George Bass
The school is named after George Bass, who was a naval officer, surgeon and explorer.
He is pictured on the right in nautical gear holding an anchor. This statue is located in
a niche on the top floor of the Department of Land and Water Conservation in Bridge
Street, Sydney, near the corner of Loftus Street.
Bass was born in England in 1771, the son of a farmer. When his father died in 1777,
George was six, and he and his mother went to live at Boston, a seaport. It was here that
Bass learned of the sea and ships. His mother was opposed to a career at sea, so Bass
received medical training and in 1789 became a Member of the College of Surgeons. 
Bass served as a naval surgeon on various ships and in 1794 he joined the HMS
Reliance where he met Matthew Flinders. They decided to explore the east coast of
New South Wales together. In England Bass bought a small vessel, which he named the Tom
Thumb, to be used for coastal exploration in the colony. The Reliance landed at Port
Jackson in 1795.
Bankstown
In 1795 Bass and Flinders travelled up the Georges River in the Tom Thumb, and on their
return presented Governor Hunter with a report. Hunter viewed the area and established a
new settlement, now called Bankstown.
Bass and Flinders Point
At the southern end of the Cronulla peninsula there is a memorial to Bass and Flinders
who explored Port Hacking in 1796. This is called Bass and Flinders Point. A walkway, The
Esplanade, leads from Cronulla Beach past Shelly Beach and Oak Park around the cliffs to
the lookout.
Blow-Hole at Kiama, New South Wales
In 1797 Bass reported discovering the blow-hole at Kiama.
Bass Point
In 1798 Bass discovered the most southerly point of the mainland - Bass Point. This is
located in Victoria.
Bass Strait
Bass
believed that Van Diemen's Land (later called Tasmania) was an island and in 1798 he and
Flinders set off in the sloop Norfolk to sail around it. They proved Van Diemen's Land was
an island and Flinders named the strait Bass Strait. This voyage was reenacted in 1998 to
mark the two hundred year anniversary.
Disappearance of Bass
In 1803 Bass set off from Sydney in the ship Venus with a commercial cargo. His
aim was to travel to England via South America, but he disappeared and was never seen
again. Bass left behind a wife, Elizabeth, in England.
More Information About Bass
The State Library of New South Wales holds some
of Bass's original letters, which can be viewed in the Virtual Collections part of the
State Library's site. In a
letter to Sir Joseph Banks, Bass speaks of his intention to explore the colony and
says that he has "not been altogether idle..." He also writes of his
interest in Australian plants and animals which were so different from British varieties.
Bass was also interested in the wombat and wrote a detailed
letter to Banks describing his first encounter with one. This is on the State Library
site. Did you know Bass was the first to apply the name bandicoot because of the animal's
supposed resemblance to India's bandicoot rat.
To find out more about Bass, read The Unabridged Adventures of Mr George
Bass, M.C.S.
Click here to see a
miniature portrait of Bass.
