Forbes
(Forby)
Sutherland
Born about in Stromness, Orkney, Scotland
[uncertain]
[uncertain]Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Died
at about age 33
in Kurnell (New South Wales, Australia)
Profile last modified
| Created 2 May 2020
This page has been accessed 519 times.
Biography
Forby Sutherland was born in Scotland.
Forby Sutherland is Notable.
Forbes 'Forby' Sutherland died while HMS Endeavour was in Botany Bay, making him the first British subject to die on the continent of Terra Australis / Australia and the first European to die in what is now New South Wales.
Forby Sutherland was born, or christened, on 13th December 1736 at Stromness, Orkney, Scotland, the son of Alexander Sutherland and Anne Brown. [1]
Forbes was a common name around County Caithness
It is believed that Forby was employed as a farm hand, and that he won the favour of his employer, who sent him to a school for seamen. [2]
He was an Able Seaman of the crew of HMS Endeavour under the command of Lieutenant James Cook RN on its historic 1868-71 voyage. He was the ship's poulterer, i.e., he prepared game birds for the table. [3]
Forby contracted consumption (tuberculosis) whilst the Endeavour was at the Estrecho de le Maire (Le Maire Strait), a sea passage between Isla de los Estados and the eastern extremity of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego. [3]
He succumbed to the disease on 30th April 1770 at Stingray Bay (Botany Bay, New South Wales) and was buried on 2nd May. [3] Nearby, a memorial stone, noting that Forby Sutherland was the first British subject to die on Australian soil, was unveiled on the 29th April 1933. [2]
Sutherland Point (34.002°S 151.222°E), named by Cook, is the headland at the eastern end of Kurnell beach inside Botany Bay. Forby Sutherland Memorial Park (34.030°S 151.060°E) is in the suburb of Sutherland. [3]
Henry Kendall wrote a poem (a sonnet actually) called Sutherland's Grave in remembrance of Forby Sutherland and his burial in Australia: [4]
'Tis holy ground! The silent silver lights
And darks undreamed of, falling year by year
Upon his sleep, in soft Australian nights,
Are joys enough for him who lieth here
So sanctified with Rest. We need not rear
The storied monument o'er such a spot!
That soul, the first for whom the Christian tear
Was shed on Austral soil, hath heritage
Most ample! Let the ages wane with age,
The grass which clothes _this_ grave shall wither not.
See yonder quiet lily! Have the blights
Of many winters left it on a faded tomb?
Oh, peace! Its fellows, glad with green delights,
Shall gather round it deep eternal bloom!
Sources
- Forby Sutherland by W. McD. Sutherland. Published by the Royal Australian Historical Society.
- ↑ Ancestry.com. Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. FHL film nos 0990514, 0990515, 990514
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Monument Australia: Forby Sutherland; accessed 2 May 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Wikipedia profile: Forby Sutherland; accessed 2 May 2020
- ↑ Poetry Atlas: Sutherland's Grave; accessed 2 May 2020
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Images: 1
- Forby Sutherland, 250 years since his burial. May 2, 2020.
S > Sutherland > Forbes Sutherland
Categories: HMS Endeavour (1768) | Kurnell, New South Wales | Sutherland, New South Wales | Australia, Notable Adventurers, Explorers and Trailblazers | Notables
edited by Kenneth Evans JP AMIAA