Watkin Tench (1758-1833) was a Marine officer in the First Fleet, establishing the first settlement in Australia in 1788. His two accounts, Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay and Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson provide a fascinating and entertaining account of the arrival and first four years of the colony.
Tench was also a prisoner of the French in Brittany in 1794-1795, and his Letters from revolutionary France provide a first-hand account of the French Revolution.
Watkin Tench was the discoverer of the Nepean River
External link
Online editions of his works (http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/aut/tench_watkin.html)
Lieutenant-General WatkinTench (1758 – 7 May 1833) was a British Marine officer who is best known for publishing two books describing his experiences in the First Fleet, which established the first settlement in Australia in 1788.
Tench was a prisoner of the French in Brittany in 1794-1795, and his third book, Letters from revolutionary France provide a first-hand account of the aftermath of the French Revolution.
Tench fought in the American War of Independence and was captured when HMS Mermaid was driven ashore on Cape Henlopen in July 1778, after which he was imprisoned by the French in Maryland until October.