Forby Sutherland was a member of the crew of the '' Endeavour'' during Lieutenant (later- Captain) James Cook's voyage to New South Wales. He died while the ship was in

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 ...

, making him the first British subject to die 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 ...

and the first European to die 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 , es ...

Life and death in Australia

Sutherland was an

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

and also the ship's poulterer (which meant he prepared game birds for the table, including for instance those shot by

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

and Lieutenant John Gore). Cook logged that Forby Sutherland died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

on the evening of 30 April 1770 while the ship was anchored in the Bay, and was buried ashore at Kurnell the following morning. He had been afflicted by that condition ever since leaving the

Le Maire Strait The Le Maire Strait (''Estrecho de le Maire'') (also the Straits Lemaire) is a sea passage between Isla de los Estados and the eastern extremity of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego. History Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten discov ...

. The actual date of burial was 2 May.

Memorial

Near the landing place, in

Kurnell Kurnell is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire along the east coast. Cronulla and Woolooware are the only adj ...

there is a memorial stone, noting that Forby Sutherland was the first British subject to die on Australian soil. The memorial was unveiled on 29 April 1933. Henry Kendall wrote a poem called "Sutherland's Grave", in remembrance of Forby Sutherland and his burial in Australia. Some attribute the name of the

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

area as his legacy. Forby Sutherland Memorial Park is in the suburb of Sutherland.

Sutherland Point

Sutherland Point () is the headland at the eastern end of Kurnell beach inside

. The point was named Point Sutherland by

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

, for crewman Forby Sutherland.

Life and death in Australia

Memorial

Sutherland Point

References

Further reading