46-522: Vice Admiral John Hunter (29 August 1737 – 13 March 1821) was an officer of the Royal Navy , who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second Governor of New South Wales , serving from 1795 to 1800. Both a sailor and a scholar, he explored the Parramatta River as early as 1788, and was the first to surmise that Tasmania might be an island. As governor, he tried to combat serious abuses by
92-660: A boy Hunter was sent to live with an uncle in the town of King's Lynn in Norfolk , where, and also at Edinburgh , he received the classical education of the time. Hunter was sent to the University of Edinburgh , but soon left it to join the navy as a captain's servant to Thomas Knackston on HMS Grampus in May 1754. In 1755 Hunter was enrolled as able seaman on HMS Centaur, became a midshipman and served on HMS Union and then HMS Neptune . While aboard Neptune he
138-540: A straight, which may separate Van Diemen's Land from New Holland." The French Revolutionary Wars having broken out during Hunter's time in England, he went to sea again as a volunteer aboard the 100-gun HMS Queen Charlotte , the flagship of his old patron Lord Howe. Hunter was present at the Glorious First of June on 1 June 1794, and remained in the ship until 1795. With Arthur Phillip's resignation from
184-580: A volunteer in 1779, under her captain, Keith Stewart . He was appointed lieutenant of HMS Union by Sir Charles Hardy , but the Admiralty refused to confirm the appointment and Hunter returned to the Berwick as a volunteer in 1780, and went out the West Indies. There he received a commission from the commander in chief, Sir George Rodney . Hunter returned to England aboard the Berwick in 1781, and
230-550: Is named after him. The Hunter was laid down in 2023 and is expected to be commissioned in 2031. He retired to his home town of Leith and lived at a then-new Georgian house at 5 Cassels Place, part of the still extant Georgian terrace at the foot of Leith Walk , and now renumbered as 34 Leith Walk. A bust of Hunter was placed by the Australian government at the north end of The Shore in Leith in 1996. Vice Admiral of
276-824: The Admiralty . Carysfort was nearly lost after running aground on Martyr Reef in the Gulf of Florida in 1771, while being sailed by a pilot , but Hunter's exertions allowed her to be saved with the loss of her masts and guns. Hunter served as master of HMS Intrepid in the East Indies between 1772 and 1775, after which he became master of HMS Kent . The Kent was at this time commanded by Captain John Jervis, Hunter's companion from HMS Neptune . Jervis took Hunter with him to his next command, HMS Foudroyant . Also serving aboard Foudroyant at this time
322-655: The Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778. Jervis was briefly replaced as captain by Captain Charles Hudson, while the Foudroyant became the flagship of her old commander, now Vice-Admiral Lord Shuldham. Jervis resumed command in 1779, sailing with Hardy's fleet, before being moved to a detached squadron in December 1779. Foudroyant returned to port in early 1780, where she was refitted and had her hull coppered. On
368-593: The Royal Navy as the Third Rate HMS Foudroyant . Following the Royal Navy tradition she is identified by the date of her introduction to the British navy (in this case post-dating the date of her construction). Foudroyant was built at Toulon to a design by François Coulomb, and was launched on 18 December 1750. She was present at the Battle of Minorca in 1756 , where she engaged
414-519: The United Kingdom by John Hunter. In summer 1804 Hunter was given command of the 74-gun HMS Venerable , serving with the fleet off Brest under Admiral William Cornwallis . While sailing out of Torbay on the evening of 24 November, a sudden fog came down. The ships of the fleet, unaware of each other's positions and their own location became disorganised. Hunter twice narrowly avoided colliding with other ships, but ran aground at 8pm on
460-687: The operations off Martinique in early 1762, before coming under the command of Captain Molyneaux Shuldham later that year. She served for a short period as the flagship of Admiral George Rodney , before being paid off in 1763. She underwent several surveys, and a large repair between February 1772 and January 1774, after which she was fitted to serve as the Plymouth guardship in April 1775. She recommissioned again in August that year, under
506-609: The rebellion which took place in William Bligh 's time. Anonymous letters were even sent to the home authorities charging Hunter with participation in the very abuses he was striving to prevent. In spite of Hunter's vehement defence of the charges made against him, he was recalled in a dispatch dated 5 November 1799 from the Duke of Portland , one of the three secretaries of state. Hunter acknowledged this dispatch on 20 April 1800, and left for England on 28 September 1800, handing over
