Eber Bunker (1761–1836) was a sea captain and
pastoralist, and he was born on 7 March 1761 at
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...
. He commanded one of the first vessels to go
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
and sealing off the coast of Australia. His parents were James Bunker and his wife Hannah, née Shurtleff.
[John S. Cumpston, 'Bunker, Eber (1761-1836)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, p. 178.]
/ref>
1776-1786: Background
When England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
lost its American colonies in 1776 in the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, it lost an important source of raw materials as well as its established dumping grounds for convicted criminals. Consequently, England saw an urgent need to replace these critical resources. Despite the enormous expenses associated with starting a new colony on a virtually uncharted continent in another hemisphere, England elected to establish a penal colony
A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...
at Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is 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 and the Cook ...
under the leadership of Captain Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales.
Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...
. This project was undertaken in part to relieve overcrowding in the English prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
s, as well as to establish a new source for timber and other raw materials, and also to establish a deep water port in the South Pacific for Britain to expand its territories.
After 1776, the American whale oil
Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop").
Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...
market suffered because of the high tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
s placed by Britain on American oil. The resulting glut of oil on the American market stopped production there. Whale oil was in demand in Europe for lighting cities and lubricating the machines of the industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
.
The sturdy, wide beamed whaling ship
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
s were well suited to serve as convict transports. For this reason, many American whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
s migrated to London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and served on British whaling ships transporting convicts to 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 ...
. Among these was Captain Eber Bunker.
Bunker was already well-established in England by the time he was 25 years old. On 16 November 1786 at St. George-in-the-East, Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, Eber Bunker married Margrett Thompson, daughter of Henry Thompson and his wife Isabella (née Collingwood, who was first cousin to Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as ...
).
1791: Voyage to New South Wales as Master of ''William and Ann''
In 1791, five of the whaling ships owned by Samuel Enderby & Sons
Samuel Enderby & Sons was a whaling and sealing company based in London, England, founded circa 1775 by Samuel Enderby (1717–1797). The company was significant in the history of whaling in the United Kingdom, not least for encouraging their ...
were chartered as part of the Third Fleet
The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...
of ships that brought settlers to Australia. Captain Eber Bunker, 30 years old at the time, was selected to be Master of one of these convict transport ships, the '' William and Ann''. The ''William and Ann'' departed from Plymouth, England
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth' ...
on 27 March 1791, with its cargo of 188 convicts and a company of soldiers. The ship arrived at Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...
on 28 August 1791 with 181 surviving convicts.
1791: First whaling and sealing voyage in Australasia
Leaving 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 (p ...
on 24 October 1791, Bunker of the ''William and Ann'' and Captain Thomas Melvill of the ''Britannia'' led the first ever whaling expedition in Australian waters. Between them the two vessels took seven whales but a strong gale caused most of them to be cast adrift and the two ships returned to Port Jackson with only one whale each, which they processed on the shore. Bunker and William Raven
William Raven (1756–1814) was an English master mariner, naval officer and merchant. He commanded the whaler and sealing vessel ''Britannia'' and the naval store ship in Australian and New Zealand waters from 1792 until 1799. While in command ...
led a second expedition to Dusky Sound
Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park.
Geography
One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometr ...
in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
before returning to England with seal skins, in addition to whale oil.[Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition: Raven, William (1756 - 1814)]
/ref>
He next commanded the London whaler ''Pomona''. That vessel departed London for the South Seas in December 1794 under the command of Captain Charles Clark. It was captured by a French privateer in February 1795. It was re-taken by the ''Susanna'' of Liverpool and taken to Cork, Ireland. ''Pomona'' departed Cork for the South Seas under Captain Bunker in June 1795. The vessel was reported off the coast of Chile in January 1796 and among the Galapagos Islands in November of that year. ''Pomona'' returned to London 18 August 1797, a full ship.
1799-1803: More whaling expeditions as Master of ''Albion''
Bunker returned in 1799 to New South Wales in command of the 362-ton ( bm) whaling ship
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
, ''Albion''. This ship was built in Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...
, England. Owned by Messrs Champion and registered in London, ''Albion'' was fitted with 10 guns and had a crew of 26. Bunker and ''Albion'' spent the next two winters whaling, first off the Australian coast and later the New Zealand coast. Bunker returned to Britain with a cargo of 155 barrels of whale oil.
In 1803, during another whaling voyage from England in ''Albion'', Bunker was the first European to discover the Capricorn and Bunker Group
The islands and reefs of the Capricorn and Bunker Group are situated astride the Tropic of Capricorn at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, approximately 80 kilometres east of Gladstone, which is situated on the central coast of the ...
of islands. This group of islands and reefs, situated astride the Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
, is located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
(roughly 80 kilometers east of Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
, off the central coast of Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
). Bunker named the southern group of islands after himself.
1803-1809: Land grants in New South Wales and death of first wife
Later in 1803, Governor King chartered Bunker and ''Albion'' to carry the first settlers, along with stores and cattle, to Risdon Cove
Risdon Cove is a cove located on the east bank of the Derwent River, approximately north of Hobart, Tasmania. It was the site of the first British settlement in Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, the island state of Australia. The cove was name ...
on the Derwent River in Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. As part of his compensation for this voyage, Bunker received a land grant of 400 acres (162 hectares), which he named Collingwood, on Georges River
The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...
near Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
, immediately south of the future town site of the City of Liverpool (New South Wales)
The City of Liverpool is a local government area, administed by Liverpool City Council, located to the south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area encompasses and its administrative centre is located in the s ...
