William Bligh was born in Plymouth, England, in 1754 and joined the Navy in 1770. Following his training on HMS Monmouth he saw action in the American revolutionary war, the war against France, and a tour of the West Indies.

The infamous mutiny on HMS Bounty in 1789 was foremost in the minds of the officers stationed in the penal colony of New South Wales when they learned of Bligh's appointment as governor in 1805. He arrived with the reputation of being a harsh disciplinarian, and his authoritarian attitude threatened most of the officers who were engaged in illicit activities.

To reinforce this feeling, Bligh was involved in charging John Macarthur with illegally importing a still and allowing a convict to escape overseas. At Macarthur's behest, Lieutenant Colonel Johnston deposed Bligh as Governor of the colony in 1808, and a year later Bligh left for England. He was promoted to rear admiral following the court martialling of Lieutenant Colonel Johnston in 1811.

He retired to Farmingham, Kent, in 1813 and he died four years later.

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