Richard Spencer ( Royal Navy officer ) Captain Sir Richard Spencer KCH ( 1779 – 1839 ) was a sea captain of the Royal Navy who served in a number of battles , particularly against the French . Later in life he settled in Albany , Western Australia and was appointed Government Resident in 1833 . He was born in Southwark , in London ' s dockland , and died in Australia in 1839 . Naval career . He joined the ship ' s complement of the 38 - gun frigate " HMS Arethusa " , in 1793 , as captain ' s servant . He joined the 74 - gun in 1794 . He took part in the 3rd Battle of Ushant , also known as the Glorious First of June , in 1794 . He transferred to the after she was captured in the battle . He was wounded in action on 23 June . Spencer was appointed a midshipman in 1795 and moved to , a 16 - gun sloop , under Robert Larkan . He went with Larkan to the latter ' s new command , the 20 - gun , in September 1797 . In 1799 , Spencer was promoted to the rank of lieutenant . He was commissioned into , a 100 - gun ship of the line . However , she blew up in an accident before he could join her . He joined the 80 - gun " Guillaume Tell " , one of the few French ships to escape Nelson at the Battle of the Nile . She had , however , subsequently been captured . She was then renamed " HMS Malta " . He then joined the sloop , as lieutenant to the captain . This vessel supported the campaign to oust Napoleon ' s troops from Egypt . Spencer was captured in Genoa in 1803 , having been put ashore after hostilities had again broken out after the Treaty of Amiens . He escaped in the Danish vessel " Enighiden " and was rescued by . From here , he was transferred to , Nelson ' s flagship in the Mediterranean . He gave Nelson what information he had gleaned from his stay in Genoa . Nelson appointed him to command the captured French 12 - gun privateer schooner " Renard " . Her name was changed to HMS " Crafty " . He was injured by an oar on board the " Crafty " ' s jolly boat , which may have left a permanent mark on his health . He did not take part in the Battle of Trafalgar but he had lost a useful friend in Nelson . In 1806 , he captured vessels running sulphur from Sicily to Toulon , France , for making gunpowder . He took part in the Battle of Maida , in which his vessel harassed the retreating French army . By successful diplomacy , he obtained the release of Christian slaves from the Dey of Algiers . He personally saved his ship from accidental destruction by the much larger " HMS Eagle " , in Valletta harbour . He had to surrender his ship to three Spanish privateers , in 1807 . He was later cleared by court martial . He next was involved in action against the Dutch , in the East Indies . He was promoted to Commander on 8 April 1808 and given command of " Samarang " , in which he participated in the capture of Amboyna and captured Pulo Ay . He was made post captain on 25 July 1810 and then on 18 August took command of . Prize money acquired during his successful career , enabled him and his family to settle down , after the end of hostilities , in 1815 . Marriage . While in the evening of his Royal Navy career , he married Ann Warden Liddon , of Charmouth , near Lyme Regis in Dorset , England . Their first son , Richard , was born in Charmouth in 1814 but died in Malta in 1815 . They were to have 10 children . Lyme Regis . He bought a house in Lyme Regis , in 1817 . This was situated on the Exeter road , overlooking the Cobb harbour . After the great storm of 1824 , no doubt stimulated by fears for the safety of shipping on that treacherous coast , he was engaged in pioneering ideas for a buoyant and self - righting ' lifeboat ' . This was an adapted pilot boat , with copper buoyancy tanks fitted . Knighthood and Australia . Richard Spencer followed news of the colonisation of Australia with interest . He determined to emigrate for the sake of the future of his several children . He was unexpectedly knighted in 1833 . He became a Military Knight Commander of the Royal Hannoverian Guelphic Order . This was not a government nomination but was in the personal gift of King William IV . He was appointed Government Resident of the settlement of Albany , Australia , in 1833 . Spencer and his family emigrated to Australia in 1835 . In his time in Australia , he pioneered farming methods suitable to that difficult terrain and climate . Spencer died at his residence on 24 July 1839 . His two eldest sons died in two tragic accidents shortly after their father ' s death . Daughters Eliza Lucy married Sir George Grey and Augusta married George Edward Egerton - Warburton , a settler near Mount Barker .