James Kelly was a colonial mariner, sealer, pilot, harbourmaster, shipowner and whaler. His long connection with Tasmanian waters is well documented, but the famous account of his 1815–16 circumnavigation was written later and contains claims that need qualification.
A career began in sealing
Born at Parramatta in 1791, Kelly went to sea as a child and trained as a master mariner. His work in sealing connected Sydney, Bass Strait, Macquarie Island and other southern waters. These industries caused severe animal losses and drew crews into violent colonial frontiers.
The circumnavigation claim is contested
Kelly later wrote that he left in a whaleboat in December 1815, circumnavigated Van Diemen’s Land and found Port Davey and Macquarie Harbour. Thomas Birch separately claimed Port Davey from the schooner Henrietta Packet. Kelly did not mention the supposed circumnavigation in detailed evidence given in 1820, so historians treat the account carefully rather than repeating an unqualified “first”.
Harbour work and Hobart connections
Kelly became pilot and harbourmaster on the Derwent in 1819. He invested in shipping, whaling and property, helped establish penal stations, then lost much of his wealth after wrecks, deaths and the economic depression of the 1840s.
Kelly’s Steps still connect Salamanca with Battery Point. His story also meets the Macquarie Harbour and Strahan history and the wider record of Tasmania’s islands.