Captain William George Carlile Kent (1788 – 13 May 1871)[1] was an officer in the Royal Navy, who was involved in the early settlement of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia.

[2] On 2 July 1798, Kent joined the navy as a first-class volunteer on the 74-gun HMS Tigre, under Captain Sir Sidney Smith.

Buffalo arrived in New South Wales on 16 October, she left on 21 April 1803 for Bengal, via Norfolk Island for a supply drop, to purchase livestock.

In October 1804, Buffalo in company with HMS Lady Nelson, took Colonel William Paterson, the Lieutenant-Governor to establish a settlement at Port Dalrymple, Van Diemen's Land.

Bligh had written a commission for Kent to assume command of the Porpoise, after Lieutenant James Symons had deserted and returned to Britain.

On 19 April, Kent took the Porpoise to Port Dalrymple to bring Lieutenant-Governor Paterson to Sydney to restore order between the governor and the New South Wales Corps.

[4] Kent took time off to recover his health from his imprisonment, and then in April 1812 joining the 98-gun HMS Union under his uncle William's command.