Gilbert Robertson Explained

Gilbert Robertson
Birth Date:	10 December 1794
Birth Place:	Trinidad, West Indies
Death Date:	5 September 1851 (aged 56)
Death Place:	Geelong, Victoria
Signature:	Last of the Tasmanians Woodcut 8 - Fascimilies of autographs (cropped Gilbert Robertson).png

Gilbert Robertson (1794–1851) was a colonist and newspaper editor in Van Diemen's Land.

Life

He was the son of Gilbert Robertson (1774–1840), a planter with large possessions in Demerara, by his enslaved mistress; or else the son of Gilbert's uncle, George Robertson (1756–1799).^[1]

He was raised and educated by a wealthy male relative in Scotland, from whence he emigrated to Van Diemen's Land as a free settler in 1822. In 1828 he led the first 'roving party' of armed settlers tasked with capturing hostile aboriginals in the context of the so-called Black War.^{[2] [3]}

Sources

• Encyclopedia: 2006 . Gilbert Robertson (1794–1851) . Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University (Melbourne University Press) . Godfrey . Margery . 1967 . online . 2.
• Encyclopedia: 2006 . Gilbert Robertson . The Companion to Tasmanian History . Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies . Pybus . Cassandra . online.
• Book: Pybus, C. . Whitewash . 2003 . Manne . R. . Melbourne . Robinson and Robertson.
• Web site: George Robertson (1756–1799) . Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery . University College London.
• Web site: Gilbert Robertson (1774–1840) . Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery . University College London.

Notes and References

1. Legacies of British Slavery.
2. Pybus 2006.
3. Godfrey 2006 [1967].