Henry Baylis

Henry Baylis (17 April 1826 – 5 July 1905) was an Australian police officer and the first police magistrate of the Wagga Wagga district in New South Wales. He served in that position for almost forty years and helped with the development and improvement of the settlements in the district. The main road in the city of Wagga Wagga, Baylis Street, is named for him.

Early life Henry Baylis was the second son and third child of Thomas Henry Baylis and Julia Dorothea . His father, Thomas, was a lieutenant in the 17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot, and stationed at Edinburgh castle at the time of Henry's birth on 17 April 1826.

In 1830, the 17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot was to replace the British Army garrisons in the Australian colonies. Thomas travelled with his wife and seven children on the convict transport ship City of Edinburgh, where he was appointed officer of the guards. The ship departed from Cork on 18 March 1832 and arrived in Sydney on 27 June.

Henry Baylis completed his schooling at The King's School, Parramatta, before spending four years in training in the legal office of the Fitzhardinge family in Sydney. After gold was discovered in the Mudgee district in 1851, Baylis tried his luck as a gold prospector. Baylis' role as magistrate was to take charge of the district's police force, issue hawking and liquor licences, preside over enquires of suspicious deaths and to lead the bench in the Court of Petty Sessions.

As a government-appointed official, local residents approached him with issues they believed the government should help them with; such as when on 2 December 1858, he wrote to the commissioners of the National Board of Education for help in establishing a National School in Wagga Wagga. On 31 March 1869, Baylis called a public meeting at the urging of local residents, where it was decided to petition the governor to declare Wagga Wagga a municipal borough under the 1867 Municipalities Act. This would enable Wagga Wagga to establish a local government.

Encounter with Dan Morgan As the police magistrate in the area, Baylis made monthly visits to the settlements of Urana and Narrandera to hold court sessions. On 20 August 1863, Baylis was making one such trip to Urana, when he was "stopped about midday by two rascals armed with double guns and revolvers, and ordered to surrender 'his money or his life'",

On 26 August, Baylis and the police contingent found the bushrangers' campsite and lay in wait for the bushrangers' return. Around midnight the police heard a noise outside, Baylis went to investigate, and fire was immediately exchanged. In the resulting shootout, Baylis and Clarke were both wounded. It is believed that Clarke succumbed to his wound, as Morgan was thereafter seen to be working alone, and the remains of a man following Clarke's description were found some years later.

For his efforts in helping to track down the bushranger Dan Morgan, Baylis was awarded a gold medal. The bullet was presented to Baylis by his brother magistrates upon his retirement from the bench. It was enclosed in a gold casket, which Henry Baylis wore suspended from his watch chain as a good-luck charm. Halliday called in the police to help with the disturbance. On 17 August, Baylis arrived and read the Riot Act. Nine men were arrested for their involvement in the dispute; they stood trial at the 19 October sitting of Supreme Court in Wagga Wagga.

Later life After 38 years as the police magistrate in Wagga Wagga, Baylis retired to Homebush in July 1896. On 5 July 1905, Baylis died after being hit by a train at Homebush station. He was predeceased by his wife Sybella , whom he had married on 29 January 1857.