268:, immediately proposed prosecuting the printer for this gross libel on the governor, but Arthur hesitated, concentrating instead on plans for establishing another vehicle for promulgating government information. It took until the middle of 1825 for this to happen, and in the meantime Bent's unrestricted newspaper began to attack the local administration, both editorially, and through the letters of 'A Colonist' (
216:. New printing equipment arrived in 1823, and Bent was permitted to purchase it on his own account, by way of a government loan. He erected a new purpose-built printing office in Elizabeth Street and from the beginning of 1824 the newspaper was substantially enlarged in size and scope. Sorell appointed
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In July and August 1825, Bent was tried on two indictments, each comprising several counts of criminal libel, including the "Gideonite" article. At both he was found guilty by a military jury, despite stating that he had not written any of the offending material and offering to give up the authors
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In 1810, Bent was caught one Sunday morning trying to sell stolen clothing, boots and shoes in the taproom of the Sugar Loaf public house. Bent and his accomplice Philip Street were charged with breaking and entering the shop-house to which these items were traced. Both were condemned to death but
423:
E. M. Miller wrote that "Andrew Bent is worthy of remembrance for his indomitable fight for the freedom of the press in
Tasmania, and for his exceptional typographical productions in the form of newspapers, magazines, books and pamphlets, including the first literary works separately published in
303:
In 1827 Bent was again convicted of criminal libels on the local government but not called up for judgment. In
October of that year two Acts of Council imposing restrictions on newspapers came into force. Both were targeted specifically at Bent and the alleged "baneful influence" of his
296:(Thomas and Murray). He was retried on the first indictment in February 1826 because of an error in recording the verdict at the original trial. Bent was sentenced to a total of six months imprisonment and fines of £300, plus sureties for good behavior. Chief Justice
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where he kept a hotel and was a cedar merchant. The hotel burned down, the cedar was swept away in a flood and Bent was incapacitated for six months after a fall. In 1844 he appealed for public charity. Destitute, Bent entered the Sydney
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took over the gazette printing on 25 June, with a new newspaper which appropriated Bent's short title and continued its numbering. Bent regarded this action as piracy of his copyright. Two newspapers entitled the
110:. He established the first successful newspaper in Tasmania, was the first Australian newspaperman to print a newspaper free from government control, and the first Australian printer to be imprisoned for libel.
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for 4 June 1824 to press without submitting the proofs for censorship, thus establishing the first free press in
Australia some months before the commencement of Sydney's first independent newspaper, the
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Bent received a conditional pardon in 1816 and an absolute pardon in 1821. In 1816 he married Irish convict Mary Kirk. His business flourished under the administrations of
Lieutenant Governors
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Pressmen and governors: Australian editors and writers in early
Tasmania, a contribution to the history of the Australian press and literature with notes biographical and bibliographical
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appeared with deep mourning borders and blank news columns in protest. Despite extensive negotiations, Bent's application for a license was repeatedly refused. He continued to print the
122:, England and baptized in the parish church on 24 October 1791. By 1808 he and his two younger brothers were orphaned, the parish later providing apprenticeships for the younger boys as
257:, to pass a law requiring newspapers to be licensed. Bent sent his editor, Thomas, to Sydney to plead his case and the Governor in Chief decided in Bent's favour. On 8 October 1824 the
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The first work of general literature printed in
Australasia and first non-government book printed in Tasmania. Published anonymously. A long-standing attribution of the authorship to
781:
308:. The first Act imposed a stamp duty and the second included, among other provisions, a requirement that printers of newspapers be licensed by the Lieutenant Governor.
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In
January 1830 Bent was found guilty of libeling the Under Sheriff, Michael Kennedy, who was awarded damages of £100. In May he was convicted of libels on solicitor
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as editor (and censor) with Bent agreeing to pay his salary and continuing the established practice of submitting the proofs for government approval each week.
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232:, arrived in May 1824. Soon after, following several days of escalating tension between printer and editor, Bent sacked Emmett and replaced him with
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126:. Bent was apprenticed at an early age to a printer although no indentures have been found. Once thought to have been apprenticed at the London
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as government property although Bent claimed to have established it on his own initiative and at his own expense. Arthur asked his superior,
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389:, seeking compensation for business losses which, he asserted, were caused by Arthur's illegal and oppressive conduct. He was unsuccessful.
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272:) who was feted at public dinners by free colonists who, for various reasons, were becoming increasingly disaffected with Arthur.
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Late in 1828 Arthur received orders from the
Colonial Office to rescind the license provision as repugnant to English law. The
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In 1832 Bent resumed business as a printer. For two years, commencing in July 1832, he printed the anti-Arthur newspaper the
350:). Butler was awarded £80 damages. Butler v. Bent was the first such case in Tasmania to be heard by a civil jury of twelve.
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again appeared as a full newspaper, but early the following year Bent sold his printing equipment and newspaper business to
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187:) in February. Bent was reputedly assigned to George Clark, printer of the first Tasmanian newspaper, the short-lived
477:. The first book of essays printed in Australia. A reprint of satirical sketches by 'Simon Stukely' (convict writer
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which had appeared in a series of satirical sketches by the anonymous "Hermit in Van Diemen's Land" (convict writer
602:
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300:, in sentencing, hoped that this would prevent Bent's newspaper 'continuing to be the tool of a faction'.
