1.40pm on 4 June 1824

The moment in time when the gentleman editor and official censor of the Hobart Town Gazette, Henry Emmett Esq, realised that the printer, Andrew Bent, was deliberately going to press without his prior approval

A Moment in Time…

From this date, 4 June 1824, Andrew Bent’s Hobart Town Gazette threw off the shackles of official censorship – a position which was sustained and defended over subsequent weeks, months and years despite Lt Governor Arthur’s best efforts to subjugate the press. On this day and by his conduct, the…Continue reading “A Moment in Time…”

Bookbinding (1)

28 Aug 202031 Aug 2020

1827 HTG (detail) This account of Tasmanian colonial bookbinding, in two parts, examines Andrew Bent’s involvement, but also touches on others who offered bookbinding services either as entrepreneurs or practical…

Digitisation

8 May 202011 Mar 2021

Update October 2020 An increasing amount of Andrew Bent's printing output is becoming available online thanks to the fantastic digitisation work of the holding institutions (especially the National Library of…

George Clark

28 Apr 20207 Aug 2022

George Clark was Andrew Bent’s predecessor as Government Printer in Van Diemen's Land. His time as a printer in Hobart Town, from around 1810 to 1815, was relatively short and…

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…

Early Almanacs

8 Nov 201919 Oct 2020

Andrew Bent’s seven almanacs, published annually from 1824 to 1830, collectively comprise some of his most significant printing. Their survival rate has in general been better than that of his…

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.…

Last days

28 Jun 201928 Jun 2019

DIED ... At the Benevolent Asylum, on the 26th instant, Mr. Andrew Bent, printer, aged 55 years, formerly of Van Diemen's Land. (Sydney Morning Herald 28 Aug. 1851) How had…

Marginalia

1 May 201929 Jun 2019

The 2018 conference of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand - Marginalia: Bibliography at the Margins - highlighted handwritten annotations as a fertile field of study. Early Australian…

“Michael Howe” turns 200!

15 Mar 201915 Mar 2019

Today - 15 March 2019 - is a special anniversary in the annals of Australian printing and publishing. Two hundred years ago in Hobart Town emancipist printer Andrew Bent published…