David Hutchison

The title of this biography evokes one element of Tom Hungerford’s rich and complex character, but fails to acknowledge his stature as a writer. Hungerford had long felt that he had not been given due recognition for his substantial contribution to Australian literature. Formal recognition came at last in 2003, when he was given the Patrick White Award, which was established to honour writers whose work has not been recognised sufficiently. This year, a few weeks after his ninetieth birthday, Hungerford became the Western Australian Citizen of the Year; this acknowledged his wider contribution to the community.

James Stirling’s naval career was helped by having an uncle who was a Rear Admiral. The other side of his family was involved in trade, and some have argued that his proposal for the Swan River colony was based on personal ambition and family influence. This is true to some extent. However, in a deeper sense, he was shaped by his family’s involvement in two of the mainsprings of nineteenth-century British imperialism: naval dominance and worldwide trade.

Stirling was the founding governor of Western Australia for ten years, but the major part of his career was with the Royal Navy. A strength of this biography is that it is the first full account of that career. There is too little space in this review to deal fully with this part of his life, and Australian readers will be more concerned with his governorship. Like most colonial Australian governors (and post-colonial ones), Stirling has had his admirers and detractors. The author, obviously an admirer, argues persuasively in his favour.