Published Resources Details
Book Section
- Title
- Franklin, Sir John (1786-1847), rear admiral, Arctic explorer and lieutenant-governor
- In
- Australian dictionary of biography, volume 1: 1788 - 1850 A-H
- Imprint
- Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1966, pp. 412-415
- Url
- http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010380b.htm
- Description
Published online in 2006.
- Abstract
Quotes:
"He served as a midshipman under Matthew Flinders, his uncle by marriage, in the Investigator, during its voyage of discovery in New Holland in 1801-04 and said later that this voyage kindled his lifelong passion for exploration. ""Franklin's period of office spanned difficult years. When transportation to New South Wales was abolished in 1840 it was increased to Van Diemen's Land, and hopes of self-government faded as the proportion of convicts in the population rose. The system of convict discipline was changed from assignment to probation, which was based on the principle of segregating the convicts instead of dispersing them through the island and the free population. This involved a complete reorganization and Franklin was given very inadequate means for the purpose. Towards the end of 1840 an economic depression of great severity, which was to last five years, struck the hitherto prosperous community."
"His government established scholarships to enable Tasmanians to study at English universities. He founded the Tasmanian Natural History Society, some of whose members later formed the first Royal Society outside the British Isles, and he subsidized the Tasmanian Journal of Natural History. He took an active interest in every cultural agency in the colony, showed marked respect to teachers of all ranks and furthered the work of scientists such as John Gould and Strzelecki."
"The misery of the convicts and the hopeless plight of the Aboriginals weighed heavily on Franklin's spirits; he could do little for them but had the temperament which must suffer with the suffering."