Joseph Underwood (1779 - 30 August 1833) was an Australian merchant in the years following the Rum Rebellion.
[1] He arrived in New South Wales in 1807 on the back of sound references from the British Secretary of State and in 1810 presented himself to Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales following the usurping of William Bligh earlier in the year, as an expert merchant.
By owning the ships privately, but mortgaged to a nominal owner, Underwood could evade taxes imposed by the East India Trading Company.
[2] Macquarie eventually requested Captain Eber Bunker to sail Seringapatam to England, where she was returned to her owner.
Underwood's other vessels continued to range across vast trading routes, reaching Batavia and Mauritius by the early 1820s.