Adam Pearson Armstrong

Adam Pearson Armstrong was born 23 February 1788 in Smeaton House near Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, and died 28 September 1853 in Ravenswood, WA. He married Margaret Gow (daughter of Nathaniel Gow and Janet Fraser) 16 October 1810 in Newington Cottage, Drum Coalery, Liberton Parish, Midlothian, Scotland. She was born 15 May 1785 in Dalkeith, Midlothian, and died 28 December 1824 in Drummond Street, Camden, London. (Ward) They arrived via Gilmore in 1829.

Erickson:
ARMSTRONG, Adam.,b. 23.2.1788 (Edinburgh), d. 28.9.1853 (Ravenswood), (widower), (m. 16.10.1810 (Scotland) Margaret GOW, who died before 1829). Arr. 15.12.1829 per Gilmore with 6 chd. Francis Fraser b. 1813 d. 1897, George Drummond b. 1816 d. 1886, John b. 1819 d. 1853, Adam b. 1820 d. 1902, Christopher b. 1823. Laura b. 1821 d. c. 1913 (Canada). Farmer, 1831 /320 acres "Dalkeith" on Swan River, sold to John Lewis 1839. To "Ravenswood" Murray, near Pinjarra. Employed 2 Parkhurst boys. Formerly the manager of the Earl of Dalkeith's estate in Scotland. (Erickson)

Notes provided by Rob Ward from his research on Adam Pearson Armstrong

Adam Armstrong plaque unveiling: City of Nedlands: http://www.nedlands.wa.gov.au/adam-armstrong-plaque-unveiling
The City’s first European resident, Adam Armstrong, had his legacy celebrated at an official plaque unveiling for the City’s newest pavilion at David Cruickshank Reserve on 27 July, 2016.
The City of Nedlands and descendants of four of Adam’s children - Francis Fraser Armstrong, George Drummond Armstrong, Adam Armstrong Junior, and Christopher Armstrong came together at a private ceremony to officially name the Adam Armstrong Pavilion. Descendants came from as far away as Yallingup, Busselton, Cowaramup, and Northam. The City of Nedlands Mayor Max Hipkins said he was pleased the City hosted a ceremony for the unveiling of a plaque to officially name the Adam Armstrong Pavilion. “Adam Armstrong played a pivotal role in the early settlement of Nedlands, in naming Dalkeith. We were pleased to welcome several descendants of Adam Armstrong. It was a special occasion for both the City and the family to celebrate Adam’s legacy in the founding of the City. I would like to thank Councillor Ian Argyle for researching Adam’s achievements and for nominating him as the namesake of this building.” Speaking on behalf of the descendants of Adam Armstrong, Shellie Cummings, a descendant of Adam’s youngest child Christopher, said: “It is absolutely wonderful that the City of Nedlands is recognising the role Adam played in both the early settlement in the City and Western Australia. I am sure if Adam was here today, he would be proud to see how his family, Dalkeith, the City of Nedlands and Western Australia have prospered.”

Adam Armstrong: the man behind the name
Adam Armstrong was born on 23 February 1788. A widowed Scottish father of six, he set sail on board the Gilmore, along with 169 other settlers on 18 July 1829. He arrived in Swan River settlement on 15 December 1829. “Armstrong showed strong pioneering spirit and foresight. The Swan River was a tiny settlement, a very long way from Scotland. The differences must have seemed immense to the early settlers - the landscape daunting and unfamiliar, the flora and fauna outlandish, the climate harsh, especially when they had to construct their own dwellings,” said Mayor Hipkins.
Armstrong had worked in London for Thomas Peel, who enthusiastically promoted the Swan River Colony. Armstrong was Peel’s managing clerk and travel agent, interviewing prospective emigrants to the Colony. Before departing on the Gilmore, Armstrong signed a contract to work for Peel in the Colony as an accountant and surveyor. Peel had chartered the Gilmore from the UK and had guaranteed to Governor Stirling that he would arrive in the new colony by 1 November of 1829 in return for large land grants. When he arrived six weeks late, Governor Stirling told him that the land grant was void, so the Governor granted Peel 250,000 acres of land further south, in what would become the Peel region. Armstrong helped Thomas Peel survey his vast land grant which stretched from Rockingham to Mandurah, up the Murray River to Pinjarra and toward the Serpentine. As an employee of Thomas Peel, he was entitled to an allotment of land, so he chose a block of 1,350 acres adjoining the Murray River. He named this property Ravenswood. It was desperately hard going, as the Armstrong family followed Thomas Peel’s declining fortunes - stock and stores did not arrive from England as expected, Peel got into a duel with a ship’s captain and there was no food - malnutrition and disease were rife among the settlers Peel had brought over. Having lived in poor conditions for 18 months, the family decided to move. While in Perth, Adam stayed with his friend Captain Mark Currie, and discovered that no other settler had taken up Swan Location 85. He made a submission to obtain the grant. In July 1831 Adam and his family sailed to Fremantle and then onto Perth, a journey of almost four days.

