The young convict John Doody was an accomplished botanical artist whose fine watercolours, combined with Captain William Paterson’s annotations, were the first attempt to catalogue the flora of Norfolk Island. Though the drawings are unsigned, in a 1794 letter Paterson (plate 1) identified the artist as his young convict servant, ‘Jno Doody’. His were among the earliest botanical paintings produced in Australia. Paterson’s longer-term aim was to record and publish the flora and fauna of Norfolk Island in the hope that this would gain him admission as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He used Doody’s artistic skills to assist in achieving his objective.