Commissary-General Eichbaum

Charles William Eichbaum JP arrived in Fremantle January 1867, to take charge of the Commissariat (part of the Convict Establishment). He lived in the house built on Lot 5 (originally granted to William Lamb - Hitchcock: 110) on the northwest corner of Cliff and High Sts, where the Union Bank building has stood since 1889. Afterwards it was the Seubert boarding-house, run by Charlotte and George.

Eichbaum quite soon moved to Perth to succeed General Hawkins in charge of the Commissary there. He then went to England, Ceylon, England, and then New Zealand, where he died when a horse bolted. Two of his descendants left here were Mrs George Shenton, and a Mr Eichbaum.

References and Links

Dowson, John 2011, Fremantle Port, Chart and Map Shop Fremantle: 9.

Obit, Inquirer and Commercial News, 10 March 1893: 23:
DEATH OF COMMISSARY GENERAL EICHBAUM.
We regret having to announce the death of Commissary General Eichbaum, which occurred on Monday, the 13th ultimo, from the effects of an accident, at the residence of his family, Pleasant Point, about twelve miles from Timaru, New Zealand. From the brief particulars to hand it appears that on Saturday, February 4, the deceased gentleman was out driving with the Rector of the Parish, and after going a short distance the horse attached to the vehicle bolted and threw both occupants on to the ground. Mr. Eichbaum was picked up in an insensible condition and succumbed to the injuries he received on the following Monday week. As many of our readers are aware, Mr. Eichbaum was an old servant of the Imperial Department in this colony, where he arrived in charge of the Commissariat Department at Fremantle in January, 1867. Shortly afterwards he was promoted to Perth, where he succeeded Commissary General Hawkins in charge of the Control Department. In 1872 Mr. Eichbaum was transferred to England, and afterwards went to Ceylon as senior officer of the Control Department, where he remained for only six months, and as his health broke down he returned to England. Subsequently Mr. Eichbaum took his departure for New Zealand, where he spent several years of well-earned retirement. In this colony he leaves two representatives — Mrs. George Shenton, of Crawley, and Mr. Eichbaum, of Claremont. At the time of his death the deceased gentleman was in his seventieth year.

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 31 August, 2017 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/eichbaum.html (it was last updated on 12 February, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.