Lieutenant Daniel Southwell ( – 21 August 1797) was an officer of the

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, who as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

was part of the crew of when it sailed with the

First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

to found a penal colony in

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, 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 a ...

. He kept a journal and corresponded with his mother, Jane Southwell, and uncle, the Reverend Weeden Butler. This correspondence is held in the

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with copies held in Mitchell Library, New South Wales.

Early service

Southwell joined the navy at the age of 16 in May 1780 as a servant to the first lieutenant aboard the 90-gun , which was then serving as a

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

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 ...

harbour and later was part of the Navy's Western Squadron off the coast of France. After six months, on 13 November 1780, he was promoted to

ordinary seaman __NOTOC__ An ordinary seaman (OS) is a member of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount ...

and transferred to HMS ''Monkey'', a newly purchased 12-gun

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under the command of ''Ocean''s former first lieutenant James Glasford. A month later he saw his first active service when ''Monkey'' pursued and engaged with an 18-gun French privateer off

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Australian service

Southwell joined the crew of as a midshipman on 28 October 1786. He was promoted to

master's mate Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the British Royal Navy, Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the sailing master, master. Master's mates evolved into th ...

on 29 September 1787 after some ill officers were discharged while the fleet was at

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. ''Sirius'' remained in the colony under the command of Captain

John Hunter John Hunter may refer to: Politics *John Hunter (British politician) (1724–1802), British Member of Parliament for Leominster * John Hunter (Canadian politician) (1909–1993), Canadian Liberal MP for Parkdale, 1949–1957 *Sir John Hunter ( ...

, for use by the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

as needed. In October 1788 she sailed to

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

to get food supplies, returning 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 May 1789, completing a circumnavigation in this voyage. Southwell was appointed as commander of the

lookout A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance. ...

station at Sydney's South Head. A series of letters from Southwell to his parents in England offers depictions of early colonial life and the first substantive interactions between Europeans and

Australian Aborigines Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 years ...

. The letters also reveal clashes between the colonial Governor, Captain

Arthur Phillip Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New South Wales, governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Royal Hospital School, Gree ...

, and his senior military officer Major Robert Ross, and Southwell's deep pessimism regarding the colony's economic and governmental prospects.

Return to England

On 28 March 1791 Southwell sailed from Sydney in the ''Waaksamheyd'' with the rest of the ''Sirius'' crew. He was promoted to lieutenant on 11 February 1794. He saw active service in the early stages of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

but was wounded in action off the Portuguese coast and died in Lisbon Hospital on 21 August 1797.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Journal and Letters of Daniel Southwell
a
Project Gutenberg Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwell, Daniel Royal Navy officers Settlers of Australia 1797 deaths 1760s births First Fleet