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Image Not Available for Narrative of a Voyage Around the World: Comprehending an Account of the Wreck of the Ship GOVERNOR READY
Narrative of a Voyage Around the World: Comprehending an Account of the Wreck of the Ship GOVERNOR READY
Image Not Available for Narrative of a Voyage Around the World: Comprehending an Account of the Wreck of the Ship GOVERNOR READY

Narrative of a Voyage Around the World: Comprehending an Account of the Wreck of the Ship GOVERNOR READY

Author (1792-1843)
Publisher
Date1835
Object number00004988
NameBook
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 232 x 141 mm
Display Dimensions: 232 x 147 x 28 mm
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis book, titled 'Narrative of a Voyage Around the World: Comprehending an Account of the Wreck of the Ship GOVERNOR READY, in Torres Straits; A Description of the British Settlements on the Coasts of New Holland, more particularly Raffles Bay, Melville Island, Swan River, and King George's Sound; also the Manners and Customs of the Aboriginal Tribes', was written by Thomas Braidwood Wilson and published in 1835. The 349-page account has 'an appendix containing remarks on transportation, the treatment of convicts during the voyage, and advice to persons intending to emigrate to the Australian colonies'. The book contains three lithographs and a chart titled, 'Chart of Australia shrewing [sic] the track of the ship GOVERNOR READY'.HistoryThomas Braidwood Wilson (1792-1843) was born in West Lothian, Scotland. In 1815, he served as a surgeon in the Royal Navy and not long after, was appointed surgeon-superintendent on several convict ships sailing to New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land. After the first voyage to Sydney on HMS RICHMOND in 1822, he sailed on HMS PRINCE REGENT in 1824 and HMS MANGLES in 1826. In 1829, Wilson boarded HMS GOVERNOR READY bound for Australia when it was wrecked in the Torres Strait. He and some of the crew were able to row to safety in Timor. Wilson left Timor in HMS AMITY for Swan River and Perth. He later sailed to Hobart taking with him a collection of European plants and the first hive of bees to survive the trip to Australia. In 1822 and 1826, Wilson was granted land for his explorations in Western Australia, part of which he named Braidwood. In 1835, he published accounts of his voyages around Australia’s coasts, which he titled ‘Narrative of a Voyage Around the World: Comprehending an Account of the Wreck of the Ship GOVERNOR READY, in Torres Straits; A Description of the British Settlements on the Coasts of New Holland, more particularly Raffles Bay, Melville Island, Swan River, and King George's Sound; also the Manners and Customs of the Aboriginal Tribes’. In it, he described the treatment of the convicts and the European introduced diseases that were decimating the Aboriginal population. In 1836, Wilson relocated his wife and two children to Braidwood, New South Wales, making it his eighth voyage to Australia. Misfortune soon followed, however, when Wilson’s son and wife died within months of each other in 1837 and 1838. His loss intensified when he was declared bankrupt by the early 1840s. On 11 November 1843, Wilson committed suicide, leaving behind his sixteen-year-old daughter.SignificanceThomas Wilson is said to be the first person to bring out an intact hive of European honey bees to Australia and Grevillea Wilsoni and Wilson's Inlet on the south coast of Western Australia were both named for him.