Anthony Fenn Kemp

Anthony Fenn Kemp (1773 – 28 October 1868) was a soldier, merchant and a deputy judge advocate of the colony of New South Wales (the predecessor to the Australian State). He was one of the key participants in the "Rum Rebellion" that removed William Bligh, the appointed governor of the colony, and established an interim military government. He was later permitted to settle in Van Diemen's Land and became a successful merchant and farmer there.

Early years

Kemp was born in England, near Aldgate, London, probably around 1773. He was educated in Greenwich, London. After finishing school, he travelled to the United States and to France. On his return, he purchased a commission as an ensign in the New South Wales Corps, a regiment raised in England specifically to maintain discipline in the colony of New South Wales. It later was to become known as the Rum Corps, because of the monopoly by its officers on the supply of the liquor in the early years of the colony.

New South Wales years

Kemp arrived in Sydney with his regiment in 1795. He served in Sydney and also on Norfolk Island, which was then a settlement of New South Wales. In 1797, he was promoted to lieutenant. In November 1799, he was granted a lease of land in the centre of Sydney where he built a shop. At that time, it was common for senior military officers to be granted land to settle and farm in the colonies. Kemp prospered in the colony. As paymaster for his...
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