cousin Edmund PALMER 1800 Cape of Good Hope, South Africa 1800 0
Cousin Edwin Campbell PALMER 1801 Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia 1802 1
Cousin Sophia Susannah PALMER 1803 Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia 1856 53

Nephew Walter CAMPBELL 1838 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Niece Agnes CAMPBELL 1841 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Niece Susan CAMPBELL 1843 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew Christian CAMPBELL 1845 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew Frederick CAMPBELL 1846 Duntroon, ACT, Australia 19 Aug 1928 Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia 82
Niece Sophia CAMPBELL 1848 New South Wales, Australia
Nephew Robert CAMPBELL 1850 New South Wales, Australia
Nephew John JEFFREYS 1845
Nephew Arthur F JEFFREYS 1848
Nephew Robert JEFFREYS 1851 New South Wales, Australia
Niece Sophia JEFFREYS 1851 New South Wales, Australia 1851 0
Nephew John Edward Robert CAMPBELL 20 Jul 1855 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 19 May 1936 Malvern, Worcester, England 80
Niece Sophia Susanna CAMPBELL 1857 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1885 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 28
Nephew Frederick Arthur CAMPBELL 1861 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 21 Dec 1931 Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia 70
Nephew Edward Charles Close CAMPBELL 1862 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 15 Dec 1905 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 43
Niece Sarah Marrianne Emily CAMPBELL 1866 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Nephew Robert George CAMPBELL 1871 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1871 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 0

Brother in Law Edward RILEY 20 Jul 1806 1840 34
Sister in Law Catherine Irena PALMER 1816 Windsor, New South Wales, Australia 28 Apr 1863 Bayswater, London, Middlesex, England 47
Brother in Law Arthur JEFFREYS Surrey, England 13 Sep 1861 Barnes, Surrey, England
Sister in Law Marrianne Collinson CLOSE 1827 Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia 02 May 1903 Duntroon, ACT, Australia 76
Events in Robert CAMPBELL (1804 - 1859)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
05 Oct 1804 Robert CAMPBELL was born Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 6
05 May 1833 28 Death of mother Sophia PALMER (aged 56) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 6
1835 31 Married Anne Sophia RILEY (aged 18) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Note 1 6
1837 33 Birth of daughter Anne Sophia CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V183787 21/1837 6
1838 34 Birth of son William Robert CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V1838221 22/1838 6
1840 36 Birth of daughter Fanny CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V1840144 24A/1840 6
1845 41 Birth of daughter Lucy CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V1845631 31A/1845 6
1846 42 Birth of daughter Florence CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V1846658 31A/1846 6
15 Apr 1846 41 Death of father Robert CAMPBELL (aged 76) Duntroon, ACT, Australia V1846428 31B/1846, age 77 6
1850 46 Birth of son Francis Selwyn CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V1850542 37A/1850 6
1854 50 Birth of daughter Mary Louisa CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V18542028 40/1854 6
1859 55 Robert CAMPBELL died Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 4768/1859 6
Note 1: V18351186 19/1835, CA, St Phillips, CofE
Personal Notes:
CAMPBELL, ROBERT (1804-1859), merchant, was born on 5 October 1804 at Campbell's Wharf, Sydney, second son of Robert Campbell and his wife Sophia, née Palmer. He sailed to England in the Hindostan in 1810, was educated at Pimlico, and returned to New South Wales in 1819.

In 1827 he became a partner in Campbell & Co. In 1829 he signed a petition to the British government requesting that free emigration to New South Wales be fostered, and transportation stopped. Early in the 1830s, to draw attention to this cause, he refused to sit as juryman on a panel which included emancipists, declaring that emancipists themselves should support his fight to stop the dumping of convicts in New South Wales. He at once became the leader of this campaign. In 1846 a parliamentary committee recommended that transportation, which had ceased in 1840, be revived. Robert Campbell organized a meeting of protest. His brother, Charles, made the principal speech and, after expressing alarm at the recommendation, moved that the meeting 'cannot conceive any circumstances under which such a measure would be desirable or justified'. As a result, a petition of dissent signed by some 6800 persons was presented to the Legislative Council and the British government. In spite of this, convicts arrived in 1849 in the Hashemy. Two large open-air meetings were held with Robert Campbell in the chair. They showed a large majority against transportation and ensured that no more convicts were sent to Sydney. In 1851 Robert was elected to the Legislative Council. In 1856 he resigned and was elected to the new Legislative Assembly; he became colonial treasurer, an office he held almost continuously until he died. His honesty of purpose and untiring industry were so patent that his absence from sittings was never questioned during his illness.

Campbell had become a Freemason at the age of 18, senior warden of his lodge at 19, and worshipful master before he was 21. In 1856 the Freemasons installed him as the first provincial Scottish grand master of the province of Australia.

In 1837 Campbell had been appointed to supervise the building of St Andrew's Cathedral and, also with the rector and the engineer, formed the committee which built the Garrison Church. In 1852 he gave The King's School funds to establish the Broughton and Forrest exhibitions to help students to go to English universities.

In 1835 he had married Annie Sophia, daughter of Edward Riley. He died at Duntroon in 1859. Shops in Sydney and Parramatta closed for the funeral. Some 8000 mourners, including the governor and suite, the chief justice, the speaker and members of parliament, and representatives of the university, The King's School, Freemasons, and all denominations, formed a procession to the family vault. He was a generous, hard-working, self-effacing man who dedicated his life to the service of his country.

At Bligh House which he built in Lower Fort Street, there is a portrait in oils by an unknown artist, and at the Mitchell Library a copy of a drawing (1859) by E. Thomas showing Campbell in Masonic regalia.
Select Bibliography

Historical Records of New South Wales, vols 3-7; F. Clancy, They Built a Nation (Syd, 1939); (A. W. Morton), History of the Garrison Church (Syd, 1956); C. Smith, ‘The Honorable Robert Campbell’, Freemason of New South Wales, 1 Oct 1953; Australian, 30 Oct 1837; Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Oct 1846, 12, 19 June 1849, 9 Apr 1859. More on the resources

Author: C. E. T. Newman

Print Publication Details: C. E. T. Newman, 'Campbell, Robert (1804 - 1859)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, p. 206.

http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010191b.htm
Source References:
6. Type: Book, Abbr: Queanbeyan Register, Title: Biographical register of Canberra and Queanbeyan: from the district to the Australian Capital Territory 1820-1930, Auth: Peter Proctor, Publ: The Heraldry & Genealogical Society of Canberra, Date: 2001
- Reference = 40 (Birth)
- Reference = 40 (Name, Notes)
- Reference = 40 (Marriage)
- Reference = 40 (Death)
Created on a Mac™ using iFamily for Mac™ on 2 May 2025