[Van Diemen’s Land]

John Arrowsmith (1790 - 1873)

English mapmaker, the last of a family of map makers that produced maps during the period 1790 to 1870. His uncle Aaron (1750 - 1823) left the north of England and went to work in London as a land surveyor where he surveyed the Great Post Roads between London and Falmouth which was engraved and published by John Cary an engraver in 1782 (Verner, 1971, p.1). In the 1790s he decided to establish his own map making business. He published about 200 maps and achieved great eminence being appointed Hydrographer to the King in 1820. John Arrowsmith, Aaron's nephew, who was born in Winston, county Durham, England (1790 - 1873) came to work for him in 1810. During the next thirteen years he learned from his uncle the art of map making, including engraving and printing. His two cousins, Aaron junior (1802-54) and Samuel (1805-39) (Verner, 1971, p.2) both worked in the business and inherited jointly the house, business, copper plates, presses etc. as stated in their father's will. By the time of his uncle's death John had established his own business which operated out of 33 East Street, Red Lion Square, although he still worked with his two cousins Aaron and Samuel. All three produced individual works, although Samuel was in charge of the business at 10 Soho Square. Aaron the younger, lost interest in map making and ceased producing maps in 1832 (Verner, 1971, p.2). In 1839 Samuel died and John bought the business including plates, MSS and copyrights at auction of December 1839 (Herbert, 1983) and continued operating from 10 Soho Square. In 1834 he produced his magnum opus, The London Atlas of Universal Geography, which he continued to revise and reissue until the last 1858 edition. However his atlas contains maps of later dates into the 60s (Herbert, 1989). He became a founding member of the Royal Geographical Society in London (1830) and a member of its council. He remained an active member for over forty years during which time he met many explorers and persons of influence who were instrumental in supplying him with information for his maps. In 1831 the society's Journal was established and Arrowsmith began producing maps for it from 1832 until 1870. He received the Gold medal of the Society in 1863 (Tooley, 1999). After his death his plates were bought by Edward Stanford of London who continued to issue the atlas with the name of Stanford's London Atlas of Universal Geography. This atlas continued into the 1920s. (Dorothy Prescott, 2010-2015)

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Thomas Scott (1800 - 1855)

Surveyor and landowner, was the son of George Scott of West Morriston, Earlston, Berwickshire, Scotland, and his wife Betty, née Pringle. After education as a surveyor he came to Hobart Town in 1820 in the Skelton and temporarily became superintendent of government stock. Next year he was appointed by Governor Lachlan Macquarie as assistant surveyor under the deputy surveyor general, George Evans. Scott was active in his profession and responsible for surveying much of the early settlements. Between 1822 and 1824 he explored parts of the east coast, laid out the town of Bothwell, and published his chart of Tasmania which showed much more detail than earlier maps. A variant entitled 'A Military Map' was prepared in 1826 but not published. During the 1820s he took up Mount Morriston at the Macquarie River near Ross, to which he and his brother George later added. In 1824 Evans applied for permission to retire and Scott applied for the vacancy, but when Governor (Sir) Ralph Darling called at Hobart on his way to Sydney he appointed his brother-in-law, Edward Dumaresq, as acting surveyor general. Lieutenant-Governor (Sir) George Arthur confirmed the appointment, but reported that he was satisfied with Scott's zeal and abilities and asked that his salary be increased. The Colonial Office then appointed Scott as surveyor-general, but Arthur changed his opinion of Scott's accuracy and honesty, partly because Roderic O'Connor refused to serve as a land commissioner under him. More important, Scott had become implicated in accusations against Evans, who had accepted bribes to measure holdings in excess of areas granted. In 1826 the Executive Council inquired into these charges and reported that both surveyors were at fault, but excused Scott for acquiescing in the errors of his senior officer. As a result George Frankland was appointed surveyor-general, Dumaresq acted as chief land commissioner and Scott continued as assistant surveyor.

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