Richard Ridge: Convict, Trader and Bailiff
in Early Colonial NSW
| Description Readers' Comments News and Updates Publication Details TO PURCHASE |
| "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. Her early life is recounted in my book about her parents, ‘Sentenced to Debt: Robert Forrester, First Fleeter’, (available through BookPOD). The Ridge children became intertwined with those of many other early settlers of Australia. Richard Ridge was ‘ridgy-didge’, Australian slang for a genuine, straightforward person. He triumphed over incredible adversity during his busy, challenging and adventurous life. |  |
Readers' Comments
You continue to amaze me Louise, in how you collect so many pieces of information and weave them into a story. Well done! Ian Nicholls, Sydney.
It looks wonderful. The book’s presentation is fantastic – so much work in it. Love the use of maps and illustrations. As with Forrester – it’s heavy on detail – very much my style. This will be a great contribution to colonial and convict social history. Michael Flynn, Sydney.
Other than the excellent account of the Rum Rebellion, what struck me is the evocative descriptions of the daily hardscrabble lives of many of the characters, and the way you have pieced together such a variety of records to paint a picture of their likely experience from the banalities of acquiring enough food to the disasters of accidents and floods. Ev Beissbarth, Melbourne.
Having completed your book I now would love to say how much I value the skill, persistence, patience and insight you must have to complete such a record of Richard Ridge's life. I was delighted to get to know him far more than I ever knew and wish my father could have been privy to your research. You have compassionately painted a picture of Richard's life and his values and those compassionate or otherwise, of our early settlers and what they endured and overcame both from nature and from those in charge! No doubt the basis for our Aussie "ridgey didge" attitude of helping others and standing up and speaking out. Congratulations to you. I really don't know how you untangled the chain of events to produce such a complex and detailed account of our early days but I'm so glad you did. Robyn Browne, Melbourne.
Have just finished your “convict, trader, bailiff“ and want to congratulate you! It is a first class account of an early colonial life and, to me, especially intriguing given the heritage. Phillip Ridge, NSW.
This is a fascinating account of the early colony of NSW told through the experiences of one convict whose life in Oxfordshire took an unpredictable turn. Louise Wilson’s research skills have made her a first class genealogist but it is her skill as a story teller that makes her books so enjoyable. Louise tells Richard’s story as part of the history of the dramatic early years of the penal colony. This is a great read for lovers of history and appreciators of meticulous attention to detail and accuracy. Frances, Goodreads.
News and Updates
10 Jun 2025: Very happy to say that, after around 15 years of on-again, off-again work, I've finally fitted together the missing pieces of the Richard Ridge jigsaw puzzle and have completed the final draft of his book. After rigorous culling, it's considerably shorter than the book about his father-in-law, 'Sentenced to Debt: Robert Forrester, First Fleeter'. Richard's life was very different from Robert's.
20 July 2025: To save space in the book, I have published separate stories on my RobertForresterFirstFleeter blog about Catherine Ridge and Mary Ann Ridge, the daughters of Richard's first partner Mary.
17 Oct 2025: At last, the book has gone to BookPOD for setup and printing. I hope you'll love this story, with the final title 'Richard Ridge: Convict, Trader and Bailiff in Early Colonial NSW'.
5 Dec 2025: Now that the book is out, I'm feeling nervous waiting for reader feedback.
To Purchase
Order online through BookPOD (easiest and cheapest way) ... or email info@louisewilson.com.au.
(NOTE: To use your credit card on the BookPOD site, click on the PayPal option and then access the credit card option.)