My chum Neill, appears to be very excited about Gore, the Royal Naval type, not the blood and guts type; and wrote rather a large comment on Lt. Gore RN. to my post on the US/Australian alliance.
It having more to do with some small comments I made, I think it will be more in place as a “Guest Blog” as it is not relevant to the original post.
I’m sure that those with a keen interest in Australian early history will enjoy this.
🐻
| Brian, more on Gore. Neill. Comment on: Topic ‘JOHN GORE – THE QUIET MARINER’ Third in command on the H.M.S. Endeavour—Royal Navy Gores in Australia—part one. Here, he continues his journey. Graham Gore as a Royal Navy midshipman was at the Battle of Navarino, 1827. Promoted to lieutenant he was on H.M.S. Terror under Captain Back in the Arctic (1836–1837). Back’s diary says that Christmas Day dinner 1836 was a “haunch of reindeer shot by Mr Gore”—shades of the grandfather Master Hunter. In 1839 he was at the Capture of Aden and a year later in the First Opium War, the Battle of Kowloon. In late 1840, still unmarried, in India he saw a chance to see his parents, sisters and brother at Lake Bathurst. In Sydney, April 1841, he was on H.M.S. Beagle’s third exploration voyage under Captain Lort Stokes. Graham was able to see his family on Gilmour and in April 1842 from the Beagle in Sydney he wrote to his sister, “Dear Eliza …I guaranteed Mrs Stokes that Father would send his gig as far as Berrima for her…last evening was at the Campbells…Skip Campbell at the piano, Mr Palmer on the tambourine, your humble servant on the flute.” Graham Gore letter to sister Eliza (detail) 5 April 1842, Gore Family Papers, MS 7955 Graham Gore was not only a musician but an accomplished artist and provided illustrations for Lort Stokes’ Discoveries in Australia 1837–1843. The Library holds one of Gore’s paintings, Burial Reach Flinders River Queensland. Stokes relates how in the Gulf of Carpentaria his “much valued friend Mr Gore” nearly blew off his own hand whilst shooting “on recovering from his swoon, the first words uttered were—killed the bird—an expression truly characteristic of a sportsman”. Graham Gore, Burial Reach Flinders River Queensland 1842, nla.pic-an2288558 In May 1845, Gore was on H.M.S. Erebus with the Sir John Franklin on the North West Passage expedition along with the H.M.S. Terror. In the Arctic, in 1847, both vessels became trapped in ice and all 130 officers and crew perished. Their fate became mystery and legend with searches organised by Lady Franklin (‘This Errant Lady’) continuing into the 1860s. Newly promoted to Commander, Gore was a prominent member of the expedition, writing one of the few documents found, known as the Victory Point Note which gave important details for possible rescuers. Victory Point Note (detail) signed by Lt Graham Gore 28 May 1847, National Maritime Museum Greenwich In September 2014, the Canadian Government announced the finding of the H.M.S. Erebus on the Arctic seafloor after a decade of searching, “thus solving one of the world’s greatest archaeological mysteries”. The vessel appears to be intact according to sonar images. H.M.S. Erebus found after 167 years, image courtesy of Parks Canada Admiral John and Sarah Gore are buried in St Saviours Cemetery Goulburn. Their gravestone also contains the only known memorial anywhere to their Arctic explorer son. The inscription in full reads: “To the memory of John Gore, late Admiral R.N. died at Gilmour 6 March 1853 aged 78 years; also his relict Sarah Gore died 7 April 1857 aged 80 years; also Graham Gore eldest son of the above aged 40 years, late Commander R.N., supposed to have been lost in the late Arctic Expedition with Sir John Franklin about AD 1850 Gore Grave Headstone St Saviours Cemetery Goulburn plot 444 All three Gores rose to senior ranks in the Royal Navy and were intimately connected with the early history of Australia. From 1760–1850 all three were closely involved with a who’s who of successive English explorers, naval and scientific men. The name lives on. Cook named Gore Cove and Gore Bay in New Zealand; Gore Island, Queensland; Gore’s Channel Alaska; Gore Island, Bering Sea. Lort Stokes named Gore Point in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Sir John Franklin named Gore Point on King William Island, Canadian Arctic. The recent finding by the Canadian Government of H.M.S. Erebus and with H.M.S. Terror yet to be found—more successful archaeology searches—could mean the Gore story is not yet over.… Added by Neill Francis at 7:44am on January 9, 2017 Topic: JOHN GORE – THE QUIET MARINER e had perished from illness? A donation of a Dollond telescope to the National Museum of Australia has provided an opportunity to tell the story of this fascinating maritime explorer in a museum environment. The complete telescope in parts. Photograph by courtesy of Dean McNicol and the National Museum of Australia. Part of my previous curatorial responsibilities was to establish the provenance of the Gore telescope before accepting it into the National Museum’s collection. I assumed a person connected to the Endeavour voyage would be relatively straight forward to research. I can’t believe how wrong I was! The first thing that struck me was why had there been no publication specifically devoted to this individual? The secondary resources were also very thin even down to encyclopaedic and reference publications. Gore is even not mentioned in the Oxford Companion to Australian History. He does however have a brief entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (p981) from where I have drawn many of my starting points for further research. In fact the first article I actually read on this individual was Madge Darby’s article1. Captain John Gore was born in America, possibly Virginia, in 1729/30. No record of his birth or baptism has yet been recovered. Little is known about his early years until August 1755 when he joined the Windsor at Portsmouth, England, as a midshipman. We know he took his Lieutenant’s examination on the 13 August 1760 and was appointed master’s mate of the Dolphin in 1764 – this was his first voyage around the world. On his second service on the Dolphin in 1766, this time under the command of Captain Samuel Wallis, the expedition laid claim to the “discovery” of the island of Tahiti. Captain Gore’s service on the Dolphin meant he was an ideal crewmember for the Endeavour voyage in 1768. There are many references to Gore’s role in the observation of Tahiti in Cook’s journal. However, Gore was more than just a member of the Endeavour exploration, he also has the infamous title of being considered the first recorded person on the expedition to shoot and kill a person of Maori descent after an altercation over a piece of cloth on the 9 November 1769. Gore is also recorded as being the first person on the expedition to shoot a kangaroo for scientific research. Sir Joseph Banks records the event in his Endeavour journal on the 14 July 17702. When the Endeavour returned to England, Gore accompanied Banks on a private scientific expedition to Iceland in 1772. It appears from documents in the Alexander Turnbull Library3 that Banks was more than just a colleague as he also acted as the executer of Gore’s will and was possibly Gore’s patron in his later life. On the 10 February 1776, Gore embarked on his next maritime adventure. He joined the Resolution as Cook’s First Lieutenant. The expedition’s secret instructions were the northwards tracing of the west coast of the North American continent to assist in the search for the North-West passage. After the death of Cook, Captain Clerke was given command of the Resolution and Gore was given command of the sister ship Discovery. Clerke died on 22 August 1779 and Gore assumed command of Resolution and consequently became responsible for the command of the entire expedition. In recognition of Gore’s service, the Resolution’s official artist John Webber painted a portrait of Gore in 1780. The portrait is in the collection of the National Library of Australia4. Gore’s achievement was also acknowledged by being made a Captain of Greenwich Hospital where he was given the rooms left vacant by Captain Cook. Captain John Gore died at Greenwich in 1790 survived by a son who would make a new life for himself in Australia 40 years later. Just as a side note, Gore’s grandson, Graham Gore perished in 1847 as part of sir John Franklin’s ill-fated mission in search of the North West Passage. The maritime history of this family is truly a fascinating story that will have to be explored in greater detail. The Gore telescope was hand-held but could have been placed in a tripod, although there are no marks indicating it was secured in any way for a length of time. It came with two eyepieces – one for day and night and one for daytime use only. The wooden canister that held the eyepieces was encased in a leather tube that was in surprisingly excellent condition considering the amount of salt air it would have experienced! Close-up of Dollond. Photograph by courtesy of Dean McNicol and the National Museum of Australia. Dollond