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1. 'Buffalo was a ship of 468 tons (bm). She arrived in Port Jackson on 3 May 1799 with 60 head of cattle on board that she had loaded at the Cape of Good Hope. Buffalo returned to the Cape for live cattle again, departing on 13 September 1799, and arriving back in Port Jackson on 16 April 1800. When Governor John Hunter's term of office ended, he elected to take Buffalo back to England wither she departed on 28 September 1800. Following protestations by Philip Gidley King after he became governor, Buffalo returned to Port Jackson in October 1802.
2. At the time there were several other vessels named Lady Nelson and this has led some authors to write that the vessel, which is the subject of this article, was employed on other duties before being sent to Australia. See for example: The Times, 20 Nov. 1798, cites a Lady Nelson with five sliding keels being launched on Tuesday 20 November 1798. This vessel was 'so contrived, that by turning a screw, a stem is formed on her stern, and she will sail the other way without the inconvenience of tacking about'; The Sun, 27 Jul. 1799, cited a Lady Nelson, Captain Tate, arrived at Liverpool on 25 July 1799 from Jamaica; Oracle and Daily Advertiser (17 Sep. 1799) reported 'Yesterday [13 Sep. 1799] sailed the Lady Nelson cutter, on a cruize'; Naval Chronicle (Vol. 3, Jan. to Jul. 1800, p. 307.), cites an English cutter Lady Nelson, being taken by French privateers on 21 December 1799 but freed by the actions of Lieutenant Bainbridge of Queen Charlotte; Naval Chronicle, Vol. 3, p. 238, cites Lady Nelson, Captain Barrow, an ordnance store ship, [departing] 'for Gibraltar' 17 March 1800 in the Portsmouth Report; The Naval Chronicle (Vol. 3, p. 326), cites from the Plymouth Report 27 March 1800: 'Came in the Lady Nelson, with fruit, captured by a French privateer, and recaptured by the Childers, 16 guns, Captain Crawford'; The Naval Chronicle, Vol. 4, Jul. to Dec. 1800, p. 245, cites a cutter named Lady Nelson now [no precise date] being on the Lisbon, Gibraltar and Mediterranean Stations; and Winfield 2008, p337. The author was not aware that the Lady Nelson was a new vessel.
3. Winfield 2008, p. 337.
4. Philip Gidley King (King) to Sir Joseph Banks (Banks), 20 Mar. 1799, ML Banks Papers, Series 39.043.
5. King to John King, Under Secretary of State for the Home Department, 8 Oct 1799, HRNSW, Vol. III, p. 724. John King to Charles Long, Secretary to the Treasury, 10 October 1799, TNA T 1/829 f.3593, and AJCP PRO 3559. Transport Commissioners to John Hunter, Governor of New South Wales 1795 to 1800 (Hunter), 1 Apr. 1800, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. II, pp. 483–484.
6. Grant to Banks, 31 Jan. 1800; ML Banks Papers, Series 23.22, and HRNSW, Vol. IV, pp. 21–23.
7. As a result of the consumption of provisions, when Lady Nelson reached Table Bay 'she drew at present not more than five feet aft, and four forwards when the keels were up' [6]
8. In a dissertation titled An Account of the Origin of Sliding Keels and the advantages resulting from their use there is a supposition based on a comparison of 'a frigate drawing seventeen feet, and another alike in burthen drawing eleven'. Some writers have interpreted this to mean that the draught of the Lady Nelson may have been seventeen feet had it not been for her sliding keels. This supposition is based on the knowledge of an author in the eighteenth century and would be open to challenge by hydrodynamicists today.[7]
9. The builder's name is deduced from Lady Nelson having been fitted-out at Deadman's Dock and that John Dudman was a ship-builder there in 1799.[8] The dates on which the keel was laid, and on which the vessel was launched are not recorded. She may have been built in a dry dock, in which case she would not, strictly speaking, have been launched, but floated by filling the dock.
