William Pullen

Vice-Admiral William John Samuel Pullen (4 December 1813 – 22 January 1887 ) was a Royal Navy officer who was the first European to sail along the north coast of Alaska from the Bering Strait to the Mackenzie River in Canada. His 1849 journey was one of the many unsuccessful expeditions to rescue Sir John Franklin and explore the Northwest Passage.

Early life Pullen was born in Devonport, Devon, the son of Royal Navy lieutenant William Pullen and Amelia Mary Haswell. After an education at the Greenwich School, he entered the Royal Navy in 1828.

Career South Australia In 1836, Pullen was enticed to leave the navy and go to South Australia as one of Colonel William Light's survey staff, arriving in the colony in August 1836. He was employed in exploring and surveying the mouth of the Murray River, and may be regarded as the discoverer of Port Adelaide, into which he sailed on September 28, 1836, three months before the arrival of the first Governor. He also surveyed part of the Lower Murray, Lake Alexandrina and Port Elliot, and did much to elucidate the geography of the South Australian coast. In late July and early August 1840, Pullen was in charge of the first expedition along the Coorong to investigate the murders of the survivors of the Maria shipwreck, and took part in Major O'Halloran's subsequent punitive expedition. It is likely that the town of Goolwa would have been named for him but for his association with the summary justice inflicted by this expedition, which also tarnished the reputation of Governor Gawler.