Peter Hibbs
| Peter Kenney Hibbs | |
|---|---|
| Born | circa 1757 Ramsgate, Kent, England |
| Died | 12 September 1847, aged 90 Pumpkin Point, New South Wales, Australia |
| Resting place | Wisemans Ferry Cemetery, Laughtondale, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | English |
| Known for | First Fleet sailor |
| Home town | Swanage, Dorset, England |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Pardoe (1768-1844), Second Fleet convict |
| Children |
Step-daughter: Ann Hibbs (1790-1869), Sons: George Hibbs (1792-1847) Peter Hibbs (1794-c1798) Peter Kenney Hibbs (1800-1890) William Hibbs (1804-1885) Richard Hibbs (1808-1839) Joseph Hibbs (1811-1848) Daughter: Sarah Hibbs (1806-1849) |
| Parent(s) | Mary Kenney (mother) George Hibbs (step-father) |
Peter Kenney Hibbs (c. 1757 – 12 September 1847) was an English mariner and a member of the First Fleet to Australia in 1788.
An able seaman on HMS Sirius, Hibbs was also one of few non-convict First Fleet members known to have settled in the new Colony of New South Wales in 1788.
Hibbs also claimed to have come earlier to Australia in 1770 as a crewman onboard the HMS Endeavour with Captain James Cook, and to have stepped ashore at Botany Bay with Joseph Banks. However no primary independent evidence exists to verify these claims.
Remaining in Australia after 1778, Hibbs played a significant role in the exploration of Tasmania and the eastern seaboard of Australia.
In the 1798-99 voyage around Tasmania, Hibbs had been carrying Matthew Flinders and George Bass aboard the Norfolk, and in the 1799 voyage north Hibbs had been carrying Matthew Finders. Flinders named a cluster of features on the west coast of Tasmania after Hibbs.
Hibbs also claimed to have taken part in an earlier expedition in 1789 led by Governor Arthur Phillip which resulted in the discovery of the Hawkesbury River. Again no primary independent evidence exists to verify this claim.
On 11 December 1798, as the Norfolk sailed south down the west coast during the successful circumnavigation of Tasmania, Matthew Flinders named a number of coastal features after Hibbs:
"Bass and Flinders named all kinds of geographical features in their own names on their trip around Tasmania. Peter Hibbs was the only other person after whom they named several Tasmanian geographical features - apart from a couple in honour of Peter’s wife, Mary."
Peter, the son of Mary Kenney, was born in England in about 1757 at Ramsgate, Kent. On 25 December 1760, at the parish church of St Lawrence-in-Thanet, Ramsgate, his mother married George Hibbs, a native of Swanage, a seaside town in Dorset. Peter was to be raised as George Hibbs' son and was given his surname. The family moved the more than 200 miles (320 km) back to Swanage. On 24 January 1762, Peter was baptized at the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Swanage, as Peter Kennel [sic] Hibbs, the son of George and Mary Hibbs.
...
Wikipedia