10. Grant to King, 17 Feb. 1801, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 81–82.
11. There were suggestions that Matthew Flinders be given the command, but he was in New South Wales when Lady Nelson sailed from Portsmouth.[4][10] Flinders returned to England on Reliance, which left Port Jackson on 3 March 1800.
12. Duke of Portland, Secretary of State for the Home Department 1794 to 1801, (Portland) to The Governor of the Settlement of New South Wales, 26 Feb. 1800, TNA CO 202/5, AJCP PRO 56 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. II, pp. 498–501.
13. Chronometers were expensive and few vessels were equipped with them in the early 19th Century.
14. The source of, and the quotations in the parts of this article covering the period of the command of Lieutenant James Grant is Grant 1803, except where cited otherwise.
15. A state of war existed between Britain, France, the Batavian Republic, and Spain, and sailing in convoy was therefore essential.
16. William Bayly was an assistant astronomer at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and was sent on Cook's voyages of discovery in, 1772 and 1776. He was head master of the Royal Academy at Portsmouth from 1785 to 1807.
17. For the departure date see Steel, Jun. 1800; Naval Chronicle, Vol. 3, p. 238; and Grant 1803, p. 4.
18. Prior to 1805 British naval vessels operated under Nautical Time in which a nautical day ran from today's noon to tomorrow's noon, and was given tomorrow's date. All dates quoted in this article are those appearing in the relevant cited document and, to avoid compounding any possible errors in earlier transpositions, no corrections have been made from Nautical to Civil time. Authors have dealt with this in different ways: Grant 1803, is based on Lady Nelson's logs and the dates are expressed in nautical time; in Lee 1915, the transcriptions are from the original logs and the dates are expressed in nautical time; in Flinders 1814, civil dates are noted in the page margins; in Labilliere 1878, dates have been inserted in parenthesis in the transcription of Murray's log that purport to be civil dates, but they are not reliable. (Labilliere 1878, Vol. I, on p. 86, states that Lady Nelson entered Port Phillip on 15 February 1802 Civil Time, but the actual time was around mid-day on 14 February Civil Time).
19. The casings for the sliding keels extended above the deck and whilst at sea the vessel's boats were stowed over the top of the casings. Calm weather was required to move a boat to remove a keel for inspection.[13]
20. Memorial of Lieut. James Grant, commanding H. M. brig Lady Nelson, to His Excellency Governor King, Sydney Cove, Tuesday, 16 December 1800, HRNSW, Vol. IV, pp. 268–270 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 60–62.
21. The existence of a strait separating Van Diemen's Land from the Australian mainland was conclusively established by Bass and Flinders in Norfolk in 1798 and was subsequently named Bass('s) Strait.[15]
22. Portland to Grant, 8 Apr. 1800, TNA CO 202/5, AJCP PRO 56 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. II, p. 501.
23. The instructions given to the first governor of New South Wales, Captain Arthur Phillip R.N., appointing him Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the new colony, defined the territory as extending from Cape York in the north to South Cape in the south and extending only as far west as 135° east longitude. The remainder of the continent continued to be known as New Holland.[17] The name Australia did not come into use until after 1820.
24. Although Bass and Flinders had sailed through Bass Strait during their voyage of discovery, Lady Nelson was the first vessel to sail through it on a voyage to the east coast of Australia. The source of, and the quotations in, the part of this article covering Grant's passage through the strait is Remarks made on board the Lady Nelson by Lt. James Grant, on coming in with the Land of New Holland, in Grant 1803. See also the manuscript Remarks on board the Lady Nelson by Lt. James Grant, on coming in with the Land of New Holland.[18] The editor of the Historical Records of Australia intended to print the 'full journal of Lieutenant Grant in Bass' Strait' in Volume I, Series V but the volume was not published.[19]
25. In this article, all miles are nautical miles of 2,040 yards or 1,865 metres
26. The name Portland Bay survives as only that part of the coast between Portland and Lady Julia Percy Island and not from Cape Nelson to Cape Otway.
27. King to Grant, 27 Dec. 1800, HRNSW, Vol. IV, p. 275.
28. King wrote three letters on this subject. To the Transport Commissioners who replied 'our concern with her terminates with her arrival at Port Jackson'.[21] To the Secretary of State[22] who advised 'The Lady Nelson is to continue on the establishment of the Navy.'[23] To the Admiralty who replied 'we think fit that fifteen men shall be borne on a Supernumerary List for Wages and Victuals in the Ship you Command [Buffalo] for the purpose of being lent to the Lady Nelson, Tender, when employed upon the business of surveying.'[24] The Admiralty Order was despatched by Buffalo, which arrived in Port Jackson on 16 October 1802 and Lady Nelson was accordingly discharged from the Colonial List of Vessels on that date.[25] The author of The Logbooks of the Lady Nelson seems to have interpreted the Admiralty Order to the effect that Lady Nelson should accompany the Buffalo as its tender.[26] This is not correct. Lady Nelson was assigned to assist Investigator and was registered as a tender to Buffalo only for administrative purposes.[27] In September 1806 King was preparing to return to England in Buffalo, and as a consequence the crew of Lady Nelson were transferred to the books of Porpoise. [Note: This Porpoise was a replacement for the earlier vessel of that name, which was wrecked off the coast of Queensland in 1803.] This came into effect on 4 September 1806.[28]
29. Warrant of Appointment to Lieutenant Grant, Sydney, 1 Jan. 1801, TNA CO 201/19, AJCP PRO 9, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, p. 66, and Grant 1803, pp. 84–85.
30. King to Wm. Scott, Acting Commander of the Porpoise, 10 Feb. 1801, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, p. 81 (Attachment I of King to Nepean 10 Mar. 1801).
31. King to Portland, 10 Mar. 1801, TNA CO 201/19, AJCP PRO 9 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 58–59
32. Enclosure D of King to Nepean, 10 Mar 1801, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, p. 78.
33. King to Grant, 5 Mar. 1801, TNA CO 201/19, AJCP PRO 9 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 62–66.
34. A marginal note, in a different hand, on a copy of King's Instructions to Grant is critical of King's expectations that Grant could accomplish all these tasks without having a chronometer on board. However Grant seems to have acquired a chronometer whilst in Port Jackson as is subsequently revealed in his journal for 23 June 1801.
35. Bee was a ship's longboat, which had been decked-in, of 11 tons (bm) and crewed by a master and three men.[33]
36. Lewin had been on board Bee and consequently was unable to participate in the subsequent surveys.
37. Western Port was first surveyed by George Bass who had sailed from Port Jackson in a whale-boat and discovered, entered, and named the port in January 1798.[34]
38. The exploration party included Lieutenant Colonel Paterson, Lieutenant-Governor, Dr Harris, Surgeon of the New South Wales Corps, Francis Barrallier, Surveyor, and John Lewin, naturalist and artist. Francis, 44 tons (bm), arrived 'in frame', from England in February 1792 and was assembled in Port Jackson and put into the water in July 1793.
39. Grant 1803, 149–66. For the voyage up the coast see Grant to King 24 Jun. 1801, ML CY 1325, pp. 86–95. For Lieutenant Grant's Journal at the Hunter River see Remarks, &c., on board His Majesty's armed surveying vessel, Lady Nelson, in Hunter's River, 1801, HRNSW, Vol. IV, pp. 404–409 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 169–174 and 773, Note 69.
40. Grant to King, 31 Aug. 1801, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, p. 273, and King to Grant, 1 Sep. 1801, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 273–274.
41. Lee 1915, p. 78.
42. Grant 1803, p. 174.
43. King's Warrant to Mr John Murray, 3 Sep. 1801, (Enclosure No.1c of King to Nepean 31 Oct. 1801) HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, p. 274 and 517.
44. King to Murray, 31 Oct. 1801, TNA ADM 1/2019, AJCP PRO 3273 and HRNSW, Vol. IV, pp. 602–604.
45. The source of, and the quotations in the part of this article covering the Exploration of Bass Strait by Murray is the Masters Log, kept by Acting Lieutenant John Murray, except where cited otherwise.[41] For an edited transcript of the log, see 'Lee, 1915'.
