Captain Francis Freeburn was appointed Pilot to the Clarence River by the
Governor on 10 January 1854 at a salary of 750 per anum.

He had arrived in Sydney in 1840, and was born at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada,
in 1812. For many years prior to his appointment he traded successfully along the N.
coast to the Clarence and Richmond Rivers in the Bessie and Susan.

Shortly after his 1854 appointment as a Pilot Francis Freeborn, his wife and their three year old son, James and pilot boatmen sailed for the Clarence Heads where they erected two tents on the headland and became the first Yamba citizens
In 1972 the 50 foot (15.24m ) steel hulled Francis Freeburn was built for the Maritime Services Board and it is still the pilot boat at Yamba