James Scott (died 1796) was a Sergeant of Marines in the New South Wales Marine Corps and commander of the first

quarter guard The quarter guard is a small detachment of troops that can be used as a ceremonial guard which may be mounted at the entrance of a military unit to pay compliments as required. A quarter guard is to consist of one non-commissioned officer and si ...

in New South Wales. He is notable for his journal describing his experiences in 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 ...

, which established the first European settlement in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1788.

Colonial service

Scott was on board the '' Prince of Wales'' which left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787 with the other vessels of the First Fleet. He took with him his wife Jane, who was pregnant with their first child. The voyage was not an entirely happy one. On 30 June 1787 Scott allegedly insulted the wife of fellow marine sergeant John Hume, after which Hume refused to share a

mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

with him. A week later sergeant John Kennedy became so drunk on duty that he fell through an open hatchway and injured Scott's wife, for which offence Kennedy was placed in legcuffs for two weeks and then transferred to '' Alexander''. Despite her injuries Jane was well enough to go ashore when the Fleet reached Rio de Janeiro, returning to the ship before it departed for the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

. She gave birth to a healthy daughter, Elizabeth, on board ''Prince of Wales'' on 29 August 1787. The Fleet arrived in New South Wales in January 1788, with the Marines disembarking first at Botany Bay. Six days later they reboarded the ships for the voyage to Port Jackson, where they were reorganised into four companies under the commands of Captains James Campbell and John Shea, and Captain-Lieutenants Watkin Tench and James Meredith.Moore 1989, p. 307 Scott was assigned to Campbell's company alongside fellow sergeants Isaac Knight and Edward Devan, and was named commander of the settlement's quarter guard. On 15 April 1789 he was the first to report an outbreak of smallpox among the

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

population at Sydney Cove, when he and a party of convicts encountered a man and two boys with clear symptoms of the disease. Scott's report was provided to Governor

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 ...

and surgeon John White, who hastened to the spot but found that one of three had already died. The two survivors were taken to the settlement for medical care. In addition to his Marine duties, Scott turned his hand to farming and accompanied several expeditions into the hinterland behind Sydney Cove. A son William was born in Sydney in 1790. Scott's relations with his fellow settlers was harmonious throughout his term of service. The single exception was in 1791 when Martha Davis, the wife of Private John Davis, was arrested after publicly calling Jane Scott a whore. Martha later claimed she was provoked and was released after making a formal apology. Somewhat to Scott's discredit he was on duty as the settlement's lookout on the night in March 1791 when William and

Mary Bryant Mary Bryant (1765 – after 1794) was a Cornish convict sent to Australia. She became one of the first successful escapees from the fledgling Australian penal colony. Early life Bryant was born Mary Broad (referred to as Mary Braund at the E ...

escaped Sydney Cove by boat, in company with seven other convicts and two small children.Keneally 2006, p. 349

Return to England

Scott and his family returned to England on in 1791 – a member of the last company of the New South Wales Marine Corps to leave Australia. He was discharged from the New South Wales Marines at Spithead in June 1792, and rejoined the British Marines at the same location. From 1792 to 1796 he served as a Marine squad sergeant at Portsmouth, earning £20 a year. He died in Portsmouth, England in March 1796 and was buried on 2 April.

Legacy

His account of the voyage and his time in the colony, entitled ''Remarks on a passage Botnay .e. Botanybay 1787'' has survived and covers the dates 13 May 1787 – 20 May 1792. In his journal he records that he commanded the Quarter Guard, looked after pigs and poultry, and after arriving at Sydney searched for a lost marine in the bush. During the voyage, he records that a convict attempted to escape at Tenerife. The diary was published in 1963 as ''Remarks on a passage to Botany Bay, 1787–1792 : a First Fleet Journal''.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James 1796 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia First Fleet