Lot 1479 , Australian Interest - an antique silver mounted treen miniature tipstaff inscribed 'William Raven, Commander Ship Britannia, From Feby 1792 to June 1797 - Three Times Round the World'. 6cm high. Condition - good

Australian Interest - an antique silver mounted treen miniature tipstaff inscribed 'William Raven, Commander Ship Britannia, From Feby 1792 to June 1797 - Three Times Round the World'. 6cm high. Condition - good William Raven (1756–1814) was an English master mariner, naval officer and merchant. He commanded the whaler and sealing vessel Britannia and the naval store ship HMS Buffalo in Australian and New Zealand waters from 1792 until 1799. While in command of Britannia under contract to the British East India Company, he mapped the Loyalty Islands of Maré, Lifou, Tiga and Ouvéa between August 1793 and May 1796.
Raven was granted 100 acres (40 ha) of land in the vicinity of Tennyson Point, New South Wales in 1795, plus another 285 acres (115 ha) in 1799. The grant was known as Grove Farm. These Eastern Farms, now Kissing Point, properties were managed for him by the brewer James Squire of Kissing Point until Squire's death in 1822. The tip of the peninsula into the Parramatta River at Tennyson Point is now called Raven Point.
£200-300

Condition:
The silver mount does not sit flush and therefore tipstaff stands at an angle, there are also four small pin holes to the rim of the metal mount that do not line up to any holes. The varnish is flaking and worn, particularly to the narrower areas and the metal is a little tarnished

Sold for £320