John Hayes (explorer)

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Sir

John Hayes[1]
Commodore Sir John Hayes
Commodore Sir John Hayes
Born(1768-02-11)February 11, 1768
Cumberland
DiedJuly 3, 1831(1831-07-03) (aged 63)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
AllegianceBritish East India Company
Service/branchBombay Marine
Years of service7 Sep 1781 - 1831
RankCommodore
Unit
  • Jehanguire, as 1st Lt. Feb 1796
  • Drake, as 2nd Lt.
  • Scorpion, as 2nd Lt.
  • Hawke, as 2nd Lt. 1788
  • Bombay, as Midshipman, c.1782
Commands held
  • Master Attendant, Calcutta
  • Deputy Master Attendant, Calcutta
  • Bombay Marine
  • Bombay, frigate
  • Swift
  • Fly
  • Alert
  • Dolphin
  • Vigilant
  • Princess Augusta
Campaigns
Spouse(s)
Katherine Pyne
​
(m. 1795⁠–⁠1831)​
died. 8 Aug 1866
Children
  • Charlotte Price
  • Helen Kezia
  • Elizabeth
  • Fletcher Fulton Compton Hayes
RelationsFletcher Hayes, brother
SignatureSignature of Commodore Sir John Hayes.jpg

Commodore Sir John Hayes (bapt. 11 February 1768 – 3 July 1831)[2] was an English officer of the Bombay Marine of the British East India Company.[1]

Hayes was born in Bridekirk, Cumberland, England, the son of Fletcher Hayes and Elizabeth Martin. On 7 December 1781, at age 13, he joined the Bombay Marine as a midshipman on the Bombay.[3] On 6 February 1793, he sailed from Calcutta on a private trading voyage with two chartered ships, the Duke of Clarence of 250 tons (bm) and 14 guns and the Duchess, an armed snow of 100 tons (bm). The goal was to collect nutmeg from New Guinea. However, on passing Timor, due to adverse winds he decided to navigate around the south coast of Australia and resupply with wood and water at Adventure Bay in Tasmania.[1]

He spent some time exploring the area of the River Derwent, unaware that it had already been charted by Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. He (re)named many geographic features, generally using the names of officers in the East India Company or his shipmates. Some of these names survive to the present day, including the River Derwent itself and Risdon Cove.[1]

Leaving Tasmania on 9 June, he arrived at New Caledonia on 28 June and explored the coast until leaving for New Guinea on 3 July. He was the first European to land on Rossel Island.[1]

He died in the Coco Islands, in the Bay of Bengal, while en route to Calcutta, aged 63. His only son, Captain Fletcher Fulton Compton Hayes, was killed in Awadh during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Ida Lee (1912). Commodore Sir John Hayes His Voyage and Life (1767-1831) with some account of Admiral d'Entrecasteaux's voyage of 1792-3. Longmans, Green, and Co.
  2. ^ Roe, Margriet (1966). "Hayes, Sir John (1768 - 1831)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 20 August 2009 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  3. ^ Roe, Margriet. "Hayes, Sir John (1768–1831)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  4. ^ De Rhé-Philipe, George William (1905). A Narrative of the First Burmese War, 1824-26. Office of the Superintendent of Government Print., India. p. 13.


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