Bligh: Master Mariner

by Rob Mundle

The eighteenth century was an era when brave mariners took their ships beyond the horizon in search of an unknown world. Those chosen to lead these expeditions were exceptional navigators, men who had shown brilliance as they ascended the ranks in the Royal Navy. They were also bloody good sailors. From ship's boy to vice-admiral, discover how much more there was to Captain Bligh than his infamous bad temper. Meet a 24-year-old Master Bligh as he witnesses the demise of his Captain and mentor Cook; a 34-year-old Lieutenant Bligh at the helm of the famous Bounty then cast adrift by Fletcher Christian on an epic 47-day open-boat voyage from Tonga to Timor; and a 36-year-old Captain Bligh as he takes HMS Providence, in the company of a young Matthew Flinders, on a grand scientific voyage around the world. And all this before he was forty. Rob Mundle's BLIGH puts you at the heart of a great nautical life - it's a story that embraces the romance of the sea, bravery in battle, the adventure of exploration under sail and the cost of having the courage of your convictions.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Australia, Nautical, Adventure, Biography Memoir

400 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Rob Mundle is the author of the highly acclaimed international bestseller Fatal Storm. He has written six other books, including the bestselling Sir James Hardy: An Adventurous Life, Alan Bond’s authorised biography,Bond, and Life at the Extreme, the official record of the 2005/2006 Volvo Ocean Race round the world. He lives in Main Beach, Queensland.

Reviews

[Rudi Landmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot praise this book highly enough! It is quite simply superb. The writing is vivid, and Mundle's enthusiasm for his subject is contagious.

This is a very sympathetic biography of Bligh, emphasising his considerable skills as a sailor and a captain, and rejecting his characterisation in popular history as a tyrant. As Mundle tells it, I was left with the impression that the voyage of HMS Bounty was doomed to serious problems from its outset, but for reasons quite unconnected with Bligh's character. Furthermore, the author offers an explanation of why history has characterised Bligh the way that it has.

I learned a lot about Bligh and his voyages, and was left wanting to know him and his world better. Highly recommended to those who love ships and the sea.

[Max Coggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the real captain/governor Bligh in this novel.Not the one I had envisaged from school 60 odd years ago. What a revelation. A highly intelligent and disciplined person and an outstanding mariner.

[Helen Blunden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more I read about William Bligh, the more I believe that the circumstances covered by the press of the time, were against him.

He struck me as someone who was not only was a master navigator and sea farer, but also fair as he was hard. His life in the Royal Navy, his illness that transpired from his long open boat sea journey, the mutinies all didn't detract from over 40 years in service.

Any lesser man would have packed it in and gone home. Not Bligh. If something was unfair or unjust, he waited it out. Justice usually prevailed.

He's my new hero.

[Sally O'wheel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad I read this book. I didn't know much about Bligh. I had a vague knowledge of the rum rebellion and always thought he wasn't the bad guy. In fact I learned that there was no way he could have succeeded in bringing order to New South Wales at that time. The Rum Corps were in control. But that all happened at the end of Bligh's illustrious career. Most startling was the story of the mutiny of the Bounty. Again, I had vague knowledge of it. But the amazing journey to Timor from the place in Tonga where Bligh and 17 others were taken off the Bounty and set adrift in a small boat with hardly any food or water, no guns, that was something else. With only the loss of one life, (due to murder on a Tongan island,) he succeeded in bringing them all safely to Timor. An amazing achievement. Apparently Anna Bligh is his descendant. And Malcom Turnbull's second name is 'Bligh', named so through a family tradition stretching back to early settlers on the Hawkesbury River when William Bligh was a hero to them for standing up to the Rum Corps.

[Mel French · Rating 5 out of 5]

Master mariner and explorer. A more fulsome view of one of Britain’s most accomplished naval leaders.

[Big Ship · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think of Captain Bligh and many think of the Mutiny of the Bounty, that mutiny being attributable to Bligh's ill treatment of his crew; the leader of the mutiny Fletcher Christian and perhaps Mel Gibson's portrayal of Christian; and less likely again, Bligh having something to do with the Rum Rebellion in Sydney.