618:
Collins, Craig; Bloomfield, Sally (April 2017). "Hobart Town, 1816: Andrew Bent and fermenting change".
292:
Bent and Thomas parted company when the new government paper commenced and Murray became Bent's editor.
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as an advertising sheet, and distributed it gratis. In March 1828 he commenced a monthly magazine, the
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The following books and pamphlets were all firsts of their kind and are described in J. A. Ferguson's
324:, which managed to evade the Act, but, finding himself in prison once more on charges relating to the
723:
Bloomfield, Sally (2018). "Spruiking Van Diemen's Land: The long reach of a little bushranger book".
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has recently been challenged and it now seems likely that the work was compiled by Bent himself.
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announced Bent's victory in an article which referred to Arthur as a 'Gideonite of tyranny'.
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When Arthur was recalled later in the year, Bent petitioned the House of
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In June 1825 Bent was dismissed from his position as
Government Printer. His successors,
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106:(ca.1791 – 26 August 1851) was a printer, publisher and newspaper proprietor, active in
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In 1815, Clark was dismissed and Bent became Government Printer. In 1816, Bent began
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Bent left Tasmania in 1839 and headed for Sydney. On 13 April 1839, Bent published
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712:. Vol. 2 (Facsimile ed.). National Library of Australia. pp. 245–6.
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In 1838, Bent was again convicted of libel for several articles printed in
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653:"Andrew Bent and the Birth of the Free Press in the Australian Colonies"
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appeared each week until 19 August, when Bent changed his title to the
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At the beginning of 1836 Bent commenced his last Tasmanian newspaper,
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Colonist and Van Diemen's Land Commercial and Agricultural Advertiser
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191:(1810). In 1814, Clark, with Bent probably assisting, published the
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Tasmanian Historical Research Association: Papers & Proceedings
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Asylum, where he died on 26 August 1851, leaving a large family.
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132:, Newgate records show that in 1810 he was 'a boy' belonging to
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by Pindar Juvenal. The first book of verse printed in Tasmania
443:, the Last and Worst of the Bush Rangers of Van Diemen's Land.
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Andrew Bent and the Freedom of the Press in Van Diemen's Land
456:. The first almanac in Tasmania. Continued annually by the
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as a weekly paper but he soon sold it and it became the
328:, was forced to relinquish it after only eight numbers.
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Andrew Bent, printer / Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
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Tasmania". In 2018, Andrew Bent was inducted into the
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19th-century Australian newspaper publishers (people)
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The Van Diemen's Land Warriors, or Heroes of Cornwall
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Hobart Town Gazette and Van Diemen's Land Advertiser
374:, the proprietor and editor of its successor, the
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290:Colonial Times, and Van Diemen's Land Advertiser.
193:Van Diemen's Land Gazette and General Advertiser.
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189:Derwent Star and Van Diemen's Land Intelligencer
118:Andrew Bent was born in St Giles-in-the-Fields
383:Bent's News and Tasmanian Threepenny Register.
198:The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter
81:The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter
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71:Printer, publisher and newspaper proprietor
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526:. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,
400:Bent's News and New South Wales Advertiser
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245:, and the removal of censorship from the
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708:Ferguson, John Alexander (1975).
678:Miller, E. Morris Miller (1952).
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475:. The Hermit in Van Diemen's Land
454:Van Diemen's Land Pocket Almanack
748:at National Library of Australia
97:Mary Kirk (m. 19 September 1816)
638:"Proceedings of the Old Bailey"
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682:. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
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16:Australian newspaper publisher
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597:. Hobart: Fuller's Bookshop.
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53:26 August 1851 (age about 61)
481:) which had appeared in the
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518:"Bent, Andrew (1790–1851)"
433:Bibliography of Australia.
710:Bibliography of Australia
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697:. Adelaide: James Dally.
593:Woodberry, Joan (1972).
516:Pretyman, E. R. (1966).
201:, changing its title to
157:Early career in Tasmania
651:Collins, Craig (2005).
404:Australasian Chronicle
266:Joseph Tice Gellibrand
264:The Attorney-General,
37:St Giles-in-the-Field
354:Later life and career
270:Robert Lathrop Murray
406:. Bent moved to the
224:Freedom of the Press
205:on 20 January 1821.
787:People from Holborn
370:. He also assisted
286:Hobart Town Gazette
259:Hobart Town Gazette
255:Sir Thomas Brisbane
725:Script & Print
458:Tasmanian Almanack
413:Benevolent Society
236:. He also put the
218:Henry James Emmett
537:978-0-522-84459-7
372:Gilbert Robertson
322:Colonial Advocate
298:John Lewes Pedder
281:George Terry Howe
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181:Van Diemen's Land
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626:(1): 32–57.
460:, 1825-1830
387:Joseph Hume
165:aboard the
104:Andrew Bent
25:Andrew Bent
756:Categories
604:0858530058
490:References
452:1824. The
243:Australian
148:for life.
114:Early life
559:28 August
546:1833-7538
168:Guildford
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656:(PDF)
183:(now
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129:Times
599:ISBN
561:2014
550:OCLC
542:ISSN
532:ISBN
473:1829
366:and
310:The
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.