Gilbert Robertson

Gilbert Robertson was a colonist and newspaper editor in Van Diemen's Land.

Life

He was the son of Gilbert Robertson, a planter with large possessions in Demerara, by his enslaved mistress; or else the son of Gilbert's uncle, George Robertson.
He was raised and educated by a wealthy male relative in Scotland, from whence he emigrated to Van Diemen's Land as a free settler in 1822. In 1828 he led the first 'roving party' of armed settlers tasked with capturing hostile aboriginals in the context of the so-called Black War.