Edward Riley (pastoralist)

Edward Riley (30 January 1784 – 21 February 1825) was a merchant and early pastoralist in Sydney, Australia. Born in London to George Riley, Sr., a well-educated bookseller, and Margaret Raby, he was the younger brother of Alexander Riley and the first person in his family to be interested by colonial life, moving to Calcutta and trading between Canton and Australia. William Rubinstein listed Edward Riley as being Australia's ninth richest man ever in Australian history in terms of current GDP Value.

Riley began his career as a merchant shipping rum, clothing and food from Calcutta, India to his brother, Alexander and Richard Jones in New South Wales.

Riley Street in Sydney is named after Edward Riley.

Riley married Ann Moran in 1805 in Calcutta, India. Their first son, Edward, was born in Calcutta in 1806 and a second son, George Riley by 1810. Ann Riley (née Moran) died in Calcutta on 13 May 1810. Riley remarried in 1813 to Ann Wilkinson, the daughter of a Colonel in Calcutta. Edward and Ann left India on the brig Guide to settle in New South Wales, arriving in Sydney in May 1816 on the Lynx, after first spending a couple of months in Hobart Town where Edward's sister, Elizabeth Fenn Kemp (née Riley) lived with her husband, Anthony Fenn Kemp, and family.

Edward and Ann (née Wilkinson) had five children, Anna Sophia, Alexander William, James John (born 1821), Charles and Frances Elizabeth (born 1824).

In August 1817, Riley was appointed to be a member of the Governor's Court. In February 1818, he was elected as a Director of the Bank of New South Wales, resigning this position in January 1819. In February 1821, Riley was appointed as a Magistrate for the Territory of New South Wales.

Edward and his family were living at Ultimo House, once the home of Surgeon John Harris and regarded as one of the finest houses in the colony, when son, James John, and daughter, Frances Elizabeth, were born in 1821 and 1824 respectively.

...
Wikipedia