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William Bradley (Royal Navy officer)
Encyclopedia
William Bradley was a British naval officer and cartographer who was one of the officers who participated in the First Fleet
to Australia
. During this expedition, Bradley undertook extensive surveys and became one the first of the settlers to establish relations with the aborigines
, with whom he struck up a dialogue and whose customs and nature he studied extensively. He later however fell out with his aboriginal contacts and instead undertook a mission to gather food which ended with an eleven-month stay on Norfolk Island
after a shipwreck.
Bradley's later career was overshadowed by his steadily deteriorating mental state. Although a successful small ship commander, Bradley became increasingly erratic and was eventually retired as a result. A few years later, suffering serious mental problems, Bradley committed a highly unusual case of postal fraud and was ultimately exiled. He never returned to Britain but lived in quiet disgrace in France
.
James Bradley
. His family was closely associated with the Royal Naval Academy
and both his elder brother James and his father-in-law served on the faculty. Bradley entered the Royal Navy
in 1772, and served on a rapid succession of ships before becoming lieutenant
in 1778. He continued in service aboard HMS Lenox
, HMS Aldborough
, HMS Mermaid
, HMS Rippon
, HMS Prothée, HMS Phaeton and HMS Ariadne until 1786, when he joined HMS Sirius
. His service during the American Revolutionary War
was not significant, but Bradley was attached on the Sirius to the First Fleet
destined to colonise Australia
.
in extensive operations along the Sydney Harbour coastline. The two men were often away from the colony for extended periods, conducting surveys of the coastline and the lands around. A keen note-taker and sketcher, Bradley compiled many records of his experiences and also developed close relationships with nearby aboriginal tribes. He was an early champion of the original inhabitants, but several experiences later changed his view to one substantially more negative.
In October 1788, Bradley joined a six-month circumnavigation
of the globe to collect supplies for the colony from the Cape of Good Hope
. Returning in March 1789, Bradley worked on the repair of Sirius, combined with further survey and more observations of the aborigines. During this time, Bradley developed a strong antipathy for the aborigines due to unknown reasons and was involved in the November 1789 raid which captured Colebe and Bennelong
, a job he found extremely unpleasant.
In 1790, Sirius and HMS Supply were dispatched to Norfolk Island
in search of better food supplies. At Norfolk Island, the ships were caught in a storm and wrecked. Marooned on the island, Bradley his crew conducted extensive surveys of the land during the eleven months spent there. In 1791, Bradley and others returned to Port Jackson
and from there took ship to the Philippines
and then to Britain
. The ships arrived in 1792 and the crews were court martialled for the loss of Sirius, but honourably acquitted.
in 1791, and in 1793 was given the fireship HMS Comet
as part of the Channel Fleet
under Lord Howe
. In May 1794, a year after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
, Howe's fleet began the Atlantic campaign of May 1794
, chasing a French grain convoy deep into the Atlantic. The campaign concluded with the battle of the Glorious First of June
, where Howe's fleet defeated an equally sized French force but failed to stop the convoy. Bradley acted as a signal repeater during the campaign, relaying Howe's signals to the large fleet. He performed so well at this duty that he was promoted to post captain in the aftermath of the campaign.
Bradley soon took command of the frigate
HMS Cambrian and served in her on the Halifax
station for the next eight years. He returned to Britain in 1802 on the Peace of Amiens and in 1805 took command of the ship of the line
HMS Plantagenet
. In neither of Bradley's commands did he perform any significant or notable service, remaining on convoy and blockade duties. In 1809 however, Bradley suffered the first of his increasingly severe mental disturbances.
unit at Cowes
, but in 1812 again suffered a mental breakdown, and was retired as a rear-admiral. Two years later, Bradley suffered personal disaster when he was caught involved in a minor attempt to defraud the postal authorities. Arrested and brought before the Winchester Assizes, his conduct was noted as being highly unusual, but this was not taken into account initially and he was stripped of his rank and pension and sentenced to death. Appeals from his family later brought about a reduction of sentence, firstly to transportation and subsequently exile
.
