George Bass

George Bass was an English naval surgeon and explorer born in Lincolnshire in 1771. He reached New South Wales in 1795 aboard HMS Reliance and quickly became known for his energy, curiosity, and willingness to travel into little-known country by small boat and on foot.

Working closely with Matthew Flinders, he explored stretches of the Australian coast in the 1790s, including voyages in the tiny Tom Thumb boats. His investigations of the coast south of Sydney and around Van Diemen’s Land helped show that a strait separated Tasmania from mainland Australia, and that waterway later took his name.

Bass also practiced medicine and took an interest in natural history, but his life was brief. In 1803 he sailed from Sydney on a commercial voyage and disappeared at sea, leaving behind a reputation as one of the most daring figures in the early exploration of Australia.