is one of the most forged names on telescopes, so it is good to find the inscription is spelt Dollond and not Dolland, which is apparently one of the most common indicators of a copy. Captain John Gore’s celestial telescope is a commanding object that takes one back to a time of courageous adventurers and “trigger happy” individuals. So thanks to the generosity of the donor Jack Gallaway I am hopeful that Australians will start to embrace this fascinating character and in time we will know more about his earlier life in America. I would welcome any thoughts or further information on Captain Gore. Johanna Parker – Curator, National Museum of Australia References: Cook’s Log, page 1550, vol. 21, no. 4 (1998) Cook’s Log, page 1190, vol. 18, no. 3 (1995) Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington New Zealand, Manuscript reference number qMS-0540, folio 163 Cook’s Log, page 48, vol. 27, no. 3 (2004) John Gore in the Pacific John Gore was one of the most experienced Pacific sailors of the 1700s. As master’s mate on HMS Dolphin, Gore sailed twice to the Pacific in search of fresh trading opportunities and new territories — first with Captain John Byron in 1764 and then with Captain Samuel Wallis in 1766. The second voyage found Tahiti, and Gore led an expedition to the interior of the island. Above: John Webber painted this portrait of Captain John Gore in 1780. Courtesy: National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an2256760. In July 1768, he sailed with Captain James Cook on HMB Endeavour. Already familiar with Tahiti and its languages, Gore took part in scientific observations of the transit of Venus there in 1769. Throughout the voyage, Gore was given command of landing parties sent ashore to gather wood, water and food, explore the terrain, and make contact with local people. Following the deaths of Cook and Charles Clerke during the third Pacific voyage, Gore assumed command and brought the expedition home. Above: This watercolour shows the Resolution, on which Gore served as First Lieutenant on Cook’s third Pacific voyage, about 1775. Courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales/The Bridgeman Art Library. Above: This sketch shows the Endeavour’s landing boats alongside Maori canoes. During a trading dispute at Mercury Bay, New Zealand, in 1769, Gore shot dead a Maori man. Courtesy: British Library Board. Above: This 1773 engraving was based on the stuffed skin of a kangaroo shot by Gore at Endeavour River. Courtesy: National Library of Australia, pic-an7946248. … Added by Neill Francis at 7:20am on January 9, 2017 Comment on: Topic ‘JOHN GORE – THE QUIET MARINER’ ay from Cook’s Journal of H.M.S. Endeavour, 1768–1771 in the Treasures Gallery. Gore was third in command on the Endeavour and had already circumnavigated the world twice, both times on H.M.S. Dolphin under Wallis (1764–1766) and then Byron (1766–1767) who recommended Tahiti as a site for transit observations. Webber, J. (1752–1793) Portrait of John Gore 1780, oil on canvas, nla.pic-an2256760 Gore, newly commissioned as Lieutenant, six other crew and the H.M.S. Dolphin mascot goat, changed ships with an eight week turnaround for the Cook first voyage. Gore signed off his Dolphin Log with ‘Master Hunter’ and it was he who fished for stingrays on 6 May 1770 causing Cook to name the bay Stingray Harbour, later changed to Botany Bay. Gore under Banks’ instructions also shot the first kangaroo in July 1770 at Endeavour River Cooktown. Graham Gore letter to sister Eliza (detail) 5 April 1842, Gore Family Papers, MS 7955, National Library of Australia Whilst Cook was preparing for his second voyage (1772–1775), Gore was persuaded by Banks to command a brig taking Banks and Solander to Iceland (1772–1773). Although not married, Gore had a relationship resulting in his son, John Gore, born March 1774. In July 1776, readying to sail again with Cook on his third voyage, Gore wrote to Banks about watching over his toddler son, “the Young One whom you were so kind as to promise attention to in case of my death is under the care of Reverend Firebrass…enclosed you have my will…” After Cook’s death, February 1779, witnessed by Gore on H.M.S. Resolution, his deputy Charles Clerke, despite illness, continued exploration of the Northwest Passage but Clerke died that August in the Bering Sea. It was thus left to John Gore, with assistance from his navigator William Bligh, to complete the voyage for another fourteen months arriving in England late 1780. Gore was soon promoted to Post Captain, awarded Cook’s