Description

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Description: The historically important, 1st Mayor of Albany, Captain William Finlay’s – Albany Rifle Volunteer’s sword. 1854 pattern, Queen Victoria era, Infantry Officer’s type sword. Features a grey metal branched guard, with light infantry & crown design, with plain half & chequered back strap. The wire bound fish skin grip is in very good condition. The 82cm long, slightly curved blade shows good etchings of foliate patterns with royal cypher, with ‘ALBANY RIFLE VOLUNTEERS’ in between strung bugle motif. The other side, being in better condition, shows very good to fine condition etchings. Maker marked for ‘HOBSON & SONS -LITTLE- WINDMILL ST LONDON’. The grey metal scabbard is in very good condition, with no dents or damage, retaining its twin floating suspension rings, the former historical group catalogued numbered to upper portion. Overall length: 100cm. The original bullion tassel is also present, but not attached to the sword. This sword was formerly the property of a well known Western Australian historical group, whose paperwork shows this sword to be formerly the property of Captain W. Finlay, who was the commanding officer of the Albany Rifle Volunteers, as well as being the first Mayor of Albany. This historically important sword is not only rare based on the association with William Finlay, but there would scarcely be more than a handful of attributed swords to this unit in either private or museum collections. Captain William Finlay 26 June 1878 – Lieutenant Albany Rifle Volunteers. Promoted 14 March 1879 Captain. Albany Rifle Volunteers 31 March 1885. Unit disbanded commission cancelled. William Finlay (mayor) William Finlay (1840 –18 June 1885) was a policeman and the first mayor of Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Finlay’s parents were William and Marjory Finlay. His father, William Finlay (5th June 1807 –11th June 1890) was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1807. He served in the army and rose to the rank of sergeant. William Jr. was born in 1840 in Ireland. The Finlay’s, both parents and three children, arrived in Western Australia aboard the convict ship Scindianin in 1850 and initially settled at Freshwater Bay. Another five children were born in Western Australia over the next few years. William Finlay (Jr) joined the police force in 1858; he served as a Constable in Albany in 1864, moving to Williams in 1869, then to York in 1873 and then to Geraldton in 1874. He rose to the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police in Albany in 1878. During his time in the force he married Sarah Coppin in Busselton in 1861. Finlay resigned from the force in 1878 and was well remembered for his charitable work, administration skills and founding a local militia. He remained in Albany working as a clerk of customs and sometime tide waiter. He also served as a municipal councillor and was elected as the first mayor of Albany in 1885. The other candidates in the election were John Moirand Robert Andrew Muir Finlay’s home in Albany, known as McKenzie House or the White House, a grand federation style building overlooking Albany Port, which is still a local Albany landmark.