James William Robinson (April 25, 1824 – August 16, 1906) was a Tasmanian sailor whose son,

James Kerguelen Robinson James Kerguelen Robinson (11 March 1859 – 1914) was an Australian prospector who was the first person born south of the Antarctic Convergence. Robinson Pass was named after him. Life Robinson was born in March 1859 on the Kerguelen Islands ...

, was the first person born south of the

Antarctic Convergence The Antarctic Convergence or Antarctic Polar Front is a marine belt encircling Antarctica, varying in latitude seasonally, where cold, northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet the relatively warmer waters of the sub-Antarctic. Antarctic waters pr ...

. Robinson Pass was named after James Kerguelen Robinson.

Career

James William Robinson was born in April 1824 to Elizabeth Presnell (1802–1885) and George William Robinson (1801–1839), a free settler who had been a crewman of the American whaling vessel ''General Gates''. James William was educated in

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-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and later

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. He began sailing at age 11 and killed his first whale shortly before he turned 13. James was working at a Tasmanian bay-whaling station at the age of 15, when he received the news that his father had unexpectedly died. Robinson felt "no alternative but to follow a seafaring life". Robinson married Jane Parsons Bentley. Their second son Alfred Bingley Robinson (1851–1934) also became a sea captain. In 1858, Robinson traveled with his wife Jane Parsons Bentley on board ''Offley'' for a sealing voyage to Heard Island after reports of

elephant seals Elephant seals are very large, oceangoing earless seals in the genus ''Mirounga''. Both species, the northern elephant seal (''M. angustirostris'') and the southern elephant seal (''M. leonina''), were hunted to the brink of extinction for oil ...

. He commanded the voyage known as the Tasmanian Sealing Voyage which lasted from 1858 to 1860. He had arrange for ''Elizabeth Jane'' to act as tender. When the ship failed to reach Heard Island, Robinson requested the United States schooner ''Mary Powell'' to become tender. The ''Mary Powell'' suffered a shipwrecking and Robinson as well as his crew was rescued by another schooner, the ''Cornelia''. Legal action was taken as a result of the incident. While on the voyage his wife gave birth to James Kerguelen Robinson on 11 March 1859 and became the first person born south of the Antarctic Convergence. Robinson Pass was named after his son. In 1904, Robinson's family requested he write a memoir about his experiences at sea. Robinson died in 1906.

References

External links

Geni profile

Captain Robinson The reminiscences of a Tasmanian Mariner James William Robinson 1824-1906 by James ROBINSON Mike NASH
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, James William Australian sailors Australian people in whaling 1824 births 1906 deaths