Obituaries Australia

The late William Balcombe Esq – The funeral of this respected gentleman took place on the evening of Monday last, and was attended by His Excellency the Governor, the Hon. the Colonial Secretary, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Civil Officers resident in Sydney, several of the Military Officers of the Garrison, and a number of private friends of the deceased. Mr. Balcombe had seen a considerable deal of public life. He resided at St. Helena during the period of Napoleon Buonaparte's exile to that island, and his family circle at "The Briars," as his residence was designated, was a frequent resort of the ex-Emperor, and beguiled him of many of those restless moments by which he was afflicted in his captivity. It is also stated, upon good authority, that Mr. Balcombe once indignantly spurned an offer of an immense sum, made to him by Buonaparte, to aid him in a projected escape from St. Helena. The character of Mr. Balcombe in this Colony was sufficiently known. Perhaps no gentleman, holding a public situation, has ever kept clearer of parties or politics (in the acceptation of the term in this Colony), and there are few, we feel assured, whose memory will be more generally respected.