GEORGE BASS and the whaleboat

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aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

GEORGE BASS and the whaleboat

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Jan 09, 2022 10:28 pm

Australia issued two stamps which show us the surgeon-explorer George Bass, the stamp shows us an image of him and the whaleboat he used in his most famous expedition. The whaleboat was used by George Bass in 1797 for his exploration voyage from Port Jackson to the south coast of Australia, the details of the whaleboat are not well known. Most probably she was built on orders of Governor Hunter in Sydney and built by local shipwrights.

This unnamed whaleboat was supplied by Hunter to George Bass for his exploration voyage.
It was an open decked boat built of native cedar and banksia wood with a length of 8.22m.
She left under command of George Bass and a crew of 6 men on 03 December 1797 from Port Jackson. She carried provision for 6 weeks. Rowed or sailed, she had a mast with a square sail and was sailing close to the coast. She landed regular for fresh water and camping overnight, including Kiama, the Shoalhaven-Crookhaven Rivers,
Jervis Bay (naming Bowen Island), Twofold Bay, Wilson's Promontory, and Westernport Bay; and sailing far enough south to establish the exis¬tence of Bass Strait, later named after him. By January 2, 1798, they had reached the southernmost point of the mainland, now known as Wilson's Promontory. The next day, on an island near this point. Bass and his men were amazed to find the sad, sick, and betrayed remnant of a party of escaped convicts. Hoping to reach Asia, they had been treacherously deserted by their companions at this desolate spot. Bass supplied them with a little food from his own scanty store, and later took two of the men aboard, after carrying the others to the mainland where they disappeared for all time.
The return voyage was slower due to adverse winds, they stayed overnight at Brush Island and Jarvis Bay, and Shoals Haven.
When returning in Port Jackson after a voyage of 1200 miles the men were welcomed enthusiastically.
Five years later when Francois Péron visited Sydney as part of the Baudin expedition in 1802, he reported that the whaleboat now sat on the shore of Sydney Cove as a monument to Bass and the success of the voyage.
That is the last time I can find that she is mentioned, her fate is unknown.
The image of the whaleboat is a detail from an engraving by Lesueur in the Atlas to Peron and Freycinet’s “Voyage de decouvertes aux Terres Australes”

More on George Bass is given on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bass
Source: https://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000600.html
Australia 1963 £ 359, Scott? and 1966 $2 sg402, Scott?
Attachments
bass whaleboat at Sydney Cove 1802 (The boat at the right) (2).jpg
bass whaleboat at Sydney Cove 1802 (The boat at the right) (2).jpg (114.55 KiB) Viewed 509 times
1963 bass and whaleboat (2).jpg
1963 bass and whaleboat (2).jpg (109.85 KiB) Viewed 509 times
1966 bass and whaleboat. (2).jpg
1966 bass and whaleboat. (2).jpg (106.07 KiB) Viewed 509 times

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