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John Hunter
1737–1821
A Scottish naval officer and early colonial governor, he left one of the firsthand accounts of the First Fleet and the founding years of New South Wales. His writing blends maritime experience, observation, and the rough realities of Britain’s first Australian settlement.
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About the author
Born in Leith, Scotland, in 1737, John Hunter built his career in the Royal Navy and later became a vice admiral. He is closely tied to the early history of Australia because he sailed with the First Fleet in 1787 as second captain of HMS Sirius, the expedition that established the first British colony at Sydney Cove.
Hunter is remembered as an author for his journal of the voyage and of the colony’s early years, later published as An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island. The book offers a direct, observant account of the journey to Australia, life in the new settlement, and the challenges faced by its officers and convicts.
He went on to serve as the second Governor of New South Wales, from 1795 to 1800. Today his writing remains valuable both as a personal narrative and as an important record of the beginnings of European settlement in Australia.