Mangles family

The Mangles family was a wealthy English family whose members were active in public life, maritime commerce, imperial administration, exploration, and colonial development during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The family is particularly associated with the Swan River Colony, the settlement that became Western Australia, as well as with shipping links between Britain and its colonies. A central figure was James Mangles MP (1762–1838), who served as High Sheriff of Surrey from 1808 to 1809 and represented Guildford in the British Parliament from 1831 to 1837. He was also the principal associated with the shipping firm F. & C. F. Mangles. The company sent at least one convict transport to Sydney around 1800 and operated a regular service to the Australian colonies from 1835, illustrating the family's connection to the movement of people and goods within the British imperial network. James Mangles MP's nephew, James Mangles FRS (1786–1867), became known for travel, natural-history interests, and connections with Western Australian collectors. He travelled extensively in the Middle East and co-authored an account of journeys in Egypt, Nubia, Syria, and Asia Minor. During a visit to the Swan River Colony in 1831, he supported the collection and transmission of botanical material. Through George Fletcher Moore, he commissioned James Drummond to collect seeds, plants, and herbarium specimens, and he also received botanical material from Georgiana Molloy. These activities contributed to the circulation of Western Australian plants among British scientific and horticultural networks. The family was also connected to Western Australia's colonial administration through marriage. Ellen Mangles (1807–1874), daughter of James Mangles MP, married James Stirling in 1823. Stirling later became an admiral and served as Governor of Western Australia, placing the Mangles family within the colony's governing and social establishment. Ross Donnelly Mangles (1801–1877), another son of James Mangles MP, represented Guildford as a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1841 to 1858. He later chaired the East India Company from 1857 to 1858, linking the family to one of the most significant commercial and administrative institutions of the British Empire. Ross Lowis Mangles (1833–1905), son of Ross Donnelly Mangles, served in India and was awarded the Victoria Cross for saving a wounded soldier during the Indian Mutiny. He was one of only five civilians to receive that decoration, making his military distinction one of the family's most notable individual achievements. The family's historical legacy also survives in geographical and botanical names. The red-and-green kangaroo paw, Anigozanthos manglesii, which is Western Australia's floral emblem, was named after James Mangles. Mangles Bay near Rockingham, Western Australia, also commemorates the family. The Mangles were therefore not a consumer brand or a unified modern corporation, but a historically prominent family whose activities intersected with British politics, shipping, science, colonial settlement, and imperial administration.

The Mangles family emerged as a wealthy English family with interests spanning commerce, public administration, politics, exploration, and the British Empire. Its historical importance comes from the activities of several related individuals rather than from a single incorporated enterprise or branded product line. James Mangles MP (1762–1838) was one of the family's principal public and commercial figures. He held the office of High Sheriff of Surrey between 1808 and 1809 and later represented Guildford in Parliament from 1831 until 1837. His interests also included shipping. The firm F. & C. F. Mangles, associated with him as principal, transported convicts to Sydney around 1800 and established a regular service to the Australian colonies from 1835. This placed the family within the maritime infrastructure that connected Britain with its penal and settler colonies. Another prominent member was James Mangles FRS (1786–1867), the nephew of James Mangles MP. He travelled widely in the Middle East and helped produce a published account of journeys through Egypt, Nubia, Syria, and Asia Minor. His activities extended beyond travel writing. In 1831 he visited the Swan River Colony, and he subsequently supported the collection of Western Australian botanical specimens. Through George Fletcher Moore, he commissioned James Drummond to gather seeds, plants, and herbarium specimens. He also received plant material from Georgiana Molloy. These exchanges reflected the nineteenth-century movement of specimens between colonial collectors, private patrons, scientific institutions, and British gardens. The family's relationship with Western Australia was reinforced through Ellen Mangles (1807–1874), daughter of James Mangles MP. She married James Stirling in 1823. Stirling later became an admiral and Governor of Western Australia, making Ellen's marriage an important link between the Mangles family and the colony's political and administrative leadership. Political service continued with Ross Donnelly Mangles (1801–1877), the son of James Mangles MP. He served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Guildford from 1841 to 1858. In 1857 and 1858 he chaired the East India Company, one of the most powerful commercial and governing bodies in Britain's imperial system. His career connected the family to both domestic parliamentary politics and the administration of British interests in India. Ross Lowis Mangles (1833–1905), son of Ross Donnelly Mangles, represented a later generation. He became notable for his service in India during the Indian Mutiny. He received the Victoria Cross after saving a wounded soldier, an achievement that was especially unusual because he was a civilian recipient. He was one of only five civilians to receive the decoration. The family's influence is also reflected in names that remain in Western Australian history. Anigozanthos manglesii, commonly known as the red-and-green kangaroo paw, was named after James Mangles and became Western Australia's floral emblem. Mangles Bay near Rockingham likewise preserves the family's name. Taken together, these connections show a family operating across the principal institutions of nineteenth-century British influence: shipping, Parliament, colonial government, scientific collecting, imperial commerce, and military service. The Mangles family should therefore be understood as a historical kinship network and social dynasty, not as a contemporary brand with a central headquarters, product portfolio, or corporate ownership structure.

• 1857

  Ross Donnelly Mangles chairs the East India Company

  [1]Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org

  Ross Donnelly Mangles became chairman of the East India Company, serving during 1857 and 1858.

• 1841

  Ross Donnelly Mangles enters Parliament for Guildford

  [1]Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org

  Ross Donnelly Mangles began his tenure as Liberal Member of Parliament for Guildford, serving until 1858.

• 1835

  Regular colonial shipping service begins

  [1]Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org

  F. & C. F. Mangles operated a regular service to the Australian colonies from 1835.

• 1831

  James Mangles FRS visits the Swan River Colony

  [1]Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org

  James Mangles FRS visited the Swan River Colony and subsequently supported the collection and transfer of Western Australian botanical specimens.

• 1823

  Ellen Mangles marries James Stirling

  [1]Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org

  Ellen Mangles, daughter of James Mangles MP, married James Stirling, who later became an admiral and Governor of Western Australia.

• 1808

  James Mangles MP serves as High Sheriff of Surrey

  [1]Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org

  James Mangles MP held the office of High Sheriff of Surrey from 1808 to 1809.

• 1800

  Mangles-associated shipping enters the convict-transport network

  [1]Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org

  The shipping firm F. & C. F. Mangles sent at least one convict ship to Sydney around this period, establishing an early documented connection between the family and Australian colonial transport.

• Mangles name applied to Western Australian natural heritage

  [1]Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org

  The red-and-green kangaroo paw, Anigozanthos manglesii, was named after James Mangles and later became Western Australia's floral emblem. Mangles Bay near Rockingham also took its name from the family.

A historically prominent English family rather than a conventional commercial brand. Its public identity rested on maritime trade, parliamentary and administrative service, scientific and botanical patronage, and connections with British colonial expansion.

1. 1Mangles familyen.wikipedia.org