David Collins: A Colonial Life

by John Currey

The life of David Collins—judge, historian, governor—reflects the story of the European settlement of Australia. In a remarkable trio of events, Collins was one of the founders of Sydney in 1788, began the first European settlement in Victoria in 1803, and founded Hobart Town the following year.

Genres: History

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

Reviews

[Hillcloptushome.com.au · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have often wondered who Collins St. Melbourne was named after. I found this book to be a very engaging account of a enlightened man. For his time his attitude to the First Nations people of Australia was much better than I expected.
I wonder how accurate accounts can be of a life lived over 200 years ago. Often the most interesting things about a person are not written down .
As an Australian I simply cannot imagine what it was like to arrive in Port Phillip and find it on its natural state. I am amazed how they lived. These god feeding people lived such barbaric lives. Public flogging, bigamy the treatment of aboriginals and obsession with money are just some things I just cannot reconcile.

[Rob Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to John Currey for providing this well researched and accessible biography of David Collins. The account reads as a particularly modern tragedy with Collins as a man whose efforts were largely unrecognised, whose potential found little support from others and who never found his true place in the world. The result of reading this book is quite remarkable: as a descendant of convicts I am left with a great sense of sympathy for a Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land.