William Harvie Christie (1808 – 19 March 1873) was an Australian senior public servant.
Christie was born in Ceylon and arrived in Australia in 1836 as a captain in the British Army. He was appointed superintendent of convict gangs based at Liverpool. He was promoted to major in 1838 and a year later appointed as superintendent of the convict gangs housed at Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney. Christie retired from the army and in January 1847 was appointed as Sergeant-at-Arms to the New South Wales Legislative Council. He served as Postmaster-General of New South Wales from May 1852 to September 1865.
Biography
Early years
William Harvie Christie was born in 1808 in Ceylon, the third of seven sons of Thomas Christie and his wife Mary (née Tolfrey). His father was the medical inspector-general of Ceylon. The Christie family returned to England in about 1810 and settled at Cheltenham, county Gloucestershire. Six of the seven sons in the family (including William) joined the British Army.David Haworth (1969), William Harvie Christie (1808–1873), Australian Dictionary of Biography website, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 15 August 2025.Major W. H. Christie, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 March 1873, page 2.Family records, Ancestry.com website.
Young William was educated at the Rugby School and later at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, where he qualified for the artillery (but afterwards opted for the infantry).
Military service
William Christie undertook military officer training at the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and joined the 80th Regiment of Foot as an ensign. He was promoted to lieutenant in March 1827 and captain in May 1833. Christie "served for many years in Ireland".A short time since..., Sydney Herald, 6 January 1840, page 2.
Captain William H. Christie and Ellen Harrison were married on 28 July 1835 in Manchester Cathedral. The couple had four children, born in Australia between about 1837 and 1846.
Captain Christie and his wife arrived at Sydney in the colony of New South Wales in November 1836 aboard the Captain Cook. The vessel, which departed from Cork in Ireland in early July, transported 228 male convicts, with Christie in charge of the guard during the voyage.Shipping Intelligence, Sydney Herald, 14 November 1836, page 2.
In July 1837 Captain Christie was appointed to the positions of "Assistant Engineer and Superintendent of the Liverpool Stockades".Colonial Secretary's Office, New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney), 26 July 1837 (Issue No. 286), page 526. In August 1838 the Liverpool town committee passed a resolution at a meeting expressing the "high opinion" of Captain Christie, in charge of convict gangs at the settlement. The resolution commended Christie's "diligence and activity in the control of the gangs under his charge, as well as the general interest he has uniformly manifested in carrying on the improvements connected with the Town and Public Works in the neighbourhood of Liverpool".Captain Christie, Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 6 November 1838, page 2.
Christie was promoted to the rank of major in November 1838. Convicts from the Liverpool Stockade under the command of Major Christie constructed a water supply reservoir and cattle tank at Campbelltown, completed in mid-1839.Convict Built Water Supply, Campbelltown Focus (website); accessed 18 August 2025.The Attorney-General ..., The Australian (Sydney), 29 August 1839, page 2. Improvements made to Liverpool township and surrounding district under convict gangs under Christie's command included the road approaches to the town, street drainage and completion of a weir over the Georges River which secured "an abundant and never-failing supply of fresh water" to the community.Address, Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 7 November 1839, page 3. In October 1839 "a deputation from the magistrates and gentry of Liverpool and its neighbourhood" waited on Major Christie and presented him "with an address and a handsome piece of plate on his departure from the district, and retirement from the army".Liverpool, The Australian (Sydney), 22 October 1839, page 2.
Public service
In November 1839 Major Christie was appointed as superintendent of the convict gangs housed at Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney, replacing Captain J. Long Innes (who had taken up an appointment as superintendent of the Sydney police). Christie was also made a magistrate of the colony of New South Wales, to act as an assistant to the Sydney Police Magistrate (but only attending the Bench when needed or being otherwise unoccupied).The New Superintendent of Sydney Police, Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 16 November 1839, page 2.Colonial Secretary's Office, New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney), 20 November 1839 (Issue No. 468), page 1299. His roles were described as "Superintendent of Iron Gangs and assistant magistrate for the town of Sydney".Police, The Australian (Sydney), 19 November 1839, page 3. By that stage Christie had retired from the army and his role was described as a "semi-military and semi-civil" position.
In 1840 Christie was made visiting magistrate of Carter's Barracks at the corner of Pitt Street and Belmore Road, a house of correction for prisoners outside the jurisdiction of the Convict Department (later used as a debtors' prison). In December 1840 Christie was a signatory to a memorial to the Governor from "Landholders, Merchants, and other Employers of Labour in New South Wales", calling for the introduction of "hill coolies" from India into the colony as a remedy for a perceived "deficiency of labour". The proposal was ultimately rejected by the Colonial Office.Hill Coolies, The Sydney Herald, 29 December 1840, page 2.
In January 1841 Christie was appointed as a member of the Immigration Board. As part of his duties he visited immigation ships "for the purpose of examining the bounty immigrants".Immigration. – 1842, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 September 1842, page 4.
