Robert Merrick Fowler

Vice-Admiral Robert Merrick Fowler (1778 – 25 May 1860) was an officer of the Royal Navy notable for his service as the second-in-command to Matthew Flinders on HMS Investigator from 1801 to 1803 and for his involvement in Battle of Pulo Aura in 1804.

He was subsequently appointed to command HMS Porpoise which was wrecked off what is now Queensland on the homeward voyage during August 1803.

[2][3] In 1804, Fowler and other survivors of the Porpoise joined a British fleet in Canton commanded by Captain Nathaniel Dance heading for the United Kingdom.

Fowler distinguished himself at the Battle of Pulo Aura in February 1804 where a numerically superior French squadron under the command of Admiral Linois was repelled near Pulau Aur in what is now Malaysia.

[4] Fowler was promoted to commander in 1806 and was on active service in home waters and West Indies Station during the years 1805–11.

Wreck of the Porpoise , William Westall , 1803, National Library of Australia
Battle of Pulo Aura - A small group of large ships on the left engages a line of ships on the right, which is protecting several smaller ships. Clouds of smoke hang over the fight as the ships fire their cannons.