Background
Barry was born in Torquay in 1850.
Barry was born in Torquay in 1850.
Leaving with a first mate's certificate, Barry came to Australia in the 1870s, and after working in Queensland at the gold diggings, spent some years as a drover, boundary rider and station manager. He returned to shipboard life around 1877 along the east coast of Australia for about two years. Then he returned to the land as an overseer and station manager.
John Arthur Barry began writing for the press and contributed stories to the Australasian, The Sydney Mail, The Queenslander, the Town and Country Journal, the Pall Mall Gazette, and others
In 1893 he spent a holiday in England and published a collection of his stories, Steve Brown"s Bunyip and other Stories. He had become acquainted with Rudyard Kipling who wrote an introductory poem for the volume.
Barry returned to Australia after about six months in England and joined the staff of the Sydney Evening News, another collection of his stories was published, In the Great Deep: Tales of the Sea (1896). This was followed by two novels, The Luck of the Native Born (1898), and A Son of the Sea (1899).
Three collections of short stories followed, Against the Tides of Fate (1899), Red Lion and Blue Star (1902), and Sea Yarns (1910).
South Sea Shipmates, a sea story, was published posthumously in 1914. Barry died in Sydney on 23 September 1911 of chronic myocarditis.
Four ships of the United States Navy have been named in honor of him, the last being the "USS Barry" (DDG-52), a guided missile destroyer commissioned in 1992. Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn in New York was named after him. It is the oldest park in the borough. It was renamed for Commodore Barry in 1951, due to its location next to the Brooklyn Navy Yard that Barry helped found. In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS John Barry was named in his honor. There is a large portrait of Commodore Barry at the Rhode Island State House in Providence; and Title 16 of the Rhode Island Statutes (§ 16-20-3 – Days of special observance) requires observing September 13 as Commodore John Barry Day. There is a Commodore Barry Bridge, which crosses the Delaware River from Chester, Pennsylvania to Bridgeport, New Jersey. John Barry Hall at Villanova University, Commodore Barry Club (Philadelphia Irish Center) Emlen St & Carpenter Lane, Mt Airy, Phila Pennsylvania, Barry Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Commodore John Barry Elementary School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Commodore John Barry Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois
Commodore John Barry Division of Ancient Order of Hibernians, Annapolis, Maryland, John Barry Bar, Grand Hyatt Muscat, Muscat, Oman were named after him as well.
September 13, Commodore John Barry Day in New Jersey. Public schools
Commodore John Barry Memorial Plaque at Staten Island Borough Hall
was also named after him. A new plaque with a cannon was dedicated on March 10, 2007, in Port Canaveral.
A plaque stands in the city of Boston at Boston Common, a plaque commemorating Barry and his crew of the Alliance for the final naval battle of the American Revolution is located at Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
A stone plaque commemorating his grave site is located at Old St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia, PA.
A 6 ft. bronze statue of Commodore John Barry stands in Franklin Square (between I and K sts. on 14th st. N. W. ) in Washington, D. C.
An entrance to the United States Naval Academy, from Downtown Annapolis to the Visitor's Center, commemorates Commodore John Barry.
A large statue of Barry stands directly in front of the formal entrance to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA.
A statue of Barry overlooks the Crescent Quay in Wexford town in Ireland. It was a gift to the town from the United States and was delivered by a United States Navy destroyer USS John R. Pierce (DD-753). The statue was unveiled in 1956, and each year a parade and wreath-laying ceremony takes place at the statue to celebrate "Barry Day", commemorated by the Irish Naval Service and the Minister for Defence.
John Arthur Barry was married to Mary Burns; married second, Sarah Austin, July 7, 1777.
1754 - 1831
_ - 1774
1770-1856