46. Lady Nelson entered the port on Sunday 14 February Civil Time but the first description of the harbour is entered in the log on 15 February, a new Nautical Day having commenced at mid-day.
47. For a full transcript of the proceedings in Port Phillip, from 16 Feb. to 11 Mar 1802, see Labilliere 1878. For an edited version, see Lee 1915.
48. The source of, and the quotations in, the part of this article covering the period when Lady Nelson acted as tender to Investigator is the Masters Log, kept by Acting Lieutenant John Murray, except where cited otherwise.[41] For an edited version of the log, see 'Lee, 1915'.
49. Nepean to King, 23 Jun. 1801, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 109–110 (When he wrote the letter, Nepean would not have known that Murray had replaced Grant.) Portland to King, 26 Jun. 1801, TNA CO 202/5, AJCP PRO 56 and HRA, I, III, 110 (Investigator carried these despatches to Port Jackson.)
50. Flinders 1814, Vol. II, p. 2.
51. Flinders 1814, Vol. II, p. 1.
52. At Port Bowen the main keel was found to have broken off. It was later replaced by a new one made by Investigator's carpenters. In Broad Sound, part of the after keel and part of the new main keel broke off. They were not repaired until Lady Nelson returned to Port Jackson.
53. Flinders 1814, Vol. II, pp. 90–91.
54. Flinders 1814, Vol. II, p. 96.
55. Flinders to King, His Majesty's Sloop Investigator, Off Cumberland Isles, 18 October 1802, HRNSW, Vol. IV, pp. 857–860 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 740–742.
56. King to Nepean, 12 Apr. 1803, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. IV, pp. 68–69.
57. King to Hobart, 9 Nov. 1802, TNA CO 201/22, AJCP PRO 11 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, pp. 697–699. King to Hobart, 23 Nov. 1802, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. III, p. 737. King to Hobart, 9 May 1803, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. IV, pp. 143–148. King to Nepean, 9 May 1803, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. IV, pp. 247–252.
58. Cumberland was a schooner of 26 tons (bm), built in Port Jackson in 1801.
59. King's Instructions to Lieutenant Bowen, 28 Mar. 1803, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. IV, pp. 152–153.
60. The source of the part of this article covering Lady Nelson's voyage to Risdon Cove is A Journal of the Proceedings on board H.M. Brig Lady Nelson (Tender to H.M. Armed Vessel Buffalo), Lieut. Geo. Curtoys, Commander.[51] For a shorter edited version see 'Lee, 1915', pp. 218–222.
61. Gazette, 17 Jul. 1803.
62. Gazette, 28 Aug. 1803.
63. Hobart to Collins, 7 Feb.1803, TNA CO 202/6, AJCP PRO 56 and HRA, Ser. I, Vol. IV, pp. 10–16.
64. HRA, Ser. III, Vol. I, pp. xv–xx.
65. King to Nepean, 1 Mar. 1804, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. IV, pp. 556–557.
66. Symons seems to have remained in command of Lady Nelson on his Mate's pay until 1 October 1804 when King issued a warrant appointing him Acting-Lieutenant in command of the vessel which entitled him to a lieutenant's pay. King subsequently wrote to the Admiralty seeking their approval.[57] The Admiralty eventually approved King's action but Symons could not be commissioned as a Lieutenant as he had not obtained a Lieutenant's Passing Certificate, and this could not be done in the colony at the time.[58] In this respect Lee's note 'The Governor had then received an Admiralty order to make the appointment' [of Lieutenant in command] is misleading.[59]
67. The source of the part of this article covering the evacuation of the settlement at Port Phillip is Lee 1915, except where cited otherwise.
68. Robert Brown to Banks, at anchor, Kent's Group, Bass's Strait, 30 Dec. 1803, The British Library, MS 32439 folio 144 and AJCP M1139.
