Dr Charles Lamonnerie Dictus Fattorini

Among the entries in the Port Macquarie Small Debts Register is one of Port Macquarie’s more notable residents - Dr Charles Lamonnerie Dictus Fattorini, rumoured to be the illegitimate son of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Medical practitioner and entrepreneur, Dr Charles Lamonnerie Dictus Fattorini arrived in Sydney on the Prince Regent in 1829 with a view to settling in the colony and promptly enquired about applying for a land grant, a request which was later denied due to his alien status. The letter states that Dr Fattorini was born in Italy and received a Surgeon’s Diploma from the University of Edinburgh in addition to a degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Gottingen.

Land grant application

Italian or French?

There seems to be some ambiguity about his place of birth. In early correspondence with the Colonial Secretary, he claims to be a native of Italy however his naturalisation certificate states France to be his place of birth.

Port Macquarie

Initially Dr Fattorini settled in Sydney where he sent for his family to join him. He appears to have practiced as a doctor for several years before moving to Port Macquarie around 1836. Once there, he threw himself into community life helping to establish a Literary Association and subscribing to erect a Presbyterian Church, along with investing in a surprisingly broad variety of business ventures including purchasing a schooner and a brick making works. It was also here where rumours about him being the son of Napoleon appear to have started.

Supporter of a debt court

In 1838, he was also one of the signatories of a memorial ([4/2405.1] 38/7782) to establish a debt court of civil jurisdiction. Ironically, following some substantial financial losses and with the country facing economic depression, Dr Fattorini later featured in the Port Macquarie Small Debts Register as both plaintiff and defendant on numerous occasions.

Insolvency

Unfortunately for Dr Fattorini, his ventures did not always meet with success - the schooner he purchased was wrecked in 1836 and in 1842 he was one of the creditors proved in an insolvency of Mrs Kinnear, who ran the Hotel Royal in Port Macquarie. His losses amounted to over £1000 and he was declared insolvent on 9 November 1842. At that time, his occupation was stated as ‘Builder’.

See insolvency entry in the catalogue

NSW Medical Board registration

By 1848, Dr Fattorini had moved his family back to Sydney where received his certificate of discharge of insolvency later that year however further difficult times lay ahead. In 1847, the New South Wales Medical Board had refused him a certificate of registration on the grounds that he did not have British qualifications; a dispute which, by 1849, was elevated to the Colonial Secretary.

Interestingly, an article by J C H Gill in the Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland¹ casts doubt on Dr Fattorini’s medical qualifications, research indicating there is no record of his being enrolled as a student at the University of Gottingen and that, whilst a Charles Lamonnerie does appear to have studied surgery and medicine for two years at the University of Edinburgh, there is no record of his being granted a Diploma of Surgery.

Naturalisation

On 18 June 1851 Dr Fattorini applied for naturalisation, stating his profession as Surgeon and Doctor of Medicine and noting his desire to spend the remainder of his life in the colony and to acquire land. He received his Naturalisation Certificate three days later however no applications for land grants were made in the years following.

Insolvent again

Only months after a return to Port Macquarie in 1852, the embattled Dr Fattorini was once again declared insolvent; a state of affairs he never had to opportunity to remedy as he died intestate in October 1853 and was buried in the cemetery at Port Macquarie, the truth of his heritage never to be known.