Peter Hibbs

Peter Kenney Hibbs ( – 12 September 1847) was an English mariner and a member of the First Fleet to Australia in 1788.

An able seaman on , 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 Lagoon, a lagoon on the northern shore of Hibbs Bay Hibbs River, a river flowing into Hibbs Lagoon and then discharging into Hibbs Bay

Birth and baptism Peter, the son of Mary Kenney, was thought to have been born in England in about 1757 Previously Peter was not thought to be a son of George Hibbs, a native of Swanage, a seaside town in Dorset, and that he was raised as George Hibbs' son. However it is now considered that Peter was a biological son of George Hibbs, as DNA test results of his descendants have shown matches with other Hibbs descendants, including in the UK. 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.

Mollie Gillen has suggested that Hibbs was five years younger than this, born about 1762 at Ramsgate, This would have made him about 11 years of age on 26 August 1768 when HMS Endeavour sailed from England on its voyage of discovery. In the 18th century the Royal Navy encouraged boys as young as nine years of age to enlist as "servants," with the lower age not being raised to thirteen until 1794. Cabin boys performed a variety of functions such as errand boys, servants to officers, mess attendants, and on armed vessels as powder monkeys. However they were also apprentice seamen "learning the ropes" (literally) as they underwent sail training on the rigging. Stephen Yarrow states that since they were under-age, their names were often not recorded. Hibbs also maintained that on 28 April 1770 when Joseph Banks had set off in a boat in Botany Bay in search for water and to explore the coast, that, following the distinguished naturalist, Hibbs had been the second person to jump ashore.

No evidence exists to support Hibbs' claim that he was the second person to step ashore in Botany Bay. Hibbs was transferred to the 10-gun HMS Sirius.

HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet. HMS Sirius was never meant to be the Flagship of the First Fleet bound for Botany Bay. One moment she was the Berwick;, a burnt out hulk bought by the Royal Navy, fitted out "with refuse of the yard", renamed Sirius and next she found herself leading the First Fleet out of Portsmouth Harbour with the newly appointed Governor and Captain of the Flagship - Arthur Phillip. Allen Maunder in his book Sailing on...The Hibbs Line describes the difficulty of the voyage:Imagine going around Cape Horn [sic] on a Sydney Harbour Ferry packed with one hundred and sixty men, bulls, cows, horses, sheep, hogs, goats, fowl, stores, plants and a piano (!) and you have some idea of the voyage to Australia! It is a testament to the bravery and fortitude of the Captain and crews that the Fleet arrived intact and finally gained the shelter of Sydney Cove on 26th January 1788. to join some of the ships that had arrived just days earlier. The whole fleet then transferred north to Sydney Cove in Port Jackson on 26 January 1788. After completing their duties the nine merchant ships sailed back to England, and only HMS Sirius and HMS Supply remained in the colony.

As a result of the damage to the ship during the trip to Cape Town, HMS Sirius was careened in Mosman Bay on its return to Sydney.

During the time that HMS Sirius was careened, in June 1789, Governor Arthur Phillip lead an expedition which resulted in the discovery of the Hawkesbury River. From stories that his father had told him, Hibbs' son, Peter Kenney Hibbs Junior, claimed that Hibbs was chosen by Governor Arthur Phillip as a crewman for this expedition,

On 24 March 1790 HMS Supply sailed back to Sydney with news of the wreck carrying but 22 of the crew from HMS Sirius. The rest of the crew, including Hibbs, were left on the island.

Following the wrecking Captain John Hunter faced a court-martial in England. As no fault could be found in Captain Hunter or any other officers on board when she struck the reef an honourable discharge was given. He then shared in the deprivations of the other settlers in the island, and his next months were spent in salvage operations to alleviate their common plight.

Wife and family In early August 1790 the Second Fleet convict transport the Surprize arrived at Norfolk Island carrying 150 female and 35 male convicts, and some supplies, for the little colony on Norfolk Island. Among these convicts was Mary Pardoe. Mary had been convicted of theft and sentenced to seven years transportation on 2 April 1788 at the Warwick Assizes. Her age was given as 18 on the 1789 embarkation list for the Second Fleet transport Lady Juliana.

In about 1791 (Mollie Gillen records the date as 16 May 1791, ) Hibbs received a 60 acre grant of land on Norfolk island on the south side of the Cascade Run, Phillipsburg, 13 acres hilly and 47 acres level, but all ploughable. Hibbs soon had 9 acres under cultivation.

In 1792 Mary gave birth to Peter Hibbs' first son, George, named after Hibbs' father. George was to be followed by Peter in 1794 who did not survive his infancy, and Peter Kenney Hibbs Junior in 1800. These three boys were all born on Norfolk Island. Mary and the children moved to Sydney on the mainland to live in January 1804 (some accounts say 1802, which does not agree with other documentation), with their son William being born at sea on-route between Norfolk Island and Sydney.

