James William Robinson collection

The collection comprises of papers written by Robinson regarding his carrier as a whaling and sealing captain based in Hobart, Tasmania during the nineteenth century.

James William Robinson was born in April of 1824, the son of George William Robinson (A member of the crew of the whaling vessel General Gates. Educated in Hobart and Providence, Rhode Island he returned to Hobart and took up whaling soon becoming one of the outstanding seamen of the port. In 1858, Robinson joined the rush of sealing voyages to Heard Island following news of the large number of elephant seals to be found there. He commanded the whaler Offley on the Tasmanian Sealing Voyage, 1858-1860. When the tender Elizabeth Jane failed to reach Heard Island, Robinson arranged for the United States schooner Mary Powell to act as tender to the sealing gang on the island. However the schooner was wrecked and the sealing gang required rescue by the schooner Cornelia. On the return of the expedition a series of legal actions were brought before the court at Hobart as a result of the sufferings endured by the crew.

Reports of coal deposits on Iles Kerguelen made by the expedition caused Tasmanian and British mining enterprises to enquire about leasing the island on several occasions over the next twenty years. These came to nothing as owing to the poor quality of the coal and questions regarding sovereignty.

Robinson's wife accompanied him on the sealing voyage and gave birth to their son James Kerguelen Robinson on 11 March 1859; Robinson died in 1906.

The collection is arranged chronologically.

By appointment.

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Anyone wishing to consult material should ensure they note the entire MS reference and the name of the originator.

The term holograph is used when the item is wholly in the handwriting of the author. The term autograph is used when the author has signed the item.

Descriptions compiled by N. Boneham, Assistant Archivist with assistance from R. Stancombe and reference to 'Captain J W Robinson's narrative of a sealing voyage to Heard Island, 1858-1860' edited by W E L H Crowther in The Polar Record (September 1970) volume 15, number 96 p301-316 and Robert Keith Headland Antarctic Chronology, unpublished corrected revision of Chronological list of Antarctic expeditions and related historical events, (1 December 2001) Cambridge University Press (1989) ISBN 0521309034

Clive Holland Manuscripts in the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England - a catalogue, Garland Publishing New York and London (1982) ISBN 0824093941.

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