William Kent (1751 or 1760 – 1812) was a British

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 his part in developing British settlement in Australasia.

Life

He was the son of Henry Kent of

Newcastle-on-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

and his wife Mary, a sister of Governor John Hunter. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1781, and after service in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and North Sea was appointed in 1795 to the command of , in which, on 16 February, he sailed for

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 ...

, in company with his uncle, Captain John Hunter, in . Hunter was the new and only the second governor of the colony. Hunter was a single man, so William's wife, Eliza would take up the role of his escort at the governor's receptions. It is thought that Eliza was the first woman to have official duties in Australia. The ships arrived at Sydney on 7 September, and for the next five years Kent was employed in the service of the colony, making voyages to Norfolk Island and the Cape of Good Hope, and surveying parts of the coast of New South Wales. In October 1800 Kent sailed for England in command of , and on his arrival was reappointed to her, June 1801, for the return voyage to Sydney, where, in October 1802, he was promoted by the governor, Captain

Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence ...

, to the rank of commander. The following April he was ordered to go to Norfolk Island with stores, and then through the islands examining their capabilities as to the supply of cattle and forage. He was to go on to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and bring back as many cows as possible of the best breed. On 19 May he made the south-west coast of New Caledonia, and discovered a harbour, which he named Port St Vincent (

Saint Vincent Bay Saint Vincent Bay or Baie Saint Vincent is a bay in southwestern New Caledonia. It is lies north of Inaccessible Bay. It contains Parseval Island and several others. The commune of Bouloupais lies on this stretch of the coast. The Ouenghi R ...

), where he remained for several weeks. In January 1804 Kent was at Calcutta, and returned to

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 ...

in June, bringing back cattle and other stores. He was afterwards moved into , which had undergone repair, and in 1805 sailed her to Britain with intelligence about the state of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. ''Investigator'' was paid off at Plymouth on 22 December 1805, and on 23 January 1806 Kent was advanced to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...

. In November 1808 he was appointed to command , and from her moved to of 98 guns. While in command of ''Union'' he died 29 August 1812 off Toulon.

Family

In 1791 Kent married his cousin

Eliza Kent Eliza Kent (1760 – 29 January 1810) was a British traveller and writer. It is thought that Eliza was the first European woman to have official duties in Australia as "First Lady" to her husband's uncle who was the second Governor of New South ...

, daughter of William Kent of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and left one son, born at Sydney in 1799.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, William 1750s births 1812 deaths Royal Navy officers Military personnel from Newcastle upon Tyne

Life

Family

See also

References