First white child in Australia

Seebaer van Nieuwelant (born 27 July 1623), son of Willemtgen and Willem Janszoon, was born south of Dirk Hartog Island, in present-day Western Australia. His father, not to be confused with the earlier Dutch explorer of the same name, was a midshipman from Amsterdam. He and his wife were aboard the Leijden, commanded by Claes Hermanszoon, which was charting the coast at the time. Their son's name in Dutch meant "sea-born (or sea-birth) of new land".[1]

Claims have appeared in Australian newspapers in recent times of first children born to European parents in each of the colonies:

New South Wales
  • Commonly cited as the first white child[2] or the first white female born in Australia, Rebecca Small (22 September 1789 – 30 January 1883), was born in Port Jackson, the eldest daughter of John Small[3] a boatswain in the First Fleet which arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788. Later articles put her as the second white female,[4][5] then with historical evidence of convict women having given birth earlier, the claim (originating with a notable descendant) was qualified with the expression "free born", but even so, genealogists reckon she may have been the twentieth.[6]
Small married Francis Oakes on 27 January 1806;[7] George Oakes and Francis Oakes were two of their sons.
Victoria
  • William James Hobart Thorne (25 November 1803[8] – 2 July 1872) was born at Port Phillip, in what was still part of New South Wales but became Victoria, during the short-lived settlement led by Lieutenant-Governor David Collins. Thorne married Elizabeth Norman (c. 1812 – 9 January 1876) on 1 January 1830.[9]

Other names have been proposed:

  • A child, name not yet found, born at Port Phillip on 30 December 1835 to James and Mary Gilbert.[10]
  • A child, name not yet found, born in 1836[11] to Sara Honey (c. 1808 – 10 April 1904)[12]
  • John Wood Fleming (3 June 1837 – )[13]
  • Richmond Henty (3 August 1837 – 1904)[14] has been claimed as the first[15] or second[16]
the congregation of these dates can have nothing to do with the declaration of the Colony of Victoria, which occurred much later, on 1 July 1851.
South Australia
  • A girl child was born at sea sometime between May and July 1836 aboard Duke of York to T. Hudson Beare and Lucy Ann Beare née Loose (c. 1803 – 3 September 1837), but died before touching land at Kangaroo Island.[17] Mrs Beare died following a later childbirth.[18]
  • John Rapid Light Hoare (7 November 1836[19][20] – )
  • Fanny Lipson Finniss (1 January 1837[21] – 30 May 1865), daughter of B. T. Finniss. She married Frederick George Morgan on 15 December 1853.
  • Also noteworthy, Henry Wilkins (1 January 1837 – ), father of Hubert Wilkins, was born to William Wilkins and Mary Wilkins, née Chivers, passengers aboard Emma, arr. October 1836.
Queensland
  • Sarah McCann (later Graham) (1831– )[22]
  • Jimmy Hexton (25 September 1832 – 12 February 1914)[23]
Western Australia
Tasmania
  • son, name not yet found, born c. April 1803 to Mrs and Dr Matthew Bowden (1779 – 23 October 1814) aboard Lady Nelson while in Derwent River.[25]
  • Jane, surname not yet found, (c. May 1803 – May 1873) was born shortly after her parents arrived by Lady Nelson. She married William Bradshaw.[25]
  • (William) Dalrymple Keating (2 December 1804 – 11 August 1884)[26]

References
  1. From the journal of the Leijden (or Leyden): "On the 27th do. WILLEMTGEN JANSZ., wedded wife Of WILLEM JANSZ. of Amsterdam, midshipman, was delivered of a son, who got the name of SEEBAER VAN NIEUWELANT." J. E. Heeres (1899). The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606-1765, p. 49. Accessed via Project Gutenberg, 22 February 2015.
  2. "Australian Patriarchs". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) (2657). New South Wales, Australia. 23 January 1888. p. 6 (Centennial Supplement to the Daily Telegraph). Retrieved 3 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Personal". The Richmond River Herald and Northern Districts Advertiser. 41 (3042). New South Wales, Australia. 1 May 1928. p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Death of Mrs Oakes". Nepean Times. 1 (52). New South Wales, Australia. 3 February 1883. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "The Late Mrs Oakes". Australian Town and Country Journal. XXVII (683). New South Wales, Australia. 10 February 1883. p. 17. Retrieved 2 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "First White Girl". The Sydney Morning Herald (31, 254). New South Wales, Australia. 4 March 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 3 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "The Oakes Family". The Sydney Morning Herald (29, 016). New South Wales, Australia. 3 January 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 3 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "The Late Robert Thorne". The Mercury (Hobart). LIV (6, 116). Tasmania, Australia. 27 September 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 2 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Finding Settlements First Son". The Age. 16 November 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  10. "The Legend of Thomas Henty". The Sun (Sydney) (1688). New South Wales, Australia. 4 August 1935. p. 17. Retrieved 7 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Concerning People". The Register (Adelaide). LXIX (17, 913). South Australia. 12 April 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 27 September 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Obituary". Adelaide Observer. LXI (3, 263). South Australia. 16 April 1904. p. 33. Retrieved 4 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Intercolonial". The North West Post (28). Tasmania, Australia. 4 June 1887. p. 3. Retrieved 2 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "History of the Henty Family". Portland Guardian. LXXXXI. Victoria, Australia. 22 March 1934. p. 2. Retrieved 7 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "Death of Mr Richmond Henty". Portland Guardian. LXII (5263). Victoria, Australia. 27 April 1904. p. 2. Retrieved 4 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. "The Beginning of Farming in Victoria". The Daily Telegraph (Launceston). XXXIV (107). Tasmania, Australia. 6 May 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 4 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "Thomas Hudson Beare". Kangaroo Island Pioneers Association. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  18. "Concerning People". The Register (Adelaide). LXXII (18, 919). South Australia. 3 July 1907. p. 7. Retrieved 24 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "The First-born South Australian". South Australian Register. XXI (3461). South Australia. 7 November 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 7 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. "London to South Australia". The Northern Argus. VII (494). South Australia. 2 May 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 1 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. "South Australia's First Girl". The Register (Adelaide). LXXXIV (22, 549). South Australia. 15 February 1919. p. 10. Retrieved 7 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. "Obituaries". South Coast Bulletin. 11 (602). Queensland, Australia. 20 October 1939. p. 12. Retrieved 7 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. "Passing of a Pioneer". Truth (Brisbane newspaper) (732). Queensland, Australia. 22 February 1914. p. 4 (City Edition). Retrieved 27 September 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. "A Golden Wedding". The West Australian. 13 (3, 492). Western Australia. 5 May 1897. p. 7. Retrieved 2 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. "The First Tasmanian White Woman". The Mercury (Hobart). XXII (3852). Tasmania, Australia. 6 May 1873. p. 2. Retrieved 9 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  26. "The First White Tasmanian". The Mercury (Hobart). XXV (4444). Tasmania, Australia. 15 December 1874. p. 2. Retrieved 10 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
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