rooms in Greenwich and lived there until his death in 1790. Rear Admiral John Gore (1774–1853) Gore’s son first went to sea in 1785 aged 11 on a four year circumnavigation trading voyage including the Arctic Pacific, under Portlock and Dixon who had also been with Cook on his third voyage. He began his Royal Navy career as a RN midshipman in 1789. He was with Portlock and under Bligh in the 1791–1794 Breadfruit expedition from Tahiti. He served with distinction during the Napoleonic War and was commended for bravery in 1804 for the capture of three Spanish ships. In 1806, after Trafalgar, he married Sarah Gilmour and on half pay began a family—eventually three sons and three daughters. He was promoted to commander in 1808 and captain in 1821. Whilst captain of H.M.S. Dotterel, 1818–1821, he was able to take on as crew his two eldest sons John and Graham, 10 and 11 years old. Later they also were to enter the Royal Navy as midshipmen. Captain John Gore, in 1835, at 60 years of age and a restless man like his father, decided to become a free settler in Australia which he had never visited. After nearly a year in Parramatta, John Gore selected an initial 1650 acres at Lake Bathurst near Canberra which he named Gilmour, his wife’s maiden name, and the station name is still used today. He was awarded rank of Post Captain—Rear Admiral in 1851. His two daughters and youngest son are buried in the St John’s Lake Bathurst cemetery. Eldest son John was lost at sea in 1825. Commander Graham Gore (1809–1847)… |
LordBeariOfBow 
This is fascinating, Brian, but a real struggle to read this size
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I’ll try and fix it,. might be alright for young blokes like me, but for those getting on a bit I suspect it is difficult 🙂
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Think I’ve fixed it Derrick, was pretty small I must agree 🙂
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What a story. It should be a book so one can browse. But there are so many names that appear that are generally a part of the Australian story.
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I’ll tell my chum, he is an ex school teacher, he could probably tell some more stories like some other ex school teacher I’nm acquainted with, same generation, too, early 70’s.
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Bit hard to trust old buggers like that, though.
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I’ll get him another pint or maybe a Scotch, he rather likes that stuff as against the real thing. 😈
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Phew! So perhaps Al Gore is a relative and should run for President?
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Never thought of that, the coincidence in names never clicked, I might be getting old:?
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I let my mind wander off without me for a few moments, and that’s what it brought back.
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let mine wander it gets lost:)
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Brian,
John Gore remained a “Loyalist” during the (American) War of Independence, because he continued his career in the Royal Navy and his descendants became colonists in New South Wales. Of course there is a good chance, as Garrulous Gwendoline surmises, that he is related to Al Gore. Also “Gore” Vidal, of whom, Thomas Pryor Gore was his maternal grandfather. The surname Gore is of Anglo-Saxon origin.
Neill.
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Brian,
another interesting story is Herbert Clark Hoover’s time in Australia, between 1897 – 1907, as a mining engineer, on the Western Australian gold fields. He fell foul with the unions.
Neill.
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I have touched on him in the past but when you get you WordPress up and running you can fill in the gaps, I don’t think Hoover had much to do with the alliance between the 2 countries; he was a bloke here working.
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DOES ANYONE KNOW IF JOHN GORE HAS LIVING DESCENDENTS? PLEASE LET ME KNOW. WOULD LIKE TO CONNECT WITH THEM TO SEE IF WE ARE RELATED.
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DOES ANYONE KNOW IF JOHN GORE HAS LIVING DESCENDENTS? PLEASE LET ME KNOW. WOULD LIKE TO CONNECT WITH THEM TO SEE IF WE ARE RELATED.
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I’m surprised Brian’s blog hasn’t been closed.
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