The Adventures of Henry Dent

An intriguing inscription on a memorial stone in Bolton churchyard led Cathy Smith to investigate the life of farmer’s son Henry Dent, who died in Van Diemen’s Land in January 1854, aged 27. How and why had he travelled so far from home? Using many of Henry’s own words from his poems and letters, Cathy has reconstructed Henry’s brief but adventurous life. Not content with the farming life, he visited London in 1851 to see the Great Exhibition, then set sail from Liverpool for Melbourne Australia, a journey described in fascinating detail. Other letters describe his experiences at the goldfields of Mount Alexander where he had some success in striking gold. From there he travelled to Tasmania, then known as Van Diemen’s Land, where he was keen to find out if the transported convicts were as venal as portrayed. He began to export produce to Melbourne to service the goldfields and set up a timber cutting business on the Huon River. It was left to his companion Henry Richardson to describe the devastating forest fire in which he lost his life.