David Burn was born in Scotland c.1799 and after a short career in the navy he arrived in Tasmania for the first time in 1826. In 1842 Burn accompanied Sir John and Lady Jane Franklin on their soujourn to the west coast of Tasmania writing the Narrative of the Overland Journey from Hobart Town to Macquarie Harbour. He was also a playwright and wrote Fugitive Pieces in Verse (Hobart Town, 1842) among others.In 1847 Burn migrated to Auckland where he edited the Maori Messenger and the New Zealand Herald. He retired in 1865 and died on 14 June 1875 at Auckland, aged 76.