In 1796, William Townley Pinhey (1781-1856) was apprenticed for seven years for the sum of £8 to his uncle and London grocer John Wilkes Hill.[1]  Pinhey was the son of William Pinhey (1745-1789) a linen draper and his wife Mary Townley (1758-1838). That the apprenticeship fee was paid for by the treasurer of Christ’s Hospital, London, meant that William Townley had been educated at Christ’s Hospital which, despite the name, was actually a school and not a medical facility. At the time of its foundation the term ‘hospital’ meant ‘a place of refuge’. By the allocation of bursaries, Christ’s Hospital enabled boys from poor families to receive an education that would equip them for commercial or Naval service; girls also attended.

On 1 October 1805, after completion of his apprenticeship, Pinhey enlisted in the Royal Marines as a Second Lieutenant in the Woolwich Division. He joined H.M.S. Lion (64-guns) on 8 January 1806 and served his entire active service career aboard this ship. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 25 September 1809 and was First Lieutenant of Marines aboard the Lion at the capture of Java on 25 August 1811.[2] Pinhey was placed on half pay on 1 April 1817[3] and remained so at least until 1840.[4] He was awarded the Naval general service medal with Java clasp.[5]

On 20 May 1819, he married Ann Hobbs (1787-1821), and on 27 March 1820 at Shoreham, Sussex, Ann gave birth to a son who was named ‘William Townley Pinhey’ after his father (hereafter called Willliam and his father called William Snr).[6] Ann died one year later and William Snr married Mary Ann Kenny; between 1823 and 1829 she gave birth to four children. After his discharge from the Navy William Snr practiced as a surgeon so it appears that this was his role in the Navy.[7]

William Townley Pinhey

Just as William Snr attended Christ’s Hospital, so did William and he did so until he was fourteen.[8] It was intended that he, like his father, should join the Navy and in order to decide if this was the best career choice, William took a sea voyage upon the “Henry Porcher”, a convict transport bound for Sydney.[9] The captain, John Hart, was a relation of the Pinhey family. William disliked the sea voyage so much that he refused to return to England and elected to stay in the colony of New South Wales.[10]

William and Employment

Arriving in Sydney in January 1835 and having a good educational background, William was able to secure employment. He vacillated between the trade of a druggist (pharmacist)/grocer[11] and that of a lawyer. This duality of interest would later equip him for a significant medical/legal role that he played in the colony of New South Wales. Initially, he was employed by Ambrose Foss who had established himself as a druggist and grocer. In the nineteenth century, the grocery trade and the apothecary’s provision of medicine were closely linked.  Fifteen months later, he was employed by George Allen, a solicitor. Shortly after this, Pinhey returned to pharmacy duties until 1841 when he once more worked for Allen and remained in his employment for four more years.[12]