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David Collins: A Colonial Life
The life of David Collins—judge, historian and governor—reflects the story of the European settlement of Australia. Born in London in 1756, Collins joined the Marine Corps at fourteen, and in 1775 fought against the Americans at the battle of Bunker Hill. In 1787 he was appointed deputy judge-advocate of the impending expedition to Botany Bay.
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.
The journal he began on the First Fleet grew into the first substantial history of New South Wales, and his private letters—extensively quoted for the first time in John Currey's fine biography—give a rare insight into the early colonial world.
The letters also tell the story of a life that went wrong. Born into a family long connected to the royal court and the military, Collins was expected to have a brilliant career. But the loss of influential patrons left him unemployed and in debt, and he was forced to accept the post of lieutenant governor in Van Diemen's Land. Here he found himself neglected and under-supplied, and was castigated by his political masters for waste and extravagance. A bitter confrontation with Governor William Bligh brought the settlement to the brink of civil war, and Bligh accused Collins of mutiny and neglect of duty.
Within the colony, contemporary judgements were contradictory. Collins was a father-figure to his admirers, a tyrant to his detractors. His interest in the Aboriginal people was strongly humanitarian. On the other side of the world from his Nova Scotian novelist wife, he had a series of liaisons with female convicts which caused his enemies to brand him 'a bigamist and debauchee'. Nevertheless, the whole of Hobart Town turned out for his funeral.
This substantial and comprehensive biography is the first and only full-length account of David Collins's life. One of the main sources for the book is the major collection of Collins family papers purchased by the Mitchell Library in the early 1960s. 'New' material on the early colonial period of Australia is rare, and the previously unpublished documents in David Collins—including letters written from the First Fleet—will create great interest.
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.
The journal he began on the First Fleet grew into the first substantial history of New South Wales, and his private letters—extensively quoted for the first time in John Currey's fine biography—give a rare insight into the early colonial world.
The letters also tell the story of a life that went wrong. Born into a family long connected to the royal court and the military, Collins was expected to have a brilliant career. But the loss of influential patrons left him unemployed and in debt, and he was forced to accept the post of lieutenant governor in Van Diemen's Land. Here he found himself neglected and under-supplied, and was castigated by his political masters for waste and extravagance. A bitter confrontation with Governor William Bligh brought the settlement to the brink of civil war, and Bligh accused Collins of mutiny and neglect of duty.
Within the colony, contemporary judgements were contradictory. Collins was a father-figure to his admirers, a tyrant to his detractors. His interest in the Aboriginal people was strongly humanitarian. On the other side of the world from his Nova Scotian novelist wife, he had a series of liaisons with female convicts which caused his enemies to brand him 'a bigamist and debauchee'. Nevertheless, the whole of Hobart Town turned out for his funeral.
This substantial and comprehensive biography is the first and only full-length account of David Collins's life. One of the main sources for the book is the major collection of Collins family papers purchased by the Mitchell Library in the early 1960s. 'New' material on the early colonial period of Australia is rare, and the previously unpublished documents in David Collins—including letters written from the First Fleet—will create great interest.
- GenresHistory
336 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 25, 2021
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.
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.
January 26, 2017
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.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews