John Hunter

Who was John Hunter?

John Hunter was an officer of the Royal Navy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, rising to the rank of vice-admiral. He succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia and served as such from 1795 to 1800.

Both a sailor and a scholar, he explored the Parramatta River as early as 1788, and was the first to surmise that Tasmania might be an island. As governor, he tried to combat serious abuses by the military in the face of powerful local interests led by John MacArthur. Hunter's name is commemorated in Hunter Region, Hunter River, Hunter's Hill and Hunter Street.