William Sorell

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William Sorell(1775 - 4 June 1848) was a soldier and third Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land.

He was born in England in 1775, the eldest son of Lieut.-general William Alexander Sorell. He joined the army in August 1790 as an ensign, was promoted lieutenant in August 1793, and saw active service in the West Indies. He became a captain in 1795. In 1799 he was aide-de-camp to Lieut.-general Sir James Murray in the abortive expedition to North Holland, and in 1800 took part in the attacks on Spanish naval stations. After the peace at Amiens, Sorell was captain in the 18th or Royal Irish Regiment, and in 1804 was promoted major to the 43rd regiment. In 1807 he was made deputy-adjutant-general of the forces at the Cape of Good Hope, and was promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel. He returned to England in 1811 and on 4 February 1813 retired from the army. He had married, but had separated from his wife before going to South Africa. There he formed a connexion with the wife of a Lieutenant Kent serving in one of the regiments, and it is believed that this was the reason for his being retired. On 3 April 1816 he was appointed governor of Tasmania, arrived in Sydney on 10 March 1817 and at Hobart on 8 April 1817. In the meanwhile Lieutenant Kent had brought an action against Sorell "for criminal conversation with the plaintiff's wife", and on 5 July 1817 was awarded £3000 damages.

Sorell was recalled on 26 August 1823. His successor, Lieut.-governor George Arthur, arrived on 12 May 1824, and Sorell left for England on 12 June 1824. He was given a pension of £500 a year and died on 4 June 1848. There were several children of his marriage, one of whom, William Sorell, junior, was appointed registrar of the Supreme Court of Tasmania at Hobart in 1824, and held this position until his death in 1860. His daughter married Thomas Arnold and became the mother of the novelist Mary Augusta Ward.

The mountain that dominates Macquarie Harbour and Sarah Island in that harbour on the West Coast of Tasmania is named after him.

[edit] References

• Serle, Percival (1949). “Sorell, William”, Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1949 edition of Dictionary of Australian Biography from
Project Gutenberg of Australia, which is in the public domain in Australia and the United States of America.