sketcher, army officer and public servant, was born in Ardnaglass Castle, County Sligo, Ireland, on 29 January 1809. He came to Van Diemen’s Land in 1829 as an ensign in the 63rd Regiment. When stationed with the military guard at Eaglehawk Neck in 1830-32, he devised the scheme of placing a chain of dogs across the neck of the isthmus to prevent prisoners escaping from Port Arthur to the north, a feature mentioned in numerous reminiscences and depicted in several sketches (see Captain Hext and Godfrey Mundy ). Many years later (in 1852) Jones petitioned for a land grant in appreciation of this service, but was refused.
On 20 February 1837 John Peyton Jones married Eliza, daughter of Major John Craig Dumas of the 63rd Regiment (who had also become a settler), in St John’s Church, New Town. They had five sons and four daughters. Jones became commissioner of the Court of Requests, coroner, and later warden of Westbury where the family lived. He died on 21 November 1891. His only known artwork is a watercolour of Westbury (1837, private collection, photographic reproduction in Mitchell Library).
- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 2011
