Risdon Cove

The cove was named by John Hayes,[1] who mapped the river in the ship Duke of Clarence in 1794, after his second officer William Bellamy Risdon.

Lady Nelson anchored at Risdon on the eastern shore of the Derwent River on Wednesday 8 September 1803, five days before the whaler Albion arrived with Lt. Bowen on board.

The 49 people aboard the Lady Nelson and Albion made a curious party of soldiers, sailors, settlers and convicts.

One of the first land grants at Risdon Cove was made to Dr William F A I'Anson, the chief surgeon who arrived with Lieutenant-Governor Collins in 1804.

[4] The hand-over of the Risdon Cove site, which includes the Bowen Memorial, was part of the Aboriginal Lands Act 1995.