Thomas Pamphlett (1788?–1838), sometimes Pamphlet, also known as James Groom, was a convict in colonial Australia. He is best known for his time as a castaway in the Moreton Bay area, halfway up the eastern coast of Australia, in 1823.[1] He was marooned with two others, Richard Parsons and John Finnegan, until rescued by explorer John Oxley on HMS Mermaid on 29 November of that year. They were the first white people to live in the area.
They led Oxley to a large river, later named the Brisbane River. Consequently, a new colony at Moreton Bay was established in 1824. Ironically, Pamphlett, an ex-convict, committed another crime and was sentenced to seven years at the new settlement. It eventually became Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Without Pamphlett and his fellow castaways, Brisbane might never have been founded.
- ^ Hornibrook, J. H. (1967). "Pamphlett, Thomas (1789–1838)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 2. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 4 December 2014.