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May I suggest that you navigate the site via the
index on page 001. PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE
Copyright? (102 =
102) Test.
Miramar, images,
mariners-l.co.uk, eBay,
On this page ...
Laing, page bottom (have had to disable it,
a beautiful Lake Applet featuring a wildebeest, since it makes access to the whole page impossible.
Not sure why Internet Explorer cannot identify the applet as being harmless).
Do you want to make a comment? A site guestbook is here.
To search for specific text on this page, just press 'CTRL +
F' & then enter your search term. A general site search facility is here.
Corrections in any of the
material which follows, however tiny,
would be most
welcome. And
additions, of course!
JOHN LAING (1792), NORTH SANDS
JOHN AND DAVID LAING (1793/1796), NORTH SANDS
JOHN LAING (1796/1797), NORTH SANDS
JOHN AND PHILIP LAING (1797/1805), NORTH SANDS & (1804/1818) BRIDGE DOCK
JOHN & JAMES LAING (1816/c.1830), SOUTHWICK
PHILIP LAING (1818/1834), DEPTFORD
LAING & SIMEY (1834/1837), DEPTFORD
PHILIP LAING (c.1837/1843), DEPTFORD
JAMES LAING (became Sir James Laing in 1897) (1843/1898), DEPTFORD
SIR JAMES LAING AND SONS LIMITED
(1898/1966), DEPTFORD (name is good per an 1899
share certificate)
OF NORTH SANDS (1792/1805), OF MONKWEARMOUTH, BRIDGE DOCK, JUST WEST
OF THE IRON BRIDGE (1804/1818) THEN SOUTHWICK (1816/1830), THEN DEPTFORD, SUNDERLAND (1818/1966)
First a few images. Hover your mouse over each thumbnail to read the subject matter.
Note:- The token in the
bottom row above is from an expired eBay listing - a 'mudlark' find on the
Wear river bank. It dates from the period before Laing's was
renamed & incorporated i.e. prior to 1897.
We thank vendor 'tallyman' (his store') for its inclusion here.
Whatever data I now have in this section, will, almost certainly expand as new data is received. The increasing number of listings re Laing built vessels has already required a 2nd page - available
here.
It would seem that the Laing shipbuilding story in Sunderland commences with two
brothers. John Laing (c.1754-1829) and Philip Laing (c.1772-1854), quite a
separation in birth dates! Both originated from Pittenweem, near St. Andrews, Fifeshire.
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Philip (image
at left) is of particular interest, (wife Sophia Lundy Laing).
He is variously described as a yeoman farmer and ship-owner.
He was, I read, in fact trained as a medical doctor & went to sea as a surgeon.
A versatile fellow indeed!
Do note that the reference to Sunderland above is
quite important - because the family was also extensively involved with
shipbuilding in South Shields, a matter beyond the purposes or objectives
of these 'Sunderland' pages.
John Laing (have not located an image of
him) had a son
named David, who had a short life indeed (c.1775-1796). Philip had
two daughters (May & Anne) who are not relevant to this Sunderland shipbuilding story, & also
a son James
who is most relevant, (Jan. 11, 1823/Dec. 15, 1901,
buried at Bishopwearmouth Cemetery).
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In or about 1776, John was apprenticed at the North Sands yard of Mr. J. Wright,
then the principal shipbuilder on North Sands.
In or about 1792, John went into
business for himself at North Sands.
In 1793, David, his son, joined him in that
business.
I hope that clearly sets the stage?
David died very soon thereafter (in 1796, at just age 21. I wonder
why he died so young?). A year later, John & his brother Philip,
joined forces, a partnership which survived through 1818. In 1804 they
'leased (or built)' a dry dock located on the
N. bank of the River Wear (Monkwearmouth)
beside & to the immediate west of the first iron bridge, then in course of construction,
i.e. Bridge Dock.
And in 1805 they left North Sands. Philip and John lived on Church Street, Monkwearmouth, near to the yard.
A puzzle perhaps is that it is Philip Laing alone who is recorded in 1810
(here at
page #586 - but for reasons unknown the entire 1852 The Nautical Magazine volume which was available for
download is no longer so available)
as then having a yard at Bridge Dock. The actual page can however be seen here.
When we read of such early days, I suspect that none of us, the webmaster included, understand how very tiny the early
Sunderland shipbuilding enterprises truly were. And how the owners must have struggled to do what they did -
working every
daylight hour, at work both hard and physical, with a doubtful return when
the vessel was sold, as hopefully it was. The Laings included. The webmaster has
read an anecdotal reference to the Laing brothers, Philip and John, which
illustrates the point. It is recorded here not in any way to disparage the
Laings or to diminish in any way their amazing achievements. Rather to permit to a
modern reader some understanding of the reality of the early days of Sunderland
shipbuilding. The
anecdote comes from a paper, written I think in the 1970s, by James A. Marr (known as Jimmy),
who was in fact the Managing Director of 'Laing's'. Maybe
not published but I do not know that is so. Hopefully soon the entire work may grace these pages. It now does, on site page - 160
- & it is interesting reading indeed. Anyway, so the story goes:-
Philip and
John Laing were not very wealthy. They were both devout churchmen, but it was noticed that
they never went to church together. If Philip went in the morning, John went at
night. One day, the Priest asked John where his brother was, and it turned out
that he was sitting at home in his shirt because they only possessed one pair of
decent trousers between them.
The
anecdote puts the early shipbuilder history into some perspective, I truly think.
I was interested to read (page #585,
here,
from that 1852 volume not now available for download) that John & Philip Laing 'were the first to introduce the
novelty of a floating dock on our river. They purchased an old man-of-war, one of those "Leviathans," taken during the last war with
the Dutch, and after cutting away all her superfluous timbers, converted her into a very
useful floating dock for the repair of vessels.'
On May 12, 1818, the John & Philip Laing
partnership ended. John, then 64 years of age, left the partnership & set up a
shipbuilding business (1818/c1830) at Southwick with his son James. At a site
previously 'tenanted' by William Havelock. That site would seem to be a site
located on the north bank of River Wear roughly 600 yards east of the (later)
Queen Alexandra Bridge. A site that was later occupied by John Candlish. Philip Laing continued on
his own at Deptford,
on the tip of the 'peninsula' of Deptford, upstream of the iron bridge & on the
S. side of the river. At a site said to be next to Howard's yard but also said to have
been previously occupied by Mr. Cook. Indeed, I understand
that Philip built himself a house on the Deptford site, & lived there, perhaps in 'Deptford House'.
James, in fact, was born there. The Deptford house was there until 1856, I read.
The University of Newcastle's 'Sine' project offers a print of the
'Laing' yard at Deptford in the period of 1825 to 1835.
Here.
The vacated 'Bridge Dock' was later, it would seem, occupied by Mr. George Hall
or maybe by Messrs Hall (in 1852, I think), & then by George Peverall, & later still
(1880) by Robert Thompson & Sons.
In 1834, Philip went into partnership with Thomas B. (Boyes) Simey (1798/1871). The partnership
was relatively short-lived, ending in c.1837. See here for a little more about
Simey - but if you can tell us
more, please do so. The business reverted to Philip.
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In 1843, Philip's son James (married twice - 16 children,
10 girls & 6 boys, image at right) then just 20 years of age, took over
his father's business at Deptford (his father was then 71 years of age).
What happened to his Southwick facility, I wonder? I think it was taken over by
Mr. George Hall or Messrs. Hall. Can anyone clarify the matter?
James, it would seem, was the offspring of a
second marriage for Philip? Since
James's mother was Anne Jobling. James
was Chairman of the River Wear Commission for 32 years & a Director of
the Suez Canal Company. In the 1881 Census, I read that James was living at Thornhill Hall, Bishopwearmouth, with his
wife, four sons, five daughters, & fourteen servants (14 more than I have!
And probably 14 more than you have also!). He was knighted in 1897.
I read that
3 of his sons worked at the Deptford yard. Notable perhaps was son Hugh (1871/?)
who
built, in 1892, the first 'Laing' tanker. |
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I read also that James Laing was the
very first Sunderland shipbuilder to build in iron.
The Deptford business was incorporated on Oct. 3, 1898 as
'Sir James Laing and Sons Limited'. A busy yard! Some 3,000 employees at that time.
James died soon afterwards (on Dec. 15, 1901, at his residence at Etal Manor,
Northumberland, after an illness of a fortnight) (e-Bay image, 1 ex 2), & the yard incurred major
losses in part due to either or probably both of i) the 1907 conversion contract re HMS Cyclops -
that seemed to be a puzzle, but the page that caused me to say that is no
longer available,
or ii) the building of three 'Lloyd Sabaudo' ships (Re D'Italia,
Regina D'Italia
& Principe di Piemonte) at a loss.
A snippet of data thanks to Ron Stainton.
A census in 1901 indicates that Bryan Laing, aged 25, an 'iron shipbuilder', was
then living at Ford Hall along with his wife Eleanor, 4 domestic servants & a
coachman. Bryan (1875/1941) was one of the many children of Sir James Laing
(1823/1901), by his second marriage.
The most interesting image which follows, shows I believe the
Sir James Laing & Sons Limited Deptford facilities early in the 20th century, I think around 1910. It comes
however from the 1929 edition of 'Port of Sunderland', published by the River Wear Commissioners. The image appears here thanks to Tony Frost, who
advises me that 'Laings' had in their history two dry docks, one of which (visible in the image) was
opened on Jul. 19, 1860 (Queen Victoria being its first ship) & later filled in to make way for
a fitting out quay (the dock gates apparently can be still seen to-day) and also
(likely through 1818) a dry dock known as 'Cornhill' on the north bank of the river next to the Robert Thompson yard.
'Cornhill' dry dock continued to exist long after 1818 & is visible in an 1898
Ordnance Survey Map of Southwick Urban District. Roughly at bottom left of the
image below.
A most interesting postcard image was provided to the webmaster in Aug. 2012.
Which image you can see in black & white here and in its original sepia here. It depicted thousands of men (& some women) outside the Police
Station & Magistrates Court in Sunderland, in an image which included an Empire Cinema
poster with the date of Feb. 10, 1908 recorded upon it. The vendor indicated
that it possibly related to a strike or protest
meeting against unemployment as there was a depression in shipbuilding at that
time. The vendor added that on Feb. 12, 1908, Sunderland Town Council cut off the electricity
supply to the shipbuilding yard of Sir James Laing as it owed them over £2,000.
Laing's was soon after declared bankrupt, creating more
unemployment. And ... later that month, 300 soldiers were drafted into Sunderland at
the request of the Town Council because of rioting. We thank 'northern_collectables' for that fine
data, part of their eBay listing.
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The above confirms what I had earlier read that the company had to stop operating in 1908 & had liabilities way
in excess of its then assets. What was then proposed was that a new company be formed
& that the creditors accept shares in lieu of their debts. Can anybody tell us
what actually was later done? Was, in fact, a new company formed or was the existing
company restructured? The 'new company' was also, I read, named
'Sir James Laing and Sons Limited.'
James Marr,
[(1854/1932), later (1919) Sir James Marr, obituary etc.], an experienced shipbuilder who
was Managing Director of Joseph L. Thompson & Sons Limited since 1901, in 1909 joined the company,
& gradually restored its financial
success. The yard, at about that time, had 5 building berths & a graving dock.
During WW1, the yard built 18 vessels, of
combined 109,924 tons.
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I find the data re the two 1917 'rivet heater' images to be confusing.
One seems to be at the 'James Laing' yard & the other at the 'Joseph L.
Thompson' yard. Have I recorded the detail correctly?
One of the 'rivet heaters' was John Cassidy, I believe, but which of the 2
images shows him?
Next below is a fine (1930s? but read on) image, of the 'Robert Thompson
& Sons Limited'
shipyard in the foreground & of the 'Sir James Laing & Sons Limited' shipyard
across the river with the Ayres Quay area behind it. A correspondent has
suggested that the image, of 'Laing's Bend', dates to the 1930s, before Laings built their main berth launching
downstream. 'Robert Thompson', went out of business in 1930, so the image may
date, in
fact, from even earlier. But .... Geoff Bethell, of New Zealand, advises that he
has enlarged the image particularly in the centre top area where a bridge
is faintly visible. Geoff indicates that he cannot spot any indication of another bridge behind the
railway bridge. Which would adjust the image dating to the late 1920s at the latest -
since from 1927 to 1929 the road bridge with its distinctive arch was being
built to replace the
previous road bridge that had no arch at all. Thanks, Geoff, for your interest &
your diligence.
The image I show is not even, of the entire available image! Newcastle
Libraries have kindly provided, on 'Flickr', a large series of images mainly Newcastle
related. But this splendid image of Sunderland is included. Thanks so much Newcastle
Libraries! You can see the whole set here &
can see this particular image
here.
And can order a print via that page should you so wish.
The company struggled to survive the Depression.
