Henry Hacking (1750 – 21 July 1831) was an Australian seaman and early explorer in

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 , e ...

. He was responsible for shooting and killing the Aboriginal resistance fighter

Pemulwuy Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...

in 1802.

Biography

Hacking was quartermaster of , the flagship of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

that established the first European colony in New South Wales, Australia in 1788. He probably returned to England after the loss of the ''Sirius'' in 1790, as he returned to Sydney in the ''Royal Admiral'' in 1792. In March 1799 Henry Hacking was ordered by Governor John Hunter to investigate claims of British sailors being trapped by

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Island ...

at the mouth of the Hunter River to the north of the colony. Hacking encountered a group of

Awabakal The Awabakal people , are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Their traditional t ...

people on the south side of the river, who informed him that the sailors had left earlier on foot, endeavouring to walk back to Sydney. Hacking did not believe them, and became agitated, shooting dead three Awabakal men. The sailors later arrived in Sydney, having walked the distance to return. Hacking led many hunting expeditions to supplement meat rations for Australia's first settlers. He was among the party that found the lost government cattle at Cowpastures in 1795. He was sentenced to be transported to

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together wit ...

in October 1799 for perjury, but received a pardon. In 1800 and 1801 he piloted the into and out of Port Jackson. In 1802 he was appointed first mate of the . In 1802 Hacking shot and killed

, an Aboriginal resistance fighter and a

Bediagal The Bidjigal (also spelt Bediagal, Bejigal, Bedegal or Biddegal) people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are modern-day western, north-western, south-eastern, and southern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The l ...

man who had killed and harassed settlers and who since 1790 had been a wanted man. In 1802 Hacking shot and wounded Ann Holmes, his former mistress, for which crime he was sentenced to death but pardoned in 1803. Also in 1803 he was found guilty of stealing naval stores from and again sentenced to death, then reprieved on condition that he was transported to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

. In 1804 Hacking was appointed coxswain to the lieutenant-governor at

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

. In July 1806 he was appointed pilot at Hobart at £50 a year. He died at Hobart on 21 July 1831.

Legacy

Port Hacking Port Hacking Estuary ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: ''Deeban''), an open youthful tide dominated, drowned valley estuary, is located in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia approximately south of Sydney central business district. Por ...

, south of Botany Bay, known as Deeban by traditional owners, was named in his honour by

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

in 1796.

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading