Bussorah Merchant
John and Emma Matthews (nee Trengrouse) and family emigrated on this vessel to South Australia in 1848. Emma was the daughter of Henry Trengrouse who invented the rocket powered rescue system for ships in distress and the cork filled life jacket. The State Library of Victoria holds a watercolour painting of the ship Bussorah Merchant in the La Trobe Picture Collection. You can see an image of it here.
The vessel, formerly a convict transport, has the dubious honour of being the first known to use North Head, Sydney, as a quarantine site in August 1828. With smallpox raging through the ship, the Bussorah Merchant landed her passengers and crew on a small beach at North Head, the dramatic and ruggedly beautiful northern promontory at the entry to Sydney Harbour.
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
BUSSORAH MERCHANT 530t/659t, 3 mast ship rig, B.1818 Howrah, 117'x31'11"x5'9" tween decks, Duncan Dunbar, London. (Engaged as a convict transport 1828-1831). Arrived 10 November 1848 from London and Plymouth, Capt. Edwards
('Register' 11 November 1848).
The Somerset Years - Government Assisted Emigrants ...states that the Bussorah Merchant was built entirely from teak at Calcutta in 1818. "An older vessel than most on the emigrant run, she had carried the first group of government-assisted emigrants to Sydney in 1833. The ship had undergone repairs several times over the years. She was felted and doubled in '33, had repairs to topsides and decks in '46, and was sheathed with yellow metal in '49..." The book details an account of a journey in 1850.
Catherine Adamson
John and Janet Gordon (nee Coutts) emigrated to Australia in 1856. There is no recorded entry to Australia as an assisted immigrant to Sydney or Moreton Bay. There is an entry for paying passengers on this vessel at the right time: Catherine Adamson, Aberdeen, London departed London, arrived Sydney (conflicting entries) 27 Jan 1857/24th January 1857. Passengers; Mr & Mrs Gordon and six children (3 boys and 3 girls).
Lying in about fourteen metres of water only a
short distance from Inner North Head, in Sydney Harbour, the Catherine Adamson was a
wooden vessel of 768 tons, built at Aberdeen in Scotland in 1855. She sank on the night of
the23 October 1857, after losing steerage while entering Port Jackson, with the loss of
twenty-one passengers and crew. Among the relics recovered have been a sextant, pewter
mugs, pottery, spoons and forks. One of her anchors, standing about two metres high, still
has 300 metres of chain attached. [Dive Centre, Manly].
Cesar Godeffroy
George Wieneke emigrated From Hanover, Germany on 27th October, 1855 aboard this vessel to Moreton Bay. From "Early Shipping In Moreton Bay Jun 1846 – Dec 1859 Vol 1" compiled By Winifred Davenport & Betty Mottram: "Caesar Goddefroy Ship 614 Tons Capt N Startenbecker arrived 19 Feb 1856 from Hamburg 2 Nov 1855 – made a good run. 235 German Immigrants. 4 Cabin Passengers. Little or no sickness and not a single death. She has on board 3 German bulls and one entire horse, which we believe will go to Sydney, for which port she will sail immediately. A number of immigrants will also go on".
Ronald Parsons’ Book Migrant Sailing Ships From Hamburg describes the Cesar Godeffroy as a wooden, three mast barque (originally ship rigged) of 428t (later 621t) built in 1855, with dimensions of 43.7 X 8.6 X 5.85 metres. The Ship-Builder’s name was J.C. Godeffroy. Interestingly, there were three vessels of the same name, the latest of which was built in 1873 By John Marbs.
Parsons writes: "For J.C. Godeffroy, VI, ships were an important part of the overall business activities of the firm and the treatment aboard their ships was considered to be excellent and a handbook prepared for potential migrants in the 1850s pointed out that the ships of Godeffroy & Son were considered to be above average in the manner in which they cared for their passengers.
Despite this by 1865 the Queensland press was beginning to carry stories about the alleged shortages of provisions in the Godeffroy ships conveying migrants to Queensland. One or two vessels certainly experienced a high mortality rate but this, it was generally agreed, probably stemmed from the lack of medical checks before the migrants were allowed to board the vessel rather than the lack of care or food during the voyage. Just the same there were a spate of inquiries which revealed that the shipowner was probably not at fault and the blame, if any could be laid at the door of the port authorities or the agents who gathered the migrants and placed them in the ships".
Rev John and Catherine Gardner (nee Forrest) and their three children, were amongst 48 passengers to arrive in Adelaide aboard this vessel in 1850. He was brought by the Colonial Committee of the Free Church of Scotland to establish Chalmer’s Church, now Scots Kirk.
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
CONDOR 849t/912t, 3 mast ship rig, B.1849 St. John, New Brunswick, Bright & Co., Liverpool. Arrived 5 March 1850 from, Liverpool 17 October 1849, via Melbourne 23 February, Capt. Daly ('Register' 6 March 1850). Arrived 11 May, from Liverpool 23 January 1851, Capt. Daly ('Register' 12 May 1851). The ship took fire in the North Atlantic and sank 11 June 1853, on a voyage from Port Phillip to U.K., no lives were lost.
Darling Downs
William Begg emigrated on this vessel ex London, on
25th July, 1874 (second cabin) and arrived in Brisbane on 5th
November that year. The Captain was William Wakeham. A young woman named Jane Burgess took
off with a girl friend on a great adventure sailing to Australia and back around 1873/4.
They were determined to hook a husband before they got back. The friend caught the doctor
on board, Jane caught the Captain, William Wakeham (as his 3rd
wife!). Images from William and Jane's great-grandson, Robert
Palmer.
The Colonial Clippers by Basil Lubbock shows an illustration of the Darling Downs and states:
"She was one of that numerous fleet of ships, the converted from steam to sail, about which one could make a largish book without much trouble. And she was one of the most successful of that lot. She was built, as far back as 1852 and sailed under the flag of the General Screw Steamship Company, as the Calcutta, an auxiliary steamer with a 300 horse-power engine. Like nearly all early steamship businesses the General Screw S.S. Co. did not remain solvent very long, their ships were sold and were promptly converted into sailing ships, and in many cases renamed.
As a sailing ship, the Darling Downs was a very favourite passenger ship to Sydney. Like all converted steamers she was a very fast sailer, and made very good and regular passages. After a prosperous career as a Sydney trader, she was finally run into and sunk off the Nore in 1887".
"Sea Breezes Magazine", Oct. 1970 carries the following article by J.O.Ramos: "The Darling Downs was a originally a barque rigged screw steamer and was one of seven near sister ships built by C.J. Mare & Co, Blackwall for the General Screw Steam Shipping Co and was launched as the Calcutta. Her dimensions were - length 258.5ft x beam 40ft and her gross tonnage was given at various times as 2,080, 2,242, 2,428 and 1,715 tons. Her engines were by Maudsley, Sons & Field and she had a designed speed of 9 knots, but actually reached 10.5 knots. The company ran services to the Mediterranean, India, Australia and the USA and the Calcutta made a single round voyage between Southampton, Port Phillip and Sydney in 1854. Transferred to the South America service in 1857 and in 1859 was sold to the Anglo-Luso-Brazilian Royal Mail Steam Nav. Co., registered in Portugal and renamed Portugal. Employed on the Milford Haven(later Liverpool) - Lisbon - South America service. Sold in 1861, reverted to her original name of Calcutta, her engines were removed and she was re-rigged as a ship (square rigged on each mast). She later became the Darling Downs and on 12th May 1887 was in collision near the Nore lightship and sank. Her owners were Taylor, Sons & Co (formerly Taylor, Bethell & Roberts), London at the time.
There is an entry in Log of Logs, Vol 2, as follows:
Darling Downs: f.r. ship 1634 t, ex SS Calcutta b. 1852. Sydney to England c.1877 Account in autobiography of G. Sorell "Twenty years Wandering".
Brisbane's John Oxley Library can be contacted for a photograph of this fully rigged sailing ship.
Duke of Bedford
John (Henry) and Ann Whitford (nee Curra) were amongst 320 emigrant passengers who sailed aboard this vessel, a barque of 720 tons with R. Thornhall, the master. The ship’s port of origin was London and it stopped at Plymouth, where the Whitfords would have embarked. It sailed past The Lizard on the 25th August, rounded the Cape of Good Hope on the 2nd September and arrived in Port Adelaide on the 5th December, 1848.
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
DUKE OF BEDFORD 720t o.m., 3 mast ship rig, B.1820 Howrah, 135'11"x34'4"x5'9" tween decks, -- Thornhill, London. Arrived 5 December 1848, from London and Plymouth 20 August, Capt. Robert Thornhill ('Register' 6 December 1848).
Emma Euginea
Ann Gordon, dairymaid from Kildrummie Co. Aberdeen, emigrated on this vessel, arriving 16th June, 1849 with her sister, Elizabeth and brother, Donald.
The Emma Euginea was a barque of 383 grt, (teak hull), built at Whitby, England in 1833. Whitby is famous as the place Captain Cook lived and sailed the Endeavour from. The Emma Euginea was owned by Campbell & Co., London. In 1849 it was fixed for a voyage from London to Sydney under command of Captain Winter.
Flora Smith, her daughter, Barbara and her parents, John and Janet Smith (nee Reid) emigrated aboard this vessel with some of Flora’s siblings. The ship arrived at Port Adelaide on 25th December, 1853 from South Hampton.
According to Lloyd's Register, the Epaminondas was ship rigged and sheathed in felt and yellow metal in 1850, then partly sheathed in yellow in 1852 and fastened with iron bolts. Her Master was Captain H. Kerr and her tonnage was 1,125 tons using old measurements and 1,171 tons using new measurements. The vessel was constructed in 1850 in Quebec, using Oak, Hackmatack, Elm, Birch and Pine. The owners, Granger & Co. registered her at Belfast and her port of survey was Liverpool.
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
EPAMINONDAS 117lt, 3 mast ship, B.1850 Quebec, 160.8x34.0x22.0, ON15388 Granger Bros. Belfast. Arrived 2 August, from Liverpool 14 April 1852, Capt. H.H.Kerr ('Register' 2 August 1852). Arrived 24 December from Southampton 29 August 1853, Capt. H.H. Kerr ('Register' 26 December 1853).
Walter and Catherine Johnston (nee Fruish) emigrated from Liverpool on 1st November, 1838 on this vessel, arriving South Australia on 4th May, 1839. The ship was 434 tons and under the command of Captain Abbott. After five months at sea, how glad they must have been to finally reach their destination!
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
FAIRFIELD 434t, 3 mast barque, B.1833 Bolton & Humphrey Hull, 111'x29'x ?, -- Lawrence, Liverpool. Arrived 30 April 1839, from Liverpool, Capt. Robert Abbott ('Register' 11 May 1839). Arrived 14 December 1840, from London and Plymouth, Capt. James Lee ('Register' 19 December 1840).
This vessel arrived in Van Diemen’s Land on 19th January, 1841 with our convict ancestor, Walter (Thomas) Matthews. It sailed on 7th October, 1840 from Sheerness and the voyage took 104 days. 210 convict males embarked and one lost his life on the journey. George Lamb was the ship’s Master and Andrew Henderson, its Surgeon. 30 guards of the 96th Regiment acted as escorts.
The Hindostan was a ship of 424 grt, built at Whitby, England in 1819 and owned by Richards & Co., Whitby. Subsequently (1842) transferred to operations between Suez and Calcutta, as part of the Empire route from Britain to the Far East.
Elizabeth Keogh (nee Arkin) was transported on this convict ship which sailed on 16th June, 1848 from Dublin and arrived 113 days later on 7th October, 1848 at Van Dieman’s Land. Of the 144 female convicts onboard, 139 arrived safely. The Master was Robert Heard and the Surgeon, John G. Williams.
The Kinnear was a barque of 369 grt, built at Yarmouth, England in 1834 and owned by R. Brooks, London.
Thomas Yeowell emigrated to Moreton Bay, Queensland about 1871. The record of his arrival has not been found, however his death certificate states that he died on 28 Apr 1873, 16 months after arrival, aged 40. His great-grand-daughter, Cec. understood that he was a very sick man when he left England and migrated to Australia with the hope that his health would benefit by the warm climate.
INWARD SHIPPING TO THE PORT OF BRISBANE. A list of the Crew and Passengers that arrived in the Martaban from London, England included Mary Ann Yeowell; H.A. Yeowell (Male - under 14 years of age); E. M. Yeowell (female under 14 years of age). There were five males above 14 years, three males under 14 years, five females above 14 years of age, and five females under 14 years of age. Total of 18 passengers, as at Customhouse, Brisbane, on the 11th September 1873. Signed by George Cook, Master.
Built at Greenock in 1853, the Martaban had a gross tonnage of 781 and dimensions 168.9'x29.3'x20.0'. This iron sailing ship was built under special survey. [Sources: Lloyd's Register 1873-74; Mercantile Navy List 1873]. The ship continued in service until 1891 when she was abandoned off the Cuban coast whilst on a voyage from Salt River, Jamaica to Glasgow. Lloyd's Weekly Shipping Index, 5 June 1891, records that Martaban sailed from Old Harbour, Jamaica on 16 April with a cargo of logwood bound for Glasgow. On the early morning of 17 May she ran aground on the north coast of Cuba, at a point known as Cape Maria. When daylight came the boats were lowered and the ship abandoned to her fate. Captain Evans, of the stranded vessel, directed the course of the boats to an island nearer the coast, and the crew landed with provisions. Afterwards, when the tide rose, the Martaban floated off and drifted seaward, and when Captain Evans returned to the place where the vessel had gone ashore she was six miles out to sea with her rudder and sternpost gone and six feet of water in her hold. Captain Evans and the crew were picked up by a schooner and taken back to Havana. [Lloyd's & Mercantile Navy List information courtesy ].
John and Cathrine McGlashan (nee McKellar) and family of Argyll, Scotland emigrated on this vessel to Port Adelaide, South Australia. The Oaklands, an iron ship built in Dundee in 1876 had two decks. The vessel departed Greenock on 19th June, 1879 with 414 souls aboard. School was held on board, attended by 35 children. "Good progress was made with spelling". The trip took only two months, however it must have been arduous for Cathrine, who was pregnant. The surgeon’s certificate dated 26th August, 1879 stated that a male infant McGlashan died prematurely born, having only breathed a few minutes. The report also noted that sixty people came down with measles only six days out. There were seven births and four deaths during the voyage. The vessel arrived in South Australia on 23rd September, 1879.
Photographs of the Oaklands may be ordered from the State Library of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide. Vol. 22, Nos. 3 & 4 of the "A.D. Edwardes Collection of Shipping Photographs" are the best.
Another photograph of the Oaklands can be found here.
This vessel arrived in Van Diemen’s Land on 21st November, 1843 with our convict ancestor, Martin Keogh/Kehoe onboard. It sailed on 12th August, 1843 from Dublin. The voyage took 101 days. 170 convict males embarked and one lost his life on the journey. William Taylor was the ship’s Master and James Booth, its Surgeon.
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
ORATOR 369t/441t. 3 mast ship rig, B.1841 Sunderland, 103.2x25.2x18.7, Tayt & Co., London. Convict transport in 1843. Arrived 2 October 1849, from London & Plymouth, Capt. W. Tayt ('Register' 3 October 1849).
Roderick and Helena Tolmie (nee MacRae) of Inverness, Scotland emigrated on this vessel, captained by J.C. Wilson, with their baby daughter, Isabella. The 627 ton sailing vessel left Birkenhead, England on 23rd June, 1862. A second child, James was born at sea on 25th July. There were 269 passengers and the ship sailed direct to Moreton Bay where it arrived on 1st November, 1862. ["Stone on Stone: a pioneer family saga" by Neil Yeates].
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
RAJASTHAN The name of this ship is frequently mutilated but as shown is the official spelling. 601t/700t. 3 mast ship rig, B.1837 Bombay, 126.0x29.0x22.7, -- Fleming, Glasgow.
Sir Edward Parry
Ann Guerin emigrated on this vessel which left Plymouth on 20th December, 1853. The shipping records describe her as a 19 year old dairy servant from Co. Clare, Ireland. It arrived in Adelaide on 26th March, 1854. Salisbury South Australia - A History of Town and District by H. John Lewis, p37 states: "Labour was short in South Australia during the period of the gold rush, and in 1852 it was suggested that Irish pauper girls be brought out from Ireland to replace labourers lost to the diggings. By the time more than 5,000 of them arrived in 1854-55, however, there was large scale unemployment in the colony and their upkeep was a burden on the Government. … It was a sad exercise, in reality, and an example of forced labour."
During the 1850’s, a standard form, "Tender for Passage Accommodation and Diet of Persons" was used for victualling emigrant ships chartered by Her Majesty’s Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners.
The following allowances were made for adults (over 14 years of age):
"No Convicts There – Thomas Harding’s Colonial South Australia" by Max Carter, notes that at the period, "tinned meat was often not properly sterilised or stablised, and containers were not conducive to preservation, both as to the metal used and often not being perfectly sealed, all being done by hand then and until the end of the century. In an effort to provide better food for children, eggs were provided on the 263 ton barque Sir Edward Parry. Unfortunately the eggs remained good for only a month after the voyage of ninety-five days began… The usual method of storing eggs for the voyage was to pack them in sand or flour, where they would sometimes stay sound for six to seven weeks. As regards the 470 ton barque "Time and Truth" arriving 8 May 1854, "the fresh potatoes which were put on board at Plymouth were found twelve days out to be unsound".
An Immigration Agent’s report of 1st October, 1956 mentioned that great improvements had been made in the knowledge of the chemical ingredients of food, so far as they are suited for the healthy nourishment of man…. [However], "even now, emigrants who have arrived apparently in good health after a long voyage, in reality are not in such a healthy condition as persons who have lived ashore: their blood is impoverished, they have a tendency to pustular eruptions, and occasionally to symptoms of scurvy and anaemia…"
Max Carter wrote that it would be well into the latter part of the next century before any knowledge of food values developed into a true understanding of nutrition. "Cockroaches, bugs, lice, fleas and rats in the passenger quarters between decks added to their misery – often their conditions during storms and illness during the voyage were indescribable, and they were much the same for fifty years. Wooden sailing ships leaked constantly, every joint moved as a necessary aspect of their construction and leakage built up in the bilges requiring pumping by the crew at most times". ..
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
SIR EDWARD PARRY 455t/575t, 3 mast ship rig, B.1847 Thos Parry, Sunderland, 119.3x26.1x19.8, Gilmore & Co., London. Arrived 21 June 1849, from London 29 March, Capt. Freeman ('Register' 23 June 1849). Arrived 25 March 1854, from Plymouth 22 December 1853, Capt. Gray ('Register' 27 March 1854). Now owned by Harrison, London.
Margarethe Hoffman (nee Schmidt), with daughters Katharina and Annie, emigrated from Bavaria and according to newspaper reports, arrived in Moreton Bay in May 1859. The Solon departed from Bremen on 28th February, 1859 and arrived at Moreton Bay on the 23rd May 1859 with 145 immigrants. The agents at Brisbane were Heussler and Franksen, however no passenger list has been found from any source. A special feature of the trip was that when some distance from Moreton Bay provisions ran out, necessitating the sending of a signal by firing the cannons on board. A supply of fresh meat was forwarded from Brisbane. On the journey, salted meat had been the main food and the quick change to fresh meat caused all on board to become ill.
The following is the information from Michael Palmer mpalmer@netcom.com:
The SOLON was a bark (a 3-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged on the fore- and mainmasts, and fore-and-aft rigged on the mizzenmast), built by the shipbuilding firm of J. H. Bosse, of Burg, near Bremen, and launched on 12 April 1855. 229 Commerzlasten; 37,6 x 9 x 4,6 meters (length x breadth x depth of hold). Her original owners were the brothers Frerk, Hinrich, and Bernhard Balleer, all of Vegesack, each of whom held a 1/3 share. Hinrich Balleer was her first captain, being succeeded in 1857 by J. Gardes.
In 1858, the SOLON was sold to H. Bischoff & Co, Bremen for 22,750 Reichstaler, but was almost immediately sold "to Oldenburg", and sent on a round-the-world voyage. On 15 December 1858, Heinrich Jurgen Rohde, from Bremen, master, she sailed from Bremerhaven for Capetown, from where she sailed in March 1859, bound for Australia. After calling at Moreton Bay, she set sail for Sydney, but was stranded on Moreton Island; she was gotten off safely, and arrived at Sydney on 11 July 1859. Taking on a load of coal, she proceeded to the Philippines, where on 24 November she was loading sugar at the rate of £1.17s.6d. per ton for the return trip to Sydney. At Sydney she took on a cargo of coal, hay, and ships stores and sailed for Goolong, where the cargo was to be delivered to the Oldenburg ship ARNIM, but on 28 April 1860, she ran aground on Crookhaven Head, near Shoalhaven, and became a total loss; one ships's boy was drowned [Peter-Michael Pawlik, Von der Weser in die Welt; Die Geschichte der Segelschiffe von Weser und Lesum und ihrer Bauwerften 1770 bis 1893, Schriften des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseums, Bd. 33 (Hamburg: Kabel, c1993), p. 392, no. 93].
For further information on the wreck of the SOLON, see the appropriate works listed in the Australian National Maritime Museum's excellent subject guide, Pathfinder No. 3:
No picture of the SOLON appears to survive, which is not surprising considering her very short career. However, to follow is a black-and-white scan of an 1860 oil painting, by Oltmann Jaburg, of the bark UNION, a slightly smaller vessel than the SOLON (181 Commerzlasten/408 tons register; 26,2 x 8,7 x 4,6 meters), built by the same shipbuilder in 1854.
[Picture of Union][Back to top]
Time and Truth
George Holmes Brown departed Plymouth on this vessel on 11th January and arrived in Adelaide on 8th May, 1854. George was listed as a 20 year old agricultural labourer and other passengers with the surname Brown were on board, including 18 year old, William Brown (perhaps George's brother).
Extracts from "The Barque Time and Truth" written for a Cornish Newsletter by A. T. Thomas (3665)
(1) The ship's report papers, supplied by South Australian State Records include: the Tender by the ship owner to the Colonial Land and Emigration Commission of £19-12-5d for each adult.
(2) A Charter Party (Contract) for 196 adults and specifying the ship's fittings, crew, dietary scale, (for each adult, for instance, 6 oz flour each day, 1 oz tea, 8 oz treacle, 4 oz butter and l2 oz sugar weekly but 6 oz beef only on Saturdays), "medical comforts" including 40 lbs sago, 500 pints of lemon juice in wickered stone bottles of 5 gallons each, 86 gallons of stout, 5 gallons of brandy, 10 doz. pints of preserved milk (?) for each 100 adults. This charter Party document of 3 foolscap pages and 28 paragraphs of fine print covers every possible eventuality, such as, "no member of the House of Commons shall share in or receive any benefit under this Contract," and "no gunpowder, hides, salt, patent fuel shall be taken on as cargo," and "the passengers shall not be molested on crossing the Line."
Next (3) is the Surgeon Superintendent's Report made in Adelaide listing 6 deaths (5 infants 1 adult) and 4 births (2 of these were in the deaths). He reported on the accommodation, conduct of the ship's offices, provisions ("the fresh potatoes falling after 12 days, the preserved potatoes proved insufficient"), medical comforts, medicines, sickness ("The chief sickness was diarrhoea and occurred at 17deg. W & 4 deg. S"), school (27 boys, 14 girls "several of the boys who could not form a letter or spell a word when they commenced, being able to write fairly and read fluently by the end of the voyage.")
Then (4) the complaints of the passengers made in Adelaide on the 10th May about unreasonable demands made at the Plymouth Depot in the enforced payment for goods and services that they considered unnecessary:
("I, Rose Reilly, was compelled to buy 3 'chemmys' more than I had need for"), ("I, Frances Nankivell, was compelled to take 2 sheets at the amount of 5/- that I did not want.") and ("I, William Thomas, was compelled to buy 6 lbs of soap 3/6, one Guernsey frock 5/6 and paid 5/- to be got in as constable.")
In his written report the Surgeon, H.G. Wright, commented on the complaints, "I consider it my duty to bring before your notice the facts embodied in the enclosed statements voluntarily made by certain passengers. I was asked by them whether the activities at the Plymouth Depot were justified in demanding money from the emigrants during their stay there. Although several of the statements therein made, are doubtless very frivolous yet I consider it my duty to call the attention of your Hon'ble Board to two systems of obtaining money from those about to sail from Plymouth, feeling assured that such demands are made entirely without your sanction or knowledge. Firstly, the daily subscription after each meal during the residence of the emigrants at the Depot - professedly for the benefit of the cook of the establishment. Secondly, the charges made by a person of the name of Teaward (commonly known in the Depot, I understand, by the name of 'Master Henry') for the obtaining. of appointments as constables; such charges tending to subvert the authority of the Surgeon Superintendent on board. I have no reason to doubt the trustworthiness of the complainants. Their only motive being that the friends and relations following them might 'know what to expect'.
Then (5) an Emigration Report including "the single girls are not of the class most needed" (in the Colony) and on corporal punishment "two boys were put in irons for an hour for fighting."
Lastly, (6) the gratuities paid included £3 paid to William Thomas as Hospital Assistant, £5 to Susan Wills as Matron, £2 to James Wills as a constable. The Surgeon received 10/- for each emigrant landed alive, the Master 2/-.
On Monday 11th January, 1854 239 emigrants were landed in Adelaide – 167 adults and 72 children.
Funds for these voyages, organised by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commission, came from Colonial revenues and the Colonies specified the type of emigrant required. Agents travelled throughout Cornwall using posters, newspaper advertisements and public meetings. One of these agents was a Mr A. B. Duckham. Application forms specified that those eligible be working for wages, sober, industrious, good morals, good health, free of medical and mental defects and have been vaccinated for smallpox.
Those ineligible were those not settled with creditors, persons in business or intending to set up in business, to buy land or work on the goldfields, persons on habitual relief, families with more that two children under 7, or more than 3 children under 10, widowers or widows with young children, parents without all their children under 18, children under 18 without their parents, husbands without their wives, wives without their husbands, single women over 35, single women with illegitimate children and single men over 40.
Many made false statements to get around the rules. Children's ages were altered. Some families with more children than the limit transferred some to smaller families on the same ship. An eligible candidate needed four signatures, two from respectable householders, from a doctor on health and from a clergyman.
Ships were hired by the Commissioners at Southampton, Plymouth and Birkenhead, where there were depots for the reception of emigrants who were lodged and fed free until sailing time. The ships were specially fitted out with single men in the fore-part, married couples and children in the middle and single women aft. A Surgeon Superintendent was appointed to the ship, the single women were in the care of a Matron and sometimes there was a schoolteacher.
On arrival in Australia, the emigrants were not bound to the Government in any way and could choose their employment. They were not liable to pay for the voyage."
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
TIME & TRUTH 576t, 3 mast barque, B1852 Sunderland, 124.0x28.5x19.5, ON387 Mitcheson, London. Arrived 8 May, from Plymouth 11 January 1854, Capt. J. Dodds ('Register' 9 May 1854). Arrived 30 July, from London 12 April 1855, Gravesend 24 April, Capt. Dodds ('Register' 1 August 1855). Sold to Australian owners in 1860 and wrecked at The Bluff, NZ 3 January 1863.
Richard and Elizabeth Champion (nee Cowley) and family emigrated to South Australia aboard this vessel. The Trafalgar arrived in Adelaide on 30th March, 1850 with 298 emigrant passengers. Tragically, there had been 17 deaths en route. According to "The Adelaide Times", Monday April 1 1850 No. 109, Vol II Page 2 Column e: "The following deaths took place on board the Trafalgar: Stephen Thomas, exhaustion consequent on sea sickness; Emma Leason, dysentery; George Green, ditto; Owen Zurau, eating part of a blister which had been applied to the nape of his neck; Mary Sheridan, hooping cough; Leason (infant), inanition; Smith’s infant, premature birth; Ann Mansbridge, diarrhae; P. Corrigan, hooping cough, Elizabeth Hayman, do; Thomas Box, ditto; Eliza Gallienci ditto; Ellen Howell, ditto; Webday’s infant, inanition; Marshall, premature birth; Caroline Webday, dysentery; A. Oldroyd, typhus fever. Fourteen of the above are young children" One can imagine a mother’s dilemma confined below decks with young children in the stagnant space, with the contagious whooping cough, dysentery and typhus on board. Inanition is starvation from lack of food and the intense heat crossing the equator could have lead to the death from diarrhea.
Extracts from "Observations of an Early Colonist During the Years 1850-1852" edited by Eleanor Wells (Mortlock Pamphlets 994.231 P776b).
Andrew James Pollock emigrated on the "Trafalgar" on the following voyage arriving 2nd July, 1850. He writes:
Dinner consists of mutton killed on board, or preserved meat, soup, sea pie, or fowls, and potatoes, with a pudding of raisins and almonds. On Sunday the soup is replaced by pickled salmon. The salmon is most excellent and so is the soup invariably, also the preserved provisions. I own that I can’t get over my disgust at the mutton and pork killed on board, though as good as can be, and the fowls (ducks and elderly hens) are frightfully scraggy.
There is also much to amuse one on shipboard … at 4 o’clock in the morning the First Mate, Mr Draper, calls me, with others if I am inclined. I then get up, putting on – pray, don’t be shocked – nothing but that flannel-coloured dressing gown you chose for me, go forward to the bow of the vessel, and don’t be shocked again, and heartily pumped upon by one of the jolly tars. [A washing down with cold water using a fire hose].
If not so inclined, we all rise at seven bells, half past seven, and after the usual toilet duties, assemble at breakfast…. After breakfast we adjourn to the quarter deck where I generally take a good long solitary walk for some miles I should think, and as soon as I am tired of this, I go forward to the bows, and seated upon the cat reader, watch the vessel plunging into, and rising over the waves – a grand sight truly….
This morning from the forecastle there was a great shout from the forecastle "there she blows" and rushing on deck we saw two fine young wales jumping about close to the vessel. They were about 20’ long and of the finback description …. The flying fish afford constant amusement ….
[At the back of the diary transcript is a letter written by Andrew James Pollock to his mother after his arrival in Adelaide, giving her the benefit of his experiences at sea, and advising her and his sisters on their travel plans].
I write this for the sole purpose of giving you directions as far as possible for your guidance on preparing for the voyage and your residence here. First, as to the time when you should come out … By starting (at the latter part of July) you have less chance of being exposed to the fearful gales, prevalent at the Cape of Good Hope during Equinox …. Earlier in the year you catch the winter south of the Cape, and the temperature in close latitudes is very severe – especially after experiencing a tropical and vertical sun.
…. Don’t take a stern cabin – you have no idea of the motion there compared with what is experienced near the door, in case of a wave coming in. A water closet is indispensable for ladies. The best plan is to get two smaller cabins made into one near the centre of the ship, and all three of you occupy that. The berths should be lengthwise of the ship, and you should be with heads to the stern. Over each at your feet should be a small bracket to contain a vessel in case of sickness, and your being unable to leave your beds… Underneath the berths you should store your outfits and what you are likely to want, in galvanised cases. These are invaluable as they keep everything from being mildewed … Those things that you do not want on the voyage, will go in the hold, but there put your clothes in galvanised boxes which have been soldered up, as they could be damaged otherwise by water…
See that all holes are stopped up in your cabin, also that under the door is close, for towards the end of the voyage, the rats are a great annoyance. They don’t hurt anyone, but they eat up your books etc. Few ships are without them, and I have found them nesting under my feet upon awakening! Also for this reason, you should have your port window fitted with a little piece of gauze wire, removable at pleasure, as the rats almost always come in at night through the port windows.
Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860 by Ronald Parsons:
TRAFALGAR 634t/717t, 3 mast ship rig, B,1845 James Leithead, Sunderland, 129.0x29.2x21.5 Duncan Dunbar, London. Arrived 1 July 1847, from London and Plymouth 18 March ('Register' 3 July 1847). Arrived 17 January 1849, from London and Plymouth, 92 days out from Plymouth, Capt. George Richardson. ('Register' 20 January 1849). Arrived 30 March 1850, from London Gravesend 16 December 1849 and Plymouth 26 December, Capt. George Richardson. ('Register' 1 April 1850). Arrived 28 June, from Plymouth 6 March 1854, Capt. George Richardson. ('Register' 29 June 1854).
Ghost Ships:
Mark Whiskin, a baker, told his children he had been ship-wrecked on his voyage to Australia, and the vessel split in two. It is thought he emigrated from Kent to Melbourne about 1891.
Edmund Horatio Gardner, of Kilmarnock, Scotland is thought to have emigrated with his brother Joe prior to 1910, probably to Sydney.
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Date : March 1999
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