James Shairp
British Marines officer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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James Maitland Shairp (died 1795) was an officer in the British Marines and a member of the First Fleet which founded European settlement in Australia.
Captain James Shairp | |
---|---|
Died | December 1795 Chatham, Great Britain |
Allegiance | Great Britain |
Service/ | British Marines |
Years of service | 1778 - 1795 |
Rank | Captain of Marines |
Unit |
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Commissioned as a Marines officer in 1778, Shairp volunteered for Australian service in 1787 and spent two years as second in command at Rose Hill, New South Wales, the colony's only inland settlement. In 1789 he was a principal protagonist in the "Criminal Court Affair," a dispute between civilian and military authorities which was a catalyst for the 1792 replacement of the colony's Marine detachment with the New South Wales Corps.
His colonial deployment at an end, Shairp returned to England in 1792 and resumed his service with the Chatham Division of Marines. He was promoted to captain of Marines in 1795, but died later that year.