Richard Ridge By Louise Wilson $45.00 Qty Out of Stock Place an Advanced Order Product Description Richard Ridge, Convict, Trader and Bailiff in Early Colonial NSW – by Louise Wilson   Product details Paperback: 347 pages Publisher: Louise Wilson ISBN: 9780980447873 Trim size: 250 x 176 mm   Synopsis      “What did bailiffs do in early colonial Australia? Find out here!” Richard Ridge was the cousin of a Viscountess when he was born in Oxfordshire in 1766. But, in 1791, he arrived with the Third Fleet as a convict in the penal colony of New South Wales. Literate and numerate, once free, he earned money by carting goods, surviving the clutches of the NSW Corps and their cronies. The colony’s civil court transactions revealed his active trading activities. Along the way he managed to win the respect of some powerful men in Sydney. By 1807 he was employed as the bailiff, an officer of the court, spending much time on horseback, delivering writs and seizing assets of debtors, as ordered by the court. This tough position exposed him to financial risks, and also physical risk from disgruntled debtors. Richard’s boss was the Provost Marshal, William Gore, who’d arrived in Sydney with Governor Bligh in August 1806. In that role, Gore enforced the arrest of John Macarthur. Richard became caught up in the upheaval leading to the Rum Rebellion by the NSW Corps in January 1808, and its aftermath. Later came the legal battles between Governor Macquarie and Sydney’s unimpressive bunch of lawyers, also impacting Richard’s employment. At the Hawkesbury, where Richard settled, he endured relentless floods. As a constable in the 1820s he dealt with men competing for land in the newly-opened wilderness area along the Colo River. Richard was a protector type. He rescued three damsels in distress: Mary Cunningham/Carroll, Jane Poole and Margaret Forrester. His two daughters born to Mary and Jane were raised by their feminist mothers; he was a protective parent of his eleven children with his young wife Margaret. Richard Ridge was ‘ridgy-didge’, Australian slang for a genuine, straightforward person. He triumphed over incredible adversity during his busy, challenging and adventurous life.   Visit the author's website for further information at www.louisewilson.com.au     Reviews (0) Currently there are no reviews for this product. Add Review Questions Currently there are no questions for this product. Ask Question

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