This biography is designed to provide a wider view as to Bligh and his achievements, and to provide what is said to be a more balanced view as to the reason's as to the Mutiny of the Bounty. It is written by Rob Mundle, himself a very experienced sailor who, who notwithstanding some 240 years passing between the time of the mutiny and the time of writing, brings a lot of insight into challenges faced by Bligh and his crew, both before and after the mutiny, as well as to Bligh's previous and subsequent activities.

This is a full biography of Bligh but in this review I will not dwell much on those aspects other than to note that Bligh did not come from a seafaring family, but from the beginning he became fixated on the sea, was determined, hardworking and ambitious. Not coming from the gentry or the aristocracy, he knew he had to excel and been seen to excel in all aspects of naval activity, which he experienced from the young age of seven when he first became a servant boy to a naval captain.

Later in his career, he learnt (particularly as to navigation, cartography, exploration and leading crews) from the experienced Captain James Cook, the later on his fateful third voyage (1776-1780), which ended (for Cook) with his murder by some of the indigenous people in Hawaii in 1788.

Around these times, some suggested that the abundant breadfruit tree of (particularly) Tahiti would be a welcome source of food to those in places, amongst others, like the West Indies, particularly given its then slave population. Hence an expedition was proposed to leave England to collect sufficient specimens to thereafter deliver to a number of locations, including the West Indies.

Bligh was chosen to lead the expedition, a great credit to such a young officer (only 32 years of age), though with the support of the influential Sir Joseph Banks, who accompanied Cook on his first Voyage, was President of the Royal Society and who had the ear of the Navy and the Government of the day.

Bligh was chuffed with the appointment but as time went on, his was aggrieved or at least disappointed with a number of aspects of the proposal:
- the vessel chosen was very small, particularly as it was expected to take on board, transport and keep alive the breadfruit specimens ie it needed to act as a floating greenhouse. It had no above deck superstructure at all. It was small for the times, with a displacement of 220 tons compared to Cook's Endeavour of 368 tons and Cook's Resolution of 462 tons.
- it could accommodate only 46 crew, meaning that Bligh was the only commissioned office on board and there was no room for the usual provision of a regiment of marines on board. This was to prove significant as there was no layer of crew/officers between Bligh and the rest of the crew. He was in effect ruler, chief justice, disciplinarian, health officer, morale supporter and everything else, with no real respite to look after his own well being
- his sailing instructions from Admiralty were overly prescriptive, perhaps because of his relative youth. One glaring example was the order to travel via Cape Horn (Sth America), coupled with late orders which saw Bligh languishing in the English Channel before being able to break free and make his way to Cape Horn at the end of the season to make such a rounding, only to spend 2 months attempting to round the Cape before Admiralty produced a vole face and "allow" him to choose should he wish to travel via the Cape of Good Hope (Sth Africa).
- Bligh was also extremely disappointed that his selection as commander of the expedition was not accompanied by his elevation to Captain. He was not to know that he would be elevated on his return. So talk of 'Captain Bligh' on the Bounty is a misnomer.

Bligh is often portrayed as a tyrant, and that this led to the mutiny. This biography shows that whilst Bligh was quick to verbally lash out at incompetence and disobedience, such passed quickly and notably he was not quick to use lashings of the cat of nine tails, confinement to barracks and the like. Indeed he seems to have been much more lenient in that regard than his contemporaries (including Cook). This may be in small part explained by reason of the very small crew he had. with only one medical attendant (not even an assistant), he could hardly confine to barracks the one medic he had on board (who preferred to brink himself silly and do no work at all). The same applied to varying degrees to the one carpenter, sailmaker etc.

Arriving at Tahiti, Bligh and his crew quickly learned that their arrival was at the worst possible time to take and keep alive specimens of the breadfruit tree (which was to whole purpose of the trip) and would have to wait for six months before a change of season and an optimal time to do so. Faced with this delay and very friendly natives who worship Cook and who think that Bligh's ship is a precursor to Cook's return (they do not know of Cook's death) and little else to do, much of the crew 'go native', indeed many adopt wives and bear children. Protocol lags and discipline fades. At the end of the six months the crew reluctantly undertake the work to procure the breadfruit specimens but are reluctant to leave their new life. As Bligh readies to leave, some go AWOL, but are recaptured and punished. It is not long after this that a Fletcher led group of 25 quickly and efficiently took control of the vessel and cast Bligh and 18 loyalists were cast off in a small boat with minimal supplies. The capture was so easy in part because it was undertaken at the beginning of the day when Bligh was only just awake and still in his cabin, Fletcher was the officer in charge at the time on deck, the minimal fire arms and other weapons were previously taken under control by the mutineers, there were no marines on board, and despite Bligh's entreaties for others to assist him in resisting, as there were no other commissioned officers on board, Bligh had no -one to fall back on for support.

