30 January 1771 - after 5 February 1803

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George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer.

He sailed on the HMS Reliance in 1795, arriving in Sydney, New South Wales on September 7, 1795. On this voyage he had an addition small boat called the Tom Thumb which he used to explore Botany Bay and the Georges River. This led to the settlement of Banks' Town. In 1796, he went on another voyage in a boat called the Tom Thumb to Lake Illawarra and discovered Port Hacking.

In another voyage, this one without his famous partner Matthew Flinders, Bass sailed to Cape Howe. From there he traveled along the western coast almost getting as far as present-day Melbourne. He also discovered the Kiama area.

In 1798 Bass joined the crew on the sloop Norfolk and circumnavigated Van Diemen's Land. Throughout this voyage, Bass explored the estuary of the Derwent River.

Bass's fate is still unknown. On February 5, 1803 he set sail in the Venus, planning to go to Tahiti and perhaps Chile to buy provisions for Sydney. After receiving no word from him, Bass was listed as lost at sea in January 1806.