Major Christie was a member of the Australian Club and he was appointed steward of the club for 1841. The position was newly created to address "some little mismanagement" in the administration of the club.The Australian Club, The Colonist (Sydney), 1 December 1840, page 3.
At a general meeting of the Australian Club on 11 March 1841 an election for the combined office of secretary and treasurer was held, at which Christie was elected, defeating Colonel Henry Croasdaile Wilson for the position. Since 1833 Wilson had held the position of Police Magistrate of Sydney in charge of the city's police, but he had been removed from office in July 1840 after charges of misconduct were made against him. After the election a series of anonymous articles began to appear (beginning on 24 March), published in the Free Press newspaper, making disparaging comments about the Australian Club's committee and secretary-treasurer and alleging mismanagement of the club's affairs.Hazel King (1967), Henry Croasdaile Wilson, Australian Dictionary of Biography website, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 18 August 2025. One of the articles, published on 5 May, ended with the Latin phrase "Cornua Cristæ" which Christie interpreted as a negative reflection upon his wife's honour ("an indelible stain upon the character of a beloved wife"). On the evening of the day the article was published, an agitated Christie encountered Wilson dining at the Australian Club. He immediately challenged Wilson, accusing him of being the author of the article and describing his wife as being "as pure and virtuous a creature as ever breathed". Christie then called Wilson "a dastardly villain" and struck him twice on the head with a riding whip. Wilson took action in the Supreme Court to recover the sum of one thousand pounds for damages for the assault by Christie. The case was heard on 10 June 1841 before Justice Stephen. In court Wilson admitted writing the article, but denied making any reference to Mrs. Christie. The jury delivered a verdict awarding £150 damages to Wilson.Supreme Court - Civil Side, Free Press and Commercial Journal (Sydney), 16 June 1841, pages 2-3. On 16 June a special general meeting of Australian Club members resolved that Colonel Wilson "has ceased to be a member" of the club.The Australian Club, The Sydney Herald, 18 June 1841, page 2.
In 1841 Christie completed a novel titled A Love Story, published anonymously ("by a Bushman") in two volumes by George W. Evans of George Street, Sydney, and printed in the offices of The Sydney Herald. The novel was dedicated to Lady Gipps, the wife of the governor of New South Wales.Review, The Sydney Herald, 7 August 1841, page 4.Love Story, University of Sydney Library website, University of Sydney; accessed 22 August 2025. Christie was a devout churchman and his writing gave expression to his strong Christian beliefs.
In June 1842 Governor Gipps appointed Christie as the Agent of the Church and School Estates, replacing Oswald Bloxsome.Rumour, The Sydney Herald, 4 June 1842, page 2.Agent's Office, New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney), 9 August 1842 (Issue No. 63), page 1147. Christie worked from an office at 2 Wentworth Place, Point Piper.Agent's Office, The Australian (Sydney), 15 August 1842, page 3.
In January 1847 Christie was appointed as Sergeant-at-Arms to the New South Wales Legislative Council, replacing John Stirling.Sergeant-at-Arms, New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney), 1 January 1847 (Issue No. 1), page 1. During this period he served as a member of the Denominational School Board. In 1851 Major Christie served as a member of a board of enquiry, appointed "to enquire into the management of the General Post Office". The report, published in October 1851, was critical of the management of the Post Office department, finding that "the business is conducted in a loose and irregular manner" and there was "an absence of efficient control on the part of the Postmaster General".'Report from the Board of Enquiry on the General Post Office', October 1851, Government Printing Office; AustLII website, accessed 17 August 2025.
Postmaster-General
On 1 May 1852 Christie was appointed to the position of Postmaster-General on an annual salary of one thousand pounds (replacing Francis Merewether in the role).Postmaster General, New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney), 4 May 1852 (Issue No. 45), page 755. On 14 May 1852 Christie was appointed as a non-elective member of the Legislative Council, a position he held until 29 February 1956.
Major Christie's wife Ellen returned to England for the education of the couple's eldest son at the Sandhurst Military Academy. She died in England in October 1853 and was buried at Alton in Hampshire.Deaths, The Courier (Hobart), 21 January 1854, page 2.
In 1858 Christie was examined by a select committee of the Legislative Assembly investigating ways to reduce public expenditure in government departments. During the questioning members of the committee considered the possible introduction of a postal money order service to prevent money going astray in the mail, pointing out that the system had already been introduced in Victoria. Christie expressed doubts about the system, claiming that he had "always felt that in this Colony the utility of these money orders would be more than counterbalanced by the expense" and was of the opinion that the system was unworkable in communities without bank branches.'Progress Report from the Select Committee on Retrenchment in the Public Expenditure', October 1858, Government Printing Office; AustLII website, accessed 1 September 2025.