John Piper (military officer)

==Administrative career==
In 1816 he married Mary Ann Shears, the daughter of two [[First Fleet]] convicts, who had already borne several children by him.<ref name=dab/>

As Naval Officer, Piper was responsible for the collection of customs duties, excise on spirits, harbour dues, control of lighthouses, and crime on water.  This post proved very remunerative, and he was able to purchase the property now known as [[Vaucluse House]].  He was granted {{convert|190|acre|ha|order=flip}} on what is now [[Point Piper, New South Wales|Point Piper]] and built Henrietta Villa (also called the Naval Pavilion) at the large cost of £10,000. He was appointed a magistrate by Governor [[Lachlan Macquarie|Macquarie]] in 1819, was chairman of directors of the [[Westpac|Bank of New South Wales]], sat on the local committee of the [[Australian Agricultural Company|Australian Agricultural Co.]], was president of the [[Scots Church, Sydney|Scots Church]] committee, and was involved in many social and sporting activities.  As well as Point Piper he had {{convert|475|acre|ha|order=flip}} at [[Vaucluse, New South Wales|Vaucluse]], {{convert|1130|acre|ha|order=flip}} at [[Woollahra, New South Wales|Woollahra]] and [[Rose Bay, New South Wales|Rose Bay]], a farm of {{convert|295|acre|ha|order=flip}} at [[Petersham, New South Wales|Petersham]], {{convert|700|acre|ha|order=flip}} at [[Neutral Bay, New South Wales|Neutral Bay]], {{convert|80|acre|ha|order=flip}} at [[Botany Bay]], {{convert|2000|acre|ha|order=flip}} at [[Bathurst, New South Wales|Bathurst]], {{convert|300|acre|ha|order=flip}} in Van Diemen's Land, and a {{convert|1|acre|ha|order=flip|spell=on}} of commercial land in [[George Street, Sydney]].<ref name=dab/>

Piper however, had financial difficulties; in 1826 he raised a mortgage of £20,000. He was forced to resign his bank chairmanship after an enquiry into its affairs in January 1827, and that April was suspended from his position as Naval Officer when mismanagement of customs collection was discovered.

Subsequently, Piper unsuccessfully tried to drown himself one evening after ordering his boat crew to sail his barge five miles from land beyond Sydney's North Head with the pretense of assessing the requirements for building a lighthouse on North Head. On the return with a steady breeze and the sails hoisted he leapt out at the stern and disappeared. It took his crew some time to pull down the sails and turn the boat to row back to where their master was sinking. With a struggle they saved him in time and succeeded in bringing him safely home. In later days he thanked divine providence for his rescue and was desirous of amending his life.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Barnard Eldershaw|first=Marjorie|title=The Life and Times of Captain John Piper|publisher=Ure Smith in Assoc. with National Trust of Australia|year=1973|isbn=072540132X|location=Sydney}}</ref>

Piper was forced to sell most of his property to repay his debts in full. He then moved to his farm "Alloway Bank", at Bathurst and became an important person in the town with visits by Governor Darling and later Governor Bourke. He was chairman of the committee which raised the funds to build St Stephens Presbyterian church. Piper was forced to mortgage the property in the drought of 1838 to 1841, and the subsequent economic depression of 1844 forced the Pipers to leave the property. Piper was saved by his friends who re-established the family to a property of 500 acres, called Westbourne, beside the [[Macquarie River]] at Bathurst.  Here Piper died on 8 June 1851, and Mary Ann continued to live until her death twenty years later, supported by her numerous children.<ref name="dab" />

[[Marjorie Barnard]] claims that "John Piper was a man of his times.  He personified the colonial dream."  He was an officer during the military rule, a civil servant when New South Wales became a civil state, and a land pioneer during the pastoral age. "He was honourable, generous, and so well loved that he was forgiven things which would have wrecked a stronger man. … He was a master of the bright illusion."<ref name=adb/>