William Raven (1756–1814) was an English master mariner, naval officer and merchant. He commanded the whaler and sealing vessel ''

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

'' and the naval store ship in Australian and New Zealand waters from 1792 until 1799. While in command of ''Britannia'' under contract to the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, he mapped the

Loyalty Islands The Loyalty Islands Province ( French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...

of Maré,

Lifou Lifou is a communes of France, commune of France in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Lifou is made up of Lifou Island, the largest and most heavily populated of the Loyalty Islands, its smaller neig ...

, Tiga and

Ouvéa Ouvéa () or Uvea is a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from t ...

between August 1793 and May 1796. Raven was granted of land in the vicinity of

Tennyson Point, New South Wales Tennyson Point is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Tennyson Point is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde and is part of the Northern Sydney regio ...

in 1795, plus another in 1799. The grant was known as Grove Farm. These Eastern Farms, now

Kissing Point Kissing Point is a point on the Parramatta River about 2 km south of Ryde, located in the suburb of Putney. Historically, the name referred to a much wider area than the current-day point; and perhaps originally to the point near Ryde Bridg ...

, properties were managed for him by the brewer

James Squire James Squire, alternatively known as James Squires, (18 December 1754 – 16 May 1822) was a First Fleet convict transported to Australia. Squire is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia around the start of the 19t ...

of Kissing Point until Squire's death in 1822. The tip of the peninsula into the Parramatta River at Tennyson Point is now called Raven Point.Geoscience Australia Place Names Search
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raven, William 1756 births 1814 deaths English explorers of the Pacific Sealers British people in whaling Sea captains