Thomas Watling born September 19, 1762 in Dumfries, Scotland, who died around 1814, was an early Australian painter and illustrator. Originally from Scotland, he was transported on the East IndiamanRoyal Admiral as a convict to Sydney, in the newly established Colony of New South Wales, in 1792 for forgingbanknotes. In Sydney he worked with John White, the colony's Surgeon General, copying natural history illustrations. In 1796 he was given a conditional pardon by the colony's second governor, John Hunter.[1] Thomas Watling has painted many of the early colonial pictures of Australia. One of his paintings was called 'Sydney 1794'. It is a large work painted in oils and appears to have been painted from a series of sketeches that he took with him back to England. It now belongs to the Dixson Gallery in New South Wales.
