William Sorell

William Sorell (* 1775 probably on the West Indies; † June 4, 1848 in London, United Kingdom) was a British army officer and Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania in the period 1817-1824.

Life

The son of a major general in 1790 Sorell entered into the Royal Navy. In 1793 he was severely wounded in the West Indies. Around the turn of the century, he took part in the Second Coalition War and fought in North Holland and Spain. From 1807 to 1811 he was in the Cape Colony and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1813 he retired from the army.

On April 3, 1816 Sorell was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania. After a short visit to Governor Lachlan Macquarie in Sydney, he took on 9 April 1817, the official duties of his predecessor Thomas Davey. In the following, he reported on the poor condition of the colony. So be embezzlement on the agenda and the convicts from lack of security; the extent of abuses of escaped convicts ( "bush ranger " ) limit to a civil war.

Sorell soon succeeded, the criminal gangs, including the most feared, under the leadership of Michael Howe set. After less than 18 months in office, he had restored order. For the most dangerous criminals he let the Macquarie Harbour penal colony build. For each official, he put rights and obligations in detail, thus laying the foundation for a functioning colonial government. In addition, several expeditions he explored the Tasmanian inland. Under Sorells reign the colony began to flourish economically; thus succeeded for the first time to produce a surplus of food and a delivery from Sydney sheep sheep farming began in Tasmania. News of Sorells successful policy soon spread in the UK and attracted new settlers to Tasmania.

Sorells term ended on 14 May 1824. Upon his arrival in the colonial administration in England, he was received favorably, but never got a job as governor despite his success. He died in London in 1848.