Fort Wellington was the name of a short-lived British settlement established in 1827 at

Raffles Bay Raffles Bay is a bay on the northern coast of the Cobourg Peninsula of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is on the lands of the Iwaidja people. It was named in 1818 by explorer Phillip Parker King after Sir Thomas Sta ...

, on the northern side of the

Cobourg Peninsula The Cobourg Peninsula is a peninsula located east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 ...

of what is now the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, which was abandoned in 1829. It was the second of a series of four such abortive settlement attempts in Australia's

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ...

, the first being

Fort Dundas Fort Dundas was a short-lived British settlement on Melville Island between 1824 and 1828 in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia. It was the first of four British settlement attempts in northern Australia before Goyder's survey an ...

(1824–1828) on Melville Island, the third Fort Victoria or Victoria Settlement, at

Port Essington Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remot ...

(1838–1849) on the Cobourg Peninsula, and the fourth at

Escape Cliffs Escape Cliffs is a place on the northern coast of the Northern Territory of Australia, on the western coast of the Cape Hotham peninsula, and the eastern shore of Adam Bay, near the mouth and estuary of the Adelaide River. It lies about 60&nb ...

(1864–1867) near the mouth of the

Adelaide River The Adelaide River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. Course and features The river rises in the Litchfield National Park and flows generally northwards to Clarence Strait, joined by eight tributaries including the west branc ...

History

Following unsatisfactory reports of the Fort Dundas settlement, Captain James Stirling was sent from Sydney in May 1827 aboard and the ''Mary Elizabeth'' to establish a new settlement east of Melville Island. On 18 June 1827 he took formal possession of Raffles Bay where he landed an establishment force, with their supplies, on the eastern shore and named the outpost Fort Wellington. The force comprised Commandant Captain H. G. Smyth and 30 soldiers from the 39th Regiment, 14

marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

, a

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

, storekeeper and 22

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

s. From the beginning the settlement suffered from diseases such as

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

, attacks by hostile Aborigines, and the logistical problems arising from its isolation. The hoped for trade with the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

failed to eventuate. Despite the arrival In September 1828 of Captain

Collet Barker Collet Barker (31 December 1784 – 30 April 1831) was a British military officer and explorer. He was commandant at two British outposts for the Colony of New South Wales. Fort Wellington on the Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory and a p ...

as the new Commandant, who established better relations with the local Aborigines, the settlement was abandoned in August 1829.

References

History of the Northern Territory 1827 establishments in Australia 1829 disestablishments Cobourg Peninsula {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub

History

See also

References