Eber Bunker (1761 - 1836)

Born 7 Mar 1761 in Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Thompson) Bunker — married 16 Nov 1786 (to 3 Apr 1808) in Middlesex, England

Husband of Ann (Unknown) Bunker — married 28 Apr 1823 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 27 Sep 1836 at age 75 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Eber Bunker came free to the Colony of New South Wales (1788-1900)

Eber Bunker (1761–1836) was a sea captain and pastoralist, and he was born on 7 March 1761 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. He commanded one of the first vessels to go whaling and sealing off the coast of Australia. His parents were James Bunker and his wife Hannah, née Shurtleff.^[1]

In 1791, the William and Ann, commanded by Eber Bunker, made the first commercial voyage to New Zealand, sailing from Sydney to Norfolk Island, and from there to Doubtless Bay to persuade some of the Natives (Maori) to teach flax-dressing to the people of Norfolk Island, establishing an industry for the penal settlement there. The William and Ann did not return to Sydney, and it was supposed that he had gone on to the South American whaling grounds. ^[2]

Later, Captain Bunker, ship Pegasus, became a successful sealer in Bass Strait and New Zealand coastal waters.

Research Notes

He had at least one more child, Charlotte who married George Blackett on 1 Dec 1826[[1]]

According to Wikipedia, he had three wives -

• 1st: Margaret Thompson
• 2nd: Margaret Macfarlane, widow of an officer of the East India Company.
• 3rd: Ann Unknown, widow of William Minchin (abt. 1774–1821) (profile for William's daughter: Maria Matilda )

Sources

1. ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography
2. ↑ From Tasman to Marsden; a history of northern New Zealand from 1642 to 1818 p: 79 by Robert McNab

• Eber Bunker. Australian Royalty website.

• Eber Bunker. Wikipedia entry.

• OUR FIRST WHALER. (1929, March 2). The Sydney Morning Herald, p. 16. Retrieved April 10, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16535394 Includes some details of Eber's life in Australia.

• Source: S-1485265573 Repository: #R-1595704760 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Page: Ancestry Family Trees Note: Data: Text: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/32263853/family

• Repository: R-1595704760 Name: Ancestry.com.au Address: http://www.Ancestry.com.au Note:

• Encylopedia of Exploration 1800-1850, Howgego

• Bunker, Eber (1761–1836) by John S. Cumpston on the Australian Dictionary of Biography at: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bunker-eber-1849