Saluting the legacy of convict turned Magistrate and wealthy Windsor settler – Andrew Thompson

The legacy of convict turned wealthy settler, Andrew Thompson, has been marked in Windsor, with the laying of flowers on his 212-year-old grave.

Macquarie MP, Susan Templeman, joined author Annegret Hall and local history enthusiasts at the St Matthews’ Church grave site to lay flowers, following a talk on Thompson’s life at Hawkesbury Central Library in Windsor.

MP Susan Templeman lays flowers on the grave of Andrew Thompson in Windsor. Picture – Paul Caleo

“Annegret’s second book, Andrew Thompson – From Boy Convict to Wealthiest Settler in Colonial Australia, was launched at Hawkesbury Regional Museum last month, and the visit to his grave was a way to highlight the legacy that he’s left,” Ms Templeman said.

“His story is the classic example of an Aussie ‘fair go’ – the convict who rose from hardship to redemption; from a prisoner transported to Australia, to the first ex-convict Justice of the Peace, and Magistrate.”

“It’s notable that Thompson’s last major feat was to save the lives of dozens of people during the 1809 floods in the Hawkesbury,” Ms Templeman said.

He died in 1810, at the age of 37, after a respiratory illness blamed on the three days he spent in the floodwaters.

“Thompson’s legacy doesn’t just belong to the Hawkesbury, where Windsor’s historic Thompson Square bears his name, but to the entire nation.

St Matthews Church Senior Minister Chris Jones, Macquarie MP Susan Templeman, and author Annegret Hall following the laying of flowers at Andrew Thompson’s grave

“Annegret has described him as ‘one of the most remarkable men in NSW’, and his grave stone carries an inscription from Governor Lachlan Macquarie stating that the way he lived his life in Australia ‘restored him to that rank in society which he had lost’.

“The short ceremony held at his grave acknowledges his journey, while this new book, based on original historical sources, brings his story back to life and highlights the pivotal role the Hawkesbury plays in Australia’s colonial history.”

Andrew Thompson – From Boy Convict to Wealthiest Settler in Colonial Australia is available in paperback and as an eBook. If you’d like to order from Australia’s main online bookseller – Booktopia – here’s the link.

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