Note: Government and other sources have him as Vignoles, de Vignoles, and de Vignolles, but most commonly just Vignoles.

Samuel Vignoles arrived in Melbourne on the clipper ship Lightning on 31 July 1854, having departed Liverpool on 14 May 1854. He travelled without his wife and family [01].

Given his connections in the United Kingdom, Vignoles would probably have had a letter of introduction to the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Victoria, Sir Charles Hotham , who had only taken up the post on 22 June 1854 after succeeding Charles La Trobe [02]. Vignoles would have known this before leaving for Australia. Victoria had only become a separate colony on 1 July 1851 and would continue as such until Australian Federation on 1 January 1901. Hotham’s role was elevated to full Governor on 3 February 1855.

Vignoles was appointed Assistant Police Magistrate for the City of Melbourne and the County of Bourke on 20 September 1854 at an annual salary of £400 [03] [04]. He was also named a Magistrate (Justice of the Peace) for both the Colony of Victoria and the City of Melbourne [05]. His superior, Evelyn Pitfield Shirley Sturt, brother of the explorer Charles Sturt ., earned £900 plus allowances. Evelyn Sturt served as senior Police Magistrate for Melbourne between 1853 and 1878.

With the official discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851, the Victorian government had been forced to expand quickly with access to a limited pool of talent to fill the required roles. They would have snapped up anyone with Vignoles’ experience.

The role of Assistant Police Magistrate was new, providing a backup to Sturt, but also allowing the Assistant to focus on issues in the surrounding County of Bourke [06].

There were rumours in late November 1854 that Vignoles would be assigned to Ballarat [07]. John Dewes (D’Ewes) had been Police (Stipendiary) Magistrate there since February 1854. A riot, the burning of the Eureka Hotel, and reports of Dewes’ corruption had led to a Board of Inquiry recommending his dismissal. Ballarat was the largest and most important of the gold centres and the posting was a very sensitive one, particularly at that time – though the Government did not really understand the nuances. Charles Corrie Weston was assigned on 22 November 1854 instead of Vignoles [08]. Weston had more gold fields experience, having been at Beechworth, and in April 1854 had been called to the Bar as a barrister.

The situation in Ballarat quickly escalated, leading to the fateful miners’ rebellion at the Eureka Stockade .

A year later, Weston and Vignoles were swapped. On 13 November 1855, Vignoles was sent to Ballarat and Weston became the Assistant Stipendiary Magistrate in Melbourne [09].

Vignoles seems to have upset the local community rather quickly. In January 1856, the question was raised in Parliament whether the Chief Secretary (Premier) would institute an enquiry into the “extraordinary conduct” of Vignoles. [I still need to investigate this.]

Vignoles was then moved to the smaller town of Kilmore on 9 May 1856 and replaced in Ballarat by William Turner.

In July 1857, Frederick Coster, a local solicitor, “preferred several charges of magisterial incapacity” against Vignoles. A Government Board was said to have formed in to inquire into and report on this. This seems to have