Arthur Bowes Smyth (23 August 175031 March 1790) was a

naval surgeon A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Speciali ...

, who traveled on ''

Lady Penrhyn ''Lady Penrhyn'' was built on the River Thames in 1786 as a slave ship. ''Lady Penrhyn'' was designed as a two-deck ship for use in the Atlantic slave trade, with a capacity of 275 slaves. She was part-owned by William Compton Sever, who serve ...

'' as a part of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

that established a penal colony 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 ...

. Smyth kept a diary and documented the natural history he encountered in Australia.

Early life and medical career

Arthur Bowes Smyth was born on 23 August 1750 at Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, England, and was buried there shortly after his return to England on 31 March 1790. Son of Surgeon Thomas Smyth and the seventh of ten children, Arthur Bowes Smyth followed in his father's footsteps practising medicine in his place of birth until appointed "Surgeon to the Ship's Company" aboard the ''

'' in 1787. Whilst Bowes Smyth practiced as a surgeon for a number of years before his appointment to the First Fleet, no evidence can be found of his medical qualifications. It has been surmised that "Surgeon" was an honorary title. He is known to have practiced midwifery in his local parish of Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, an experience that served him well in his supervision of the women convicts on the ''Lady Penrhyn''.

First Fleet Journal as Surgeon on the ''Lady Penrhyn''

Bowes Smyth boarded ''Lady Penrhyn'' on 22 March 1787 before the ship departed

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

for New South Wales. Bowes Smyth took charge of the female prisoners on the Lady Penrhyn when the convicts' surgeon, John Turnpenny Altree, fell ill at

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the Archipelago, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...

and, in Governor Arthur Phillip's opinion, had proved unequal to the task. Bowes, as he was known in the colony, kept a journal from 22 March 1787 to 12 August 1789. The journal is a detailed account of the voyage, recording weather observations, events on board, treatment of the sick and descriptions of ports of call en route—in particular, Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town. His journal is notable for its interest in natural history including descriptions of bird life at Port Jackson and Lord Howe Island on the ''Lady Penrhyn'''s return voyage. The journal contains 25 drawings in watercolour and ink, including the earliest known surviving illustration of the emu by a European. These elements provide a unique account different from the other First Fleet Journals. Bowes Smyth's journal is one of the most detailed eyewitness accounts of the first weeks of European settlement of Australia. The journal entries for 18–26 January record first impressions on arrival including interactions with Aboriginal communities and descriptions of the vegetation, intense heat, and native wildlife. The convicts and their children who disembarked the ''Lady Penrhyn'' at Port Jackson are listed. Bowes Smyth's first journal entry, dated 22 March 1787, records the full crew list and the women convicts, their name, age, trade, crime, and term of transportation. The list of children born on the voyage contains inaccuracies regarding the sex of the child and dates of birth and death. The ''Lady Penrhyn'', under charter 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 South ...

to continue her voyage to China for a cargo of tea, departed Port Jackson in early May. The journal continues, recording the return voyage via Lord Howe Island, Tahiti, China, St Helena, and finally England. The original journal is now in the collection of the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "maint ...

and has been digitised for online viewing. Manuscript 'fair copies' are held in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

and

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...

. The 24 illustrations in the copy held by the State Library of New South Wales have been separated from the original journal an
digitised for online viewing
The full text from the manuscript has also bee
digitised for online viewing
The Journal was first published in 1979 by the Australian Documents Library File:Grass tree, or `A View of the Tree at Botany Bay, wh yields ye Yellow Balsam, & of a Wigwan A604006h.jpg, Grass tree, or `A View of the Tree at Botany Bay, wh yields ye Yellow Balsam, & of a Wigwan File:Emu, or `New genus of Bird at Botany bay 1788 A604005h.jpg, Drawing of an emu File:Representation of a Bird of the Coot kind, found at Lord Howe Island A604008h.jpg, Representation of a Bird of the Coot kind, found at Lord Howe Island File:The Bread Fruit A604011h.jpg, The Bread Fruit

References

External links

''A Journal of a Voyage from Portsmouth to New South Wales and China – in the Lady Penrhyn, Merchantman – William Cropton Sever, Commander'' by Arthur Bowes, Smyth, Surgeon – 1787-1788-1789 (transcript)

Formatted transcript of Arthur Bowes Smyth's Journal, with images, edited by Colin Choat. Accessed 19 January 2020.

* ttp://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/smyth-arthur-bowes-2674 "Smyth, Arthur Bowes 1750-1790" Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowes Smyth, Arthur 1750 births 1790 deaths 1788 in Australia History of immigration to Australia History of New South Wales Maritime history of Australia History of Australia (1788–1850) British diarists People from Maldon District Ship's doctors 18th-century English medical doctors 18th-century diarists First Fleet

Early life and medical career

First Fleet Journal as Surgeon on the ''Lady Penrhyn''

See also

References

Further reading

External links