Nedlands’ first European resident
On 8 September 1831, the grant was approved for Swan Location 85 of 320 acres. Armstrong had officially became Nedlands’ first permanent resident. The family set out to develop their new property on the Swan River which Armstrong named Dalkeith Farm. Today, the area is around the junction of Birdwood Parade and Waratah Avenue. The family lived in a tent while Armstrong built a cottage using limestone from the slopes of Birdwood Parade, naming the building Dalkeith Cottage. The Cottage stood on the Swan River on the flat below the location now occupied by Gallop House. The family probably cleared the land by hand or by burning. They felled trees and built brushwood fences to protect their patches of garden and crop from emus and wallabies, and soon established an orchard and vegetable garden. It was back-breaking work. On Dalkeith Farm he dug a well for fresh water, which can be seen today at the bottom of the stairs in front of Gallop House. He was the first person to grow grapes and figs for commercial purposes and farmed the best goat run in the Colony. His original farm was eventually bought by James Gallop who built a two-storey house in the 1870s now known as Gallop House. The house was bought by the state government in 1911 before being restored in 1963-64. Armstrong died in Ravenswood in 1853, aged 67.

Inquirer (Perth, WA : 1840 - 1855) Wednesday 12 October 1853 p 2 Family Notices
DIED.-On the 28th September, 1853, at his residence, Ravenswood, Murray River, after a long and painful illness, Adam Armstrong, Esq., aged 67.

Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954) Thursday 8 September 1949 p 12 Article
Gallop's Vineyard
MRS. H. A. CAIN, who recently celebrated her 84th birthday at Irvine-street, Cottesloe, writes: "The name of Dalkeith was recalled to me when I read the newspaper on July 10. Captain Adam Armstrong, my great grandfather, was a Waterloo veteran who came to W.A. by the ship Gilmore with his family in 1829, and settled on the bank of the Swan River near Perth. He named the site Dalkeith in memory of his Scottish home. In 1840 the property was sold to a Mr. Gallop with 300 acres of land, but that part of the river is still known as Armstrong's Spit and the neighbouring district as Dalkeith. I am told that my great grandfather was the first man to plant grapevines in W.A."

References, links, acknowledgements

Many thanks to Robert Ward for an invaluable, comprehensive genealogy of the Armstrong family. Photo also courtesy of Rob Ward.

Thanks to Sally Kenton for these additions to Rob's genealogy, in relation to George Drummond Armstrong: Mary Ann Kenton was born 28 June 1821 and baptised 25 July 1821 at St Pancras Old Church London - Source: London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P90/PAN/013. Eleanor Kenton was born 31 October 1822 and baptised 15 December 1822 at St Mary, Newington, Southwark – Source: London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: p92/mry/026.

Many thanks to Alan Thompson for information about the Armstrongs, and for the photo of FFA. Alan informs me that Hitchcock is wrong to give Adam Armstrong the rank of 'Captain'. And also that the photo of 'Adam Armstrong 1930' in his History is in fact a photo of a son of the same name. (personal communication)

Berryman, Ian 1979 ed., A Colony Detailed: The First Census of Western Australia 1832, Creative Research, Perth.

Erickson, Rica 1987, Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians, UWAP.

Hitchcock, JK 1929, The History of Fremantle, The Front Gate of Australia 1829-1929, Fremantle City Council.

Thompson, Alan 2015, The Interpreter: The Legacy of Francis Fraser Armstrong, Hons dissertation, Murdoch University.

Wikipedia entry for Francis Armstrong.

'Death of Mr F.F. Armstrong', West Australian, 24 May 1897, p. 2.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 22 December, 2019 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/armstrongadampearson.html (it was last updated on 5 August, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.