Book Launch: William Dawes - Scientist, Governor, Abolitionist

Join Richard de Grijs & Andrew Jacob as they talk about their new book on William Dawes - a ‘jack of all trades’ in the early colony of NSW.

This book describes William Dawes' life and professional achievements. William Dawes was a British Marine serving as the official astronomer on board the First Fleet making the 1787-1788 voyage from Britain to the new colony of New South Wales. Between 1788 and 1791, Dawes established not one but two observatories within a kilometre of Sydney's present-day city centre, a full seven decades before the construction of Sydney's historical Observatory at Dawes' Point, today a stone's throw from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

In this comprehensive biography, the authors discuss William Dawes' life and his considerable impact-as astronomer, engineer, surveyor, ordnance officer and intellectual centre point-on the early colony in New South Wales (in essence, his impact on the earliest history of Sydney as a settlement) and, subsequently, on the British colonies of Sierra Leone on the West African coast and Antigua in the West Indies.

Dawes' life and professional achievements are closely linked to the earliest history of Sydney as a British settlement. He is often considered a man of high morals, and as such his interactions with the local populations in New South Wales, Sierra Leone and Antigua were mostly deemed respectful and above reproach. He is seen a truly enlightened individual, far ahead of his time.

The authors of this book have a significant track record of successful and engaging communication of complex concepts in physics and astronomy with experts and non-experts alike. This biography touches on numerous aspects related to 18th century maritime navigation ("sailing on the stars"), societal relationships, the exploration of newly discovered lands, as well as the early history of Sydney and New South Wales, and the colonial histories of Sierra Leone and the West Indies. As such, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, from scholars in the history of science and maritime navigation, to history enthusiasts ranging from local historians on Australia's eastern seaboard to members of the public with a keen interest in British colonial history.

Richard & Andrew will also be in conversation the Museum's Head of Knowledge, Dr Peter Hobbins.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase and be signed by the authors.

Richard de Grijs was born and raised in the Netherlands, where he obtained his Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Groningen in 1997. His successful career has allowed him to enjoy vibrant research environments at the University of Virginia (USA), the Universities of Cambridge and Sheffield (UK) and Peking University in Beijing, China. Richard now hails from Sydney, Australia, where he joined Macquarie University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering as Associate Dean (Global Engagement) and Professor of Astronomy in March 2018.

Andrew Jacob was born in England and shortly after taken to Australia by ship. He has lived in Sydney ever since, never far from Sydney Harbour. During his undergraduate student years, he began work at Sydney Observatory (part of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences) as Astronomy Guide. Since 2015, he has been Curator of Astronomy at Sydney Observatory, where he is working on expanding the Museum’s collection in contemporary astronomy.

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