AustLit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

Nathaniel Lipscomb Kentish Esquire (1797-1867) was Government Surveyor (in New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania), former Professor in the R.N. College of England, poet and writer. Kentish wrote Report on the N.W. Quarter of Van Diemen's Land, Explored in the Years 1842-3-4-5; And on the Route Discovered through the Same (1846), Atrocious Case of Infamously False and Malicious Libel, upon a Respected and Honourable Man, by that Scurrilous and Often Convicted Libeller Wm. Lushington Goodwin (1846), and Statement of Extraordinary but Indisputable Facts, Disclosing a Case of Unprecedented and (it is hoped) Unparalleled Persecution and Injustice, Cruelty and Oppression, Officially Permitted and Inflicted on Mr. N.L. Kentish, A Government Officer since 1827 (1847). These three separate works were republished together in this anthology titled Work in the Bush: Thoughts in the Bush and Life in the Bush of Van Diemen's Land, With Their Results (1847); they highlighted Kentish’s somewhat tumultuous career. Originally published in the newspaper The Cornwall Chronicle (1844-46), Report on the N.W. Quarter of Van Diemen's Land described the progress and holdings of the Van Diemen's Land Company in the north west of the colony, detailing the construction of roads. In Atrocious Case Kentish accused William Lushington Goodwin, the Chronicle's editor, of malicious libel, with Kentish stating that he had been victimised and persecuted due to his personal success. In Statement of Extraordinary but Indisputable Facts, Kentish continued his sensational appeal to maintain his reputation following a public meeting that saw his dismissal from the Government Office. The copy of Work in the Bush in the State Library of Tasmania contains correspondence from Morris Miller (University of Tasmania) to Mr. Collier (State Librarian, Hobart). This copy was a prize awarded at the First Swimmer's Regatta in 1848 which Kentish organised.