Biographical entry: Inskip, George H.

Summary

Diary, 1849-1850. Second master of the British Navy's survey vessel H.M.S. Rattlesnake, which under Captain Owen Stanley surveyed the southern coast of Papua. Handwritten diary kept between 8 March 1849 and 3 November 1850. Inskip tells of his stay in Sydney, of his visits to the opera, of his many acquaintances, including Charles Campbell, and of preparations for the trip north. Entries after 8 May 1849 describe the survey work, conditions at sea and on board the Rattlesnake, the rendezvous with H.M.S. Bramble and the store ship, the numerous encounters with the natives of Papua and the Louisiades, the rescue from Muralug Island of Mrs Barbara Thompson, who had lived with the Torres Strait Islanders for some five years following her shipwreck in 1844, and also the death of Captain Owen Stanley on 13 March 1850. Inskip kept his diary for another seven months, covering the Rattlesnake's return voyage to England via New Zealand and Cape Horn. One volume. National Library of Australia MS.3784.