Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838. Family His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Coniscliffe, County Durham. His father, John Hindmarsh, was born on 27 June 1753 and baptised at St Cuthbert's Church, Darlington. He was pressed into the Royal Navy, and eventually became a warrant officer of the Bellerophon. On 23 August 1784 Hindmarsh (senior) married Mrs Mary Roxburgh, a widow, at St George's-in-the East, Middlesex. At the time of the Battle of the Nile, Hindmarsh (senior) was the gunner of the Bellerophon, (This was a warrant officer position.) Hindmarsh was John and Mary Hindmarsh's eldest son, and was baptised on 25 May 1785 at St Mary's Church, Chatham, Kent. Naval career Hindmarsh joined the Royal Navy either in April 1793 (aged seven or eight), or on 19 July 1790 (aged five). In 1793 he was listed on the muster roll of the Bellerophon as the servant of his father. He was schooled by Mr Neale, the purser of the Bellerophon. He saw action on the Bellerophon at the Battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794 and the Battle of the Nile in 1798. He was promoted to First Class Volunteer, when he was nine, for his actions at the Battle of the Glorious First of June. During the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798, the fire on board the French line-of-battle ship l'Orient put the Bellerophon (1786) in danger; all the other officers on the quarterdeck on the Bellerophon were killed or wounded, so 13-year-old Midshipman Hindmarsh gathered some of the crew, cut the anchor cables, and raised a spritsail to get the ship moving. Captain Darby then came on deck from having his wounds dressed. Nelson knew of this incident and referred to it five years later when he gave Hindmarsh his promotion to lieutenant on 1 August 1803 on board the Victory. Hindmarsh suffered a contusion during the Battle of the Nile that resulted in him later losing an eye. Hindmarsh transferred to the in May 1800, and took part in the Battle of Algeciras Bay in 1801. He served on at the Battle of Trafalgar, and was first lieutenant of the sloop , which took a conspicuous part in the Battle of the Basque