William Balmain - Return To England and Death

Return To England and Death

Balmain and family arrived in London on 25 March 1802. He soon met with Sir Joseph Banks, describing the growth of New South Wales, and submitting a paper presenting his views on the customs and laws of the colony. Another paper, entitled “Government of New South Wales” is also thought to be his work. Nothing came of these contributions, but they show Balmain as a thoughtful critic of the colony's institutions.

Balmain had left D'Arcy Wentworth, whom he had first met on Norfolk Island, in charge of his affairs in the colony, including selling his remaining rum stocks, taking over his private agency, and acting as attorney on his investments.

In August 1802 Balmain visited his mother in Scotland.

In December 1802 his leave was terminated and he was instructed to return to Sydney, but objected on the grounds of unsettled private affairs and family engagements. He sought to retire from the service but his request was refused. By August 1803 the instruction to return to Sydney was withdrawn, and he was appointed as Surgeon to the Forces at the military hospital at Dunmow, Essex. (Thomas Jamison, a former colleague of Balmain's on the First Fleet and on Norfolk Island, replaced him as Principal Surgeon of New South Wales.)

It is unlikely that Balamin took up his new position in Essex as by November 1803 he was dying from liver disease. On 17 November Balmain died at Bloomsbury in London, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the churchyard of St Giles, Middlesex, on 25 November. His old foe and trading partner John Macarthur attended the funeral, as did Henry Ball, commander of the First Fleet vessel HMS Supply. A daughter was born on the same day at Liverpool, to which Margaret and the two children had been sent earlier that year, but it is unlikely that she survived childhood.

In his will Balmain provided a yearly sum of £50 for “my dear friend Margaret Dawson, otherwise Henderson … whose tenderness to me, while in ill health, claims my warmest gratitude.” He also provided an annuity for his mother, and the balance of his estate was to be held in trust for his natural children by Margaret.

It is likely that the name 'Henderson' - Balmain's mother's maiden name - was adopted by Margaret and the children to avoid any social disgrace in class conscious England as a result of Margaret's former convict status and Balmain's position as a respected medical officer and administrator.

Balmain and Thomas Jamison (see Jamisontown, New South Wales) were the only First Fleet surgeons to have physical localities named after them. As a surgeon Balmain worked tirelessly under conditions of extreme hardship and deprivation. As an administrator he showed courage and fairness, though not always sound judgement in the face of opposition, and his trading ventures tarnished his reputation. As a family man, he was devoted to his partner and children, and provided well for them.