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#1732773199517552-719: The 100-gun HMS Royal George , the latter in the Bay of Biscay until the Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1763. Hunter passed examinations and qualified for promotion to lieutenant in February 1760. (He was not, however, appointed lieutenant until 1780.) Hunter remained active in the navy during the years of peace, going out to Newfoundland aboard the frigate HMS Tweed and then serving as master's mate aboard HMS Launceston during her time in North America in 1767 with
598-492: The British flagship HMS Ramillies . She then formed part of a squadron under Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran , during which time she was captured during the Battle of Cartagena off Cartagena, Spain on 28 February 1758 by Monmouth , Hampton Court and Swiftsure . The Monmouth' s Captain Arthur Gardiner was mortally wounded early in the fight, and his two lieutenants, led by Lt Robert Carkett, commanded
644-504: The French 74-gun Pégase on 21 April 1782, for which actions Jervis was knighted. In addition to Pégase , Jervis captured four transports: Fidelité (178 troops and stores), Belonne (147 troops and stores), Lionne (180 troops and stores), and Duc de Chartres (stores and arms). She sailed again in July 1782, this time as part of a fleet under Admiral Richard Howe , before spending
690-874: The Monmouth for most of the battle. The captain of the Foudroyant , the Marquis de Quesne, insisted upon handing his sword to Lt Carkett. 190 were killed on the Foudroyant. It was then towed to Cape de Gata by HMS Swiftsure before being taken to Gibraltar for repair, where it was made sea-worthy again. She was brought into Portsmouth in September 1758 still with the captured French on board. The crew were then imprisoned at Porchester Castle . The Marquis de Quesne and his two senior captains were brought to England independently on HMS Gibraltar and held at Northampton . Junior officers were held at Maidstone . She
736-488: The Prevailing Abuses , which has become a valuable document in early Australian history. Hunter explored and opened up the country near Sydney, and also encouraged the explorations of Matthew Flinders and George Bass . A contemporary, midshipman Daniel Southwell described Hunter as "devoid of stiff pride, most accomplished in his profession, and, to sum up all, a worthy man." But the circumstances in which he
782-661: The Red Vice-Admiral of the Red was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank admiral of the Blue (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence fourth; after 1805 it
828-544: The Southern Ocean Since the Publication of Phillip's Voyage , published at the beginning of 1793. An abridged edition appeared later in the same year. In the first edition of this work is found the earliest reference to the possibility of there being a strait between the mainland and Tasmania. On page 126 Hunter says: "There is reason thence to believe, that there is in that space either a very deep gulf, or
874-673: The chartered Dutch vessel Waaksamheyd after a long and arduous voyage. Finally arriving at Portsmouth in April 1792, Hunter was court-martialled for the loss of the Sirius but was honourably acquitted. Hunter then prepared for publication his interesting An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island, With the Discoveries That Have Been Made in New South Wales and
920-660: The churchyard of St John-at-Hackney . The Hunter River and Hunter Valley north of Sydney are both named after him, as is the suburb of Hunters Hill in Sydney, and the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle . In 1986 he was honoured on a postage stamp depicting his portrait issued by Australia Post . HMAS Hunter the lead ship of the new Hunter -Class frigates of the Royal Australian Navy
966-613: The cliff near Paignton , and soon afterwards bilged. A gale then struck the area, and with Venerable fast going to pieces, her crew were evacuated with little loss by HMS Impetueux . Hunter again underwent a court-martial, and was again fully acquitted. Hunter was promoted to rear-admiral on 2 October 1807, and then to vice-admiral on 31 July 1810 but never hoisted his flag at sea. Vice-Admiral John Hunter spent his final years in his home town of Leith, living at 6 Cassels Place. He died at his London home at Judd Street, New Road, Hackney , London on 13 March 1821. His tomb can be seen in
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#17327731995171012-402: The colony in 1793, at the end of his term as governor, and for the following two years the military were in complete control. During the lieutenant-governorship of Francis Grose , who unmercifully exploited the convicts, a great traffic in alcoholic spirits sprang up, on which there was an enormous profit for the officers concerned. They had obtained the control of the courts and the management of
1058-628: The command of Captain John Jervis , and was stationed at Plymouth until early 1777. In March 1777 she was fitted for service in the English Channel , and spent that summer cruising off the French coast. On 31 July 1777, she engaged the American privateer Fancy , which was driven ashore at Penzance , Cornwall . On 18 June 1778 she engaged and captured the 32-gun Pallas , and was then present with Admiral Augustus Keppel's fleet at