Activity increased
during WW2, a period when it became of paramount importance that the WW2
shipping losses be replaced.
Sunderland came under aerial attack by the Luftwaffe - four men
killed in one air raid on the 'Laing' yard in 1940.
In 1942, it would seem that the facilities were expanded with the building of a new shipbuilding berth on the site that used to be occupied by the
Ayre's Quay Bottle Company.
A company of which Laing was the principal proprietor.
I note in passing that William B. (Bell) Marr (1881/?), the
youngest son of Sir James Marr, was later Chairman of the company. And that
Allan J. Marr, next generation perhaps, was its Managing Director. No dates re
either roles.
The later history,
though relatively recent, is to the webmaster a matter of some confusion. The
following is what I think happened:- In 1954, the company became one of
many subsidiaries of 'Sunderland Shipbuilding Dry Docks &
Engineering Company Ltd.' which also included Thompson's and 'Sunderland
Forge'. The name 'Sir James Laing and Sons Ltd.' therefore continued to exist.
That name ceased to exist on Mar. 31, 1966, when Doxfords joined the
group & the operating company became 'Doxford and Sunderland Shipbuilding and
Engineering Company Limited'. Court Line took over the firm in 1971, renaming it
'Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd.' – it soon
collapsed, the yards being taken under
Government control. In 1977, following the nationalisation of shipbuilding,
Austin and Pickersgill
Ltd. joined the Doxford,
Thompson and Laing yards to become part of British Shipbuilders Ltd. And later the yards become part of
'North East
Shipbuilders Ltd.' The venture was not a success, & did not last long.
I should indicate that
the data in the previous paragraph may well prove to be in error. Dr. Buxton,
who has researched the history most extensively, describes it quite differently in
his article referred to below.
The very last vessel built at the 'Laing' yard was the
Mitla, launched in 1985.
A quite complicated history!
Much of the above data comes from a fine George
Taylor & Sarah Stoner article about 'Laings' that appeared in the Sunderland Echo of Nov. 7, 2006. The article is available
here.
With more data from here
(the website of George H. Graham of Tulsa, Oklahoma). And from a most interesting article by
Dr. Ian Buxton,
now available on site here & also available
here,
(at pages 5 thru 11, or true pages 16 thru 22, in a 'pdf' file made available
by the 'Maritime Information Association').
Dr. Buxton states what I had long suspected, that the various publications & WWW sites (including
surely this one!), carry over errors, misprints & misinterpretations from
one account to another. And with each telling of the story the data
becomes increasingly accepted as the truth. I surely must be guilty of the offence,
since access to original
documents is just not possible from where I live, in far away Canada. Anyway, Dr. Buxton,
has provided his interpretation of the
total 'Laing' evidence at that link, to 'correct the record', if you will. In reading Dr. Buxton's words,
the 'Laings', it would seem had shipbuilding yards on the Tyne also (that was
news to me). And possibly, during the years of 1834/7, Philip may have run a
shipyard at St. Aubin, Jersey, Channel Islands leaving the running of the
Deptford yard to Simey - there was a Philip Laing who built 11 ships at Jersey. To add confusion, with each partnership, & there were a number of
partnerships as the years passed by, a new numerical vessels build list was
created, so there would be multiple vessels numbered #1 as an example. I invite you to
read for yourself Dr. Buxton's 6 1/2 page text, an important contribution to the total 'Laing'
history, & one which I have tried to introduce throughout the above text. And
from the 'Laing' chapter in Norman L. Middlemiss's 'British Shipbuilding Yards',
number 1 of 3 volumes, which covers the North-East. And there was, of
course, additional data from many other lesser sources also.
Next, an atmospheric image of the end of the 'Laing' yard & 'Laing' shipbuilding history in Sunderland. A beautiful image indeed, available in a
larger size
here. I learn that it came from 'Changing Tide, The
Final Years of Sunderland
Shipbuilding', by Ray Nichols, published by Sunderland and Hartlepool
Publishing in 1990. The view
is looking up river with Southwick beyond. At right is Wear Hopper No 3
(or maybe #4), built (both of them) at the Joseph L. Thompson yard, awaiting slurry from Weamouth Colliery for dumping at sea, a daily sight not that many years ago.
I have not sought permission to include the image here, but will remove
it (if sadly) upon request. But ... Stephen Swinhoe advises me that that vessel
shown is rather Adderstone, a hopper ship (built in 1950 as
Springwood) which used to take stone from the pit to sea for dumping.
I am advised also that there was a Laing shipbuilding business in Liverpool.
Related to that of the Sunderland Laings? Or possibly a quite different Laing family?
The detail is most similar.
The 'Baines' 1824 Liverpool Name Directory, records:
'Laing John & Philip & Co.', shipbuilders
& smiths,
located at 2 Gower st., in Liverpool, &
'Laing Philip', ship builder, residing (I think) at 4 South Hunter
street.
The 'Baines' 1825 Liverpool Street Directory with Residents, records:
'Laing J. &
P. and Co.' at 'GOWER STREET, 1, Cornhill', &
'Laing Philip' of 'HUNTER ST. S. 2, Hardman street'.
Is there a relationship with the Sunderland Laings? If you know, do please be in touch.
A summary history of the 'Laing' (yard & family) is available here.
Lists?
Firstly there is, on site now, a 'Laing' build list from its earliest days in
1794 thru to the very end. Here. There is
also, I read, a manuscript in the Tyne & Wear archives, which records
details about the Philip Laing built vessels. ('Philip Laing's Ships Particulars
Book' 'TWAS 1811/33/1'). Miramar's lists? 21 pages, (highest hull number
on page). It used to be
that you could click on the links that follow & get to the relevant Miramar
page. But no longer! The new procedure must be to go to Miramar (here) & log in (you
must be registered to view any page). And once you are logged in, return to this page & all the
following links should work for you:-
33,
60,
90,
170,
200,
231,
263,
291,
323,
514,
545,
574,
605,
635,
669,
695,
724,
754,
785,
815,
838.
The list continues re 'Doxford & Sunderland Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd. or maybe 'Group''
then to 'Doxford
& Sunderland Ltd.'
and then to 'Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd.'
Names of just a few of the vessels constructed by the 'Laing' companies - added
as I happen to spot references to them. In a table in build date sequence. And alphabetically within a year. But just a start! The
first of 3 pages, the second being here & the third being here.
Other vessels to be added in below when detail is available.
La Chocra, La Pampa, Polly, Vishva Pankaj. For which I have even less data than for the ones
listed below.
And that data is limited enough! Many more probably via a Google search.
| 1 |
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Horta
162 tons |
1794 |
A wooden brig. Built for Captain Forster of Whitburn. The second 'Laing' built
vessel. So far I have not located any significant detail or an image. |
| 2 |
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Kent
195 tons |
1814 |
First ship with chain cables (rather than hempen rope). Referred to
in 'Where Ships Are Born'. |
| 3 |
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Caledonia
411 tons
Hull 57 |
1815 |
A fully rigged ship. Its initial owner would seem to have been 'Laing & Co.' So built
on speculation?
Used in the tea trade. |
| 4 |
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Rockingham
427 tons
Hull 64 |
1818 |
A fully rigged ship. Per 1 (1830 wreck), 2
& 3 (177 passengers,
3rd group, & name list),
4 (5 ships,
incl. Rockingham, driven ashore),
5 (1833 offer of sale
of Rockingham hull, bottom of middle column), 6 (background data re Clarence & Rockingham).
The webmaster has many editions of Lloyd's Register available, see left, but the
captain & owner names are confusing. The vessel's initial owner would seem to have been 'J. Laing', so it
would appear that it was built
on speculation. By Sep. 10, 1819, the vessel was licenced for the 1819 season to
serve 'The East India Company', & was then owned by 'H. Blanshard', likely of London. Its first
Indian voyage was to Fort St. George, a military &
trading fort built in 1644 at what later became Madras, now Chennai, Tamil Nadu,
India. The fort is still there today, all of these centuries later. The 1824/25
edition of Lloyd's Register records 'Waughn' as the vessel's then owner, & the
vessel leaving London for Calcutta on Sep. 29, 1824 under the command of C.
(Charles) Beech (or Beach). The 1826/27 edition of Lloyd's Register reports the name of 'Fotheringham' as both the owner & the
captain. The vessel would seem to have traded for about 11 years from London to India,
including to the ports of
Bombay & Calcutta (today Mumbai & Kolkata). The 1830/31 edition of Lloyd's
Register indicates the vessel trading between London & the Swan River
Settlement, the settlement which later became the city of Perth in Western Australia,
with Fremantle its port
(Charles Fremantle, the Captain of HMS Challenger, declared the
Swan River Colony for Britain on May 2, 1829). On Jan. 9, 1830 (I think), the
vessel, chartered by Mr. Thomas Peel, cousin of British Prime Minister Robert
Peel, left London for the Swan River Settlement, Captain Haliburton
in command, with 177 passengers, a crew of 25 & a general cargo - to
continue the establishment of the colony - the vessel chartered & financed by
Solomon Levey. The vessel may then
have been owned by a Captain Willet. It arrived safely, on May 13, 1830, & on the
next day the passengers were landed. The vessel anchored at Cockburn Sound,
Careening Bay, off
Clarence. On May 20, 1830, a major gale from the north-west, a gale that lasted
two days & nights, hit the coast. Rockingham along with 4 other
vessels that had been moored at Gage's Roads & New Anchorage [Thames
(also a ship), Emily Taylor & James (both brigs) &
Bombay (a ketch)] were driven onto the beach, Rockingham
being
driven ashore broadside. A
contributing factor may have been that Rockingham's capstan
apparently broke. There was no loss of life, the ship was floated off &
anchored at Garden Island. It was repaired & put out to sea. It soon returned,
'in a
most leaky state', was surveyed & determined to be unseaworthy. It would
appear to have later sunk, in Apl. 1831, at its Garden Island moorings. In Jan. 1833,
the hulk of the ship was offered for sale by William Lamb, of Fremantle, along with 'chain
cable & an anchor for a ship of 500 tons', likely gear from the
Rockingham. The wreck is apparently still there today. The ship's
passengers established the nearby settlement of Rockingham, a few miles to the
south of Fremantle, presumably named after the ship. 'The Ship Rockingham'
(7,
8),
a 1980 17 page booklet written & most beautifully illustrated throughout by marine artist Ross H. Shardlow ('Shardlow'), covers the
history of the ship & also of Clarence, one of Western Australia's first
European settlements, dating from 1829/30. Shardlow also oil painted Rockingham being loaded for her final voyage.
The City of Rockingham has a fine wooden model of the ship on display in its
Administration building. Chris Mews advises (thanks Chris!) that his GGG
grandfather Thomas W. Mews, a shipwright, was one of the passengers on that
final voyage. Rodney Read,
whose ancestor George Read was also aboard, has kindly provided images of his
painting of Rockingham (at left) & of a second work seen here. Can you add
anything? #1898 |
| 5 |
|
Herald
234, later 235 tons
Hull 96
|
1822 |
A snow or brig, which was launched at Deptford on Feb. 10, 1822. The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR')
listed from 1822 thru 1844/45 & so far as I can see, not thereafter. The 'Laing'
build list on site indicates that Pirie & Co. of London, were the vessel's
initial owners. LR however records the vessel as initially owned by Laing, i.e.
by its builder, with J. Davis serving as the vessel's captain, for service ex
London in 1822. LR indicates that J. Pirie, (from 1826 Pirie & Co.), were the vessel's
owners from 1823 thru 1831 with J. Pirie serving as the vessel's captain thru 1825, 'Thompsn'
thereafter thru 1831 with 'Fleming' so serving for a short period later in 1831. This
newspaper announcement greatly clarifies the vessel's status. On Jul. 7, 1829,
the vessel, lying at West India Dock in London, was offered for sale at public
auction by John Pirie and Co. of Cornhill, London, with Wm. Thompson
her then commander.
Was 'Fleming' the high bidder or maybe 'Smith & Co.'? Under 'Pirie' ownership the vessel consistently served ex London, to Tobago in
1823, to Sierra Leone, West Africa, in 1825, to Jamaica in 1826, & to Berbice,
Guyana, from 1827 thru 1831. It would seem that 'Fleming' likely meant J.
Fleming, who owned the vessel, per LR, in 1832, for service from Cork, Ireland,
to Berbice. LR indicates that J. Fleming remained her captain in 1833 when W.
