misfortune to be a Kentish whig"), might weigh against him. Their second daughter, Anne, married Thomas Walker who had considerable holdings in the area now known as Rhodes. Their eldest son, John de Marquet, who died young and unmarried, was an early explorer and cattle drover who found a passage from Sydney to Cessnock where his family were granted land holdings. Blaxland Arm near the town of Laguna, New South Wales is named after him. Eliza Maria, his fifth daughter married Henry William Breton on 3 November 1832. Their youngest daughter, Louisa Australia (so named as she was the first of the Blaxland children born in Australia), lobbied the State Government and Sir Henry Parkes to keep the family estate intact and preserved to no avail. The family's (with the Walker's) extensive documents are held in the archives of the State Library of New South Wales. John Blaxland was a keen man of business, anxious to drive a good bargain, and as a free settler was in a stronger position than the emancipists. But he antagonized both Bligh and Macquarie and met with much opposition. In spite of this Blaxland as a pioneer grazier became an important figure as the quintessential 19th century enlightened English gentleman in the early development of Australia. Notes References Bibliography Dyer, C.(2009) The French Explorers in Sydney, Santa Lucia: University of Queensland Press. 1769 births 1845 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council