Guardians of the port : Hobart's colonial pilots / Suzanne Smythe
- Bib ID:
- 7863347
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- Smythe, Suzanne, author
- Description:
-
- Hobart, Tasmania : Forty South Publishing Pty Ltd, 2015
- ©2015
- 266 pages : illustrations (some colour), facsimiles, maps, portraits ; 21 cm.
- ISBN:
- 9780994376169 ((paperback))
- Summary:
-
"From the first days of Hobart Town, pilots were expected to look after the government boats, explore and report on the waterways and pursue escaped convicts who often stole boats or attempted to capture them. Most successful at re-capturing convicts was James Lucas, his most famous captive being Alexander Pearce of cannibalism fame. Lucas was also credited with saving the settlement at Macquarie Harbour from starvation by sailing to Hobart for an emergency supply of potatoes. While their primary duty was to protect the port and its shipping, they performed a variety of roles. Incoming ships were not to be boarded by anyone but the pilot or later the Health Officer to try and ensure goods weren’t smuggled ashore. Ships had to be checked for illnesses and if infected were taken to the quarantine areas, first off Snug and later off Sandy Bay. Hobart was deemed to be a safe port but the squalls that blew from the mountain made local knowledge of the conditions important. On departure ships were searched several times to ensure there were no convicts trying to escape or other unauthorized persons aboard. Ships were escorted to the Iron Pot, the outer limit of the port to ensure no one boarded. The colonial pilots were important members of their often isolated communities... Their story is also that of the development of the port and its shipping, the social life of the time in its regattas and the changing form of the shipping that arrived and the goods that left."--Back cover.
- Full contents:
-
- 1. Trials of the early port of Hobart
- 2. Open port
- 3. Development of the port
- 4. Pilots and personalities
- 5. New people
- 6. Depression
- 7. Times of change
- 8. The sixties
- 9. Changing times
- 10. New pilots
- 11. End of independence
- 12. Mount Lewis (Louis) Signal Station
- 13. James Kelly
- 14. James Lucas
- 15. William Lawrence
- 16. James Hurburgh
- 17. John Bleach
- Appendices I-IV.
- Notes:
-
- "This book ends in 1899 as this marked the complete take-over of the Pilot Service by the Hobart Marine Board... Apart from the town pilot, early pilots were situated at either Tinderbox or Bruny Island..."--Introduction.
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-259) and index.
- Subject:
-
- Kelly, James, 1791-1859
- Mount Louis Signal Station (Tas.) -- History
- Pilots and pilotage -- Tasmania -- Hobart -- History -- 19th century
- Pilots and pilotage -- Tasmania, Southern -- History -- 19th century
- Pilot guides -- Tasmania -- History
- Harbors -- Tasmania -- Hobart -- History
- Signals and signaling -- Tasmania -- History
- Hobart (Tas.) -- History
- Tasmania -- History
- Australian
- Also Titled:
- Hobart's colonial pilots
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 2015
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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