John Batman

John Batman
Bust (likeness) of John Batman from 1882 engraving
Born	21 January 1801 Rosehill, New South Wales
Died	6 May 1839(1839-05-06) (aged 38) Melbourne
Nationality	British
Occupation	Grazier, explorer, pioneer
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Callaghan
Children	seven daughters, one son (John Charles Batman drowned 1845)
Parent(s)	William Batman, Mary

John Batman (21 January 1801 – 6 May 1839) was an Australian grazier, entrepreneur and explorer. He settled in the north-east of the Van Diemen's Land Colony in the 1820s, and later as a leading member of the Port Phillip Association he led an expedition which explored the Port Phillip Bay area on the Australian mainland with a view to establishing a new settlement there. He is best known for his role in the founding of the settlement on the Yarra River which became the city of Melbourne, eventual capital of the new Colony of Victoria, and one of Australia's largest and most important cities.

Batman is a controversial figure due to his dealings with Aboriginal peoples in Van Diemen's Land and Victoria. The artist John Glover, Batman's neighbour in Van Diemens Land, said Batman was "a rogue, thief, cheat and liar, a murderer of blacks and the vilest man I have ever known".

The treaty Batman negotiated with local Aboriginal peoples in 1835, to acquire land in the Port Phillip area, was a matter of controversy in his day, and has remained an event of great historical interest and debate.

Batman's English parents, William and Mary Batman, came to Sydney in 1797 aboard the ship the Ganges. John was born in 1801 at Rosehill, Parramatta, now a suburb of Sydney, but at the time one of the early farming settlements of the fledgling colony.

In 1821 John (aged 20 years) and brother Henry journeyed to Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania) to settle on land in the north-east near Ben Lomond. He acquired 'Kingston', a property said to be "...large in acreage and poor agriculturally,...".

In December 1825, or early 1826, Batman captured the notorious bushranger called Matthew Brady, resulting in an additional grant of land by the government. Brady had been wounded in the leg in a conflict with the authorities, but got away safely. Batman went out unarmed on his own in search of Brady, and found him quite accidentally. He saw a man limping in the bush near a shallow creek, and hastened forward to him. It was Brady. He induced Brady to surrender and return with him. The outlaw was ill and suffering much pain, and did as he was asked. Brady was duly sentenced to death.