Family – ANDREW BENT: Father of the Free Press in Australia

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…

Benjamin Bent

12 Mar 202113 May 2022

Benjamin Bent, the middle of the three Bent brothers, arrived in Australia, like his two siblings, as a transported felon. He had his first encounter with the magistrates, and first…

Family

Mary Bent

21 Feb 202013 May 2022

Andrew Bent’s Irish born wife, Mary Kirk, arrived in Van Diemen’s Land, like her husband, as a convict. We know she played a central role in his story for thirty…

Family

Catherine Bent

6 Dec 201913 May 2022

Catherine Bent, my great great grandmother, was the second surviving child of Andrew and Mary Bent. The story of her life with her husband Thomas Sydney Hall highlights the power…

Family

Richard Bent

29 Jul 201913 May 2022

Richard was the youngest of Andrew Bent’s known siblings and the last of the three Bent brothers to be transported. Like his two older brothers he had a useful trade.…

Family

Andrew Bent Junior

7 Jan 201913 May 2022

Last November the colonial printer, Andrew Bent, was celebrated at the Australian Media Hall of Fame dinner as ‘Australia’s first fighter for press freedom’, having wrested control of the Hobart…