Matthew Curling Friend

Matthew Curling Friend (1792–1871) was an Australian inventor and public servant. He was the son of John Friend of Ramsgate and Mary Curling of the Isle of Thanet. He joined the Royal Navy as a Midshipman in July 1806 and was promoted to Lieutenant in February 1815. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars he was put on half pay. Friend then pursued scientific interests and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1820. He subsequently entered Cambridge in 1822 and married Mary Anne Ford in 1826.

Like many other officers on half-pay, Friend was obliged to seek his living in the colonies to support his wife and growing family in respectable circumstances. In 1829 Friend sailed with his family as captain of . The wife and daughters of Edward Davy Wedge were on board, ultimately resulting in the marriage of Thomas Wedge with daughter Anna Maria Friend.

With his wife he stayed at the Swan River Colony from 30 January 1830 until 19 March, before leaving for Tasmania. While at the Swan River he collected mammal and bird specimens. Wanstead arrived in Hobart Town in April 1830.

He presented his collection of specimens of flora and fauna from the Australian continent at the Zoological Society in England during 1831. Friend was a member of the Royal Society of London.