Commander John Shortland (1739–1803), 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, known for being the agent for transports of First Fleet, and for exploring and charting islands in the South Pacific.

Early life

John Shortland was born near Plymouth,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in 1739, the son of Thomas Shortland. Entering the Royal Navy as midshipman in 1755. He served under Admiral

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...

off Newfoundland, under Admiral

John Byng Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Pass ...

off

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and under Admiral

George Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at th ...

in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

Transport service

Promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1763, he was engaged in the transport service between England and America. He commanded a transport fleet taking reinforcements to the relief of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in 1782 and after returning with troops from Halifax in 1786, he was appointed naval agent to the transports of the First Fleet. A large part of the credit for the success of the First Fleet voyage was due to the vigilance and efficiency with which Shortland discharged his responsibilities as Governor Arthur Phillip was detained in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

until 11 May 1787, two days before the fleet sailed. He had also procured appointments on the expedition for his sons,

John Shortland John Shortland (5 September 1769 – 21 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy, the eldest son of John Shortland.Cape of Good Hope, with Phillip on with three of the fastest transports, ''Alexander'', ''

Friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

'' and ''

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

'', sailed ahead of the rest of the fleet as an advance party arriving at

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

, Australia, on 17 January 1788. After remaining in Australia until 14 July, he sailed for England in the ''Alexander'', carrying the first dispatches of Governor Phillip to the

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

Francis Osborne Francis Osborne (26 September 1593 – 4 February 1659) was an English essayist, known for his '' Advice to a Son'', which became a very popular book soon after the English Restoration. Life He was born, according to his epitaph, on 26 Sept. 1 ...

, accompanied by the ''Borrowdale'', ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Friendship''. During the voyage via

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, Shortland discovered and charted many islands and reefs. He named the

Treasury Islands Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries ...

, named a strait Shortland Strait, an island

Shortland Island Shortland Island (once known as ''Alu'') is the largest island of the Shortland Islands archipelago, in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at . The original name was a Melanesian word, while the current name was given to the island b ...

, and island group

Shortland Islands The Shortland Islands is an archipelago of Western Province, Solomon Islands, at . The island group lies in the extreme north-west of the country's territory, close to the south-east edge of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. The largest isl ...

after himself. During the trip to Batavia, the ''Friendship'' was scuttled near

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

after crew numbers were reduced by

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

. Shortland arrived back in England in May 1789. He strongly urged the Admiralty to have the eastern coast of Australia properly charted, and as a result the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs dispatched Matthew Flinders in .

Later life and legacy

Shortland was promoted to commander in 1790 and, after further active service, retired to

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

, France, where he died in 1803. He was survived by his widow, two sons and two daughters. John Shortland is often confused with his son

John Shortland John Shortland (5 September 1769 – 21 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy, the eldest son of John Shortland.Hunter River, and a second, on the 150th anniversary of the same event, when Australia Post issued a stamp that showed the face of the father instead of the son.

Family

On 5 July 1764 he married Margarethe Rutherford at Whitechapel, Middlesex. A Daughter Jane Shortland was born about 1765 and her sister Peggy Shortland followed two years later. Son John Shortland arrived in 1769 and Thomas George Shortland in 1771.

References

Bibliography

*''Historical Records of New South Wales'', vols 1-4 *''

Historical Records of Australia The ''Historical Records of Australia'' (''HRA'') were collected and published by the Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament, to create a series of accurate publications on the history of Australia. The records begin shortly before 1788, ...

'', Series I, vols 1-2 *J. Hunter, ''An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island'' (Lond, 1793) *W. Tench, ''A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay'' (Lond, 1789) *"Memoir of the Public Services of the Late Captain John Shortland, of the Royal Navy", ''

Naval Chronicle The ''Naval Chronicle'' was a British periodical published monthly between January, 1799 and December, 1818 (Huntington). It contained information about the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, including biographies, histories, news, and essays on ...

'', vol 24, 1810, pp 1–21 *Bonwick transcripts, biography ( State Library of New South Wales) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shortland, John 1739 births 1803 deaths Royal Navy officers First Fleet