James Kelly (Australian explorer)

James Kelly (Australian explorer)

James Kelly (1791-1859), Australian mariner, explorer and port official, was born on 24 December 1791 at Parramatta, New South Wales. He was probably the son of James Kelly, a cook in the convict transport "Queen", and Catherine Devereaux, a convict transported for life from Dublin in the same ship.

Kelly was first apprenticed as a seaman in 1804 and sailed in vessels engaged in the sealing and sandalwood trades as well as making a voyage to India. In 1812 he was chief officer of the full-rigged ship "Campbell Macquarie" on a sealing voyage when the ship was wrecked on Macquarie Island. He became the first Australian-born master mariner with voyages in the sealing industry and general trade between Hobart and Sydney.

In December 1815 Kelly left Hobart in command of an expedition to circumnavigate Tasmania using the whaleboat "Elizabeth" . The party made the official discovery of Port Davey on the south west coast, and on 28 December of Macquarie Harbour on the central west coast. Features within the harbour were named the Gordon River after the owner of the "Elizabeth" and Birch Inlet after Kelly's employer and sponsor Thomas William Birch. Birch was granted a monopoly to exploit Huon Pine on the west coast as a reward.

In November 1817, commanding Birch's "Sophia", Kelly sailed on a sealing venture to New Zealand and entered Otago Harbour. With him was William Tucker who had settled in the area in 1815 and was returning. The harbour chief, Korako, would not ferry across Maori from Whareakeake, two miles north along the coast, where Tucker had established himself, and whose people now wished to receive their returning Pakeha's gifts. A few days later, when Kelly, Tucker and five others went in a long boat to Whareakeake they were at first received peaceably but then attacked. Tucker, Veto Viole and John Griffiths, Kelly's brother-in-law, were killed and eaten. Kelly returned to the "Sophia" still lying in the Otago Harbour and now distrusting Maori there attacked them destroying canoes and burning the "beautiful City of Otago", which he said had 600 houses. [Kelly in the "Hobart Town Courier" 12 April 1858.] Whareakeake became known as "Murdering Beach". Kelly probably exaggerated his revenge but did kill some people and destroyed some property. Unknown to him he had walked into a pre-existing feud the precise cause of which only became known to historians with the discovery of a manuscript in 2003 which gave the long missing Maori side of the story. [Peter Entwisle, "Taka: a Vignette Life of William Tucker", Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005, pp.94-106, 128-133, 134-137.]

In May 1819 Governor Macquarie confirmed Kelly's appointment as pilot and harbourmaster at the Derwent River. In December 1821 as master of the "Sophia" he assisted in transporting convicts to the newly established penal station at Macquarie Harbour, and in 1825 he helped to set up the secondary penal station on Maria Island. Business interests, mostly in whaling, banking and insurance, saw him resign from Government service in the late 1820s.

Kelly's wife died in 1831 and two sons drowned in 1841 and 1842, respectively. He was financially ruined by the economic depression of the early 1840s and spent most of the remainder of his life back in the employ of the port authorities. He died suddenly in Hobart on 20 April 1859, survived by only three of his ten children.

Kelly's name is perpetuated by a number of geographical features including Kelly's Steps in Battery Point, Hobart, Kelly Basin at Macquarie Harbour, Kelly Island off Forestier Peninsula and Kelly Point on Bruny Island (later renamed Dennes Point.

References

*cite book| author=Douglas Pike (editor)| title=Australian Dictionary of Biography| edition=1967| publisher=Melbourne University Press| location=Melbourne| year 1967|
*cite book| author=unstated| title=Historical Records of Australia, Series 3, Vol. 2-6| edition:1914-25|publisher=Government Printer| location=Melbourne| year 1914-25|
*cite book| author=Bowden, Keith M| title=Captain Jamees Kelly of Hobart Town| publisher=Melbourne University Press| location=Melbourne| year 1964|
* Whitham, Charles. "Western Tasmania: A Land of Riches and Beauty.":2003 edition - Queenstown: Municipality of Queenstown. :1949 edition - Hobart: Davies Brothers. OCLC|48825404; ASIN [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FMPZ80 B000FMPZ80] :1924 edition - Queenstown: Mount Lyell Tourist Association. OCLC|35070001; ASIN [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0008BM4XC B0008BM4XC] - **notably the 'Account of Macquarie Harbour' by T.G. Lempriere from the "Tasmanian Journal of natural Science of 1842-6" on pages 39-46
*www.ncgs.co.uk
* Entwisle, Peter, "Taka: a Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784-1817", Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005.
* "The Hobart Town Gazette" 28 March 1818.
* "The Hobart Town Courier" 12 April 1858.

Microform

* Kelly, James, 1791-1859. First discovery of Port Davey and Macquarie Harbour p. 160-181 "Royal Society of Tasmania : Papers and Proceedings, 1920. Issued separately 24th December, 1920" Microfiche. Canberra : National Library of Australia, 2004. Attended NCGS from 2000 to 2007


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • James Kelly — or Jim Kelly is the name of: TOCright *James Kelly (pirate) (died 1701) *James Kelly (Australian explorer) (1791 1859) *James Butler Knill Kelly (1832 1907), 19th century Anglican bishop of Newfoundland and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church …   Wikipedia

  • Australian literature — Introduction       the body of literatures, both oral and written, produced in Australia.       Perhaps more so than in other countries, the literature of Australia characteristically expresses collective values. Even when the literature deals… …   Universalium

  • List of Australian artists — ″––List of Australian artists (or painters) (See also Art of Australia) You can also help by writing articles on artists currently without same.See also Individual artists A *A Constructed World (founded 1993 ): video, painting and installation… …   Wikipedia

  • List of convicted Australian criminals — This is a list of Australian people who have been convicted of serious crimes.Bank robbersAustralians convicted of bank robbery*Brenden Abbott, aka The Postcard Bandit [ [http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2003/s978408.htm The Usual Suspect] …   Wikipedia

  • Timeline of Australian history — This is a timeline of Australian history.BC*c. 68,000 BC 40,000 BC: Aboriginal tribes thought to have arrived in Australia.1600s*1606 (March): The Duke of York s ship Duyfken , under Captain Willem Janszoon, explores the western coast of Cape… …   Wikipedia

  • William Tucker (settler) — William Tucker (c. 16 May 1784 – December 1817) was a British convict, a sealer, a trader in human heads, an Otago settler, and New Zealand’s first art dealer.Tucker has been a minor legend in New Zealand as the man who stole a preserved Māori… …   Wikipedia

  • Маккуори (залив, Тасмания) — У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. Маккуори. Маккуори Macquarie Harbour …   Википедия

  • Марайа (остров, Тасмания) — Марайа Maria Island …   Википедия

  • Dennes Point, Tasmania — Dennes Point is both a geographical feature and a small township at the northern tip of Bruny Island in Tasmania. At the 2006 census, Dennes Point had a population of 218.[1] It is named after the Denne family who first settled the area as… …   Wikipedia

  • 19th century — For other uses, see 19th century (disambiguation). Millennium: 2nd millennium Centuries: 18th century · 19th century · 20th century Decades: 1800s 1810s 18 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”