Retiring to Le Havre
, France
in 1816, Bradley devoted the sane hours of his life to a series of inventions designed to easily calculate longitude
. He hoped that by inventing such a device, the Admiralty might be persuaded to reverse his sentence and permit him to return to Britain. This never occurred, and attempts by his family to get the sentence repealed on the grounds of his insanity were equally fruitless. Bradley finally gave up these efforts after years of failure and died in France, a recluse, in March 1833.
Bradley left three daughters and a son. His wife described him as 'a kind husband and affectionate father', but fellow officers often considered him disagreeable and aloof. He left behind a large body of work on the coasts and aborigines of the Sydney
area which is still available in the Mitchell and Dixson Libraries, Sydney. This work includes, surveys, charts, personal observations and sketches.
His name is commemorated in the name of Bradley's Head.
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
to 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...
. During this expedition, Bradley undertook extensive surveys and became one the first of the settlers to establish relations with the aborigines
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
, with whom he struck up a dialogue and whose customs and nature he studied extensively. He later however fell out with his aboriginal contacts and instead undertook a mission to gather food which ended with an eleven-month stay on Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
after a shipwreck.
Bradley's later career was overshadowed by his steadily deteriorating mental state. Although a successful small ship commander, Bradley became increasingly erratic and was eventually retired as a result. A few years later, suffering serious mental problems, Bradley committed a highly unusual case of postal fraud and was ultimately exiled. He never returned to Britain but lived in quiet disgrace in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Early career
Bradley was born in 1757, a nephew of the Astronomer RoyalAstronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....
James Bradley
James Bradley
James Bradley FRS was an English astronomer and served as Astronomer Royal from 1742, succeeding Edmund Halley. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light , and the nutation of the Earth's axis...
. His family was closely associated with the Royal Naval Academy
Royal Naval Academy
The Royal Naval Academy was established at Portsmouth Dockyard as a facility to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardised training, education and admission.-Training:In 1773, a shore side...
and both his elder brother James and his father-in-law served on the faculty. Bradley entered the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1772, and served on a rapid succession of ships before becoming lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1778. He continued in service aboard HMS Lenox
HMS Lenox (1758)
HMS Lenox was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 February 1758 at Chatham Dockyard.She was sunk as a breakwater in 1784....
, HMS Aldborough
HMS Aldborough
HMS Aldborough is the name of several Royal Navy vessels:, a ketch launched 1691, accidentally blown up 1696, a sixth rate launched 1706, rebuilt 1727, broken up 1743, a sixth rate launched 1743, sold 1749, a sixth rate launched 1756, broken up 1777...
, HMS Mermaid
HMS Mermaid (1761)
HMS Mermaid was a sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was first commissioned in April 1761 under Captain George Watson.-References:* Robert Gardiner, The First Frigates, Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. ISBN 0-85177-601-9....
, HMS Rippon
HMS Rippon (1758)
HMS Rippon was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1752, and launched on 20 January 1758....
, HMS Prothée, HMS Phaeton and HMS Ariadne until 1786, when he joined HMS Sirius
HMS Sirius (1786)
HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet, which set out from Portsmouth, England, in 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales, Australia. Sirius was wrecked off the coast of Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean in 1790....
. His service during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
was not significant, but Bradley was attached on the Sirius to the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
destined to colonise 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...
.
Service in Australia
During 1788, Bradley did not involve himself directly in colonial affairs, but instead joined John HunterJohn Hunter (New South Wales)
Vice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
in extensive operations along the Sydney Harbour coastline. The two men were often away from the colony for extended periods, conducting surveys of the coastline and the lands around. A keen note-taker and sketcher, Bradley compiled many records of his experiences and also developed close relationships with nearby aboriginal tribes. He was an early champion of the original inhabitants, but several experiences later changed his view to one substantially more negative.
