Michael Tolan (?–1789)
Michael Tolan ( - 1789) was a marine in the 55th (Portsmouth) Company when he arrived at Sydney aboard the Prince of Wales in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet. He had been court martialled on 15 August 1787 on the ship for abusive and drunken behaviour and received 175 (of 300 lashes that were sentenced) on 18th August. Tolan served in Captain Watkin Tench's Company at Port Jackson.
Tolan was lost in the bush with private Edward Odgers, near Rose Hill, on 30 April 1789. John Easty said in his diary that they were out shooting, David Collins said they were looking for the sweet tea plant. A dog known to have been with the men returned to the settlement, alone and starving, nine days later.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 359
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Odgers, Edward (colleague)
Citation details
'Tolan, Michael (?–1789)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/tolan-michael-31635/text39110, accessed 6 December 2024.