Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
William Sorell
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1800-1860
History
William Sorell (1800-1860), registrar, was the eldest son of Lieutenant-Governor William Sorell who, when taking his appointment in Van Diemen's Land, had left his family in England. Sorell junior resented his father's disregard of his career and wrote in 1822 to Commissioner John Thomas Bigge stating his determination to go to the colony to assert his claims on his father's attention in person. To save the lieutenant-governor this embarrassment, Bigge appealed on the son's behalf to the Colonial Office. There his resentment was appeased and, with the blessing of Earl Bathurst and a recommendation to the notice of Colonel (Sir) George Arthur, Sorell reached Hobart Town in December 1823. Next month he received 1000 acres (405 ha) of land in the Hamilton district and in 1828 a town allotment. On the sudden death of the officer chosen by the Colonial Office to be registrar of the new Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land, Sorell senior suggested his son to Lieutenant-Governor Arthur and to Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane. His qualifications and capacity for the position were approved by Chief Justice (Sir) John Pedder and as nominee he duly read the royal charter when the Supreme Court, separated at last from the court of New South Wales, was first opened on 10 May 1824. His appointment at £600 was confirmed by the Colonial Office in December. In the next thirty-six years his worth in the public service was shown in the variety of his additional posts. For more information see http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/sorell-william-2681