BARRY, JOHN ARTHUR (1850-1911), author and journalist, was born at Torquay, Devon, England. Orphaned young, he persuaded his guardian to apprentice him at 13 to the Orient Steam Navigation Co. He served his time under sail and eventually received his first mate's ticket. In the 1860s he was apparently on the Australia run, and in 1870 followed the gold rush to the Palmer diggings in North Queensland. In the next few years he seems to have engaged in droving, digging, boundary riding and other outback occupations. He returned to the sea about 1877, this time to the coastal trade of eastern Australia, and in steam as well as sail. In 1879 he went back to the land, accepting a position as overseer and station-manager, probably near Scone, New South Wales.

Barry seems to have remained there until 1893, when he returned to England for a holiday. One of the ...

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Australian Dictionary of Biography