John Hunter, after the loss of HMS…
September 1795 CE
John Hunter, after the loss of HMS Sirius off Norfolk Island, had returned to England in 1792, where he had prepared for publication his interesting An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island, With the Discoveries That Have Been Made in New South Wales and the Southern Ocean Since the Publication of Phillip's Voyage, published at the beginning of 1793.
An abridged edition had appeared later in the same year.
In the first edition of this work is found the earliest reference to the possibility of there being a strait between the mainland and Tasmania.
On page 126, Hunter says: "There is reason thence to believe, that there is in that space either a very deep gulf, or a straight, which may separate Van Diemen's Land from New Holland."
While in England, Hunter had seen service in the war with France.
With Arthur Phillip's resignation from the governorship of New South Wales in July 1793, Hunter had applied for the position in October and had been appointed governor in January 1794.
Various delays occurred, and it was not until February 1795 that he was able to sail.
Hunter arrives at Sydney on September 7, 1795 on HMS Reliance and takes up the office of governor on September 11, 1795.