Talk:Henry Lidgbird Ball

message: The piece of the lead section discussion his promotion and retirement is confusing - was he promoted in title after his retirement, or is his retirement or promotion date wrong?  The Real Serena JoyTalk 23:56, 16 May 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: The wording is a little iffy and the citation in the main text for this part doesn't actually say anything about his retirement, being that the citation is for a compilation of ship histories. What one assumes, and would actually make sense here, is that Ball went on half pay for the final time in 1813, but because promotion to flag rank was by seniority, he was made a rear-admiral of the blue in the following year anyway. Note that none of this is my work, I've just made a lot of comments about it previously! Pickersgill-Cunliffe (talk) 00:24, 17 May 2022 (UTC)
thread_title: Clarity needed

message: I've changed Balls Head Bay to Balls Point.  It looked wrong because, if Balls Head Bay was named after him, that would have to be because Balls Head was.  ADB says Balls Point, although wrongly locating it in Sydney Harbour (it's across Fishermans Bay from Maianbar).  Also, I've always assumed that Balls Head (which actually is in Sydney Harbour) is so called owing to its (ahem) configuration.  Or has ADB confused Balls Point with Balls Head?  But that would mean that Balls Head, an important promontory, was named after a mere lieutenant, whereas Balls Point is not particularly significant.  Wikiain (talk) 22:44, 21 March 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: After further thought, I've preferred Balls Head, supposing that the ADB has simply mistaken Point for Head.  And it seems obvious that Balls Head Bay is so named since it is beside Balls Head.  That Ball was a lieutenant does not seem to be a problem, since Dawes Point on Sydney Harbour is named after Lt William Dawes.  As to the (er) configuration matter, perhaps the name was originally written "Ball's Head" and pronounced with a chuckle.  Sydney place name policy today is to omit apostrophes. Wikiain (talk) 23:51, 27 March 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Death and Legacy 

message: A question: In the final paragraph in the Colonial Service Section, it says Ball was ordered "...bring Hunter and the crew of the Sirius back from Norfolk Island." Back to where? Sidney? Thanks. Also same section. Do we know what Ball's illness was? Was he cured? He obviously went back on active naval service. Almost finished copy editing. Cleveland Todd (talk) 19:02, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Yeah he was to bring them back to Sydney, as they lost there ship, they were getting sent back to England for a court martial. No it’s never stated what the illness is, but it was common for Europeans to get fever in Batavia. --Knightmare 3112 (talk) 19:16, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks, I'll finish the copy edit tomorrow. Cleveland Todd (talk) 19:27, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Colonial Service

message: Per a request from  I am leaving some comments on the article here. I would note that I am not the best copy editor, and suggest that this article is run through the Guild of Copy Editors as well. This is just a brief read-through of the article, and I do not claim to have found all issues. Pickersgill-Cunliffe (talk) 17:48, 19 February 2022 (UTC)
thread_title: Article comments

message: Just been reading 1788 by Watkin Tench (Edited by Tim Flannery). Tench was a Captain of Marines who arrived on the First Fleet in 1788. The book contains the sentence "Captain Ball...is the first person who ever circumnavigated the continent of New Holland". This was seemingly achieved in a journey that he made that involved travelling to Batavia for supplies in 1790. This is 11 years before Matthew Finders circumnavigated the continent. Unfortunately there is no more detail provided of that "achievement". Any thoughts? HiLo48 (talk) 09:55, 22 September 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Technically lots of people circumnavigated Australia, including Tasman and Cook, the difference is that Flinders followed and mapped the coastlines. Knightmare 3112 (talk) 16:56, 22 September 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Did Ball Circumnavigate Australia before Matthew Flinders?