John Ovens (1788 – 7 December 1825) was an Irish-born soldier, civil engineer and explorer of

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 ...

. He was aide-de-camp to

Sir Thomas Brisbane Major General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he had served, he was appoint ...

, governor of New South Wales and explored the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

and Monaro (New South Wales) district with Capt. Mark Currie.

Life and career

Ovens was born in St Catherine,

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of a ...

, Ireland and joined the

73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot The 73rd Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1780. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 42nd Regiment of Foot to form the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) in 1881. History Formation The re ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1808. He travelled with the regiment in 1810 to the colony of

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 ...

. He returned to England in October 1811 and soon transferred to the 74th (Highland) Regiment of Foot under Thomas Brisbane. Ovens returned to New South Wales when Brisbane was appointed governor and was made acting chief engineer. Brisbane employed Ovens as his private secretary and promoted him to major. In October 1825 Ovens assisted

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

to survey

Twofold Bay Twofold Bay is an open oceanic embayment that is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The bay was named by George Bass, for its shape of two bights. The northern bight is called Calle Calle Bay; while the southern ...

in New South Wales. Ovens died at his residence and was accorded a grand funeral with regimental cortege and honours.

Legacy

The

Ovens River The Ovens River, a perennial river of the north-east Murray catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine and Hume regions of the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features Formed by the confluence of the East a ...

, the town of

Ovens, Victoria Ovens is a town in north east Victoria, Australia located at the junction of the Ovens River and Happy Valley Creek. At the , Ovens and the surrounding area had a population of 219. It is south east of Myrtleford heading towards Bright and ...

and the submarine HMAS ''Ovens'' were named after him. Also Ovens wattle, Acacia pravissima.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ovens, John 1788 births 1825 deaths Explorers of Australia 73rd Regiment of Foot officers 74th Highlanders officers