AN UNLIKELY LEADER the Life and Times of Captain John Hunter

AN UNLIKELY LEADER The life and times of Captain John Hunter Robert Barnes SYDNEY UNIVERSITY PRESS Published 2009 by Sydney University Press SYDNEY UNIVERSITY PRESS University of Sydney Library www.sup.usyd.edu.au © Robert Barnes 2009 © Sydney University Press 2009 Reproduction and Communication for other purposes Except as permitted under the Act, no part of this edition may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or communicated in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All requests for reproduction or communication should be made to Sydney University Press at the address below: Sydney University Press Fisher Library F03 University of Sydney NSW 2006 AUSTRALIA Email: [email protected] National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Barnes, Robert, (Robert Winstanley), 1942- Title: An unlikely leader : the life and times of Captain John Hunter / Robert Barnes. ISBN: 9781920899196 (pbk.) Notes: Bibliography. Subjects: Hunter, John, 1737-1821 Governors--New South Wales--Biography. First Fleet, 1787-1788--Biography. New South Wales--History--1788-1851. Dewey Number: 994.402092 Cover image: The First Fleet, by John Allcot O.B.E., F.R.A.S. Reproduced with permission of The Allcot Trust. Cover design by Miguel Yamin, the University Publishing Service Printed in Australia at the University Publishing Service, The University of Sydney Contents Foreword v Acknowledgements vii Introduction—an unlikely leader viii 1 Setting the scene 1 2 Influencing factors 22 3 Promotion deferred 50 4 Commissioned without command 77 5 A veiled alliance 106 6 Whence came the pox? 151 7 The challenge of New South Wales 166 8 A governor under siege 193 9 The mind, the eye and the pen 226 10 Restored and respected 266 Notes 286 Appendix 1: Hunter Family Tree 308 Appendix 2: John Hunter’s statement of the loss of the Sirius 309 Bibliography 313 Index 323 Foreword Captain John Hunter is one of the lost leaders of Australia. While his surname is remembered in the dynamic Hunter Valley and in many lesser geographical landmarks, he is not usually given a place in modern lists of the 100 or even 200 most influential Australians of all time. And yet he was the second governor of New South Wales in the second half of the 1790s when that colony spanned all of eastern Australia. Indeed he was the virtual ruler for slightly longer than the first governor, Captain Arthur Phillip, and—as Robert Barnes explains—he had to face obstacles just as formidable. As a British naval officer, Hunter had much to be proud of. Late in achieving real promotion in the navy, he commanded the main part of the First Fleet when it entered Botany Bay in January 1788, thus concluding one of the more remarkable voyages of colonisation in the world’s history. Later that year he commanded the HMS Sirius in what was really a mercy mission: she sailed right around the world to gather supplies. In the first leg of that voyage, past the icebergs drifting near Cape Horn, he effectively opened—somewhat to the surprise of Governor Phillip—a sea route which was vital for Australian commerce in the next 100 or more years. He proved beyond doubt that a sailing ship leaving Australia and bound for Europe should steer towards South America rather than South Africa, thus making use of the strong westerlies. This is the first full-length biography of Hunter. It describes how various earlier historians were confused about the date and even year v of his birth at the Scottish port of Leith; how he first went to sea with his father at the age of eight and was shipwrecked off the coast of Norway; how he advanced slowly in the navy, becoming a lieutenant only at the age of 43; and how Australia at last offered him a stage on which to make his mark. As an officer in what was then the world’s leading navy, Hunter was probably not in the top class of competence—he lost two ships—but his honesty, generosity and ‘common touch’ were valuable qualities when he presided over the infant Sydney and ruled a population in which six of every ten were convicts. Robert Barnes is fair towards Hunter and resists the temptation to make him either a giant or a pygmy. He offers a calm assessment of what Hunter achieved and where he failed. He explains at length the grave problems which would have vexed, frustrated or totally thwarted any governor, no matter how experienced. Hunter had to combat officers of the New South Wales Corps who simply snatched economic power, but in any dispute with them he could not confidently expect early or even useful support from the British government which was now immersed in the perilous war against revolutionary France. One vital chapter of the book tests the accusation that the early British settlers ‘waged biological war’ on the Aborigines around Sydney. In the end the book hoses down this inflammable topic. Geoffrey Blainey Melbourne, March 2009 vi Acknowledgements The seed for this book was sown in the 1970s while researching for a thesis on David Collins, Lt. Governor of Van Diemen’s Land 1804–10. I noticed that very little had been written on John Hunter and my then supervisor, Prof. Russell Ward at the University of New England suggested I keep this in mind for the future. I then began collecting references to Hunter over the next 25 years. The book may not have seen the light of day however, without the guidance and encouragement of my PhD supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Don Garden at the University of Melbourne. The staff at the La Trobe Library, Melbourne, the State Library of New South Wales, the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, the British Library and the Public Records Office at Kew were always helpful and courteous. I am most grateful for the kind permission of Prof. John White at the ANU, Canberra, to reproduce the portrait of Captain William Kent in his possession. I should also acknowledge the patient advice and assistance of Susan Murray-Smith at Sydney University Press who guided me through the labyrinth of the publication process. Special thanks goes to Lucille Andel and Alison Boldys for their input and stenographical assistance. While all these contributions are greatly appreciated, any errors or faults are solely my responsibility. Robert Barnes vii .

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