1104-424: The completion of this work by May, she returned to sea, sailing at first with Admiral Francis Geary's fleet, and later with George Darby 's. She was then present at the relief of Gibraltar in April 1781, after which she was moved to Robert Digby's squadron. By the summer of 1781 she had returned to sailing with Darby's fleet, and by April 1782 had moved to a squadron under Samuel Barrington . She captured
1150-571: The duration of his time in command, acting virtually as master of the fleet . He was active in the Chesapeake raid and the expeditions on the Delaware, as well as the defence of Sandy Hook . On Howe's recall, his reputation by now stale with the Sandwich administration , Hunter was not able to have his request to be made lieutenant honoured. Instead he joined the 74-gun HMS Berwick as
1196-522: The expedition, entitled "Chart of the coasts and harbours of Botany-Bay, Port-Jackson and Broken-Bay, as survey'd by Capt.n John Hunter of H.M.S. Sirius". The expedition was significant because it may have marked the first contact to take place between the British and the Indigenous people of the land, the Wangal Clan, in 1788. William Bradley 's log says that this contact took place while Hunter
1242-477: The fleet under Commodore Samuel Hood . Hood gave Hunter an acting-order as master in 1768, and after passing his exams with Trinity House in 1769, Hunter had the order confirmed. His first appointment was to the 28-gun HMS Carysfort for service in the West Indies. Hunter spent his time there making charts and plans of parts of the coast and of the Spanish fortifications at Havana , which he sent back to
1288-649: The government to Lieutenant-Governor Philip Gidley King . When Hunter arrived he endeavoured to vindicate his character with the authorities but was given no opportunity. Hunter was obliged to state his case in a long pamphlet printed in 1802, Governor Hunter's Remarks on the Causes of the Colonial Expense of the Establishment of New South Wales. Hints for the Reduction of Such Expense and for Reforming
1334-537: The governorship of New South Wales in July 1793, Hunter had applied for the position in October and was appointed governor in January 1794. Various delays occurred, and it was not until February 1795 that he was able to sail. Hunter arrived at Sydney on 7 September 1795 on HMS Reliance and took up the office of governor on 11 September 1795. Hunter's difficulties began before he arrived back in Sydney. Phillip left
1380-479: The lands, public stores, and convict labour. Hunter realised that these powers had to be restored to the civil administration, a difficult task. And in John Macarthur he had an opponent who would ruthlessly defend his commercial interests. Hunter found himself practically helpless. A stronger man might have sent the officers home under arrest, but had Hunter attempted to do so he likely would have precipitated
1426-470: The military in the face of powerful local interests led by John MacArthur . Hunter's name is commemorated in historic locations such as Hunter Valley and Hunter Street, Sydney . John Hunter was born in Leith , Scotland , the son of William Hunter, a captain in the merchant service, and Helen, née Drummond, daughter of J. Drummond and niece of George Drummond , several-time lord provost of Edinburgh . As
John Hunter (Royal Navy officer) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1472-540: The organisation of the fleet into three parts. The rank of Admiral of the Fleet was formally introduced in 1688. The Vice-Admiral of the Red was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Admiral of the Blue (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805 this rank
1518-520: The preparation of the First Fleet was in progress, Lord Howe, by then first lord of the admiralty , arranged for Hunter to be promoted to post captain on 15 December 1786, and appointed to command HMS Sirius . The fleet was under the overall command of Commodore Arthur Phillip who was going out to find and be governor of the new colony of New South Wales . Hunter carried a dormant commission as successor to Phillip if he should have died or
1564-475: The time in a penitentiary". His service as Governor was ultimately recognised through the grant of an annual pension of £300, approved by then-Prime Minister Henry Addington in October 1802. Hunter continued his interest in Australia long after he left it, and the suggested reforms in his pamphlet were of much value. When the platypus was first seen by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to
1610-492: Was Evan Nepean , then the ship's purser , but later a leading civil servant and First Secretary to the Admiralty . From Foudroyant Hunter was moved into HMS Eagle in 1776, at the request of Admiral Lord Howe , who was then going out to North America as commander-in-chief of the fleet, with Eagle as his flagship . When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Hunter served under Howe for