In October 1788, Bradley joined a six-month circumnavigation
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
of the globe to collect supplies for the colony from the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. Returning in March 1789, Bradley worked on the repair of Sirius, combined with further survey and more observations of the aborigines. During this time, Bradley developed a strong antipathy for the aborigines due to unknown reasons and was involved in the November 1789 raid which captured Colebe and Bennelong
Bennelong
Woollarawarre Bennelong was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia, in 1788...
, a job he found extremely unpleasant.
In 1790, Sirius and HMS Supply were dispatched to Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
in search of better food supplies. At Norfolk Island, the ships were caught in a storm and wrecked. Marooned on the island, Bradley his crew conducted extensive surveys of the land during the eleven months spent there. In 1791, Bradley and others returned to Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
and from there took ship to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and then to Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
. The ships arrived in 1792 and the crews were court martialled for the loss of Sirius, but honourably acquitted.
French Revolutionary Wars
Bradley was promoted to master and commanderMaster and Commander
Master and Commander is a historical naval novel by Patrick O'Brian. First published in 1969 , it is first in the Aubrey-Maturin series of stories of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin. Closely based on the historical feats of Lord Cochrane, O'Brian's novel is set in the...
in 1791, and in 1793 was given the fireship HMS Comet
HMS Comet
The name HMS Comet, after the comet, has been used no fewer than sixteen times by the Royal Navy. was a 4-gun bomb vessel built in 1695 and captured by the French in 1706. was a 14-gun bomb vessel in use from 1742 to 1759. was a galley used in 1756. was a 10-gun brig-sloop in India in 1758...
as part of the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
under Lord Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
. In May 1794, a year after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, Howe's fleet began the Atlantic campaign of May 1794
Atlantic campaign of May 1794
The Atlantic campaign of May 1794 was a series of operations conducted by the British Royal Navy's Channel Fleet against the French Navy's Atlantic Fleet, with the aim of preventing the passage of a strategically important French grain convoy travelling from the United States to France...
, chasing a French grain convoy deep into the Atlantic. The campaign concluded with the battle of the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
, where Howe's fleet defeated an equally sized French force but failed to stop the convoy. Bradley acted as a signal repeater during the campaign, relaying Howe's signals to the large fleet. He performed so well at this duty that he was promoted to post captain in the aftermath of the campaign.
Bradley soon took command of the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Cambrian and served in her on the Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
station for the next eight years. He returned to Britain in 1802 on the Peace of Amiens and in 1805 took command of the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
HMS Plantagenet
HMS Plantagenet (1801)
HMS Plantagenet was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 22 October 1801 at Woolwich. She was designed by Sir William Rule as one of the 'large class' 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught...
. In neither of Bradley's commands did he perform any significant or notable service, remaining on convoy and blockade duties. In 1809 however, Bradley suffered the first of his increasingly severe mental disturbances.
Mental illness
Removed from service by his illness, Bradley later joined the impressImpressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
unit at Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
, but in 1812 again suffered a mental breakdown, and was retired as a rear-admiral. Two years later, Bradley suffered personal disaster when he was caught involved in a minor attempt to defraud the postal authorities. Arrested and brought before the Winchester Assizes, his conduct was noted as being highly unusual, but this was not taken into account initially and he was stripped of his rank and pension and sentenced to death. Appeals from his family later brought about a reduction of sentence, firstly to transportation and subsequently exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
.
Retiring to Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1816, Bradley devoted the sane hours of his life to a series of inventions designed to easily calculate longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
. He hoped that by inventing such a device, the Admiralty might be persuaded to reverse his sentence and permit him to return to Britain. This never occurred, and attempts by his family to get the sentence repealed on the grounds of his insanity were equally fruitless. Bradley finally gave up these efforts after years of failure and died in France, a recluse, in March 1833.
Bradley left three daughters and a son. His wife described him as 'a kind husband and affectionate father', but fellow officers often considered him disagreeable and aloof. He left behind a large body of work on the coasts and aborigines of the 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...
area which is still available in the Mitchell and Dixson Libraries, Sydney. This work includes, surveys, charts, personal observations and sketches.
His name is commemorated in the name of Bradley's Head.