Smith, later Smith & Co. (per LR of Newcastle in 1834 & 1835 & of Sunderland thereafter
thru 1843/44), became the vessel's owners for service from London to Alexandria,
Egypt, in 1833, from Newcastle to Honduras in 1834/35 & from Liverpool to Sierra
Leone in all of the years from 1836/37 thru 1844/45. However it seems likely
that 'Smith' owned the vessel rather earlier that 1833 - I say that because the vessel is listed as
registered at Newcastle in Feb. 1830, owned by William Smith & Co.
of Newcastle. Per LR, E. Aspill served as the vessel's captain for a portion of
1834, as did H. Moxon who served thru 1835/36 & J. Noble from 1836/37 thru to
1844/45. I have not,
so far, seen any references to what finally happened to the vessel, nor exactly
when. Is it possible that you can help in that regard? #1966. |
| 6 |
|
Cubana
203 tons
Hull 134
|
1834 |
A snow. Cubana, which was launched on Oct. 7, 1834, is Lloyd's
Register ('LR') listed from 1835/36 thru 1838/39 only. It was, per LR, owned by P. Laing
of London, for initial service ex Sunderland (1835/36) but thereafter for
consistent service from Swansea, Wales, to Cuba. Per LR, R. Young was the
vessel's initial captain, but from 1836/37 'Bainbridge', possibly previously the
captain of John Hardy, became the vessel's captain. The vessel clearly sailed to
& from Cuba returning with cargoes of copper ore & likely, on its outbound
voyages, carrying cargoes of Welsh coal.
A little operational history. i) On Jan. 22, 1837, the vessel,
'Bainbridge' in command, arrived at Swansea with a cargo of copper ore ex Cuba.
She would appear to have been late arriving & there were concerns as to her
safety. Cubana had
been delayed having encountered severe weather & having put into Bermuda to make 'trifling' repairs. ii)
On Aug. 20, 1837, the vessel arrived again at Swansea from St. Iago de Cuba,
presumably with a cargo of copper ore. With 'Bainbridge' in command. It would appear that the vessel did not
only carry copper ore! The vessel was detained at Swansea by the Coast Guard
who found a large quantity of cigars aboard the vessel. The vessel was released
from detention in early Oct. 1837 upon payment of a £20 fine. It seems likely
that 'Bainbridge', having left this vessel, became the master of another vessel
of identical name.
What finally happened to Cubana? Wikipedia tells us (thanks!) that on Jul. 2, 1838,
Cubana, en route from Swansea to Havana, Cuba, was wrecked on the Bahama Banks.
As advised by the 'Morning Post' of London on Sep. 1, 1838. This (in red) contemporary newspaper account advises that she was rather en route to
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A., & that 'Capes' was her then captain.
Dr. E. Lee Spence has kindly been in touch, re
his upcoming book, to be published later in 2022, entitled 'Shipwrecks of the
Old Bahamas Islands', Sea Research Society, Columbia, S. Carolina, U.S.A. Dr.
Lee's proposed words re Cubana:- The Cubana, Captain Capes, of London, bound from Swansea, Wales, to St. Jago de Cuba [Santiago, Cuba], was totally lost on July 2, 1838,
'on
the Gingerbread Grounds, a reef so called on the northern edge of the Great Bahama Bank. Crew saved.' She was the property of P. Laing, Esq., Deptford. She was also shown as bound from Swansea to Savannah,
and simply as 'lost on the Great Bahama Banks.' We thank Dr.
Spence for his words.
Can you add to or
correct the above account? #2505 |
| 7 |
|
Duchess of Northumberland
541 tons
Hull 132
4276
|
1834 |
A ship, later a barque. The vessel, which was launched on Jul. 8, 1834, is Lloyd's
Register ('LR') listed from 1835/36 thru 1856/57. Its initial owner, thru 1842/43 or thereabouts, was, per LR, Parkin & Co. of London. For service from
London to Australia, with, per LR, 'R. Joblin' serving as her initial captain, then, from 1836/37 thru 1839/40 'Roxburg', & from 1839/40 thru 1842/43 at
least 'Geare', but such Geare data is clearly wrong. Charles Scott was her captain in Jan. 1841, likely until about 1845/46, long after the vessel was sold in or about 1843/44.
Her service to Australia under 'Parkin'
ownership? The following is mainly thanks to 'Trove', Australia, & is 'best efforts'. 1) Duchess of Northumberland was chartered by the Australian Government, at a charter
fee of 2,000 guineas, to carry Irish female emigrants to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The vessel left London on Sep. 18, 1834 for Dublin & Cork, Ireland,
under the command of Robert Jobling with Dr. James Eckford her surgeon & medical doctor. The vessel left Cork, on Oct. 19, 1834 & arrived at Sydney on Feb. 27,
1835 with 254 emigrants, 230 of which were female, principally, I read, farm servants. (Data re such voyage). I read that in May 1835, at
Sydney, 'Jobling' married Helen Kandiana Lockyer. And on Jun. 16, 1835, the vessel left for Madras (now Chennai), India, with 33 horses & about a dozen passengers including members of the military
& Mrs. Jobling, of course. Now George Hibbert, an 1804 London built barque, had left Madras for London, encountered a severe gale en route, became damaged & leaky & lost
many crew members, but made it to Coringa on the east coast of India. Duchess of Northumberland went there to take on board George Hibbert's previous cargo. And left on Oct. 11, 1835 for London. Via
St. Helena. I did not spot when it arrived back at the Downs. 2) On May 5, 1836 the vessel, now under the command of David Roxburgh, departed London in ballast for Cork. Which it left on May 29, 1836, encountering a severe
gale en route, & arriving at Sydney on Oct. 3, 1836 - with 15 or so cabin passengers & 329 emigrants in steerage, 37 male & 282 female. On Mar. 19, 1837
the vessel left for London with 1503 bales of wool, 298 cedar logs, hides etc. & arrived back in England on Jul. 17, 1837. Such cargo of wool would seem to have been, at
the time, the largest quantity of wool ever shipped ex Australia. 3) In mid Nov. 1837 the vessel (Roxburgh) left London, Gravesend, via Plymouth, for Sydney with a
general cargo & 35 or so cabin passengers, And with 217 passengers in steerage, principally mechanics & agricultural labourers. It arrived at Sydney on Apl. 22, 1838 & on Jun. 19, 1838, left Sydney in
ballast for Java. It must have been there a while. I think that I read that on Mar. 16, 1839, the vessel was at Cape of Good Hope ('CGH'), South Africa,
on its return voyage to the U.K. 4) On or about Aug. 8, 1839, the vessel, Frederick Geare now in command, left London, Gravesend, for Adelaide, South Australia, where it arrived on Dec. 17, 1839 with 11 cabin passengers & 250 in steerage.
Such steerage numbers may be in error - I also have read that 226 were landed - 59 males, 60 females & 107 children.
(Data re such voyage). On Jan. 22, 1840,
Duchess of Northumberland left for Batavia in ballast. It later arrived at Colombo (Ceylon, now Sri Lanka) on May 13, 1840, presumably on its return voyage to London. 5) On Jan. 1, 1841, Charles
Scott in command, the vessel left London, via Plymouth, for Port Philip, Melbourne, where it arrived on Jun. 3, 1841, with 18 cabin passengers & 260
bounty emigrants. Have also read 234 bounty emigrants. Data re such arrival. It went on to Sydney, with some of the
same cabin passengers & 16 in steerage, & on Jul. 27, 1841 left Sydney for Guam (an island E. of the Philipines), in ballast.
It was, I read, in Chinese waters in Dec. 1841. 6) On Sep. 19, 1842 the vessel left Gravesend, London, for Hobart, Tasmania, Scott in command, via Sheerness or
Dublin (have read both). With 268 male convicts & cabin passengers including many members of the 51st & 99th regiments. On Feb. 15, 1843, the vessel left, in
ballast, for Bombay (now Mumbai), India. And presumably onwards to London.
LR of 1844/45 reports that the vessel was now owned by the well-known firm of Dunbar & Co.
(or Sons) of London, which would seem to have owned the vessel for the rest of its life. For service, where LR indicated, i) from London to Bombay, in 1844/45,
ii) to Melbourne, Australia, in 1848/49 & 1849/50, iii) to CGH in 1850/51 & iv) to Australia in 1851/52 & 1852/53. With C. Scott her captain thru 1845/46, J.
Scott in 1846/47 & 1847/48 (likely incorrect), 'Freeman' in both 1849/50 & 1850/51. LRs of 1851/52 & 1852/53 do not list a captain's name. From 1853/54 thru 1855/56, per LR,
'Mitchell' served as the vessel's captain & finally, in 1856/57, 'M'Hardy'.
More voyages to Australia. When owned by Dunbar & Sons. 7)
Duchess of Northumberland, Benjamin Freeman her master, left
London on Jul. 8, 1847 & Plymouth 11 days later, for Adelaide, South Australia, where it arrived on Oct. 29, 1847 with 254 Government emigrants, mainly miners. It left on Nov. 16, 1847 for
Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. 8) On Sep. 29, 1848, the vessel (Freeman) left Deptford, London, for Melbourne via Plymouth. With 216 emigrants. It arrived at Melbourne
on Jan. 15, 1849 & sailed for Guam on Feb. 14, 1849. 9) The vessel (Freeman) left London via Plymouth (left Sep. 27, 1850), for Moreton Bay, Brisbane, with 29 married
couples, 63 single males, 47 single females & 60 children. It arrived at Moreton Bay on Jan. 31, 1851, went on to Sydney & left Sydney on May 15, 1851 for Calcutta with a cargo that included 288
tons of coal. It arrived back at Sydney on Nov. 25, 1851 with a cargo of Indian products, having left Calcutta on Sep. 7, 1851. It finally departed for London on Apl. 23, 1852. 10) The vessel left Woolwich, London, on Nov. 27, 1852, George
Mitchell in command, for Hobart, Tasmania, with 216 female convicts & 27 children. It arrived at Hobart on Apl. 21, 1853 & left on Jun. 10, 1853
for Sydney & later, on Jul. 5, 1853, left Sydney for Guam, in ballast. On Sep. 3, 1853, the vessel, I read, arrived at Bombay. 11) On Aug. 10, 1854, the vessel (Mitchell) left London for Hobart, arriving there on
Dec. 6, 1854 with 255 Government emigrants. On Jan. 6/8, 1855, it left Hobart for Ceylon in ballast. 12) On Oct. 30, 1855 the vessel, George McHardy now in command, left Gravesend for Adelaide, via Southampton (left Nov. 26, 1855) with
246 emigrants later revised to 243. It arrived at Adelaide on Feb. 29, 1856, after a voyage of 94 days, (data
re such arrival), was advertised to depart for Batavia & Guam in late Mar. 1856 but, I read, arrived at Singapore on May 8, 1856.
A 'Google' snippet has an illustration of
Duchess of Northumberland which looks like a
ship-of-the line. With false gun ports, I presume. However the vessel did have 4 guns - at least at the time of voyage
#6 above.
I have read that the vessel was 124 ft. 9 in. long. From 1846/47, LR listed the vessel as a barque. No crew lists for the vessel are available.
I read that on Jun. 5, 1858, a vessel of the name, I suspect this vessel, left Quebec for Portsmouth, Waddell in command.
What happened to Duchess of Northumberland? Wikipedia advises (thanks!) that on Oct. 29, 1858 a
vessel of the name, surely this vessel, en route from Quebec City, Canada, to Portsmouth, Hampshire, was abandoned in the N. Atlantic. Further that her crew of 9 were
rescued by Marion. It would be good to be able to make available here the source report, which was in 'The Standard' of London on Dec. 9, 1858. I note, in that regard, that LR of 1858/59 listed 10 vessels named
Marion. Hopefully the exact reported text might provide greater detail about the identity of both vessels. But hopefully, too, a detailed account of the abandonment from another source will one day emerge. Can
you add anything? Or correct, in any way
at all, the data recorded above? #2351 |
| 8 |
|
Alderman Thompson
272/293 later 271 tons
Hull 154
24663
|
1840 |
A barque, built by Laing & Simey. The vessel, which was launched in Oct. 1840, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1840/41 thru
1863/64. It was initially owned, thru 1852/53 at least, per LR, by P. Laing of
Sunderland (Laing & Co. from 1848/49). The North of England Maritime
Directory of Apl. 1848 tells us that
Alderman Thompson was then owned by P. Laing of
Bishopwearmouth & F. Ridley of London. Per LR, 'Darling' was her initial
captain thru 1847/48 except, possibly, for a period in 1846/47, F. Hudson for
that possible period in 1846/47 & in 1848/49 & 1849/50 & J. Porter from 1851/52
thru 1853/54.
The LR 1853/54 edition has limited data which suggests that
the vessel may then have been in process of sale. LRs of 1854/55 & 1855/56 report W.
Cooke of Sunderland as the vessel's new owner, for service from Hartlepool to the Baltic,
with W. Simpson serving as the vessel's captain - in fact all the way from
1854/55 thru 1863/64. Now Marwood's North of England Maritime Directory of Mar. 1854 records William Cooke of
Sunderland as the vessel's owner with Thos. M.
Smith her then captain. Turnbull's Shipping Register ('TR') of 1855 essentially
confirms such data but spells the owner's surname as Cook. TR of 1856 reports
the vessel, now of 271 tons, as owned by W. Cooke. As does Christie's Shipping
Register of 1858 (William Cooke).
LRs of 1856/57 thru 1861/62, list W.
Gooke (with a 'G') of Sunderland as the vessel's owner for service ex Ramsgate.
With W. Simpson her captain.
Some operational detail. i) On or about Apl.
21, 1843, the vessel, Darling in command, arrived at Swansea, Wales, with copper
ore ex Cuba. And soon left for Cuba again, in ballast. ii) On Sep. 14, 1843, the
vessel (Darling) again arrived at Swansea ex Cuba with copper ore. iii) On Feb. 28, 1853, per Wikipedia, the vessel was driven
ashore at Hartlepool. iv) At midnight on Oct. 15, 1855, while the
vessel was proceeding, in ballast, from Portsmouth to Sunderland, it was in
collision, off Dover, with Ericsson an American almost 2,000 ton paddle steamship.
Ericsson, proceeding at 10 knots without a proper look-out, also failed to offer
assistance after the collision. Ericsson was held at the High
Court
of Admiralty to be
at blame for the collision. v) Again per Wikipedia, on Oct. 14, 1862, the vessel ran
ashore at Cardigan, Wales. Glen Johnson kindly tells us here
(page search for Alderman Thompson), that the vessel was driven onto
Cardigan Bar attempting to enter Cardigan with a cargo of timber from Quebec for John S. Williams.
Further that her crew were saved, & 'there was some hope of salvaging the vessel'.
This article tells us that the vessel was later moved, by the
force of the gale, to a
safer spot - at the mouth of the river Tivy.
LR of 1863/64 notes that
the vessel had been 'Wrecked'. I have tried, without success, to find out
when the vessel was wrecked & the circumstances. I note that the vessel was last listed in
the Mercantile Navy List for 1863 & the wreck may well have been in that year. Can anybody
tell us what happened & when? But ... could it be, I wonder, that it
proved impossible to salvage the vessel after its grounding at Cardigan?
92.0 ft. long. No crew lists are available re the vessel. #2303 |
| 9 |
|
Cressy
634 & 720 (later 673) tons
Hull 158 |
1843 |
A fully rigged 3-masted wooden ship, similar in appearance to a 'Blackwall
Frigate' i.e. with imitation gun ports. That said, the vessel would seem to have
had 4 guns on its 1843 voyage to Hobart. Per
1 (Duncan Dunbar history),
2 (convict passengers, 1843 voyage to Van Diemen's
Land, i.e. Tasmania),
3 & 4 (1850 voyage to Lyttelton),
5 (2 images of 1850
Cressy arrival at Port Lyttelton ex 6 & 7),
8 (related colour image), 9 (extensive NZ archive materials re Cressy).
The vessel is not Miramar listed. 130.0 ft. long, signal letters HBKQ. Built for Duncan Dunbar & Co., of London,
for an intended voyage per Lloyd's Register to Hobart, then Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania. On Apl.
30, 1843, the vessel left Plymouth
on its maiden voyage,
James Molison in command, with 296
convicts aboard, bound for Hobart, arriving there on Aug. 20, 1843, with 295
convicts, after a voyage of
112 days. A prominent passenger was Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, appointed the
6th Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land. He was landed at nearby? Lagoon
Bay, the vessel having overshot the entrance to Storm Bay due to a navigational
problem. Do read below about just one of those
296 convicts. The vessel left for Sydney, New South Wales, 'with troops &
stores', went on to Guam in ballast & eventually returned to London. On May 10,
1847, the vessel left Plymouth for Adelaide, South Australia, with 278
emigrants. It arrived at Adelaide on Aug. 19, 1847 after a voyage of 97 days, &
later left for Bombay. By 1846/47, the vessel had been rerigged as a barque, & likely was serving
Barbados, West Indies. Later, in 1850, the vessel was one of 4 vessels engaged
by 'The Canterbury Association' that carried
passengers to New Zealand ('NZ') - the others being Charlotte-Jane,
Randolph &
Sir George Seymour. With Captain J. D. Bell in
command, Cressy carried 'about 155 passengers', both
colonists & emigrants, from Gravesend & Plymouth (left Sep. 7, 1850) to
Port Lyttelton,
NZ, for Canterbury, arriving on Dec. 27, 1850, 10/11 days later than
the other three ships in part because her fore-top-mast 'had been badly sprung' S. of the Cape of Good
Hope. Can anybody explain the many references to 'about 155 passengers'? 4 refers to
the ship having landed 200 emigrants & 5
seems to list 219 names. Perhaps 155 was the number of adult passengers? The vessel returned to London
in Dec. 1851, via Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) &
Madras, (now Chennai), India. On Jan. 11 or 12, 1856, the vessel arrived at
Sydney, ex Plymouth, with 264 'statute adult' emigrants, chiefly Irish
agricultural workers. During the voyage, a sailor fell overboard from aloft &
was lost. The vessel later (Feb. 17, 1856) left for Madras. On Jul. 13, 1857, a vessel named Cressy left England for
Calcutta, India, with 238 troops to help quell the Sepoy mutinies (Indian
Rebellion of 1857). A large
number of ships (a total of 72) were, it would seem, commissioned by the East India Company to
carry needed troops (27,452 men) to India, & the ship may very well have been 'our'
Cressy, & not the 80 gun Navy ship of identical name. What later happened to the vessel? It would seem
that the vessel, always named Cressy, continued to be
owned by Duncan Dunbar to about 1860, mainly trading to India. The 1860/61
edition of Lloyd's Register records that the vessel had then been sold, to 'Castellain
& Co.', of Liverpool - still trading to India. And the 1864/65 edition advises
that the vessel had foundered.
This listing was advanced with the assistance of
Tony Worman, of Elmswell, Suffolk, whose great great granduncle, Frederick Grimmer, was one of
the 296 convicts sent to Hobart in 1843. Before being placed aboard Cressy, Frederick,
just 19 years old, was imprisoned for about 13 months, along with
many others, aboard HMS York, a hulk moored at Gosport, Hampshire. A
sentence of 7 years, 13 months in a hulk, & a one-way ticket to Hobart, for his awful crime,
which was, I am advised, stealing 14 lbs of copper! Thanks, Tony, for your welcome
input. Can anybody provide detail as to the vessel's loss
in or about 1863/4, or otherwise add to or correct the
above? #1881 |
| 10 |
|
Agincourt
543 (or 669) tons (561 in 1872/73)
Hull 161
83
|
1844 |
A fully rigged ship, with imitation gun ports - which was reduced to a barque in
1854/55. Intended to be Abyssinia. But launched as
Agincourt for Duncan Dunbar, of London. James Laing's first ship built after he took over
the business in 1843. Referred to, as Agincourt,
in 'Where Ships Are Born'.
1 (extensive details),
2 (1849 voyage to
Australia),
3 (1855 voyage).
The vessel made a number of voyages to Australia. Some notes re just a few of
the many such voyages. On Jul. 5, 1844, Agincourt, Captain Neatby in command, left Woolwich,
River Thames, for
Norfolk Island ('NI'), Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) with about 225 convicts ex Millbank
Penitentiary. 220 convicts were landed at NI on Nov. 9, 1844 (a
number died during the passage & one escaped at Cape of Good Hope) & the ship
left for Sydney, New South Wales on the 12th. It returned to NI
where a number of members of the 99th & 58th Regiments tried to escape but were
recaptured. On Jan. 23, 1845 the vessel departed for London, via Ceylon &
Calcutta, India. On Oct. 10, 1849, the vessel left Plymouth for Adelaide, South
Australia (arrived Feb. 1, 1850) with 261 passengers & emigrants. It left Hobart
for San Francisco, U.S.A., on Apl. 21, 1850 under the command of Captain
Cumberland. On Dec. 4, 1855, the vessel, Captain E. J. Pashley in command, again
arrived at Adelaide ex Plymouth with 240 Irish emigrants. There were many
additional voyages to Australia, it would seem every year thru 1860. Search at Trove
Australia. In 1862/63, when Duncan Dunbar died,
the vessel became owned by William Henry Haynes, initially of London & later of
Liverpool. Signal letters HBKN. Lloyd's Registers record intended service to
Aden, India, S. America, New Orleans & Spain in her later years. I cannot tell
you what eventually happened to her. The vessel was still recorded in the Lloyd's
Register of 1885/86 but was not recorded in the 1887/88 edition. 1 advises
(thanks!) that in 1878 the vessel was sold to Spanish owners who continued to have her surveyed
& registered in England - until 1885 after which her fate is unknown. Jason Naylor,
of Brisbane, Australia, whose ancestors arrived aboard the vessel at Port
Adelaide in Feb. 1850, seeks any kind of image of the vessel. You might contact
the webmaster also if any site visitor has such an image or otherwise has anything to add.
Gillian Kelly has been in touch re a voyage that is covered at link 1, but which
I did not otherwise list above, an 1848
voyage to Sydney with 264 immigrant passengers all of whom were English lacemakers from Calais, France. Gillian advises
(thanks!) that they were caught up in the
1848 French revolution as a result of which lace factories in Nottingham & in
Calais closed their doors. Faced with the prospect of the English poorhouses they all chose to
emigrate to Australia. Gillian has a list of the passengers on that voyage in a
'pdf' available here.
The new 'Lacemakers of Calais' website (in progress) is here. The vessel left London, Gravesend,
on Jun.
12, 1848, & arrived at Sydney on Oct. 6, 1848 under Captain Scott. An
extensive article about the lacemakers can be read here. |
| 11 |
|
Philip Laing
547 (or 459) tons
Hull 167
15085 |
1846 |
A barque, an emigrant ship. Per 1
(image of
ship's arrival at Dunedin, New Zealand ('NZ') in 1848),
2 (a 1948 postage stamp),
3 (passenger list), 4 (model of
Philip Laing ex the Otago Witness (5) of Oct. 1, 1902).
Built for 'Laing & Ridley' of Liverpool. Signal letters LQTN. The ship was the 2nd ship to arrive at Dunedin, Otago,
New Zealand ('NZ'), with immigrants. She left Greenock, Glasgow, Firth of Clyde, on Nov. 23, 1847, for
NZ (via Milford Haven) & arrived at Port Chalmers, (Dunedin), on Apl. 15, 1848 with 243 immigrants aboard (but there are other
reported numbers). Her Captain was A. J. Ellis, & the Rev. Dr. Burns was
the leader of the emigrants, all Scots Free Churchman seeking a better life. And
not therefore emigrating to avoid religious persecution. I have read that the
passage took 112 days with 216 miles covered on her best day's run. And that the
cost of passage varied from 35 to 60 guineas for cabin, 20 guineas for
fore-cabin & 16 guineas for steerage passengers. That data from 'Sea Breezes' in
early 1948. Her ship's bell, I read, was used to replace the cracked
& broken bell of the local town church. There are many links to the
above 1847 voyage but what happened to the vessel later on? I have seen a ref. to a
Dec. 23, 1856 arrival at Wellington, NZ. And a voyage with 56 passengers ex
London (left Jul. 31, 1856) to Lyttelton via Wellington, under the command of
Captain J. S. Cadenhead & referenced to Frederick Young & Co.'s Line or to the
Black Ball Line
(look under 1856). It arrived at Lyttelton on Feb. 13, 1857. But
later that that? Jan Kilham has been in touch (thanks Jan!) to advise that her
great-great uncle, James Wilson, & his wife Jane, emigrated from Scotland to NZ
in 1862/63. After Jul. 29, 1862 when they had married in Scotland & before Feb.
or Mar. 1863 when their child was born in NZ. Much much later, in Jan. 1907, John R. (Robertson) Wilson, her grandfather, also emigrated from Scotland to
NZ - on the Corinthic. John was adamant that James & Jane Wilson had sailed, back in
1862/63, on the Philip Laing. Now Jan has searched extensively for
proof of such a voyage & has found nothing. Hopefully some data will one day
emerge that tells us what finally happened to the vessel - wrecked or went
missing perhaps - to confirm that such a voyage was even possible. Anything you
can add? |
| 12 |
|
Australasia
512 (or 500 or 485) tons
Hull 170 |
1847 |
A 3 masted wooden barque, a 'convict' ship, for one voyage at least. Per 1
(data, 1849 'convict' voyage to Hobart),
2 (passenger (convict) list in report of Alexander Kilroy, the vessel's surgeon.
But, a puzzle to me, the passenger list is no longer at that site & I cannot WWW find
it anywhere else. I wonder why it was cut? If anybody has it, I'll add it in on
site so it IS available),
3 (extensive detail re Belinda King,
a 'convict', aboard because she killed a sheep 'with intent to steal same'),
4 &
5
(1855 wreck data).
The vessel is not Miramar listed. The webmaster has some editions of Lloyd's
Register available to him ex 'Google' books, see left. 117.0 ft. long. Built for 'Riddell & Co.'
