LOGAN, FRANCIS (1784-1862) was the son of William Logan, a farmer in the parish of Dunlop, Ayrshire. He matriculated in 1802 and passed through his medical course at Glasgow University. In 1808 he was admitted as an assistant-surgeon and posted to H.M.S. Namur at the Nore. In 1811 he transferred to the Hyacinth, a 20-gun ship, in which he was present at the operations of Spanish guerillas against the French positions at Castle Nersa and Almunecar. Promoted surgeon, he served in the Rainbow (1812) and the Rifleman (1823) and in the Menai (1824) on the coast of North America. In 1830 he was in the Etna surveying in West Africa, and in 1832 he made his first voyage to Australia in charge of convicts in the Fanny. She had an outbreak of cholera during the voyage, and reached Port Jackson on 1 Feb 1833. After a few months in the Royal Sovereign on the home station, Logan again came to Australia, in the convict ship Mangles. He left her in Sydney (Aug 1837) and called at New Zealand on his way back to England in the John Barry. In 1839 he was reported as unfit for sea service.

Logan was enthusiastic in his praise of New Zealand as a land for settlement, and joined the West of Scotland committee in 1839. He came to Wellington as surgeon in the Bengal Merchant (1839-40) bringing his wife and son, and selected his country land first at Porirua. He was interested in natural science. His death occurred on 30 May 1862.

Admiralty Records; Hist. Records Aust.; Ward; Guthrie Hay; Cant. O.N.

Reference: Volume 1, page 268

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