Edmund Kennedy

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Edmund Kennedy : biography

5 September 1818 – 23 December 1848

On 28 April 1848 Edmund Kennedy and twelve men sailed from Sydney Harbour in the barque Tam O’ Shanter escorted by the survey ship HMS Rattlesnake. They arrived at Rockingham Bay 20 May, but once landed the party encountered terrible terrain such as mangrove swamps, mountains, lagoons, rivers, and thick rainforest that made it almost impossible to travel with horses, carts and sheep. After nine weeks, they had travelled just 40 miles from the coast, and 12 miles north of the landing point. Kennedy had to abandon the carts and some supplies in a hopeless bog. Further on, the storeman was found to have stolen food from the supplies, and was demoted to labourer. They were due to rendezvous at Princess Charlotte Bay with the supply ship Bramble in early August, but this did not occur as the party was two months late, and there was no close approach for the ship in any case.

By mid November, the men and horses began to weaken, so the decision was taken to leave eight men behind at Weymouth Bay, while Kennedy and four others continued north. There were still several hundred miles to go to a rendezvous point with the ship Ariel, before any hope of a rescue was possible. Days after crossing the Pascoe River, when in the vicinity of Shelburne Bay, Costigan accidentally shot himself while tending his horse and could not continue, so Luff and Dunn were left behind to comfort him. They were never seen again. Kennedy and his aboriginal tracker Jackey Jackey pressed on towards Port Albany and the rendezvous, but they were closely followed by menacing natives. Near the banks of the Escape River, 20 miles from the tip of Cape York, Kennedy was speared several times and died in Jackey Jackey’s arms. After a feat of endurance of about ten days with no supplies, Jackey Jackey made it to the supply ship alone 23 December 1848.

Following directions from Jackey Jackey, the Ariel proceeded to Shelburne Bay, and sent a search party ashore. A few relics were found, but no sign of the three men. The ship continued to Weymouth Bay where William Carron and William Goddard were found to be the only survivors of the eight men left behind. The Ariel with its three surviving expeditioners returned to Sydney in May 1849.

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  • Accessed 8 May 2010
  • Accessed 8 May 2010