('Riddell') of London, for service
to Hobart, Tasmania. Riddell, were, it would seem, merchants, commission agents,
dealers & chapmen & went bankrupt on Nov. 9, 1855. Per Lloyd's just one Captain, i.e. 'McPherson', it would seem during the
'Riddell' period of ownership. But apparently not. On Jun. 26, 1849, the vessel
left Kingstown, Dublin, Ireland, under the command of James Connell, with 200 female
convicts, 3 of whom died during the course of the 95 day voyage to Hobart,
Tasmania, (Van Diemen's Land). The vessel arrived at Hobart on Sep.
29, 1849, with 197 convicts & 28 children. These were not convicts as we now
understand the meaning of the word - their 'crimes' were petty indeed. In the 1855/56 edition
of Lloyd's, 'McPherson & Co.' had become the vessel's
owners with D. Lindsay the Captain. On Mar. 19, 1855, Captain Lindsay in command
(McPherson the captain per 5), the vessel was at anchor, at Portland, SW Victoria,
Australia, in process of loading a cargo of wool for Melbourne, also in the
State of Victoria, & ultimately no doubt for London. A cable, presumably attached to the
ship's anchor, parted in a south easterly gale & the vessel dragged its
2nd anchor. It was driven stern first onto a beach or reef, turned broadside &
broke up. It is believed with no lives were lost in the disaster. These images relate - 1
& 2.
Robin Mcilraith
tells me (thanks Robin!) that the crew were, in fact, stranded for a month, then picked up by a small sailing ship
& taken to Sydney where the crew was paid off. Constant,
a similar sized (535 ton) barque, built at Sunderland in 1843) was also wrecked at Portland in the same gale. Anything to add?
|
| 13 |
|
Camperdown
993 later 946 tons
Hull 168
23436
|
1847 |
Camperdown? A North Tyneside village. But
it seems likely that the vessel was named in relation to the Camperdown naval
battle - against the Dutch on Oct. 11, 1797. A battle where Jack Crawford,
an ordinary seaman from Sunderland, became a hero.
It is a pleasure to list a vessel which survived
many decades of service but did not end up abandoned at sea or broken to pieces on some rocky shore.
Camperdown is such a vessel. It ended up, condemned I read, after about 39 years
of service.
Camperdown, which was launched on May
31, 1847, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1848/49 thru 1883/84. LR listed as a ship through 1876/77 & thereafter as a barque. The
webmaster notes that 15 Survey documents re the vessel are available via the
Lloyd's Register Foundation.
Its initial owner, thru 1867/68 was D. Dunbar of London (Dunbar & Co.
from 1863/64) - which means Duncan Dunbar (1803/1862). With, per LR, 'Denny' (H. Denny from 1857/58) serving as the vessel's captain from 1848/49 thru 1861/62. Then C. (Charles) Hodder from 1861/62 thru
1863/64, J. Cousins from 1863/64 thru 1866/67, W. (William) Black briefly thru 1867/68.
The webmaster has not so far attempted to research the vessel's service history
while 'Dunbar' owned. Perhaps later should time permit. Per LR, the vessel would seem to have always traded ex London, to India thru 1853/54 & in 1861/62 & 1862/63.
And to Australia from 1857/58 thru 1859/60. He notes that the vessel was damaged in 1858, perhaps as the result of a fire, & was repaired in Oct. 1859
to repair
damage the result of a grounding.
The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') lists the vessel from 1857 thru 1885 at least (no 1886 MNL edition is available) & records
Camperdown as London registered
from 1857 thru 1883 but in 1884 & 1885, rather registered at Windsor, Nova
Scotia, Canada.
I refer you to an article about the Dunbar family, available in archive here.
The Dunbar family, I read, owned a wine & spirits business in the east end of London, but 'our' Duncan Dunbar is noted for being a shipowner. In his lifetime he apparently owned
73 ships, 43 of them in 1858. Described as being, in his time, the greatest British fleet owner.
Soon after Duncan Dunbar died, on Mar. 06, 1862, steps were commenced to sell
off his then fleet of vessels.
In the month of Sep. 1862, from Sep. 01, 1862,
Camperdown was advertised for sale, at a public auction to be held in London on
Sep. 24, 1862. A sale announcement. I read that the vessel was acquired by
Gellatly, Hankey, and Sewell, for £6,275. The webmaster at present cannot explain the vessel being owned, per LR, from 1863/64 thru 1867/68 by Dunbar & Co., nor the MNL
entries of 1860 thru 1867
which list John S. A. Dunbar, of London, as the vessel's then owner or managing owner. John S. A. Dunbar, is presumably Dunbar family related but I have not figured out the
relationship. Need help!
In 1867/68, per LR, the vessel became owned by Bonus & Co., of London, with W. Nattros serving as captain thru 1867/68 & then G. (George) Franklin. MNLs of
1868 thru 1870 record Charles W. Bonus, of London, as the vessel's
then owner.
I note that on Jun. 15, 1870, then lying in Millwall Docks,
London, Camperdown was again offered for sale. The vessel did not sell at such auction - it was still offered for sale thru Jul. 06, 1870. It seems likely that the vessel was
then acquired by Redway & Co., of Exeter, Devon, who are LR listed as her owners from
1870/71 thru 1873/74. MNLs of 1871 & 1872 list Thomas Redway, of Exmouth, Devon,
as the vessel's owner. I note that MNL of 1873 is not available. 'Franklin' & then R. Hills, per
LR, served as the vessel's captain while it was 'Redway' owned. While 'Redway' owned, the vessel, per LR, served New Orleans, U.S.A. ex Plymouth.
In 1873/74,
per LR, the vessel, still London registered but now of 946 tons, became owned by H. Andrews, which means,
per MNLs of 1874 thru 1883 (1882), Hugh Andrews of Eastfield Hall, Northumberland. Thru
1883/84 per LR. In 1873/74 for service from Cardiff, Wales, to India. While 'Andrews' owned, LR records 'Goodsall' as her captain from 1873/74 thru 1875/77 & then 'Angier' thru 1883/84. In 1883/84, LR notes the
vessel to have been 'Condemned'.
But one more ownership change it would seem. MNLs of 1884 & 1885
record Camperdown, now a barque, as registered at Windsor, Nova Scotia (Bay of Fundy), Canada, & owned by Allen Haley of Windsor.
But ... a Sunderland shipping website,
which website requests no links or recognition, tells us that by 1885 the vessel was rather registered at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. We thank such site.
153.0 ft. long, signal letters NRPH,
built almost entirely of teak, crew lists thru 1886 are available via this page.
Such dating (1886) seems to be a puzzle in view of the LR record of 1883/84 (been 'condemned').
But I learn that on Dec. 22, 1885, a vessel named Camperdown, stated to be Nova Scotia owned & surely 'our'
Camperdown, left Pensacola, Florida, U.S.A. for
Newcastle with a cargo of pitch pine. It put into St. Thomas (Virgin Islands, Caribbean) prior to Jan.
22, 1886 - 'leaks considerably ; is badly strained ; will have to be discharged'. Word came from St. Thomas, on Mar. 15, 1886, that
Camperdown
had been condemned & sold. The crew of Camperdown were later, on Apl. 03, 1886,
landed at Plymouth by Don, a Royal Mail Company steamship (built at Birkenhead in 1882). The webmaster has not spotted the name of
Camperdown's captain for
that final voyage.
Can anybody tell us more? #2807
|
| 14 |
|
Minden
742 & 916 (later 832) tons
Hull 172 |
1848 |
A fully rigged 3-masted ship.
Data about the vessel is confused, even the name which I have seen referred to as Mindon
& even
Mindoro.
Minden, however, is correct. A fully rigged ship most briefly
mentioned (one line in a table) in 'Blackwall Frigates' of 1922 by Basil Lubbock
(1876/1944). 148.0 ft. long, with a lion figurehead. The webmaster has many
editions of Lloyd's Register available to him almost entirely ex 'Google' books,
see left. The webmaster does not
pretend to be an expert on ships, most particularly about 'Blackwall
Frigates'. He understands, however, that the earliest such ships had sides
pierced with gun openings, so the vessels could become war ships if that proved
necessary. He thinks however that the later vessels were constructed rather to
look as though they were armed, to ward off pirates perhaps, but that the gun
ports were in fact imitations. As would be likely re this ship. By all means correct me if I have that wrong. Per
1 (an
85 page,
'Kevin Norman' research paper about Minden & her 1851 voyage to Fremantle),
2
(50% down, what a fine page!). There was a website about the Duncan Dunbar
family & ships - I had hoped that it would reactivate but it would not seem to have done
so - it was here
& here.
The vessel was built, for approx. £12,681, for
Duncan Dunbar
whose vast fleet was engaged as 'troopships in the Crimean War, carrying
convicts to Australia, emigrants to New Zealand & Australia, tea home from China
& spices & many other things from India'. Her maiden voyage was to Calcutta,
India, in 90 days, via the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, & that became her
regular route.
Along the way, Minden was chartered by The Admiralty for the
carriage of convicts to Australia. Do be sure to access the extensive data at 1.
And the additional data at
2 (Ward Swale),
both about a
Minden voyage as a convict ship which left Woolwich, London, on or
about Jul. 4, 1851. The final departure for
Fremantle, Western Australia, was from Plymouth, on Jul. 21, 1851, after picking
up additional convicts at Portsmouth, Cowes, Portland & Plymouth, with a total of 302 convicts & 459 aboard all told
including the crew & the pensioner guards.
The vessel returned to London via Madras, India, & there were later voyages to
Madras in the succeeding years. The vessel later voyaged from Liverpool to Melbourne,
Australia, it
would seem. 2 refers to an Apl.
26, 1856 voyage from Liverpool to Port Phillip, Melbourne, where it arrived on
Jul. 14, 1856 with a total of 351 passengers. Were they passengers, I wonder? Or
convicts? The
vessel was sold, in 1863, to William O. (Ogsten) Young, of Cornhill, London, was
sold again in 1868 to Edwin Fox, a merchant also of Cornhill, & in 1869 was
sold to H. A. Bell of London. H. A. Bell was also the vessel's captain, I see. The last listing for the vessel in Lloyd's
Registers is in the 1873/74 edition. I should note however, that the WWW site
referred to above, i.e. the site that is no more, used to indicate that the vessel had
in fact foundered,
in 1889, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while on a voyage from Quebec, Canada, to
Cardiff, Wales. Can you add
anything? A print or engraving of the vessel? |
| 15 |
|
Anglia
570 later 526 tons
Hull 176
555 |
1849 |
The barque, which was launched
on Jun. 20, 1849 & first registered, at Liverpool, on Sep. 18, 1849,
is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1851/52 thru 1877/78. Of
570 tons which became, per LR, 526 tons in 1875/76. Registered for its entire lifetime
at Liverpool. While in course of
construction, the vessel was offered for sale, certainly on Aug. 03, 1849.
It was, per LR,
owned thru 1871/72 by Prowse & Co., of Liverpool. Marwood's North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5, in
Mar. 1854
data,
lists the Liverpool registered vessel as then owned by Wm. Prowse sen., with Chas.
Gardner her then captain. While 'Prowse' owned, the vessel would seem to have had
many captains. Per LR 'CGardenr' thru 1857/58, S. Black in 1858/59 & 1859/60,
'Ball' from 1860/61 thru 1862/63, H. Beer briefly, 'Wilson' from
1863/64 thru 1865/66, 'Cambell' (no 'p') from 1865/66 thru 1867/68, D. Tod (one
'd') from 1867/68
thru 1869/70 & W. H. Burt from 1869/70 thru to 1875/76. The Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL')
confirm (from 1857) the vessel's Liverpool registration & record the vessel from
1865 at 526 tons & owned
from 1865 thru
1872
by Joshua Prowse of Liverpool.
Under 'Prowse' ownership, the vessel is LR
noted to have served Adelaide, S. Australia, from 1851/52 thru 1857/58.
Thereafter, right thru to 1871/72, the vessel is reported to have served India
ex Liverpool (1858/59 thru 1861/62, & from 1867/68 thru 1871/72). It also, per
LR, served India ex London in 1862/63 & ex Plymouth in 1865/66.
The vessel's voyages to Australia,
reported by the webmaster on a 'best efforts' basis ex 'Trove', Australia. 1) On Nov.
03, 1849, Anglia left Plymouth for Hobart, Tasmania, Charles Gardner in command,
Dr. Samuel Kennedy the vessel's surgeon superintendent, with a general cargo & many emigrants - 88 for
Hobart & 155 (plus a few cabin passengers) for Sydney, New South Wales
('NSW'). The passenger names. It arrived at Hobart on Feb.
03, 1850, & at Sydney on Feb. 22, 1850. On May 09, 1850, it left for England with a cargo that included bones, hoofs, horns & hides.
And wool. Have not spotted its arrival date in England but it was off Plymouth on Sep.
08, 1850. 2) The vessel (Gardner) left Gravesend (Nov. 03, 1850) & Plymouth (Nov. 10, 1850) for Adelaide where it arrived on Mar.
