[1][a] He was the son of an Anglican clergyman who migrated to New South Wales and was appointed to a chaplaincy in Maitland in 1835.
After a liberal education under his father's tutorship, Rusden squatted in the New England district and by 1844 he had acquired substantial property including 60,000 acres of pastoral land in the Shannon Vale area near Glen Innes.
In 1855, prior to the establishment of responsible self-government, Rusden was elected to the Legislative Council for the Pastoral Districts of New England and Macleay.
The second and third petition were addressed to the Speaker and were outside the 4 week time limit, although each was accompanied by the required deposit.
[19] Rusden's obituary noted that he was "reported to be a wealthy man, and in addition to Shannon Vale he owned nearly half of Glen Innes; but of late his affairs became complicated, and a short time since all his property went into other hands, and he ended his days in utter penury".