The mutineers plan was to remain in the Pacific, preferably secluded, so they they may enjoy the relative freedom and luxury (compared to London or England more generally) that Pacific life seemed to offer.

Bligh thought to try to get to a Dutch town in Timor, as a stopping point on route to London. The boat they had was so weighed down by the 19 occupants, it was constantly threatened to be breached (and that was even in the absence of storms, high seas, and cyclones). That journey was remarkable and its detail is well worth reading.

Long story short: Bligh made it back to London with most of his fellow travelers. The mutineers ran into troubles of their own; some of the natives they encountered were less than friendly; internal disputes split the group on more than one occasion; a small number were caught by a subsequent hunting party dispatched from London and repatriated to London to be court marshalled; Fletcher and a small group eventually landed on Pitcairn Island and lived out their days there, though Fletcher himself came to a violent end.

Bligh was initially vindicated by the authorities from any wrong doing but larger came under public scorn as a result of the court marshal hearings of the captured mutineers, where exaggerated tales (or lies) where told of Bligh's behaviors by Fletcher's barrister brother. Regrettably Bligh was unable to answer these tales as he was on a second trip the Pacific to gather new breadfruit trees for transport. Ironically he successfully delivered them only for the residents to find them utterly unpalatable, meaning the whole exercise was another example of where some due diligence (enquiring ahead of time whether the breadfruit would be acceptable to the target West Indian audience would have been advisable!).

Whilst he was awarded further important naval and other roles in his following years, Bligh always believed that some in Admiralty and many in the public believed he was worthy of his less than perfect reputation.

Highlights of his remaining appointments include:
- Bligh was captain of the Galton which was second to Nelson's own Elephant fighting the Danes when the ultimate commander of the British fleet (Admiral Parker on the London) signaled (by flags being hoisted) that his fleet retreat. Nelson, who was blind in one eye, held his telescope to that blind eye, and later asserted that he had not seen the Admiral's signaled orders, and kept on fighting and eventually won the battle. Bligh was another who mysteriously missed the flagged signals and went on fighting along side nelson and was especially called out favorably in dispatches
- Bligh was appointed Governor of New South Wales at a time of much turmoil in the colony, principally due to the acts of one John Macarthur and the marines in their Rum Rebellion. Bligh was (illegally) arrested and excluded from the colony. He
was not a solution that either the locals or London thought would work and hence was replaced by Governor Macquarie who brought matters under control.

Such reminds me that I have my father's copy of Doc Evatt's The Rum Rebellion, which I will now have to read if only because it has intriguingly named chapters including "A Governor's Turnips".

And whilst Mundle's biography may not be the most detailed of Bligh, it is a very interesting read, and quickly gives a much fully depiction of Bligh's fully life, than some randomly remembered 'facts' about the Mutiny on the Bounty.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Know then, my own dear Betsy, I have lost the Bounty.’

Vice Admiral of the Blue William Bligh, FRS, RN (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the British Royal Navy, and Governor of New South Wales (13 August 1806 – 26 January 1808). Many of us remember him only because of the mutiny on HMS Bounty in 1789, where he is usually depicted as a tyrant who deserved the treatment he received from Fletcher Christian and his band of mutineers.

In this book, Rob Mundle examines aspects of William Bligh’s life: starting when Bligh, as a 7 year old cadet (in 1761), joined HMS Monmouth; and then later (in 1776) his appointment as sailing master on HMS Resolution for Captain James Cook’s third voyage. It was during this period that Bligh became renowned as a navigator, and also attracted the attention of Joseph Banks who later became his mentor and supporter.

