James Kelly (Australian explorer)
Encyclopedia
James Kelly 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 1814, he was master of the Henrietta Packet, a schooner owned by Thomas William Birch. carrying passengers and cargo between colonial ports.
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 Birchs Inlet
after Kelly's employer and sponsor Thomas Birch. Birch was granted a monopoly to exploit Huon Pine on the west coast as a reward. Birch gave a differing account to the T.W. commission of inquiry into the state of the colony in 1820. He said that Port Davey was discovered while on board the Henrietta Packet and that Kelly had discovered Macquarie Harbour after proceeding along in a boat from Port Davey. Kelly also gave evidence to the same commission, and did not mention any discoveries, or contradict the account of Birch.
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. 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.
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
).
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. He was probably the son of James Kelly, a cook in the convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
transport
Convict ship
The term convict ship is a colloquial term used to describe any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.-Colonial practice:...
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
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
trades as well as making a voyage to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. 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
Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island lies in the southwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, about half-way between New Zealand and Antarctica, at 54°30S, 158°57E. Politically, it has formed part of the Australian state of Tasmania since 1900 and became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978. In 1997 it became a world heritage...
. He became the first Australian-born master mariner with voyages in the sealing industry and general trade between Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
In 1814, he was master of the Henrietta Packet, a schooner owned by Thomas William Birch. carrying passengers and cargo between colonial ports.
In December 1815 Kelly left Hobart in command of an expedition to circumnavigate Tasmania using the whaleboat
Whaleboat
A whaleboat is a type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well. It was originally developed for whaling, and later became popular for work along beaches, since it does not need to be turned around for beaching or...
Elizabeth . The party made the official discovery of Port Davey on the south west coast, and on 28 December of Macquarie Harbour
Macquarie Harbour
Macquarie Harbour is a large, shallow, but navigable by shallow draft vessels inlet on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.-History:James Kelly wrote in his narrative "First Discovery of Port Davey and Macquarie Harbour" how he sailed from Hobart in a small open five-oared whaleboat to discover...
on the central west coast. Features within the harbour were named the Gordon River
Gordon River
The Gordon River is one of the major rivers of Tasmania, Australia. It rises in the centre of the island at Lake Richmond and flows westward for about 193km where it empties into Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast of Tasmania. Major tributaries include the Serpentine River and the Franklin...
after the owner of the Elizabeth and Birchs Inlet
Birchs Inlet
Birchs Inlet, also spelt Birch's Inlet or Birches Inlet, is a narrow cove or coastal inlet on the south-western side of Macquarie Harbour on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is named after Thomas William Birch , a surgeon, whaler, merchant and shipowner who settled in Tasmania in 1808...
after Kelly's employer and sponsor Thomas Birch. Birch was granted a monopoly to exploit Huon Pine on the west coast as a reward. Birch gave a differing account to the T.W. commission of inquiry into the state of the colony in 1820. He said that Port Davey was discovered while on board the Henrietta Packet and that Kelly had discovered Macquarie Harbour after proceeding along in a boat from Port Davey. Kelly also gave evidence to the same commission, and did not mention any discoveries, or contradict the account of Birch.
In November 1817, commanding Birch's Sophia, Kelly sailed on a sealing venture to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and entered Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
. With him was William Tucker
William Tucker (settler)
William Tucker was a British convict, a sealer, a trader in human heads, an Otago settler, and New Zealand’s first art dealer....
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. 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.
In May 1819 Governor Macquarie confirmed Kelly's appointment as pilot and harbourmaster at the Derwent River
Derwent River
-Rivers:* Derwent River which flows through Hobart.It may also refer to:* Derwent River which crosses the Birdsville Track at Mungeranie in the Lake Eyre Basin-See also:...
. 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
Maria Island
Maria Island is a mountainous island off the east coast of Tasmania. The entire island is a national park. Maria Island National Park has a total area of 115.50 km², which includes a marine area of 18.78 km² off the island's northwest coast. The island is about 20 km in length from...
. 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
Forestier Peninsula
The Forestier Peninsula is a peninsula of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Its coordinates are . It is connected to the mainland at East Bay Neck, near the town of Dunalley...
and Kelly Point on Bruny Island (later renamed Dennes Point
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....
).
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