William Dawes

Richard de Grijs was born and raised in the Netherlands, where he obtained his Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Groningen in 1997. His successful career has allowed him to enjoy vibrant research environments at the University of Virginia (USA), the Universities of Cambridge and Sheffield (UK) and Peking University in Beijing, China. Richard now hails from Sydney, Australia, where he joined Macquarie University's Faculty of Science and Engineering as Associate Dean (Global Engagement) and Professor of Astronomy in March 2018. He received the 2012 Selby Award for excellence in science from the Australian Academy of Science, a 2017 Erskine Award from the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) and a 2017 Jan Michalski Award for interdisciplinary science and public engagement from the Michalski Foundation (Switzerland). His 2017 monograph, Time and Time Again: Determination of Longitude at Sea in the 17th Century, was critically acclaimed and has formed the basis of a major expansion of his research interests into history of science and maritime navigation topics. He has since won the 2022 Blacktown Mayoral History Prize.

Andrew Jacob was born in England and shortly after taken to Australia by ship. He has lived in Sydney ever since, never far from Sydney Harbour. During his undergraduate student years, he began work at Sydney Observatory (part of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences) as Astronomy Guide. In 2008, he gained his Ph.D. for determining distances to several Cepheid stars using the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer. Since 2015, he has been Curator of Astronomy at Sydney Observatory, where he is working on expanding the Museum's collection in contemporary astronomy. He is occasionally called on for comment by the media, when astronomical events catch the public's attention.

This book describes William Dawes' life and professional achievements. William Dawes was a British Marine serving as the official astronomer on board the First Fleet making the 1787-1788 voyage from Britain to the new colony of New South Wales. Between 1788 and 1791, Dawes established not one but two observatories within a kilometre of Sydney's present-day city centre, a full seven decades before the construction of Sydney's historical Observatory at Dawes' Point, today a stone's throw from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Dawes' life and professional achievements are closely linked to the earliest history of Sydney as a British settlement. He is often considered a man of high morals, and as such his interactions with the local populations in New South Wales, Sierra Leone and Antigua were mostly deemed respectful and above reproach. He is seen a truly enlightened individual, far ahead of his time.

The authors of this book have a significant track record of successful and engaging communication of complex concepts in physics and astronomy with experts and non-experts alike. This biography touches on numerous aspects related to 18th century maritime navigation ("sailing on the stars"), societal relationships, the exploration of newly discovered lands, as well as the early history of Sydney and New South Wales, and the colonial histories of Sierra Leone and the West Indies. As such, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers, from scholars in the history of science and maritime navigation, to history enthusiasts ranging from local historians on Australia's eastern seaboard to members of the public with a keen interest in British colonial history.