Thomas Laycock

Thomas Laycock (1786 – 7 November 1823) was an English soldier, explorer, and later businessman, who served in North America during the War of 1812, but is most famous for being the first European to travel overland through the interior of Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land). Early life Thomas Laycock was the son of Thomas (1756–1809) and Hannah Laycock (née Pearson, 1758–1831). Whilst the details of his birth are unknown, it is known that he was baptised in London, and arrived in Sydney as a nine-year-old with his mother on 21 September 1791 aboard , as part of the Third Fleet. His father, Thomas, had been a quartermaster in the New South Wales Corps, who had also arrived in Sydney aboard HMS Gorgon. He soon entered service with the New South Wales Corps, and had been commissioned as ensign on 30 December 1795. A natural soldier, he rose to lieutenant by 1802. After service in both Sydney and Norfolk Island, Laycock was sent to Port Dalrymple, Van Diemen's Land to serve under Captain Anthony Fenn Kemp in 1806. Van Diemen's Land Arriving in Van Diemen's Land in 1806, Laycock found the northern settlement of Port Dalrymple to be stricken with famine. He was immediately entrusted with a mission to convey dispatches for Lieutenant-Governor David Collins in Hobart Town. No journey into the interior of the island had yet been attempted. Laycock set out on horseback, on 3 February 1807 with four other men from the New South Wales Corps, carrying three weeks provisions each.