Henry Frencham : Short Biography

Henry was born in Wexford Barracks to a military soldier John Frencham.

In 1840 he immigrated with his wife Alicia and his 4 months old daughter Elizabeth to Melbourne Australia. His first positon was a baliff for the government collecting taxes. He then became the newsreporter for the Port Phillip Gazette Newspaper. This paper folded due to the goldrush in 1851. So Henry and two other men set out to find their fortunes in the region of Ballarat . Finding  thirty thousand people all digging for gold there,  they venture further north and within three weeks found payable gold. Henry notified the government, the newspapers, and the constabulary which was required but was never accredited or awarded for his find .He named the area Bendigo.

In 1854 due to the heavy miner's licence fees inflicted by the government, the miners were starting to rebel. Henry and two other men kept a lid on the Bendigo area and raised many partitions, one with 10,000 signatures was sent to the government. Unfortunately in Ballarat the men rallied by Peter Lalor (another Irishman) started a stockade and was attacked by government  soldiers one Sunday night. Many men died and thirteen were arrested for murder and transported back to Melbourne to be tried and hanged by that following Friday. Henry rode 90 miles back from Bendigo and rallied 4000 on the Tuesday to protest against  this injustice. Another protest rally with 10,000 people happened on the Wednesday. The thirteen men were tried four months later and were acquited.  

Henry left Bendigo, moved his family and took up a stake in Warrandyte, a much calmer area and proceeded to mine and have other various occupations. He built a large two-story timber home in Richmond, Melbourne where his wife and daughter preferred to live. This home still stands and is under the National Trust. Henry’s photo can be found in the Bendigo Museum.