Rear-Admiral John Bowen (baptised 14 February 178020 October 1827) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer and colonial administrator, who led the first settlement of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

at Risdon Cove.

Early life and career

John Bowen was the son of James Bowen, and was born at

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along t ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

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. He began his naval career in March 1794 and graduated from the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. As a midshipman Bowen joined , which was commanded by his father. In April 1802 when as a lieutenant he joined at the Cape of Good Hope,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. His next appointment was in , carrying

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He arrived at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...

on 11 March 1803. Governor King soon appointed him to form the new settlement at Risdon Cove,

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

. Peter Timms suggests that Bowen was chosen "because King could not spare anyone more experienced".

Hobart settlement

The expedition left at the end of August, with Bowen commanding the ''Albion''. He arrived at Risdon Cove on 12 September 1803. Among the original 49 settlers at Risdon Cove, which became Hobart, were 21 male and 3 female convicts, members of the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying th ...

and free settlers and their families. In January 1804 Bowen, in ''Ferrett'', left for Sydney so that he could return to the navy in the then current war against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, however Governor King told him to return to Risdon via the failing

Port Phillip Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is com ...

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

and to resettle either at Hobart or

Port Dalrymple George Town (Palawa_kani: ''kinimathatakinta'') is a large town in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. The Australian Bureau of Statistics records the George Town Municipal Area had a population of 6,764 as ...

, and requested Bowen to deliver administration of the Risdon settlement to David Collins. In his two years in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Bowen explored the Richmond area, discovering

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

and naming area the Coal River. In May 1804 he explored the Huon River. While at Risdon, Bowen lived with Martha Hayes, who bore him two daughters; Henrietta in 1804 (d. 1823), and Martha Charlotte in 1805.

After Hobart

Bowen finally left Hobart in August 1804 on ''

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

'', and in January 1805 sailed for

in . King paid him £100 to defray his expenses and recommended him for promotion. In May 1804 Bowen was promoted commander and in January 1806 he became captain. From 1806 to December 1809 he was in , which in 1807-08 took part in the blockade of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

and Guadeloupe. In February 1811 he wrote to Robert Peel,

Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. In 1801 the offices of Under-Secretary of State for War and Und ...

, suggesting that he should succeed Collins as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. This was subsequently rejected as it was believed that as a naval officer he could not command troops. In 1812-16 he served in on the India Station. Returning to England on 13 May 1825, he married Elizabeth Lindley Cloves. After a long illness he died at Ilfracombe in 1827, aged 47.

References

External links

Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the State of Tasmania.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, John 1780 births 1827 deaths Settlers of Tasmania Royal Navy rear admirals 19th-century Australian public servants