Yours truly John Pascoe Fawkner, c. 1868, lithograph, State Library Victoria

John Pascoe Fawkner was born in England in 1792. He arrived in Australia at the age of 11, accompanying his father who was sentenced to 14 years' transportation for receiving stolen goods. Travelling on the Calcutta, they sailed to the initial Port Phillip settlement at Sullivan Bay, near modern-day Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula. Due to harsh weather and poor water, the group left Port Phillip after only a few months and founded a new settlement in Van Diemen’s Land. In the 1830s, Fawkner set his sights on acquiring the rich grazing lands that lay over Bass Strait on the mainland. His ship, the Enterprize, arrived in Port Phillip in August 1835 but, due to outstanding debts, Fawkner didn’t arrive until 16 October 1835. As the colony grew and prospered, he wasted no time in establishing Melbourne's first pub, hotel and newspaper. In 1851, Fawkner became one of Victoria's first Members of Parliament.