Forby Sutherland was a member of the crew of the Endeavour during Captain Cook's voyage to New South Wales. He died while the ship was in Botany Bay, making him the first British subject to die in Australia and the first European to die in New South Wales.
Cook logged that he died of consumption
on the evening of 30 April 1770<!-- civil date --> while the ship was anchored in the Bay, and was buried ashore at Kurnell the following morning. He had been afflicted by that condition ever since leaving the Le Maire Strait
.Journal of Master's Mate Richard Pickersgill
, reproduced in Parkin above The actual date of burial was 2 May.
Sutherland was an able seaman and also the ship's poulterer (which meant he prepared game birds for the table, including for instance those shot by Joseph Banks
and Lieutenant Gore).Ray Parkin
, H. M. Bark Endeavour
, Miegunyah Press
, second edition 2003, ISBN 0-522-85093-6
Near the landing place of Captain Cook, in Kurnell
there is a memorial stone, noting that he was the first British subject to die on Australian soil. The memorial was unveiled on the 29 April 1933.Henry Kendall
wrote a poem called "Sutherland's Grave", in remembrance of Forby Sutherland and his burial in Australia.
Some attribute the name of the Sutherland
area as his legacy. Forby Sutherland Memorial Park is in the suburb of... Read More