.
In August 1806, after the voyage to Tasmania, he arrived in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
as master of the ''Elizabeth'', bringing his wife Margrett and five children from England to live with him. The Bunker family home in Sydney was in the Rocks overlooking the harbor, at a place known as ''Bunker’s Hill''.
Bunker's wife Margrett died in March 1808. Apparently, this did not slow Bunker down, as in May 1808 he sailed in the brig ''Pegasus'' for New Zealand, Tongatapu
Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
and New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
in search of the ''Harrington'', which had been stolen by convicts.
In the summer of 1809, Bunker conducted a sealing expedition off southern New Zealand in the Pegasus, where he charted Foveaux Strait
The Foveaux Strait, (, or , ) separates Stewart Island, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. The strait is about 130 km long (from Ruapuke Island to Little Solander Island), and it widens (from 14 km at Ruapuk ...
. William Stewart was first officer and made charts of the New Zealand coast, including Stewart Island
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
, which was subsequently named after him. On his return Bunker took up a grant of 500 acres (202 hectares) at Cabramatta Creek
Cabramatta Creek, an urban watercourse of the Georges River catchment, is located in the South Western Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
Cabramatta Creek rises in the rural/residential suburb of Denham Court, east south-e ...
, adjoining his Bankstown land. This he called ''Collingwood Dale''.
1809-1818: Remarriage, establishment as a pastoralist, and more voyages
In 1809, Bunker sailed in command of the ''Venus'' from Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
to Sydney. He married Margaret Macfarlane, widow of an officer of the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. On his return he farmed on his Bankstown land, but his services as a mariner continued to be in demand.
Bunker built ''Collingwood House'' at Liverpool in 1810, and his family moved there the following year. Bunker contributed significantly to the development of the pastoral industry in New South Wales. After he was granted permission to send stock and shepherds to the south and west of Bargo
Bargo is a town in the Macarthur Region, New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. It is approximately 100 km south west of Sydney.
It is situated between the township of Tahmoor (north) and the village of Yanderra (south) ...
and Keepit on the Namoi River
The Namoi River, a major perennial river that is part of the Barwon catchment of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes districts of New South Wales, Australia.
The Namoi River rises on the west ...
, Bunker established a regular supply of fresh meat to the Government Stores.
In 1814 at Governor Macquarie
Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...
s request he returned to England aboard the ''Seringapatam'', which the American frigate ''Essex'' had captured, and which mutineers and prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
had retaken at the Marquesas
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...
. In 1817 he sailed the American ship ''Enterprize'' to the sealing grounds and returned from Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
in 1818 in the ''Dragon''.
1821-1825: More land grants, more voyages, death of second wife, and final marriage
In 1821 Bunker was promised a grant of 600 acres (243 hectares) at Ravensworth
Ravensworth is a village and civil parish in the Holmedale valley, within the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Richmond and from Darlington. The parish has a population of 255, accordin ...
on the Hunter River Hunter River may refer to:
*Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia
*Hunter River (Western Australia)
*Hunter River, New Zealand
*Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada
**Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada
...
, and was given a permit to proceed to the country south and west of Bargo
Bargo is a town in the Macarthur Region, New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. It is approximately 100 km south west of Sydney.
It is situated between the township of Tahmoor (north) and the village of Yanderra (south) ...
with 100 cattle and two servants. He then went to England to buy the ''Wellington''. While he was away his second wife (Margaret) died, and on his return he married, on 28 April 1823, Ann, widow of William Minchin
William Minchin (1774–26 March 1821) was an Irish-born British army officer.
He was commissioned an ensign in the New South Wales Corps on 2 March 1797.
He returned to England with the New South Wales Corps, now the 102nd Regiment of Foot, ...
. In 1824-25 he made a final whaling voyage in the ''Alfred'' to the Santa Cruz Islands
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands ...
.
1828-1836: Final years and legacy
By 1828, Bunker held 1600 acres (648 hectares), of which 340 (138 hectares) were cleared. He died at Collingwood on 27 September 1836, aged 74, and was buried in the old Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
cemetery at Liverpool. Once described by Governor Macquarie as 'a very able and expert Seaman... and of a Most respectable Character', he had been a leading member of the community in New South Wales. He has been called the 'father of Australian whaling'.
The Mitchell Library
The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.
History
The library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a ...
holds a portrait of Eber Bunker wearing a white waistcoat and white linen ruffled shirt each with stand collars, a white stock at neckline, and a navy blue wool double-breasted jacket with brass buttons titled ''Captain Eber Bunker, 1760–1836, The first of the Whalers, Arrived New South Wales 1791''.
[
]
See also
*History of Australia
The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia.
People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and penetrated to all parts ...
*Whaling in Australia
Whaling in Australian waters began in 1791 when five of the 11 ships in the Third Fleet landed their passengers and freight at Sydney Cove and then left Port Jackson to engage in whaling and seal hunting off the coast of Australia and New Zeala ...
References
Further reading
* Richard Hodgkinson, ''Eber Bunker - A New Look'', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, Vol. 64, Part 2, March 1979, pp. 252.
* Richard Hodgkinson, ''Eber Bunker''. Canberra:Roebuck, 1975
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunker, Eber
Economic history of Australia
Sea captains
American people in whaling
1761 births
1836 deaths
People from Plymouth, Massachusetts
Maritime exploration of Australia
People of colonial Massachusetts
British people in whaling
Australian people in whaling
Sealers