In October 1800,

In the 1806 muster of New South Wales Hibbs is recorded as farming a 100 acre grant "down the river", with 10 acres under wheat, 6 acres under corn, 1 acre under barley, ½ acre in orchard/garden, 74½ acres under pasture (or uncleared), and 8 acres fallow. He is also recorded as having 3 male goats, 6 female goats, 6 male hogs, 6 female hogs, and 3 bushells of maize in hand. The persons on the farm are recorded as Hibbs, Mary, 5 children and 2 convict labourers, all not victualled by the government. His eldest son George, only 14 years old, is shown as farming a 100 acre grant all in pasture (or uncleared). One of the other 5 children recorded was his step-daughter Ann, who before 1809 married the convict John Izard who had arrived on the Perseus in 1802. The other 3 children were Peter Jnr, William, and Sarah. His wife Mary is also recorded separately as Mary Pardoe, wife of P Hibbs.

On 26 January 1808 a military coup took over the government of New South Wales from the then Governor, William Bligh. Hibbs was spared the foreclosures on loans suffered by many of Bligh's supporters, and "...appears to have had two bob three ways...", having signed petitions both supporting and opposing the usurpers.

Hibbs was frequently before the courts for debts to his creditors. The first occasion was on 26 March 1810 for owing money to Henry Kable Jnr. As a result an order was made against Hibbs and "A Quantity of Houshold Furniture, a few Pigs and Goats, and other Effects...Two Stacks of Wheat and about Four Hundred Bushels of Bread Corn" belonging to Hibbs was sold by the Provoct Marshall at public auction on 17 May 1810. Hibbs was next before the courts on 24 July 1812 for owing money to Thomas Brady, and on 28 October 1812 for owing money to Mary Reibey. As a result in October 1812 Hibbs sold his 100 acre grant at Mulgrave Place to Mary Reibey for £100. However he again found himself before the courts on 30 April 1814 for owing money to Henry Kable Snr.

By 1816 Hibbs was owner of the small sloop Recovery, which he sailed between Sydney and the Hawkesbury River, servicing the farms established there. The Sydney Gazette newspaper of 6 July 1816 carried the account of the wreck of this vessel: The Recovery, Peter Hibbs owner, on her passage from Hawkesbury with grain about a month since, was blown out to sea, and at length wrecked near Port Stevens due to tempestuous weather. Hibbs next had to walk with his crew, his son George, and his female passenger along the coast about 80 kilometres to the nearest settlement at Newcastle, but on the way they were stripped of their clothing by natives and exposed to the Winter weather: The crew, two men accompanied by a woman, walked in to Newcastle, which is a distance of about fifty miles, keeping by the sea coast. On their distressing journey they unfortunately encountered a horde of natives, who stripped them of their clothing, and left them to the rigours of an inclement season. Their distresses were humanely relieved by the Commandant of Newcastle; of land at Courangra Point at Haycock Reach, Hawkesbury River. The deed for this land was, however, not registered until 30 June 1823. This was land that Hibbs had already been permitted to occupy. Hibbs, illiterate,

In 1821 his son Peter Kenney Hibbs Jnr also received a grant of land having requested the same on 28 June 1820 stating in his Memorial that he had reached the age of 21, when he had not in fact yet reached that age. Both Peter Hibbs Snr and Peter Hibbs Jnr became entitled to receive a further grant of land in 1825.

In the 1822 muster of New South Wales Hibbs, Peter Jnr and William are all shown as Landholders in the district of Windsor. His wife Mary is recorded as Mary Pardo, employed by P Hibbs, Windsor.

In 1824 Hibbs, "Of Lower Branch, Hawkesbury; mariner" was on a list of persons liable to serve as jurors in the District of Windsor.

In the 1825 muster of New South Wales Hibbs is shown as a Landholder in the district of Wilberforce. His sons Peter Jnr, William, Richard and Joseph are also shown with their ages accurately recorded. His wife Mary is recorded as Mary Pardo, wife of P Hibbs, Wilberforce.

In the 1828 Census of New South Wales Hibbs is shown as farming 60 acres, with 18 acres being cleared and cultivated, in the district of Lower Portland Head. Ages recorded in this Census are Hibbs - 64, Mary - 56, George - 34, Peter Jnr - 26, William - 24, Richard - 21, and Joseph - 19. Only the age for William is recorded correctly.

On 21 February 1832 Hibbs sold his 60 acres of land at Courangra Point to Thomas Edwards for £15. Both Peter Hibbs and his wife Mary are buried in the Wisemans Ferry Cemetery at Laughtondale, an area that was then known as Lower Portland Head.