David Burn
Encyclopedia
David Burn was a Tasmania
n pioneer and dramatist
, author of the first Australia
n drama to be performed on stage, The Bushrangers.
(now Tasmania
) and became the first woman there to have land granted to her. David junior had a brief career in the navy joined his mother in Van Diemen's Land in 1826. He failed to qualify for a land grant returned to Edinburgh
in 1829, divorcing his wife there.
Burn returned to Van Diemen's Land and published his Plays and Fugitive Pieces in Verse in 1841; the dedication to Lady Franklin is dated November 1842. This book, in two well-printed volumes bound in one, was the first volume of plays published in Australia. Around this time he probably wrote his An Excursion to Port Arthur in 1842, of which an edition was published at the Examiner office, Launceston, some 60 years later. Burn accompanied Sir John
and Lady Jane Franklin on their expedition to the west coast of Tasmania in 1842 which was described in his Narrative of the Overland Journey … From Hobart Town to Macquarie Harbour, 1842 (published in Sydney 1955 with notes by G. Mackaness).
Burn was editing the South Britain or Tasmanian Literary Journal in 1843, and afterwards went to Sydney
and Auckland
, where he lived for many years. He was connected with the New Zealand press, at first on the New Zealander and later as a partner in the New Zealand Herald.
on 14 June 1875, he had two children and was married twice. He was a prodigious writer and many of his manuscripts are preserved at the Mitchell library, Sydney
, including his reminiscences and diaries. He was also author of Van Diemen's Land, Moral, Physical and Political, and Strictures on the Navy.
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n pioneer and dramatist
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, author of the first Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n drama to be performed on stage, The Bushrangers.
Early life
Burn was born in Scotland, the son of David Burn and his wife, Jacobina, née Hunter (1763-1851). David Burn senior died c.1820 and Jacobina emigrated to Van Diemen's LandVan Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(now Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
) and became the first woman there to have land granted to her. David junior had a brief career in the navy joined his mother in Van Diemen's Land in 1826. He failed to qualify for a land grant returned to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1829, divorcing his wife there.
Career
On 8 and 10 September 1829 Burn's play, The Bushrangers, was acted at the Caledonian Theatre, Edinburgh, with success. Early in January 1830 his farce, Manias and Maniacs (afterwards re-named Our First Lieutenant) was played at the same theatre for several successive nights. In 1830 Burn returned to Van Diemen's Land and revisited England with his mother in 1836. He remained until 1840; the dedication of his pamphlet Vindication of Van Diemen's Land is dated 18 February 1840, and in 1841 he brought out another pamphlet, The Chivalry of the Mercantile Marine, published at Plymouth. He contributed a serial in the Colonial Magazine of 1840-1841, Van Diemen's Land, which has been reprinted in book form in 1973 as A Picture of Van Diemen's Land. Burn published a pamphlet Vindication of Van Diemen's Land in A Cursory Glance at Her Colonists as They Are, Not as They Have Been Represented To Be (London, 1840).Burn returned to Van Diemen's Land and published his Plays and Fugitive Pieces in Verse in 1841; the dedication to Lady Franklin is dated November 1842. This book, in two well-printed volumes bound in one, was the first volume of plays published in Australia. Around this time he probably wrote his An Excursion to Port Arthur in 1842, of which an edition was published at the Examiner office, Launceston, some 60 years later. Burn accompanied Sir John
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
and Lady Jane Franklin on their expedition to the west coast of Tasmania in 1842 which was described in his Narrative of the Overland Journey … From Hobart Town to Macquarie Harbour, 1842 (published in Sydney 1955 with notes by G. Mackaness).
Burn was editing the South Britain or Tasmanian Literary Journal in 1843, and afterwards went to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, where he lived for many years. He was connected with the New Zealand press, at first on the New Zealander and later as a partner in the New Zealand Herald.
Death and legacy
Burn died in prosperous circumstances at AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
on 14 June 1875, he had two children and was married twice. He was a prodigious writer and many of his manuscripts are preserved at the Mitchell library, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, including his reminiscences and diaries. He was also author of Van Diemen's Land, Moral, Physical and Political, and Strictures on the Navy.