Alexander Berry
| Alexander Berry | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
30 November 1781 Hilltarvit Mains Farmhouse, Cupar, Fife, Scotland |
| Died | 30 November 1873 (aged 92) Crows Nest House. New South Wales |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Known for | Pioneering Australian merchant and landowner |
Alexander Berry (30 November 1781 – 30 November 1873) was a Scottish-born surgeon, merchant and explorer who in 1822 was given a land grant of 10,000 acres (40 km2) and 100 convicts to establish the first European settlement on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.
This settlement became known as the Coolangatta Estate and later developed into what is now the town of Berry, named in honour of Alexander and his brother David.
Berry was born, to parents James Berry and Isabel Tod, at Hilltarvit Mains farmhouse, near Cupar in Fife, Scotland where his father was a tenant, during a blinding snowstorm on the evening of 30 November 1781 (St Andrew's Day) and baptised on 6 December. He was one of nine siblings.
He was educated at Cupar grammar school, where he was a contemporary of the artist Sir David Wilkie, and studied medicine at St Andrews University from 1796 until 1798 and the University of Edinburgh from 1798 to 1801. His youthful intentions were to join the navy, but he was dissuaded from doing so by his father, and he became a surgeon's mate for the East India Company.
Ship's surgeons were permitted to take a substantial amount of cargo, so his responsibilities were both medical and mercantile. He travelled first to China and then to India, aboard the Lord Hawkesbury. The second voyage was profitable for Berry.
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