Charles Fremantle
| Sir Charles Fremantle | |
|---|---|
Sir Charles Fremantle
|
|
| Born | 1 June 1800 |
| Died | 25 May 1869 (aged 68) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Challenger HMS Inconstant HMS Albion HMS Juno Channel Squadron Plymouth Command |
| Battles/wars | Crimean War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle GCB RN (1 June 1800 – 25 May 1869) was a British Royal Navy officer. The city of Fremantle in Western Australia is named after him.
Fremantle was the son of Admiral Thomas Fremantle, a close associate of Nelson, and his wife Elizabeth, the diarist, and a nephew of William Henry Fremantle. His elder brother was Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe. His middle name, Howe, is a consequence of his birth date, the anniversary of Lord Howe's victory over the French on the Glorious First of June in 1794. He joined the Royal Navy in 1812.
In 1824 he was awarded the first gallantry medal of the newly formed Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, later the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The gold medal was awarded for an attempted rescue carried out by Freemantle in Whitepit near Christchurch, Dorset.
According to Graeme Henderson, former director of the Western Australian Maritime Museum, Fremantle was charged with raping a 15-year-old girl in April 1826. To avoid a scandal, his family paid off witnesses and leant on the judiciary. In August 1826 he was promoted to captain, and, in 1828, given command of the 26-gun frigate HMS Challenger, and sent to claim the west coast of Australia for the United Kingdom.
HMS Challenger was despatched by the Admiralty from the Cape of Good Hope on 20 March 1829, anchored in Cockburn Sound on 2 May and landing on Garden Island. One week later, he hoisted the British flag on the south head of the mouth of the Swan River and took formal possession in the name of His Majesty King George IV of 'all that part of New Holland (Australia) which is not included within the territory of New South Wales'.
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