05, 1851 with
a general cargo & 120 passengers (list).
It left Adelaide for Melbourne on Mar. 21, & on Apl. 16, 1851 left Melbourne for Madras (now Chennai), India, with part of its U.K. cargo & no passengers. It
must have later safely arrived back in London because .. 3) On Jan. 18, 1852 (Gardner) the vessel left Gravesend, London, for Adelaide (arrived May 19, 1852)
with 6 cabin & 201 Government emigrant passengers. It left Adelaide on Jun. 27, 1852 for Point de Galle (Ceylon, now Sri Lanka) & Madras. 4) In very late Dec.
1852, Anglia (Gardner) left Calcutta for Hobart with a general cargo which include wheat, 14 passengers, 20 convicts & 12 constables. It arrived at Hobart
on Mar. 05, 1853, & on Mar. 19, 1853 left for Melbourne. 5) The vessel was to sail from London to Sydney in mid Mar. 1854. But it does not seem to have done so. It did, however, leave Gravesend on or about Jun.
05, 1855 for Newcastle,
NSW, W. M. Ball in command, with 100 labourers (248 persons in all) aboard along with a locomotive, rails etc. for the Hunter River Railway Company. It arrived at Newcastle on Sep. 24, 1855 & was told to go on to Sydney which instruction the
captain declined. The labourers were then held aboard the ship for 15 or so days because, I read, the railway company no longer existed! Its assets had been sold to Her Majesty's Government & the company dissolved. The labourers were permitted to
land on or soon after Oct. 09, 1855. It would seem that the vessel's cargo had to be unloaded from the vessel moored out in the Newcastle harbour, a slow & difficult process. On Dec. 13, 1855, the
vessel left Newcastle for Shanghai, China, with 320 (or 400) tons of coal. It would seem, however, to have rather gone to Hong Kong (arrived Feb.
07, 1856) & it left Hong Kong on Apl. 03, 1856 for Adelaide, in ballast, Ball in command,
with 335 Chinese in steerage & 3 passengers. Most of the Chinese passengers were landed on the beach at Adelaide. On Jun. 12, 1856 the vessel left for Sydney - since a number of his Chinese passengers refused to land at
Adelaide. On Jul. 12, 1856, the vessel left Sydney for Ceylon, so far as I can see, never to return to Australian waters.
LR of 1872/73 again recorded
'Prowse' as the vessel's owner but then struck the name through. Fortunately MNL comes to our rescue. It records
the vessel in 1874
& 1875 as owned by Geo. Wm. Wood of Liverpool.
LRs from 1875/76 thru 1877/78 list B. French & Sons, of Liverpool, as her new owner
& 'Downie' as her captain -
which owner name is confirmed by MNLs of
1876
& 1877 which list Bartholomew French, of Liverpool as Anglia's owner. The vessel is not listed in MNL of 1878.
124.0 ft.
long, signal
letters HDJW, many crew lists are available via this page.
Now LR of 1877/78 tells us that the vessel had 'Burnt'. I read (ex
here), that
at about 2.30 a.m. on Feb. 27, 1877, while en
route from Amsterdam to New York, U.S.A., with a cargo of empty (paraffin) casks, the vessel
caught fire & burned
30 miles SE of Orfordness or Orford Ness (near Harwich), Suffolk. The vessel was under the command of R. C. Downie with a crew of 12. Then owned by
B. French. The barque became enveloped in flames & was abandoned
by her crew, who took to the ship's longboat. With difficulty, in the high seas,
the crew kept the longboat afloat until later in the day when the entire crew were rescued by
Alarm, a Ramsgate smack commanded by Jack Reeves. And were landed
at Ramsgate. The account of Captain Downie.
Can anybody tell us
anything more? #2291 |
| 16 |
|
Mercia
567 later 597 tons
Hull 178
25224
|
1850 |
This vessel, a ship later a barque, was launched on May 30, 1850, &
first registered, at Liverpool, on Jun. 10, 1850
(scroll to #25224). It is Lloyd's
Register ('LR') listed from 1850/51 thru 1873/74, owned, thru its entire
lifetime per LR, by Prowse & Co. of Liverpool. For some varied service. To Calcutta
(now Kolkata, India), from Sunderland, in 1850/51 & 1851/52 & from Liverpool in 1852/53. For service ex London from 1853/54 thru 1860/61,
including service to Tasmania in both 1856/57 & 1857/58. From Liverpool i) to India in 1861/62 & from 1867/68 thru 1873/74, & ii) to the Sandwich Islands
(remote islands in the S. Atlantic, located 1,200 miles E. of Cape Horn), from 1864/65 thru 1866/67 & iii) from Sunderland to
Callao, Peru, in 1862/63 & 1863/64.
On Feb. 26, 1854, Mercia was
one of many ships engaged by the British Government for service as transport ships re the
Crimean War. These pages (1 & 2, ex
here) tell us that
J. Prowse was in 1854 the vessel's owner & that Mercia 'Conveyed artillery,
gun-carriages, and horses to
Constantinople and Varna ; afterwards employed on various services in the Black Sea,
until wrecked off the Katcha, 14 November 1854.' It would seem that she was
driven ashore in a hurricane as were many other fleet vessels. Varna is in
Bulgaria, on the Black Sea coast. Katcha, now Kacha, is also on the Black Sea coast a little to the N. of Sevastapol.
Such words are clearly inaccurate. Mercia cannot have been
wrecked & must have been repaired & returned to service.
Marwood's North
of England Maritime Directory of 1854/55
confirms that
the vessel was registered at Liverpool & owned by Joshua Prowse, of Liverpool,
with John Robbs serving as the vessel's captain. Turnbull's Shipping Register of
1855 has similar data with the captain, however, stated to be 'Robb'. The 'Joshua Prowse' ownership is
consistent in the Mercantile Navy Lists
('MNL') of 1865
thru 1868. The vessel is not
listed in MNLs of 1869 or 1870. During the period of 'Prowse' ownership, the
vessel had
just 4 captains. At least per LR! Robb thru 1855/56, F. Johns from 1856/57 thru 1861/62,
'Simmers'
from 1861/62 thru 1864/65 & J. Summers after 1864/65. (it would seem that
'Simmers' is correct).
Some details
of the vessel's 2 voyages to Australia. The vessel left London on Nov. 6, 1855,
William Ward in command, with a general cargo which included some livestock & 18
passengers. It arrived at Hobart Town, Tasmania, on Feb. 14, 1856 & on May
12, 1856 left Hobart for London carrying 26 passengers. The vessel left London
again,
Captain Ward in command, for Hobart (at Deal on Dec. 14, 1856) & arrived at Hobart
on Mar. 17,
n with 10 cabin passengers & 72 bounty immigrants. It left
Hobart for Madras (now Chennai), India on or about Apl. 30, 1857 & arrived at
Madras on Jul. 9, 1867.
LR first reported the vessel a barque in 1862/63 &
at 597 (increased from 567) tons in 1864/65. 134.0 ft. long, signal letters PFCN. A few crew lists
are available.
It is quite clear that LR was in error when it listed the vessel thru 1873/74.
This link (scroll to #25224) notes that
Mercia was lost as per a certificate
dated Apl. 06, 1868. In fact, the vessel was lost on Nov. 24, 1867 when at
Calingapatam (now Kalingapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on the Bay of Bengal coast),
Simmers in command. As a result of a terrific gale which hit
the coast of India, N. of Madras. The crew of Mercia were all saved. Per this
newspaper report ('Trove' we thank you!). Can you tell us anything
additional about the vessel's loss
and/or add to or correct the above text? #2290 |
| 17 |
|
Vimeira (or Vimiera)
1037 tons
Hull 182
806 |
1851 |
A fully rigged ship, built for the Australia trade. Per 1 (launch
in Illustrated London News - thanks to Australian National Maritime Museum!),
2 (also the launch),
3 (image of vessel, 10th item down page),
4 (summary of vessel's history),
5 (Diane
Oldman's extensive page about vessel).
The vessel is not Miramar listed. Much confusion as to the vessel's name. It was
registered as Vimeira & not as Vimiera. 165.0 ft. long, signal letters HFKR. Built for Duncan Dunbar & Sons. Sold 4 times,
I think, per
this
(no longer operative but will hopefully soon be resurrected)
page. i.e. 1863 to Gellatly, Sewell & Co., 1870 to 'J. & R. Grant', 1887
to 'T. Goldfinch', all three of London though 'Goldfinch' would seem to have
been of Whitstable, & 1888 to 'N. Olsen', of Arendal, Norway. Diane
Oldman tells me (thanks!) that Edward Gellatly was co-executer of Duncan
Dunbar’s will. The vessel became a barque in 1872.
The Mercantile Navy Lists of 1867 & 1870
both record,
Gellatly, Hankey, and Sewell, of
London, as the vessel's then owner while the 1880 edition reports John Grant, also of
London. The vessel was, I read, broken up in Dec. 1903. Anything you can add?
|
| 18 |
|
Ayres Quay
69 tons
Hull 186
2691
|
1852 |
A
schooner. Another vessel with difficulties as to its recording, most
particularly as to the correct spelling
of its name. Lloyd's Register ('LR') initially called it Ayers Quay thru 1856/57
& then Ayres Quay. The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') refers to the vessel as
Ayresquay from 1857 thru 1864 & then Ayres Quay. Turnbull's Shipping Register
('TR') of
1855 adds a comma, i.e. Ayre's Quay. All said & done I think Ayres Quay is
correct.
The vessel is LR listed from 1853/54 thru 1867/68,
always Sunderland registered & always for service as a Sunderland coaster. Owned thru
1856/57 by Laing & Co., of Sunderland, i.e. by its builder, with 'Robson' noted
to be the vessel's captain.
60.0 ft. long, signal letters HQFK, per LR it was of 92 tons which became 69 in 1861/62
- 69 or 70 tons was surely always correct, some crew lists are available via this page.
The above ownership data is suspect. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5, in Mar. 1854 data, lists
J. & G. Thompson, of Sunderland, as the then owner of Ayres Quay with Charles Crute
her captain.
From LR of 1857/58, 'Corner' of Sunderland was the vessel's
owner - 'M. Corner' from 1865/66. It would seem, however, that 'Corner' had
acquired the vessel earlier than 1857/58. TRs of 1855 & 1856 both list M. Corner
as the vessel's owner - TR of 1855 lists James Street as her then captain.
Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 clarifies the owner's name to mean Matthew
Corner.
The vessel's captains, per LR, while 'Corner' owned? 'Corner' from
1857/58 thru 1851/62, R. Sampson from 1861/62 thru 1865/66 & 'Blacksell' from
1865/66.
I learn that on Dec. 20, 1861, the vessel, 'Sampson' in command
arrived at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, France. And that on Feb. 01, 1861 the vessel took ground
at Ourdell. Which would seem to mean at Le Hourdell at the mouth of the Somme
river.
What finally happened to Ayres Quay? LR of 1867/68 notes that the vessel had been 'Wrecked'.
The webmaster has not, so far at least, learned what happened to the vessel nor
exactly
when. The vessel, 'Blacksell' in command, arrived at Sunderland from London on
Oct. 19, 1867. And on Nov. 29, 1867 the vessel left Sunderland for London (no
captain name referenced). The vessel's loss would accordingly seem to have been in late 1867
or perhaps in 1868.
Can
you add
anything? Maybe tell us about her loss? #2770 |
| 19 |
|
Amity
479 tons
Hull 211
4620 |
1854 |
First 'Laing' iron ship. A cargo ship. Per
1 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). Built for Smith, Scurfield & Co., of
London. Polish-born Józef Korzeniowski (later famous as writer Joseph Conrad)
served as the ship's second mate from
1891-93. Can you add
anything? |
| 20 |
|
Dunbar
1321 (or 1167) tons
Hull 190 |
1854 |
A clipper. 3 masts. An emigrant/cargo ship. Per
1
(data),
2
(re wreck),
3 (extensive data),
4 (data, about 30% down,
ex a talk (2006?) by Rear Admiral David Dunbar-Nasmith), 5 (a 'pdf' re wreck),
6 (rescue of Johnson). Said to be the largest ship then built in Sunderland. Built of English oak with decks of East India teak,
at a cost of over £30,000. Built for Duncan Dunbar but initially
requisitioned by the Royal Navy & used to transport troops
to the Crimean War. These pages (1 & 2, ex
here) tell us that
D. Dunbar was the vessel's owner when the vessel was chartered to provide
transport services re the Crimean War from Mar. 8, 1854. Dunbar 'Conveyed
a portion of the 17th Regiment to Gibraltar and Scutari ; afterwards employed conveying
troops, stores, &c., in the Black Sea ; and invalids to Corfu, where she
arrived 21 January 1855, & embarked invalids, women, children, and stores, for England
in the following month'. The vessel's first trip to Australia was in 1856. She stayed at Sydney for 3 months
before returning to London. Her second (& last) trip to Australia
commenced on May 31, 1857 with 63 (or 64?) passengers (many of whom were prominent citizens of
Sydney), a crew of 59 & a varied cargo that included dies for the colony's first
postage stamps. Captain Green was in command. On Aug. 21, 1857, in a gale & poor
visibility, the vessel ran aground approaching Sydney Harbour. The vessel was turned as
the breakers were seen ahead, but turned in fact closer to the cliffs. 1
says hit 'just to the south of The Gap on South Head.' Dunbar began to
immediately break up. All aboard were lost except for one - James Johnson, an able
seaman, who was hurled from the deck onto a
rocky ledge, climbed out of the reach of the waves & remained on the cliff face
until being rescued 1 1/2 days later on Aug. 22 by Antonia Wollier or maybe by the
diver Joseph Palmer (data varies, I read). 4 indicates 'an Icelandic
(but see 6) youth in the crowd volunteered to be lowered down the cliffs on a rope and
Johnson was hauled up. I am glad to say that the crowd were sufficiently moved
to have a collection for the Icelandic lad and he went home with £10 or £11 in
his pocket. (worth £400 at today's values).' An inquest was held - 'there may have
been an error of judgement in the vessel being so close to the shore at night in
such bad weather but they do not attach any blame to Captain Green or his
officers for the loss of the "Dunbar".' Johnson became a lighthouse keeper near
Newcastle & in 1866, as lifeboat coxswain, helped rescue the sole survivor from the wreck of Cawarra at Newcastle.
