D. D. (David Dickinson) Mann

Born around 1775, David Dickenson Mann was an English clerk whose life took a sharp turn when he was convicted of forgery and transported to New South Wales in 1799. Sources describe him later working as a schoolmaster and then as a clerk in government offices, receiving a full pardon in 1802.

In the colony, he became involved in official work and also in the political tensions of the period. Accounts from the Australian Dictionary of Biography and LibriVox note that he came into conflict with Governor William Bligh, supported the faction that removed Bligh from office in 1808, and returned to Britain in 1809.

Mann is remembered chiefly for The Present Picture of New South Wales, published in 1811. The book offers a detailed description of the colony, its history, and its prospects, which makes it valuable both as travel writing and as an early historical portrait of Australia. He is reported to have died in 1811.