Major St Lawrence Webb

Major Webb was one of the early landowners in the Preston area. He bought 320 acres of land from Thomas Walker in March 1845. He was one of the first landowners to actually live in the area rather than purchasing land for resale and living elsewhere.

 

He was born in County Down, Northern Ireland, in 1789 and married Elizabeth Culloden in the Madras region of India in 1815. They had eight children. In 1840, shortly after his wife’s death, St Lawrence Webb, a retired major of the 45th regiment, sailed to Melbourne, on the ‘Coromandel’, a journey that took over 6 months.

 

He travelled with his four of his children, and settled in the Preston area. It is believed he met others on the journey who would later come to live and become prominent in the history of the local area including the Doolan, Kay and Jeffrey families.

 

Major Webb passed away in 1868 at the age of 79 years and is buried in Melbourne General Cemetery.

 

Forster, Harley W. (1968). Preston Lands and People. Melbourne: Cheshire.

IN THE SUBURBS. (1939, September 7). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p.12.Thursday 7 September 1939, page 12

SHIPPING NEWS. (1840, July 2) The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (Sydney, NSW: 1803-1842), page 2

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