He may have
lived until as late as 1902. Anyway 121 died. Ship lost. Mass funeral held. List of passengers
& crew is
available. A dive site
today, but little left
to see, it would seem. The cliffs where she hit look brutal. A major disaster in Australian history - Australia's
Titanic. Again from 4:- 'A funeral was held in Sydney for
the dead. The Artillery band played the Dead March from Saul with fine
effect. Shops were closed and streets were lined with silent, awestruck
citizens.' Now Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) would seem to have written a
book entitled 'Following the Equator'. In it (at page 110) he seems to refer to the wreck of
Dunbar though he names it the Duncan Dunbar. It surely
looks like the same story. He writes, about Johnson 'He was a person with a
practical turn of mind, and he hired a hall in Sydney and exhibited himself at
sixpence a head till he exhausted the output of the gold fields for that year'.
History is dull? Anything to add? |
| 21 |
|
Black Diamond
588/399, later 634/408 (gross/net) tons
Hull 216
24519 |
1855 |
An
iron steamship. Per
1 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). 176.0 ft. long, later 191.8 ft. long,
signal letters PBFN, 70 HP engines by manufacturer unknown. I have long recorded here
that the vessel was built for J. Hughes et al, of London. Such data originated
in a Sir James Laing & Sons build list published by World Ship Society. I cannot
confirm the data via Lloyd's Registers ('LR') which first seem to list the vessel
in 1859/60 when the vessel is stated to be owned by Stobart & Co. of London.
Anyway, the vessel is LR listed from 1859/60 thru 1867/68, then some years in
which it is not recorded, & from 1874/75 thru
1892/93 at least, though I cannot access every year in that period. From 1859/60
the vessel is listed as owned by Stobart & Co. ('Stobart') of London for service initially
ex Hartlepool but from 1860/61 ex Hull. In
late Apl. 1866, the vessel, then owned by Stobart, ran aground at the entrance to South Dock,
Sunderland. The resulting damage was repaired.
Ownership must have changed during the period in
which the vessel was not recorded. The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') of 1870 records
Charles R. Fenwick of London as her then owner. From 1874/75 to
1892/93 the vessel, now of 191.8 ft. & 634 tons gross, is LR listed as owned by Fenwick & Co. of
London. That
ownership data conflicts, however, with the MNLs of both 1880
& 1890 both
of which record Wm. Stobart of Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland, as her owner. I presume that the vessel had been rebuilt & lengthened.
I now see (here)
that in early Dec. 1882 a major storm hit the U.K. causing great destruction
around the country & damaging vessels around the whole coast. Black Diamond was
one of the effected ships. En route from London, it stranded a mile & 1/2 south
of the lighthouse at Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, on Dec. 6, 1882. Her crew of 15 were rescued, I read, by
rocket apparatus. I read also, at a site which requests no links or recognition that
the vessel had been en route, in ballast, from London to Sunderland, and that the
vessel was subsequently salvaged & repaired.
'Crewlist.org.uk' records that the vessel ceased to be registered in 1893, while LR of
1892/93 records that the vessel was 'Lost by Collision'. On the evening of Jan
6. 1893, Black Diamond was en route 'from the north' to America with a cargo of
coal, when it came into collision with Progress, a steamship, in Blackwall
Reach, River Thames, London. And sank. Progress, laden with fish, lost her anchor
& chain & her stem was twisted. As per these newspaper reports (1 &
2). Progress was likely of 178 tons & built by Murdoch &
Murray, of Pt. Glasgow, in 1880. A great
many crew lists for the vessel, thru 1893, are available here. Is there anything
you can add? |
| 22 |
|
La Hogue
1331 (or 1321) tons
Hull 193
26531 |
1855 |
A
3-masted full-rigged wooden ship.
Per 1
(extensive data),
2
(image).
226.0 ft. long, signal letters PLMR. The vessel was built for Duncan Dunbar (maybe Duncan Dunbar & Sons) for the Australia/New Zealand
('NZ') trade.
A 'frigate' style
ship which means, I read, that she had a white band painted down each side into which
were painted imitation gun ports - to frighten off
pirates in the China Seas. Featured in an 'Illustrated London News' article of Aug. 11, 1855.
The vessel carried
general cargo & emigrants to Australia/NZ & returned to U.K. with wool.
The vessel was sold,
in 1862, on the death of Duncan
Dunbar. In 1863 it was owned, it would seem by Devitt & Moore, (or maybe by Devitt & Co.)
of London. An expired WWW link stated that the vessel was
owned by Devitt & Co. from 1861 thru 1864.
The vessel stayed on the Australia run until 1886 when it was sold to Thomas Hick, of London, for use in
the Baltic timber trade. Later, at a date unknown to the webmaster, the vessel was sold to a Madeira coaling firm
& used as a coal hulk at Funchal, Madeira. Maybe the vessel was run down & sunk by a steamship during WW1
(per 1), which seems unlikely
however, since that same link also refers to the vessel being broken up
in 1898, per Lubbock (who actually states 1897) in 'Blackwall Frigates'. Luc van
Coolput has kindly provided data from the 1899/1900 edition of Lloyd's Register
(at left) which states that the vessel was broken up in 1898, but also indicates
that the vessel was then still registered in the name of 'T. Hick'. Can you add
more data? We seem to be doing well with images. |
| 23 |
|
Vulture
507 tons
Hull 218
12765
launched
as Lowestoft |
1855 |
A cargo ship. Per 1 (Board
of Trade inquiry into 1876 grounding, ex 'Accounts and Papers', published 1876,
a 'Google' book),
2 (Miramar,
you now must be registered to access).
The vessel was launched as Lowestoft. 176 ft. 8 in. long
perpendicular to perpendicular, 345 net
tons, signal letters LDFW. Built for
J. V. Gooch & Co., of London, recorded as the owners in 1856/57 per Lloyd's Register
at left. In the 1858/59 Lloyd's
Register the vessel is recorded as Vulture. What a lovely name!
(There would seem to have been another Vulture, a paddle steamer
built in 1864 at Glasgow! - but there were, in fact, many vessels of the name over the years
- insert Vulture - there also was a Tyne Hopper vessel of the name, a vessel from which George G. Johnson,
Master Mariner, was drowned, at Hull, on Aug. 8, 1877).
We thank Richard Forest for that data. To return to 'our' Vulture,
it may be that Charles Capper, of London, was the
manager along the way. The Mercantile Navy List of 1870 lists
'John Viret Gooch'
of London as the vessel's then owner. On Jan. 15, 1876, Vulture,
still owned by 'John Viret Gooch'
&
registered at London, George Caine in command, left Rouen, France, in ballast,
bound for Cardiff, Wales, with a crew of 17 all told. By late Jan. 16, 1876, the vessel
had passed both The Lizard & Hartland Light. On the morning of Jan. 17, 1876,
the vessel ran aground on the W. end of Nash Sands in the Bristol Channel. She was there for 3 hours,
floated free but 'she struck heavily two or three times and the mainshaft
broke'. At 7:15 a.m. she got off with canvas set, met a tug near Barry & was
towed into Cardiff to effect repairs. The grounding was caused by navigational errors in the hazy
conditions. In the 1878/79 thru 1883/84 Lloyd's Registers, & in 1880, J. V. Gooch, is said
to still be the owner of Vulture. In the 1887/88 & 1889/1890 Lloyd's
Registers, Vulture is stated to be owned by Capt. E. Jenkins of
London, however he would rather seem to be of Cardiff, at least in 1890. I have not read what later happened to the vessel.
But 'crewlist.org-uk' states that the vessel was
ex register in
1894. Do you happen to know what
happened to her? |
| 24 |
|
Wearmouth
467/594, later 594/330 tons
Hull 215
7354 |
1855 |
An iron steamship.
Per 1 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). Mentioned
in 'Where Ships Are Born'.
The webmaster frequently accesses Lloyd's Registers but is often puzzled by what
he finds - or doesn't find. The vessel, said (link A below) to have been the 2nd
iron steamer ever built on the river Wear, (or the third), is, so far as I can
see, LR listed only from 1855/56 thru 1859/60 & not thereafter. Why I wonder?
The vessel seems not to have been listed as a Sunderland registered vessel in
Turnbull's Register of 1856 nor in Christie's Shipping Register of 1858. The
webmaster concludes that the vessel was most likely rather registered at London.
Was owned by Bell & Co., of Sunderland,
for service from Sunderland to the Mediterranean, & from 1858/59 for service
from Hull to the Baltic. Have also read it was rather built for Wearmouth Coal Company,
as is confirmed by these newspaper announcement (1 & 2) of her launch, which states the
vessel was launched on Jan. 18, 1855 for the owners of the Monkwearmouth Colliery & intended for
use as a collier carrying coal from Sunderland to London.
The vessel would seem to have been sold on early to Bell & Co. as above. Her maiden voyage was, apparently, to the Black Sea for purposes related to
the Crimean War. Imperial Gas Company, of London, later, I read, acquired the vessel &
later still sold it to Jonassohn & Elliott, proprietors of the Usworth colliery.
The Mercantile Navy List of 1867
reports that
David Jonassohn, of Sunderland, was the then owner (perhaps charterer would be a
better term) of the London registered vessel. 70 HP, signal letters JSPF. On Jul. 27, 1867, per
line 24 here, the
331 (net) ton iron steamship was lost at Tillen Sand, Prussia, while en route from Sunderland
to Hamburg, Germany, with a cargo of coal. She had a crew of 15 & all were
lost. What exactly happened? The vessel had apparently been chartered for the season to Jonassohn & Weiner, of Sunderland, & left Sunderland late on Jul. 25, 1867 for
Hamburg Gas Company of Hamburg with a cargo of Usworth coal. The vessel was under the
command of Archibald Wilson, her captain for 8 years, with a crew of 14, i.e. 15
all told. Tillen Bank is a sandbank 'inside Heligoland', in the North Sea off
the mouth of the Elbe river. At night, during a severe gale, with rain falling
in torrents, a high sea 'overlapped' Wearmouth & she disappeared
from sight. On the Tillen Sand. Meve, a schooner, was following Wearmouth
& saw the vessel overcome.
Contemporary newspaper articles can be read here - A
(includes crew list) & B.
Apparently 16 persons rather than 15 lost their lives - the son of William Gowland, the ship's steward,
was also on board at the time of her loss. Can you add
anything? |
| 25 |
|
Daylight
553 later 629 tons
Hull 197
17190
|
1857
|
A ship
later a barque. The vessel, which was launched on Mar. 25, 1857, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1857/58 thru
1887/88. Its initial owner thru 1864/65, was, per LR, Hastie & Co. of
Glasgow, Scotland, for service to Mauritius i) from Sunderland in 1857/58 &
1858/59 & ii) from the Clyde from 1859/60 thru 1861/62. The 'Laing' build
list on site (page #145) lists her initial owner as R. Hastie & Co. LR records service from
London to India in 1862/63 & 1863/64. Under 'Hastie' ownership, LR lists 'Dixon'
as the vessel's captain thru 1858/59, D. Dickson (same person possibly?) in
1859/60 & 1860/61 & A. Smith from 1861/62 thru 1864/65.
In 1864/65, per LR,
'Wilson' of London became the vessel's new owner & would seem to have owned it
thru 1883/84 at least (LR of 1884/85 is not available to the webmaster). The
Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') of 1865 lists John Wilson of South Hackney, London, as
the vessel's then owner, while MNL's from 1866 thru 1884 (1870,
1880)
list Jno.
