He was an extraordinary young man from Lincolnshire in England who would spend a considerable part of his short life in the new colony of New South Wales. From the time he arrived in Port Jackson in September 1795 until his passing c.1803 he had a passion for exploration. Many readers may have guessed correctly that Bass was part of the successful duo of Bass and Flinders. Bass Strait was named after him and so too other points of interest. More on these aspects later and also further evidence to confirm he was one of the most important explorers of the late 18th century in Australian history.

Bass was born in 1771 in and around Boston on the banks of the Withram River which flows in to North Sea. According to Miriam Estenden, who wrote in 2005, " The Life of George Bass, Surgeon and sailor of the Enlightenment", he learned to sail small craft on the river, was a strong swimmer and was " fascinated by the sea and the far tantalising line of its horizon".(p.4)

He was inspired by the voyages of James Cook, 1768-1779. They were the latest news when he was a teenager, to put it in some sort of contemporary context today. At 16 years of age his mother apprenticed him to Patrick Francis, a surgeon and apothecary in Boston and by April 1789 he had received his diploma as a Member of the Corporation of Surgeons. He was only 18 and entered into the field of surgery at a time when, like many other sciences, it was moving rapidly on the intellectual tide of the Enlightenment. He met Sir Joseph Banks, entrepreneur and major financier of James Cook's voyage of discovery to the Pacific, and many other great thinkers and writers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

In June 1789 ( Estenden, p.8) he sat and passed an exam and became a naval surgeon. By the age of 23 he had stepped on board HMS Reliance and soon after met Matthew Flinders and a friendship was formed which would be unsurpassed in Australian history. Many years later Flinders would write that Bass was " a man whose ardour for discovery was not repressed by any obstacles, nor deterred by danger". (op.cit.p36.)

In February 1795, in a flotilla of ships, under the command of the next Governor of NSW, John Hunter, they left Plymouth bound for Port Jackson. They sailed via the Canary Islands, Rio de Janeiro, the Cape of Good Hope and on the 8 September, 1795 " bore up the Harbour of Port Jackson". (op.cit, p.40) At the time the British population in NSW was 3211,according to Hunter in a letter to authorities in October 1795( Historical Records of NSW), and by all accounts they suffered poor health, crime, near starvation and a lack of resources and equipment generally.

On the voyage Bass befriended and got to know the aboriginal leader Bennelong, who had gone to England when Governor Arthur Phillip returned home. Bennelong taught Bass the native language and Bass returned the favour by getting him back to good health. It reinforced his interest in matters other than surgery and as described by Flinders, for they had much in common, notably a passion for exploration. Flinders describes Bass in his " Voyage to Terra Australis" ..' with this friendship a determination was formed of completing the examination of the east coast of NSW, by all such opportunities as the duty of the ship and procurable means could admit'. ( The Australian Encyclopaedia, volume 1, p.449.)

Bass was about to get busy exploring on foot and in many a craft including a little boat with an 8 feet keel, which he named the Tom Thumb. The most significant for Eurobodalla readers are Bass's exploits in a whaleboat in 1797 and 1798 when he visited our shores and landed at many locations. Hence the connection with my writings and the forthcoming George Bass Marathon in January 2016.

More on George Bass and his voyage in a whaleboat next week.

Bill Baker studied history at ANU and later at Wollongong  University and the University of Canberra. He taught for 10 years in high schools and then 20 years in TAFE and a couple of years in the teacher training program at UC. He retired from full time teaching at the end of 2004 but maintains a continuing interest in history, geography and writing. His other hobbies include surfing, golf and the fine life of retirement on the South Coast of NSW. He is a member of the Canberra and District Historical Society, a Life Member of the Royal Life Saving Society and a permanent friend of the Australian Institute of Sport.