Dent family connections
Captain East was the senior officer, in charge of the 73 militia men, 87 women and 107 children, in transit to New Zealand aboard the "Thomas Fletcher", February 1864. On his later arrival in Hamilton he had the misfortune to have his belongings end up in the Waikato River when they were unloaded, with the result that he had to manage without many of his effects while settling in. His land grant of an acre town lot was on river side of Victoria Street, between Garden Place and Collingwood Street, and, as a captain in the regiment, he received a country block of 300 acres in what is now known as Claudelands, within reasonable proximity to his town section. The third owner of his farm block was ..... Claude, from whom the suburb takes its name. There is also a street in the area (East Street) named after Alfred East.
There are reports of differences between Colonel Moule and Captain East. One of these resulted in East demanding a court of enquiry after the colonel had reported him for being absent from church parade. Eventually the complaint was settled without the need for an enquiry. On another occasion, when officers' pay was reduced, East was told that he could resign when he complained about the reduction. In 1866 when Moule became Colonel Commandant of all the Waikato Forces his adjutant Alfred East took over command of the Regiment.
Alfred East moved back to Australia and, in early 1879, he applied for the New Zealand Medal from there. In 2005 his medal was the property of an USA collector.