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

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer, known for his part in developing British settlement in Australasia.

Life

He was the son of Henry Kent of Newcastle-on-Tyne 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, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

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

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, 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 Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 7 September, and for the next five years Kent was employed in the service of the colony, making voyages to

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

and the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

, 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 Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1800 to 1806. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detai ...

, 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, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies 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 New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, and discovered a harbour, which he named Port St Vincent ( Saint Vincent Bay), where he remained for several weeks. In January 1804 Kent was at Calcutta, and returned to

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

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 Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. ''Investigator'' was paid off at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

on 22 December 1805, and on 23 January 1806 Kent was advanced to

post captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to di ...

. 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, 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 captains Military personnel from Newcastle upon Tyne

Life

Family

See also

References