[Cockatoo] Van Dieman's Land, 1791-1793
William Bligh
Watercolour from Drawings by Wm. Bligh, Commander of His Majesty’s Ship Providence
PXA 565, f. 32
Two years after the mutiny on the Bounty, William Bligh was offered command of HMS Providence, with orders to complete the transfer of breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the West Indies. Among his officers was George Tobin, a keen amateur naturalist and sketcher. The other major contributor to the voyage's visual record was Bligh himself. Tobin's views of Adventure Bay in Tasmania are particularly attractive and are frequently reproduced. Less well known, but equally fine, are the watercolours he did in the South Pacific and the West Indies. Most of Bligh's drawings depict birds, fish and animals, and are the work of a skilled draughtsman with an eye for detail.
Display period: January – December 2007