69. William Collins was a former naval officer who had arrived on Ocean as a settler.
70. Collins to King, 27 Jan. 1804, HRA, Ser. III, Vol. I, pp. 53–54. Knopwood 1977, p. 39.
71. Knopwood 1977, 40.
72. Colonel Collins selected a site at Sullivans Cove for his settlement. This was on the west bank of the Derwent where the city of Hobart now stands.
73. Gazette, 1 and 22 Apr. 1804.
74. King to Paterson, 1 Jun. 1804, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. V, pp. 22–24.
75. In his instructions Hobart seems confused about the location of Port Dalrymple, referring to its 'advantageous position of which upon the southern coast of Van Dieman's Land'.[65] Port Dalrymple is on the north coast of Tasmania, 50 km north of the present-day city of Launceston. King resolved this confusion in consultation with his officers.[66]
76. Integrity was a cutter of 60 tons burthen that the Colonial Government had built in Port Jackson in 1804. Contest was a sloop of 44 tons (bm) built in Port Jackson by James Underwood, in 1804.
77. King to Hobart, 14 Aug. 1804, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. V, pp. 1–18.
78. King to Hobart, 20 Dec. 1804, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. V, pp. 212–215.
79. The source of, and the quotations in, the part of this article covering Lady Nelson's voyage to Port Dalrymple is 'Lee 1915', except where cited otherwise.
80. George was a sloop of 28 tons (bm), privately built on the Hawkesbury River.
81. King to Camden, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1804 to 1805, 15 Mar. 1806, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. V, pp. 642–661 (para. 44). King to Castlereagh, 27 Jul. 1806, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. V, pp. 748–754 (para. 20). Gazette 2 Mar. and 15 Jun. 1806.
82. Bligh to Pole, First Secretary to the Admiralty 1807 to 1809, 5 Apr. 1809, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. VII, p. 75. Foveaux to Macquarie, 10 Jan. 1810, SRA, Reel 6042, 9/2736, p14. Gazette 11 Jun., 23 Jul., 13 Aug. and 26 Nov. 1809.
83. Gazette 9 Nov. 1811. Macquarie to Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1809 to 1812 (Liverpool), 17 Nov. 1812, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. VII, pp. 580–617 (para. 6 & 7) and Enclosure No. 1.
84. Exiled Three Times Over, by Irene Schaffer and Thelma McKay.
85. Macquarie to Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1812 to 1827 (Bathurst), 28 Jun. 1813, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. VII, pp. 707–730 (item 7). Gazette 10 Apr. 1813.
86. Gazette, 24 Feb. & 2 Mar. 1816.
87. Gazette, 8 May 1819.
88. Bathurst to Macquarie, 18 May 1820, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. X, p. 306.
89. Gazette, 24 Mar. 1821.
90. Captain Francis Allman, 48th Regiment, Commandant at Port Macquarie (Allman), to Goulburn, Under Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1816 to 1821 (Goulburn), 19 Apr. 1821, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. X, pp. 517–518.
91. Allman to Goulburn, 5 May 1821, HRA, Ser.I, Vol. X, pp. 519–520.
92. Gazette, 3 May 1822.
93. Bathurst to Thomas Brisbane, Governor of New South Wales 1821 to 1825 (Brisbane), 17 Feb. 1824, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. XI, pp. 227–9.
94. Brisbane to Bathurst, 12 Aug. 1824, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. XI, p. 338. Gazette 26 Aug. 1824.
95. Gazette 10 Mar. 1825.
96. Gazette 11 Sep. 1832.
97. Miller to George Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 7 May 1825, HRA, Ser. I, Vol. XII, pp. 188–189.
98. Barlow to Owens, 19 May 1825, SRA, Reel 6066, 4/1802 pp. 39–54.
99. Gazette, 22 Sep. 1825.
100. Gazette 4 May 1827.
101. The settlement at Melville Island was abandoned in 1828.
102. Spillet 1982.
103. The story of the Mount Gambier Replica is based on information on the websites of the Lady Nelson Visitor & Discovery Centre and the Maritime Village Boatyard.
104. Cusick 2007.