Major General Pratt

Sir Thomas Simson Pratt (1797-1879), army officer, was the son of Captain James Pratt and his wife Anne, née Simson. In October 1858 Pratt became a major-general, and next year was appointed to command the troops in the Australian colonies. He reached Melbourne on 8 January 1860. His command embraced New Zealand, so that when early in July news reached Melbourne of the serious reverses suffered by British troops in the Waitara district of Taranaki, he decided not only to send reinforcements but to direct operations in person. He sailed from Melbourne with his staff on 26 July, the centre of much public interest heightened by his only daughter's marriage to Governor Sir Henry Barkly.