1656-588: Was absent. The expedition arrived in Port Jackson in January 1788. Hunter led an expedition to explore the Parramatta River early in 1788. This expedition explored and made soundings as far as Iron Cove , Five Dock Bay and Hen and Chicken Bay on the Parramatta River. The Sir William Dixson Research Library at the State Library of New South Wales holds the original copy of the chart of
1702-741: Was commissioned in June 1759 under the command of Captain Richard Tyrell , serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hardy between June and October 1759. She spent August sailing with Admiral Edward Hawke's fleet. Foudroyant underwent another refit at Portsmouth in the spring of 1760, commissioning later that year under Captain Robert Duff . She sailed to the Leeward Islands in April 1760, but had returned to Britain by Autumn 1761 to undergo another refit. She took part in
1748-518: Was having breakfast and is remembered in the name of the suburb, Breakfast Point . Hunter was ordered to the Cape of Good Hope for supplies in October 1788. He sailed around Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope, and from there back to New South Wales in May 1789, thus circumnavigating the globe. The voyage was made more difficult by leaky state of the ship, which rendered continual pumping necessary. Sirius
1794-404: Was in order of precedence fourth; after 1805 it was the fifth. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank. The Navy was divided into three squadrons Red, White and Blue in order of seniority. Admirals were appointed to these squadrons and therefore their rank and squadron split the seniority originally into 9 bands then later 10 with ‘Admiral of the Fleet' as senior to all others. Seniority
1840-467: Was placed made it very difficult for him to be completely successful as a governor. As his successor Philip Gidley King said, his conduct was "guided by the most upright intentions", and he was "most shamefully deceived by those on whom he had every reason to depend for assistance, information, and advice." Of his sojourn in the colony Hunter said that he "could not have had less comfort, although he would certainly have had greater peace of mind, had he spent
1886-423: Was present at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 5 August that year. Howe appointed him third lieutenant of his flagship HMS Victory in 1782, and was advanced to first lieutenant by the time she took part in the relief of Gibraltar and the Battle of Cape Spartel . Following these engagements Hunter was appointed to his first command, that of the 14-gun sloop Marquis de Seignelay , on 12 November 1782. When
John Hunter (Royal Navy officer) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1932-599: Was present at the Raid on Rochefort in 1757, and afterwards served during cruises off Brest in 1758 and the capture of Quebec in 1759 . Serving aboard Neptune at this time as her first lieutenant was John Jervis , later Earl of St Vincent and First Sea Lord, who became an acquaintance of Hunter. Hunter spent the rest of the Seven Years' War as midshipman on several of Admiral Philip Durell 's flagships, serving aboard HMS Royal Anne , HMS Princess Amelia and
1978-401: Was surveyed at Portsmouth for £163.10.2d. The Admiralty approved her purchase on 7 November that year, and she was duly bought on 6 December for the sum of £16,759.19.11d. She was officially named Foudroyant and entered onto the navy lists on 13 December 1758. She underwent a refit at Portsmouth between February and August 1759 for the sum of £14,218.9.2d to fit her for navy service. She
2024-594: Was the fifth. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank. (pictured opposite is the command flag for a vice-admiral of the Red). The Royal Navy inaugurated squadron colours during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) to subdivide the English fleet into three squadrons. There were three classes of admirals and differentiated by using coloured flags. In 1620 the official flag ranks of Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Rear Admiral were legally established that arose directly out of
2070-415: Was then refitted and sent to Norfolk Island with a large party of convicts, but was caught in a violent storm while anchored there. She was driven onto a coral reef and wrecked. A number of the crew returned to Port Jackson aboard the brig HMS Supply , the remainder, including Hunter, waited for nearly a year on the island before being taken off. Hunter and some of his men returned to England aboard
2116-521: Was therefore from 1805 to 1864: Seniority was therefore from 1688 to 1805: Admirals without an appointment were colloquially referred to as Yellow admirals. Ships of the Royal Navy flew the Ensign that coincided with the squadron of their commanding officer. HMS Foudroyant (1758) The Foudroyant was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy . She was later captured and served in
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