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Governor Phillip

Governor Phillip arr 17 October 1829 bound for King George's Sound, with Captain Barker, Dr Wilson, 19 of the 39th Rgt. and 27 convict passengers.

The 173 ton, New South Wales Government brig, Governor Phillip, was under the command of Captain A. Drysdale. She carried two guns, had a crew of 18 men was sailing from Sydney on a circumnavigation of Australia. On this leg of the journey, she sailed from the failed military settlement at Raffles Bay in northern Australia (Arnhem Land) and carried passengers, soldiers, convicts and government stores.

After a stopover in Timor, the Governor Phillip arrived in the Swan River Colony on October 17, 1829. Afterwards she sailed on to the military outpost at King George Sound on the south coast of Western Australia where she relieved and reinforced the troops who were already stationed there. On December 6, 1829 she continued her journey and returned to Sydney with the soldiers and convicts her passengers had come to relieve.

En route to King George Sound, the two cabin passengers, Captain Collett Barker and Dr Thomas Wilson, were put ashore and with the help of an Aboriginal named Mokare, explored the south coast and the hinterland. Dr Wilson had been appointed a naval surgeon in 1815 and arrived in New South Wales as Surgeon Superintendant on five convict voyages between 1822 and 1829. After his employment at the Raffles Bay and King George Sound military settlements, he went on to serve on another four convict voyages by 1836.

Dr Wilson's book, Narrative of a Voyage Round the World, should be consulted for an account of the Governor Phillip's voyage and his experiences in the newly formed Swan River Colony during the short time he was there.

References and Links

DPS page for this ship.

See the Family History WA page for 1829 ship arrivals.

Date - 17th October 1829
Ships Name - GOVERNOR PHILLIP
Masters Name - A DRYSDALE
No. of Tons - 173
No. of Men - 18
No. of Guns - 2
Where from - Raffles Bay & Timor
Where bound to - Swan River & King Georges SoundNature of Cargo - Government Stores
PASSENGERS
Captain BARKER
Dr WILSON
19 of the 39th Rgt
27 Convict Prisoners
(Signed)
D SCOTT
DH Master
Reference: Battye Library Acc 36 Vol2/131


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