Admiral Arthur Phillip
Who was he?
Wikipedia:
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a
British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed
Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the
Australian continent, and was the founder of the site which is now
the
city of Sydney.
Why was he in Bath?
In late 1792 Phillip, whose health was suffering from the poor
diet, at
last received permission to leave Australia and return to England.
Phillip, whose first wife, Margaret, had died in 1792 married
Isabella
Whitehead in 1794, and lived for a time in Bath before returning
to sea.
In 1805, aged 67, he retired from the Navy with the rank of
Admiral of
the Blue, and spent most of the rest of his life in Bath at 19,
Bennett
Street, where he died
in 1814. He is buried in
Bathampton
Church.
On 12th July 2014, to commemorate the bicentenary of his death, an
armillary sphere was unveiled in
the
garden of the Assembly Rooms almost opposite to this house.
Two plaques are located at 19 Bennett Street:
The text reads
"Here lived Admiral Phillip 1806 - 1814" and on the lower
plaque
"First Governor of Australia"
Update July 2016
The lower plaque now reads: "Founder of Modern Australia"
Location map of 19 Bennett Street:
(c) 2016
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