Captain William George Carlile Kent (1788 – 13 May 1871) was an officer in the Royal Navy, who was involved in the early settlement of the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

, Australia.

Early life

William George Carlile Kent was born in 1788 in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

, Scotland, as the second-born son of John Kent, a

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

in the navy. William's paternal grandmother was Mary Hunter, older sister 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 ( ...

, who became the second

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

in 1795. In 1803 his father John became steward of

Royal Naval Hospital A Royal Naval Hospital (RNH) was a hospital operated by the British Royal Navy for the care and treatment of sick and injured naval personnel. A network of these establishments were situated across the globe to suit British interests. They were p ...

, Plymouth. On 2 July 1798, Kent joined the navy as a first-class volunteer on the 74-gun , under Captain Sir Sidney Smith. Kent was part of the crew on ''Tigre'' when it took part in the defence of Acre in May 1799. In March 1800, Kent transferred to the 74-gun , Captain John Stiles, which took part in the blockade of Genoa, in 1800. In late 1800 he joined the crew of , Captain Theophilus Jones, 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 ...

New South Wales

In January 1802, Kent joined the crew of , under command of his uncle

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, b ...

, which was returning to the

with stores and supplies. ''Buffalo'' arrived in New South Wales on 16 October, she left on 21 April 1803 for

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, via

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 ...

for a supply drop, to purchase livestock. ''Buffalo'' 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 ...

, New South Wales, on 13 June 1804, with the cattle purchased in India. In October 1804, ''Buffalo'' in company with , took Colonel William Paterson, the

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

to establish a settlement at

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 ...

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

. In August 1805, Governor

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 ...

, appointed Kent to acting lieutenant of ''Buffalo'', but the confirmation of his appointment to lieutenant did not occur until 17 May 1809. In January 1807 he was appointed acting first lieutenant of , before being put in command of ''Lady Nelson'' in May. ''Lady Nelson'' and ''Porpoise'' were then used to ferry settlers from the abandoned settlement at Norfolk Island to the new settlements in Van Diemen's Land. ''Lady Nelson'' returned to Sydney in March 1808, months after Governor

William Bligh William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...

had been overthrown in the

Rum Rebellion The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a ''coup d'état'' in the British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, its name derives from the ...

. Major George Johnston had assumed the role of Lieutenant-Governor and Governor Bligh was being held prisoner in

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

. Bligh had written a commission for Kent to assume command of the ''Porpoise'', after Lieutenant James Symons had deserted and returned to Britain. On 19 April, Kent took the ''Porpoise'' to Port Dalrymple to bring Lieutenant-Governor Paterson to Sydney to restore order between the governor and the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps, later known as the 102d Regiment of Foot, and lastly as the 100th Regiment of Foot, was a formation of the British Army organised in 1789 in England to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, which had accompanied ...

. Paterson refused to sail, so the ''Porpoise'' returned without him. On 28 July 1808,

Joseph Foveaux Joseph Foveaux (1767 – 20 March 1846) was a soldier and convict settlement administrator in colonial New South Wales, Australia. He was also a sheep grazier and breeder, being the largest landholder in New South Wales by 1800. Early life Fovea ...

returned to New South Wales on the to serve as Lieutenant-Governor until Paterson could take over. Arriving at Port Jackson, he found Johnston in command and Bligh under arrest. As the senior officer he chose to take command himself rather than reinstating Bligh. He also allowed Bligh to communicate with Kent on the ''Porpoise''. In November Kent was again sent to Port Dalrymple to bring Paterson to Sydney, and the second time was successful. Kent and Paterson arrived on 1 January 1809. By then, however, Lieutenant John Porteous had arrived from Britain to assume command of ''Porpoise''. Upon his return from Port Dalrymple, Kent was arrested by Porteous, charged with failing to follow Bligh's orders (Bligh stated that Kent "should have blown down the town of Sydney about the ears of the Inhabitants"), and confined to the ''Porpoise'' pending a court martial. An order for assembling a court martial was issued 31 December 1810. In January 1811 on board at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Kent's court martial on three charges took place. After three days of deliberations Kent was cleared on all charges, recommended for promotion and received pay as commander for the entirety of his confinement.

Later life

Kent took time off to recover his health from his imprisonment, and then in April 1812 joining the 98-gun under his uncle William's command. His uncle was killed at sea while in command of ''Union'' off

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

on 29 August. In December Kent became first lieutenant on . While still serving on ''Sparrowhawk'', he was promoted to be a commander on 15 June 1814. In September while off

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, Kent was blinded in both eyes, although he eventually recovered some sight in one eye. He was placed on the retired list on half-pay although he was promoted from the list to captain in 1851. Kent married on 30 December 1830, to Susannah Elizabeth Rankin, third daughter of John Rankin of

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

, Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, William George Carlile 1788 births 1871 deaths Royal Navy officers who were court-martialled Colony of New South Wales people People from Lanarkshire Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars