Eber Bunker
Encyclopedia
Eber Bunker was a sea captain and pastoralist, born on 7 March 1761 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. His parents were James Bunker and his wife Hannah, née Shurtleff.
lost its American colonies in 1776 in the American Revolutionary War
, it lost an important source of raw materials as well as its established dumping grounds for convicted criminals
. Consequently, England saw an urgent need to replace these critical resources. Despite the enormous expenses associated with starting a new colony on a virtually uncharted continent in another hemisphere, England elected to establish a penal colony
at Botany Bay
under the leadership of Captain Arthur Phillip
. This project was undertaken in part to relieve overcrowding in the English prison
s, as well as to establish a new source for timber and other raw materials, and also to establish a deep water port in the South Pacific
for Britain to expand its territories.
After 1776, the American whale oil
market suffered because of the high tariff
s placed by Britain on American oil. The resulting glut of oil on the American market stopped production there. Whale oil was in demand in Europe for lighting cities and lubricating the machines of the industrial revolution
.
The sturdy, wide beamed whaling ships were well suited to serve as convict transports. For this reason, many American whaler
s migrated to London
and served on British whaling ships transporting convicts to New South Wales
. Among these was Captain Eber Bunker.
Bunker was already well-established in England by the time he was 25 years old. On 16 November 1786 at St. George-in-the-East, Middlesex
, England
, Eber Bunker married Margrett Thompson, daughter of Henry Thompson and his wife Isabella (née Collingwood, who was first cousin to Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood).
company were chartered for the Third Fleet
. Captain Eber Bunker, 30 years old at the time, was selected to be Master of one of these convict ship
s, the William and Ann. The William and Ann departed from Plymouth, England on 27 March 1791, with its cargo of 188 convicts and a company of soldiers. The ship arrived at Sydney Cove
on 28 August 1791 with 181 surviving convicts.
on 24 October 1791, Bunker of the William and Ann and Captain Thomas Melvill of the Britannia led the first ever whaling expedition in Australian waters. The two ships returned to Port Jackson with one whale each, which they processed on the shore. Bunker and Raven led a second expedition to Dusky Sound
in New Zealand
before returning to England with seal skins, in addition to whale oil.
, England. Owned by Messrs Champion and registered in London, Albion was fitted with 10 guns and had a crew of 26. Bunker and the Albion spent the next two winters whaling, first off the Australian coast and later the New Zealand coast. Bunker returned to Britain with a cargo of 155 barrels of whale oil.
In 1803, during another whaling voyage from England in the Albion, Bunker was the first European to discover the Capricorn and Bunker Group
of islands. This group of islands and reefs, situated astride the Tropic of Capricorn
, is located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef
(roughly 80 kilometers east of Gladstone
, off the central coast of Queensland
. Bunker named the southern group of islands after himself.
on the Derwent River
in Tasmania
. As part of his compensation for this voyage, Bunker was given a land grant of 400 acres (162 hectares), which he named Collingwood, on Georges River
near Bankstown, immediately south of the future town site of the City of Liverpool, New South Wales
.
In August 1806, after the voyage to Tasmania, he arrived in Sydney
as master of the Elizabeth, bringing his wife Margrett and five children from England to live with him. The Bunker family home in Sydney was in the Rocks overlooking the harbor, at a place known as Bunker’s Hill.
Bunker's wife Margrett died in March 1808. Apparently, this did not slow Bunker down, as in May 1808 he sailed in the Pegasus for New Zealand, Tongatapu
and New Caledonia
in search of the Harrington, which had been stolen by convicts.
In the summer of 1809, Bunker conducted a sealing expedition off southern New Zealand, where he charted Foveaux Strait
. On his return he took up a grant of 500 acres (202 hectares) at Cabramatta Creek
, adjoining his Bankstown land. This he called Collingwood Dale.
to Sydney. He married Margaret Macfarlane, widow of an officer of the East India Company
. On his return he farmed on his Bankstown land, but his services as a mariner continued to be in demand.
Bunker built Collingwood House at Liverpool in 1810, and his family moved there the following year. Bunker contributed significantly to the development of the pastoral industry in New South Wales. After he was granted permission to send stock and shepherds to the south and west of Bargo and Keepit on the Namoi River
, Bunker established a regular supply of fresh meat to the Government Stores.
In 1814 at Governor Macquarie's request he took to England the Seringapatam, which had been captured by the American frigate Essex and retaken at the Marquesas by prisoners of war. In 1817 he sailed the American ship Enterprize to the sealing grounds and returned from Bengal
in 1818 in the Dragon.
on the Hunter River
, and was given a permit to proceed to the country south and west of Bargo with 100 cattle and two servants. He then went to England to buy the Wellington. While he was away his second wife (Margaret) died, and on his return he married, on 28 April 1823, Ann, widow of William Minchin. In 1824-25 he made a final whaling voyage in the Alfred to the Santa Cruz Islands
.
cemetery at Liverpool. Once described by Governor Macquarie as 'a very able and expert Seaman... and of a Most respectable Character', he had been a leading member of the community in New South Wales. He has been called the 'father of Australian whaling'.
There is a portrait of Eber Bunker wearing a white waistcoat and white linen ruffled shirt each with stand collars, a white stock at neckline, and a navy blue wool double-breasted jacket with brass buttons titled Captain Eber Bunker, 1760–1836, The first of the Whalers, Arrived New South Wales 1791 here
1776-1786: Background
When EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
lost its American colonies in 1776 in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, it lost an important source of raw materials as well as its established dumping grounds for convicted criminals
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
. Consequently, England saw an urgent need to replace these critical resources. Despite the enormous expenses associated with starting a new colony on a virtually uncharted continent in another hemisphere, England elected to establish a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
at Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
under the leadership of Captain Arthur Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
. This project was undertaken in part to relieve overcrowding in the English prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s, as well as to establish a new source for timber and other raw materials, and also to establish a deep water port in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
for Britain to expand its territories.
After 1776, the American whale oil
Whale oil
Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...
market suffered because of the high tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s placed by Britain on American oil. The resulting glut of oil on the American market stopped production there. Whale oil was in demand in Europe for lighting cities and lubricating the machines of the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
The sturdy, wide beamed whaling ships were well suited to serve as convict transports. For this reason, many American whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
s migrated to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and served on British whaling ships transporting convicts to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Among these was Captain Eber Bunker.
Bunker was already well-established in England by the time he was 25 years old. On 16 November 1786 at St. George-in-the-East, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Eber Bunker married Margrett Thompson, daughter of Henry Thompson and his wife Isabella (née Collingwood, who was first cousin to Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood).
1791: Voyage to New South Wales as Master of William and Ann
In 1791, five whaling ships of the Samuel Enderby & SonsSamuel Enderby & Sons
Samuel Enderby & Sons was a whaling and sealing company based in London, England, founded circa 1775 by Samuel Enderby . The company encouraged their captains to combine exploration with their business activities, and sponsored several of the earliest expeditions to the subantarctic, Southern Ocean...
company were chartered for the Third Fleet
Third Fleet (Australia)
The Third Fleet consisted of 11 ships which set sail from United Kingdom in February, March and April 1791 bound for the Sydney penal settlement, with over 2000 convicts. The passengers consisted of convicts, military personnel and notable people sent to fill high positions in the colony...
. Captain Eber Bunker, 30 years old at the time, was selected to be Master of one of these convict ship
Convict ship
The term convict ship is a colloquial term used to describe any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.-Colonial practice:...
s, the William and Ann. The William and Ann departed from Plymouth, England on 27 March 1791, with its cargo of 188 convicts and a company of soldiers. The ship arrived at Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
on 28 August 1791 with 181 surviving convicts.
1791: First whaling and sealing voyage in Australasia
Leaving Port JacksonPort Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
on 24 October 1791, Bunker of the William and Ann and Captain Thomas Melvill of the Britannia led the first ever whaling expedition in Australian waters. The two ships returned to Port Jackson with one whale each, which they processed on the shore. Bunker and Raven led a second expedition to Dusky Sound
Dusky Sound
Dusky Sound is a fiord on the south west corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park.-Geography:One of the most complex of the many fjords on this coast, it is also one of the largest, 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wide at its widest point...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
before returning to England with seal skins, in addition to whale oil.
1799-1803: More whaling expeditions as Master of Albion
Bunker returned in 1799 to New South Wales in command of a 362 ton whaling ship, Albion. This ship was built in DeptfordDeptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, England. Owned by Messrs Champion and registered in London, Albion was fitted with 10 guns and had a crew of 26. Bunker and the Albion spent the next two winters whaling, first off the Australian coast and later the New Zealand coast. Bunker returned to Britain with a cargo of 155 barrels of whale oil.
In 1803, during another whaling voyage from England in the Albion, Bunker was the first European to discover the Capricorn and Bunker Group
Capricorn and Bunker Group
The islands and reefs of the Capricorn and Bunker Group are situated astride the Tropic of Capricorn at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, approximately 80 kilometres east of Gladstone, which is situated on the central coast of Queensland....
of islands. This group of islands and reefs, situated astride the Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...
, is located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
(roughly 80 kilometers east of Gladstone
Gladstone, Queensland
- Education :Gladstone has several primary schools, three high schools, and one university campus, Central Queensland University. It is also home to CQIT Gladstone Campus.- Recreation :...
, off the central coast of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Bunker named the southern group of islands after himself.
1803-1809: Land grants in New South Wales and death of first wife
Later in 1803, Bunker and the Albion were chartered by Governor King to carry the first settlers, along with stores and cattle, to Risdon CoveRisdon Cove
Risdon Cove was the site of the first British settlement in Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, the smallest Australian state. Risdon Cove, which was named after William Bellamy Risdon, second officer of the ship Duke of Clarence. Risdon served under Lt...
on the Derwent River
Derwent River
-Rivers:* Derwent River which flows through Hobart.It may also refer to:* Derwent River which crosses the Birdsville Track at Mungeranie in the Lake Eyre Basin-See also:...
in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. As part of his compensation for this voyage, Bunker was given a land grant of 400 acres (162 hectares), which he named Collingwood, on Georges River
Georges River
The Georges River is a waterway in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It rises to the south-west of Sydney near the coal mining town of Appin, and then flows north past Campbelltown, roughly parallel to the Main South Railway...
near Bankstown, immediately south of the future town site of the City of Liverpool, New South Wales
City of Liverpool, New South Wales
The City of Liverpool is a Local Government Area to the southwest of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:It is one of the oldest urban settlements in Australia, founded in 1810 as an agricultural centre by Governor Lachlan Macquarie...
.
In August 1806, after the voyage to Tasmania, he arrived in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
as master of the Elizabeth, bringing his wife Margrett and five children from England to live with him. The Bunker family home in Sydney was in the Rocks overlooking the harbor, at a place known as Bunker’s Hill.
Bunker's wife Margrett died in March 1808. Apparently, this did not slow Bunker down, as in May 1808 he sailed in the Pegasus for New Zealand, Tongatapu
Tongatapu
Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with approximately 71,260 residents , 70.5% of the national population...
and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
in search of the Harrington, which had been stolen by convicts.
In the summer of 1809, Bunker conducted a sealing expedition off southern New Zealand, where he charted Foveaux Strait
Foveaux Strait
Foveaux Strait separates Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. Three large bays, Te Waewae Bay, Oreti Beach and Toetoes Bay, sweep along the strait's northern coast, which also hosts Bluff township and harbour. Across the strait lie the Solander...
. On his return he took up a grant of 500 acres (202 hectares) at Cabramatta Creek
Cabramatta Creek
Cabramatta Creek is a creek in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It feeds into the Georges River at the Chipping Norton Lake, next to Cabramatta.The area around the creek was home to the Darug Aboriginal people...
, adjoining his Bankstown land. This he called Collingwood Dale.
1809-1818: Remarriage, establishment as a pastoralist, and more voyages
In 1809, Bunker sailed in command of the Venus from BengalBengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
to Sydney. He married Margaret Macfarlane, widow of an officer of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. On his return he farmed on his Bankstown land, but his services as a mariner continued to be in demand.
Bunker built Collingwood House at Liverpool in 1810, and his family moved there the following year. Bunker contributed significantly to the development of the pastoral industry in New South Wales. After he was granted permission to send stock and shepherds to the south and west of Bargo and Keepit on the Namoi River
Namoi River
The Namoi River is a major tributary of the Darling River in inland New South Wales, Australia.- Course :The headwaters of the Namoi, including the Macdonald River, the Peel River, the Cockburn River and the Manilla River, rise on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range on the Northern...
, Bunker established a regular supply of fresh meat to the Government Stores.
In 1814 at Governor Macquarie's request he took to England the Seringapatam, which had been captured by the American frigate Essex and retaken at the Marquesas by prisoners of war. In 1817 he sailed the American ship Enterprize to the sealing grounds and returned from Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
in 1818 in the Dragon.
1821-1825: More land grants, more voyages, death of second wife, and final marriage
In 1821 Bunker was promised a grant of 600 acres (243 hectares) at RavensworthRavensworth
Ravensworth is a small village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Richmond and from Darlington. It is situated in the Holmedale valley and is in the ward of Gilling West...
on the Hunter River
Hunter River
The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major port....
, and was given a permit to proceed to the country south and west of Bargo with 100 cattle and two servants. He then went to England to buy the Wellington. While he was away his second wife (Margaret) died, and on his return he married, on 28 April 1823, Ann, widow of William Minchin. In 1824-25 he made a final whaling voyage in the Alfred to the Santa Cruz Islands
Santa Cruz Islands
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. They lie approximately 250 miles to the southeast of the Solomon Islands Chain...
.
1828-1836: Final years and legacy
By 1828, Bunker held 1600 acres (648 hectares), of which 340 (138 hectares) were cleared. He died at Collingwood on 27 September 1836, aged 74, and was buried in the old Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
cemetery at Liverpool. Once described by Governor Macquarie as 'a very able and expert Seaman... and of a Most respectable Character', he had been a leading member of the community in New South Wales. He has been called the 'father of Australian whaling'.
There is a portrait of Eber Bunker wearing a white waistcoat and white linen ruffled shirt each with stand collars, a white stock at neckline, and a navy blue wool double-breasted jacket with brass buttons titled Captain Eber Bunker, 1760–1836, The first of the Whalers, Arrived New South Wales 1791 here
Further reading
- Richard Hodgkinson, Eber Bunker - A New Look, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, Vol. 64, Part 2, March 1979, pp. 252.
- Richard Hodgkinson, Eber Bunker. Canberra:Roebuck, 1975