Thomas Bannister (1799–1874) was a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. He was born in

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of the coastal town of Shoreham-by-Sea. The smaller ...

, Sussex in 1799, and arrived in Western Australia in 1829, age 30, with the rank of Captain aboard the ''Atwick'' with 3 servants from London, England. Upon arriving in Fremantle he accompanied

Thomas Braidwood Wilson Thomas Braidwood Wilson FRGS (bapt. 29 April 1792 – 11 November 1843) was an Australian surgeon and explorer. He was baptised in Kirknewton, West Lothian, Scotland, the son of James, and Catherine Boak. Sea voyages Wilson studied at Edinbur ...

to select land for settlement along the

Canning River The Canning River (Djarlgarra in Nyungar) is a major tributary of the Swan River in the South West Land Division of Western Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species. Source a ...

. Later the same year he explored the base of the

Darling Range The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to t ...

and then lead an expedition from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

to Albany accepting land grants along the way. Bannister came to Forth River and Frankland River in 1831. Leaving the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

in 1835 (renting his Canning land to William Nairn), and went to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

where he became a founding member of the Port Philip Association. He is the brother of

Saxe Bannister Saxe Bannister (1790 – 16 September 1877) was a writer and the first Attorney-General of New South Wales, Australia. Early life and education Bannister was born in Steyning, Sussex, son of John Bannister. He matriculated at The Queen's Colle ...

, the first Attorney General 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 ...

. Thomas Bannister died in 1874. The Bannister River, the town of North Bannister, and Bannister Street, Fremantle, are all named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bannister, Thomas English explorers People from Steyning 1799 births 1874 deaths