Balleney , John , [1770-1842] , merchant navy officer and Antarctic discoverer Moore , William , fl 1838-1839 , chief mate on the ELIZA SCOTT

Balleney , John , [1770-1842] , merchant navy officer and Antarctic discoverer Moore , William , fl 1838-1839 , chief mate on the ELIZA SCOTT

John Balleny was the English captain of a whaling schooner, the ELIZA SCOTT, who led an commercial voyage of discovery, hoping to find new lands and sealing grounds for the English whaling firm Enderby Brothers to the Antarctic in 1838-1839. Balleny, sailing in company with Thomas Freeman and the SABRINA, sailed into the Southern Ocean along a corridor of longitude centering on the line of 175°E., south of New Zealand. During their voyage they discovered the Balleny Islands, Feb 1839, and caught a brief sight of Antarctica itself at 64°58'S., 121°08'E.

John Balleny was born c 1770; may have been a Londoner, brought up in the Newcastle coal trade; from 1798, he is occasionally recorded in the coasting, home, and foreign trades as master of various vessels; master of the ELIZA SCOTT, 1838; died in or after 1842.