In 1787, Bligh (as a lieutenant) took command of the Bounty. His mission was to sail to Tahiti to obtain breadfruit trees, and then to take the trees to the Caribbean to see whether breadfruit could be a successful food crop for slaves. The Royal Society was prepared to pay a premium if breadfruit trees were successfully transported. The Bounty never reached the Caribbean, as the mutiny broke out on board shortly after the ship left Tahiti.

‘What followed was one of the greatest ever feats of navigation, seamanship and human endurance – a perilous 47 day passage of more than 3600 nautical miles that spanned a merciless and storm-ravaged open ocean: eighteen men in a tiny boat, with little food and little hope, defied hideous odds and lived to tell the story.’

This journey was undoubtedly heroic, but what caused the men to mutiny in the first place? Was Bligh the only factor? It seems unlikely, given that many of the crew didn’t want to leave the charms of Tahiti and also given that Bligh was exonerated at court-martial and continued to serve in the Royal Navy. Fifteen years later, Bligh was appointed Governor of New South Wales with orders to clean up the corrupt New South Wales Corps. Alas, his mission was not successful – resulting in the infamous Rum Rebellion.

Bligh was promoted to Rear Admiral (backdated to July 1810), and later to Vice Admiral of the Blue (in 1814).

The focus of this book is less on a complete account of William Bligh’s life than it is on the skills he showed as a navigator and seaman.

‘His personality combined complexities with cleverness: he was a principled man of incredibly strong character.’

I learned quite a lot about William Bligh from reading this book, and was reminded of his connections to two of my maritime heroes: James Cook and Matthew Flinders. There is far more to William Bligh than the mutiny on the Bounty and his relatively unsuccessful period as Governor of New South Wales. The wonder is, given the obstacles he faced, how much he actually managed to achieve.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know what made me select this book off the shelves of the exchange but I’m so glad I picked it up. My knowledge of English naval exploration of Australia is not that much more advanced than a Year 5 History lesson. I knew the big names of the people who were responsible for much of the European settlement and exploration but not a lot about how, the extent, or why they were involved.

This well written novel was a joy to read and has given me a renewed want to find out more about this country’s English-based settlement.

Bligh seems to have been a man of great integrity and morals and would do almost anything to uphold these values in all circumstances. His life story is fascinating and on many occasions it really does seem like ‘providence’ was in his side. I will look to read other books written on his life to see if there was another side to him, as is alluded to on a couple of occasions.

[Peter Langston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rob Mundle has created an excellent rebuttal to the many films and popular myths about William Bligh. A master mariner, navigator and cartographer, Bligh will be forever linked to the mutiny on his ship the Bounty and to a lesser extent, his volatile stint as the fourth governor of the fledgling colony of Australia.
Mundle sets the record straight in just enough detail and paints the mutineers in a less romantic light than Hollywood. The brilliance of Bligh's skills as a seaman in bringing his abandoned crew to safety after they had been set adrift is an epic tale of survival.
It was the other tales I found fascinating, especially his distinguished record as a naval captain at war and the long suffering Betsy, wife to his six daughters, who spent less than five years of a long marriage actually in Bligh's company.
This is a compelling read.

[Stephen Tubbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adventurous life that could fill more than one book - the author explains he has only briefly covered some aspects of his career (e.g. his governorship of NSW) and has concentrated on his Royal Navy career. A master mariner, explorer, surveyor, cartographer and battle commander of the highest order. Thankfully Bligh was also a letter writer and these along with his sea logs and maps/drawings have been well researched by the author. It is a very good history of the man and gives you some feel of how the Royal Navy operated at the time.

[Chris Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

By the time you end school you probably think you know 2 things about Captain William Bligh:

1. He was the nasty captain of the Mutiny on the Bounty and probably deserved what he got
2. He was the NSW governor at the time of the Rum Rebellion and was found hiding under his bed in fear.

Neither of these 'facts' are accurate or true and prove that if you throw mud and the story is interesting enough to go with the slander it will stick. This was an interesting book to read. It concentrates on Bligh's life as a sailor - and he was one of the best the British had to offer in the 18th century. His skills saved 18 men in a small boat marooned in the ocean. They should have died but Bligh's skills and discipline managed to get them to civilisation again. The book only gives an outline of Bligh's later years when he retired from the navy. I feel I learnt a lot from this book. Its an easy and interesting read and recommended if you want a look at Bligh's naval skills written by an author who himself knows his way around sailing and can clearly explain the concepts involved.

