Public official. Historian. F. R.G.S. Born in London; studied, 1844-1852, under assistant hydrographer to the Navy; abandoned studies in 1852 to accompany his father to Australia. Held various official posts in Melbourne; longest service as registrar of seamen and shipping master for the Port of Melbourne, 1856-1869; in that capacity published The Australian Shipmaster's Guide, 1858. Was important for his research in early Australian history. In 1870 acquired the Colonial Monthly Magazine to serve as repository for information on this subject. Discovered various important historical documents, which were published, under his editorship, by the Victorian Government, as Historical Records of Port Phillip, 1879. Earlier had published A Narrative of Arctic Discovery, 1850; had edited from Capt. Thomas Musgrave's journals the account of the wreck of the Grafton, published as Castaway on the Auckland Isles, 1865.

The item listed below discusses the need for better life-saving equipment on vessels and a better system of beacons; it urges Government attention to these matters. The subject is appropriate to the interests of John Joseph Shillinglaw. According to the Australian Encyclopaedia, Shillinglaw wrote "a good deal" for the British as well as for the Australian press.

Author: Anne Lohrli; © University of Toronto Press, 1971.

Australian Dictionary of Biography