image of person or book cover 3028959955315414152.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
Issue Details: First known date: 2011... 2011 Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'When the British Cabinet accepted his recommendation that convicts be sent to Botany Bay, Lord Sydney—Thomas Townshend—instructed the Treasury 'forthwith' to provide for the First Fleet.

A John Bull figure, full of bumptious ambition and self-confidence, 'Tommy' Townshend spent most of his working life in parliamentary opposition. He sympathised with the American colonists while holding true to British interests, and was made a peer in 1783 for his key role in settling the peace between Americans and Britons. Among other things, he saw to it that Canada's boundary with the United States was drawn through the Great Lakes, not further north, as the Americans had demanded.

Townshend chose the name Sydney for his barony in memory of his distant uncle Algernon Sidney, who had been beheaded in 1683 for writing 'the people of England...may change or take away kings'. As a cabinet minister, though, he was measured and capable, displaying 'the rare faculty of perceiving intuitively, the latent powers in the men with whom he came in contact'. His choices of Henry Strachey to negotiate the peace with America and Arthur Phillip to lead Australia's first European settlement were inspired.' (Publisher's blurb)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,: Australian Scholarly Publishing , 2011 .
      image of person or book cover 3028959955315414152.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: xv, 315p., [44]p. of platesp.
      Description: illus. (some col.), facsims, ports
      Note/s:
      • Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-308) and index.
      ISBN: 9781921875434

Works about this Work

[Review Essay] Lord Sydney : The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Stephen Cunneen , 2013 single work essay
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Colonial History , no. 15 2013; (p. 224-225)

'Andrew Tink has written a very interesting book that is of great value to the historiography of early Australia. It is a very readable account of an English aristocrat who walked the corridors of power with the great and powerful royal and political personages not just of Britain but also of the international scene during many of the momentous events of the second half of the eighteenth century. For example, as Home Secretary he was responsible for the negotiations for the Peace Treaty to end the American War of Independence in 1782-3 and was also the responsible minister for dealing with the illness and temporary insanity of His Majesty King George III in 1788-89.' (Introduction)

Untitled Sarah Kinkel , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society , December vol. 98 no. 2 2012; (p. 269-270)

— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Andrew Tink , 2011 single work biography
The Bumptious Lord We Have to Thank for Sydney Ross Fitzgerald , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 March 2012; (p. 25)

— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Andrew Tink , 2011 single work biography
Non-Fiction Steven Carroll , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 11 February 2012; (p. 30)

— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Andrew Tink , 2011 single work biography
Father Figure to the Colony Beverley Kingston , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 36)

— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Andrew Tink , 2011 single work biography
Father Figure to the Colony Beverley Kingston , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 February 2012; (p. 36)

— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Andrew Tink , 2011 single work biography
Non-Fiction Steven Carroll , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 11 February 2012; (p. 30)

— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Andrew Tink , 2011 single work biography
The Bumptious Lord We Have to Thank for Sydney Ross Fitzgerald , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 March 2012; (p. 25)

— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Andrew Tink , 2011 single work biography
Untitled Sarah Kinkel , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society , December vol. 98 no. 2 2012; (p. 269-270)

— Review of Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Andrew Tink , 2011 single work biography
[Review Essay] Lord Sydney : The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend Stephen Cunneen , 2013 single work essay
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Colonial History , no. 15 2013; (p. 224-225)

'Andrew Tink has written a very interesting book that is of great value to the historiography of early Australia. It is a very readable account of an English aristocrat who walked the corridors of power with the great and powerful royal and political personages not just of Britain but also of the international scene during many of the momentous events of the second half of the eighteenth century. For example, as Home Secretary he was responsible for the negotiations for the Peace Treaty to end the American War of Independence in 1782-3 and was also the responsible minister for dealing with the illness and temporary insanity of His Majesty King George III in 1788-89.' (Introduction)

Last amended 17 Apr 2014 11:22:19
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