[Einzige · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some figures for whom a single achievement or controversy overshadows everything else they might do an achieve. William Bligh is a great example of this - throughout his life he was an extremely competent navigator, cartographer and explorer something which is largely and unfortunately forgotten and which this book does a good job of correcting.

Overall though its written by a journalist its an easy read and the best general overview you will get of his life outside of the more serious an academic works by people like Mackaness,

There is a lot more to the man than the mutiny and the Rum Rebellion.

[Svein M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and easy read. Gives a good overview of the life and time of William Bligh. Read ia as a companion to his own book of the mutiny. The book also contains good pointers to other and more specialized work on the episodes he was involved in. So if you will have a quick and somewhat corrected read about Bligh i highly recommend it. It is also a good read to get an overview and idea about further reading. Are you into seafaring and such it can also be an ok read for entertainment and passing time

[Peter Browne]

Immensely enjoy this book. I find Mundle's style perfect for historical books; he is adept at maintaining the reader's interest and curiosity on historical facts and detail, while not succumbing to historical fiction and indeed fantasy like one prolific Australian author.

Superb.

Cook by Mundle is next on my list!

[Jack Sprat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a Southern Ocean gale, this book completely blew me away. Meticulously researched and brilliantly written, Rob Mundle sets the record straight about the infamous Captain William Bligh. I simply loved this amazing book about this amazing man and the amazing life he lived.

[Declan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Peter Fitzsimons "Mutiny on the Bounty" I was residence to read this as I had made my mind up on Bliegh. An amazing man whose contribution has been buried by one incident.

[Manfred Makauskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and a gripping read. Well researched, but still entertaining.

[Michael Haseloff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rob Mundle has written an excellent alternative that has introduced me to the courageous and social aspects of Bligh the heroic survivor.

[David Wasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely interesting correction of the Hollywood depiction of Bligh. I took one star off my rating because the illustrations and maps are very faint in the paperback release.

[Frank Kohl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a man who has an obvious bias towards Bligh, glossing over his flaws. Still a decent read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Gerhardt for recommending this exquisitely researched and detailed book - both the background and the characters come to life in this story of the other side of the Mutiny on the Bounty story. I rather like Bligh for having 6 daughters and expressing his huge love and affection for them!

But it is suspicious that wherever he was there was a mutiny - was he really really bad, or this book tends to think that he gave everyone a fair go and didn't apply the whip enough, he gave the odd bad apple the chance to mutiny..makes you think hard about leadership.

It also solved the problem of how Anna Bligh is his direct descendant, and still has the Bligh name despite the lack of sons. But I won't spoil the book for you.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bligh's character has been much maligned over time, best known for the Mutiny of the Bounty and the Rum Rebellion of Colonial New South Wales. These are the events I knew him for so it was good to discover that he had so much more going for him. A high achiever and a man of strong principles, Rob Mundle's book goes a long way in redeeming Bligh's blighted character. Bligh was truly a Master Mariner and for his day, a fair hand. The descriptions of life aboard various sailing craft and the extreme weather conditions encountered were gripping.

[Lindsay Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous book - well written and meticulously researched. I could never quite reconcile the image of Bligh the tyrant, with that of Bligh, master mariner. This book gives a whole new slant on Bligh's life and argues that all is not as we've been led to believe. "There's a lot more to Captain Bligh than mutiny, rum and convicts...". A really great read - I loved it!!!

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a super read. an extraordinary man misjudged by history. beautifully written.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great account of a navigational genius. Well researched and well written.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read, now on to Flinders

[Brian Trinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know much about Bligh and the Bounty before reading this book, and must say the author has done a really good biography of Bligh while covering the mutiny too. Highly recommended.

[Sandy Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual type of book so refreshing. Written like a story and not too much like a biography.

[Bob Busk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just don't believe everything you see in the movies.....and now you know 'the rest of the story'.
Exceptional writing, fiction-like life of William Bligh is brought to life.