Sally Bloomfield – ANDREW BENT: Father of the Free Press in Australia

The Press Unshackled

4 Jun 20243 Jun 2024

In 2024, as Australia celebrates 200 years of a free press and independent journalism, there are several people we can thank: Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane—who took unto himself perhaps rather…

Family

Elizabeth Bent

Some followers were unable to access this new post earlier today, so I am reposting it (with corrections to the settings and fingers crossed) now. Apologies if you were affected.…

Family

Elizabeth Bent

19 May 202320 May 2023

Think what a wife should be, she was that The life of Elizabeth, oldest daughter of Andrew and Mary Bent, provides an interesting trans-Tasman connection. She moved to New Zealand…

Tasmanian Franklin

24 Mar 202321 Mar 2023

In 1844 Andrew Bent cobbled together a retrospective of his career for his pamphlet appealing for charitable aid. He stated … he is recognized by All, who know anything of…

Paper in mourning

On 19 October 1827 Andrew Bent issued what must surely be one of the most curious newspapers ever printed in Australia—the famous ‘mourning’ issue of the Colonial Times. It was…

Family

A long shadow

13 May 202213 May 2022

During the latter part of his life Andrew Bent’s mental health deteriorated badly, a process which may well have begun before he left Hobart early in 1839. Letters he wrote…

James Austin

11 Mar 20228 Mar 2022

Of all the friendships Andrew Bent formed in Hobart Town his bond with James Austin, an original Calcutta convict, ran especially deep. Their relationship appears to have been one of…

Crim. Con.

24 Sep 202117 Sep 2021

In my list of Andrew Bent’s printing I have included a number of items which, while known to have been printed and published, have no surviving copies. There were also…

Bentfield part 2

11 Aug 20215 Jul 2024

On 19 July 1828 Andrew Bent—who had grown up in the slums of London, spent his entire working life as a printer, and knew next to nothing about farming—became the…

Bentfield part 1

3 Aug 20214 Aug 2021

One measure of Andrew Bent’s early success was the amount of real estate he accumulated. He owned several properties in Hobart Town and two small farms at Glenorchy, one granted…