Guide to the Papers of George Raper (as filmed by the AJCP), 1787-1824

Summary

Collection number:

M1183

Creator:

Raper, George

Extent:

5 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

An abbreviated logbook 1787-94 and maps, plans and coastal profiles of Botany Bay, Port Jackson and Norfolk Island.

Biographical / Historical:

George Raper (1768?-1797) entered the Royal Navy in 1783. In December 1786 he was appointed an able seaman on HMS Sirius and in September 1787, while on the voyage to New South Wales, he was promoted to midshipman. In 1789-90 he sailed on the Sirius to the Cape of Good Hope to obtain food for the starving colony. The Sirius was wrecked at Norfolk Island in March 1790 and Raper and the other crew members remained on the island until February 1791. He left New South Wales shortly afterwards and was paid off in May 1792. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in June 1793 and took part in the siege of Toulon. He later served on HMS Cumberland.

Raper's paintings were closely related to the work of the unidentified artist known as the Port Jackson Painter and they were the most talented of the early artists in New South Wales. The art historian Bernard Smith wrote that 'none of Cook's natural-history draughtsmen possessed Raper's ability to render texture, detail and colour with quite the same ability, and not until the appearance of Alexandre Leseur [in 1801-3] is his work in depicting the marine fauna of the Pacific equalled'.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2253321] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

National Library of Australia, Canberra

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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