Wilson. The vessel
served, per LR, from Shields to London in 1871/72 but that was an exception. In
all of the other years from 1864/65 thru 1873/74 (when LRs listing a vessel's
proposed voyages came to an end), the vessel served ex London. To Swan River
(Fremantle/Perth), Western Australia, in 1864/65 & 1873/74, to India in 1867/68, to China in
1868/69 & 1869/70. A number of captains, per LR, served during the period of
'Wilson' ownership - H. Pearce from 1865/66 thru 1873/74, G. W. Bush from 1873/74
thru 1879/80, & J. Abrahams from 1879/80 thru 1883/84. It looks to be likely
that J.
Abrahams may have been incorrect - LR of 1883/84 seems to correct the name to 'J.
Abrahamsn', presumably Abrahamson.
In 1885/86 only, per LR, the vessel, now
listed as a schooner, was stated to be owned by T. Rhys of London. With 'Cleverdon'
noted to be the vessel's captain (thru 1887/88). I note, however, that MNL of 1885
rather
lists John H. Hedley of London as her then owner. LR of 1886/87 seems to report that the vessel,
now a barque, was owned by West of England S. Co. Ltd., but became owned by 'M, N, R, A, Bob' The text is not
particularly easy to read. But is much clarified by MNL of 1887 which
lists the vessel, stated to be a ship, as then owned by West of England Shipping Co. Ltd., of
Plymouth, Devon.
It seems clear that the vessel had one final owner. LR of 1887/88 lists
'M. N. R. A. Bob.' as the then
owner of the vessel, now registered at Moulmein, Burma (now Myanmar). MNL of 1888
confirms that the vessel, a barque, was then registered at Moulmein & owned by M. N.
R. A. Bob, of Bassein, Lower Burma.
I read that on Oct. 16, 1870 a Sunderland barque
named Daylight drove ashore on Lymington Spit (Hampshire). Was it this
Daylight?
I cannot tell you. There were two Sunderland registered barques named
Daylight
at the time. The other is site listed here.
Some operational detail. i) On Aug. 16,
1876, Daylight arrived at Fremantle, 88 days ex London
(left May 17, 1876) with 5 cabin passengers & 97 Government immigrants in
steerage, J. G. Abrahamson in command. On Sep. 17, 1866 the vessel left for
London, via Champion Bay (Geraldton, W. Australia), to load wool. On Feb. 1,
1877, en route to London, Daylight came upon Ilva, a
Dundee barque, flying a distress signal. 'Clark', Ilva's
captain, in a state of drunkenness, had shot a boy & fired at the ship's mate &
others. Clark jumped overboard & drowned when crew members tried to control him. (Ilva,
ON 63015, was built at Sunderland, by Pearson in 1865). ii) On Aug. 9, 1877
(1, 2), the
vessel (Abrahamson) arrived at Fremantle ex London (left Gravesend May 13, 1877)
with 68 immigrants, 81 days out of Plymouth. It returned with a cargo of wool &
ore, likely again via Champion Bay. iii) In 1878, the vessel loaded sugar at
Mauritius for delivery to Bombay (now Mumbai), India. iv) On Jan. 14,
1880, Daylight arrived at Fremantle, ex
London (left Oct. 13, 1879), 88 days land to land - with 9 cabin & 19 steerage
passengers. On or about Feb. 28, 1880, the vessel was at Champion Bay, presumably
loading wool. v) On Dec. 22, 1880 the vessel was cleared for departure from
London for Fremantle, where it arrived on Apl. 22, 1881 with three passengers.
On Jul. 24, 1881, the vessel (Abrahamson) left Fremantle for Singapore with a
cargo of 510 1/2 tons of sandalwood valued at £5,105. The webmaster has not spotted any later voyages to
Australia. It may well have been a frequent visitor to Mauritius (sugar).
The webmaster thanks Gaye Englund of the Museum of Perth
for her assistance in the preparation of this listing & for advising that John
G. Abrahamson, captain of Daylight
as above & of Helena Mena in 1886, qualified as a
ship's master in 1873 & from 1900 was the harbourmaster at Bunbury, W.
Australia. (Helena Mena, ON 73654, a 692 gross ton barque, was built in 1876 by
Robert Thompson Jr.)
160.0 ft. long, 159.7 ft. long from 1875/76, signal letters MFPW.
Many crew lists are available here.
LR of
1887/88 notes that the vessel had been 'Broken up'. Can you add to and/or correct in
any way the above data? More data would be welcomed.
#2397 |
| 26 |
|
Duncan Dunbar
1374 (or 1490) tons
Hull 195
18724 |
1857 |
A fully rigged, 3 masted, emigrant/cargo ship. Not a clipper ship. A composite ship,
framing of oak, decking & mast of teak, & hull of iron. See 1
&
2
(essentially the same data),
3
(Dunbar family website),
4 (the launch of Duncan Dunbar, a description of the scene),
5 (data, about 30% down,
a talk (2006?) by Rear Admiral David Dunbar-Nasmith), 6
& 7 (1860 & 1862 voyages, passenger
data etc.)
8 (a book re the wreck),
9 (San Marino ship stamp),
10 &
11 (artworks),
12 (diary references re 1865 wreck),
13 (many pages re the Inquiry into the wreck of Duncan Dunbar),
14 (an 1857 description of the vessel).
260 ft. long, with a keel of 229.0 ft.
long. A 'frigate' style ship, with a white band painted down each side
with imitation gun ports intended to ward off pirates. Built for Duncan Dunbar &
Co. ('Sons'), of Limehouse, London at a cost of £40,000. Now link 2 states that the vessel was built in 1853,
which date should, I believe, rather be 1857. Dunbar,
it would seem,
was launched on Nov. 30, 1853, & Duncan Dunbar was launched on May
18, 1857. Named after Duncan Dunbar (1803/1862), then the owner of Duncan Dunbar
& Co., or perhaps after his father of the same name (died 1825).
The vessel was engaged in
the passenger trade to Australia. It made some very fast passages but I have not read any
detail. In an
1864 voyage from Sydney to the U.K., she carried 8,120 bales of wool, 891 casks of tallow, 300 cabin
& 100 steerage
passengers. The vessel was sold, in 1865 I believe, to Gellatly, Hankey & Sewell (Edward Gellatly,
was an executor of the estate of Duncan Dunbar (died on Mar. 6, 1862) & previously had been
shipping manager for Sons). On Aug. 28, 1865, under the command of Captain
James B. (Banks) Swanson, (he owned 4/64 of the ship), the
vessel left London, bound for Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, via Plymouth, Devon, with 70
passengers (mostly cabin) & a crew of 47, a total of 118
persons aboard all told, & a general cargo. On Oct.
7, 1865, the vessel ran aground, at 10:30 p.m. & at high tide, on the Las Roccas
reef, (Brazilian), 128 miles off Cape San Roque on the coast of Brazil. At 33.45W/3.52S. There were insufficient boats for
all aboard. Next morning, the Captain succeeded in reaching a low lying sand islet & with great
difficulty, the ship constantly & violently rolling, everyone was safely landed there
by boat & raft.
On Oct. 11, 1865, the Captain left in an open lifeboat with 6 sailors & Mr.
Galloway, a passenger, in an attempt to sail to Pernambuco, Brazil, to get assistance. After travelling 120 miles, he was rescued by
American ship Hazard, (have also read Hayara, but
Hazard seems to be correct) & taken to within 15 miles of Pernambuco.
There, he procured the assistance of Oneida, (Royal Mail Steam
Packet Co.), which came to the island & took all hands safely to Southampton,
via Lisbon, except for the captain who remained in Pernambuco temporarily & returned to
England on the next available ship. The survivors had spent 10
days on the vermin/land-crab/earwig infested islet, scantily dressed but in high temperatures, with water &
stores salvaged from the wreck. Few personal belongings were saved. In 1870,
Mercurius was wrecked at the same place. Few survived but those who
did (6 seamen) were helped by some iron water tanks full of fresh water, left by the Duncan
Dunbar survivors, or a part of her wreckage. Helped indeed! Drinking
water was otherwise unavailable on the coral reef & they were marooned there for
51 days - without the water they would surely not have survived. A print of Duncan Dunbar at Las Roccas was published
in the Dec. 2, 1865 issue of Illustrated London News. A famous ship,
painted by many artists. There was a Board of Trade Inquiry into the disaster
which held the owners & the Captain to be free of blame. But much subsequent
debate (difficult to understand) as to the evidence, particularly about the local currents.
The Board of Trade Report & many pages of evidence are now at 13.
Can you add anything?
Michael Lohman advises, (thanks!) that i) his great grandfather, Hogar Frank
('Frank'), then 17, was aboard the vessel when it was wrecked.
Frank later married & changed his name to
Wilhelm Lohmann, ii) George Thornton
(1819/1901), twice the Mayor of Sydney, was also aboard
the ship that day, & iii) Edward P. Swain kept a detailed diary of the
voyage. The diary exists but seems not to be WWW available. Michael continues to try to find the crew manifest of the
Duncan Dunbar for that final voyage in 1865.
|
| 27 |
|
Isles of the South
824 (or 821) tons
Hull 201
27783
Loining |
1859 |
A ship, an immigrant ship, it would seem. From
1 &
2 (voyages to Australia),
3 (1874 voyage to New Zealand,
75% down).
175.0 ft. long, signal letters PSRD. Built for Cox & Co., of London. The
vessel
was launched as Gem of the South. It would seem to have been first
recorded in Lloyd's Register ('LR'), in 1859/60, as Isles of the South. Voyage May 26, 1862, Manila, Philippines, to Sydney, Australia, 24
crew. And Sep. 8, 1863 London to Sydney, 23 crew & total of 10 passengers,
mostly cabin. Repaired in 1869. In 1870 the vessel was owned by R. J. Burrow of
Kennington, Surrey. Voyage to Lyttelton, New Zealand, in 1874. Owned
by J. Brodie in 1875? Then registered London. Certainly owned by John Brodie,
jun. of London in 1880. Other modest WWW references to
passengers. That's all
the data I have so far found! Except to note that LR from 1881/82 lists the vessel
as Loining, owned by O. G. Skadberg of Egersund, Norway. From
1886/87 S. P. Tybring, also of Egersund, is LR listed as the vessel's owner. And
LR of 1891/92 lists J. Bilsbad, again of Ergersund, as the vessel's then owner. I need to research
later Lloyd's Registers to record
what they say. More data would be welcomed. |
| 28 |
|
Ocean King
419 tons
Hull 230
28030
|
1859 |
An iron barque, which was launched on Aug. 29, 1859 & first registered, at
Sunderland, on Oct. 21, 1859 (scroll to #28030).
This page states,
presumably in error, that it had a 36 HP engine! The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1860/61 thru 1880/81 & per LR its owner, in 1860/61, was
Swainston of Sunderland, for service from Sunderland to India. With A. Short serving as the vessel's captain. LR lists the vessel thereafter as owned by
Richardson of Swansea, Wales, (Richardson & Co. from 1876/77), for service always ex Swansea. To South America thru 1865/66, to Montreal, Canada, in
1871/72 & to Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, in all the other years thru 1873/74, the last year in which LR reports such data. The Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1865 thru 1880 all list John C.
Richardson to be her owner, which name is clarified from 1876 to mean John Crow
Richardson. (MNLs of 1870,
1880). MNLs from 1872 incorrectly list
Ocean King as
built in 1839. With quite a few captains - W. Thompson thru 1863/64, J. Thomson thru 1866/67, Oldreive thru 1869/70, Wilson thru 1873/74, Jones for a
portion of 1874/75 & Evans thereafter.
Just a little operational data. In early 1866
Ocean King's chief officer was lost overboard. Not sure where or
when. On Oct. 13, 1870 the vessel was entered out from Swansea for Port Nolloth, South Africa, Wilson in command, likely with coal. In Aug. 1871, the vessel was
en route to Montreal ex Swansea. On May 2, 1873, the vessel (Wilson) left Swansea for Valparaiso, Chile. On Apl. 8, 1874 the vessel arrived at Swansea ex
Tocopilla (northern Chile) with a cargo of copper regulus & copper ore. There are many references to the vessel sailing, over the years, from Swansea to Port
Nolloth with Wilson her captain & from Jan. 29, 1875 Captain Evans. And also to Cape Town, South Africa. It would seem that the vessel sailed to Port Nolloth
with coal, & returned with copper ore ex the mines at nearby Okiep (160 miles
inland). On May 16, 1876, the vessel rescued the 9 man crew of Accidental Star, which had to be
abandoned by her crew in a sinking condition, W.
of the NW tip of Spain while en route from Portugal to Schiedam (Rotterdam) with
a cargo of salt & cork. 130.0 ft. long, signal letters PTRM.
This listing was first created having seen, via this page (in green) that a
Court of Inquiry was held into the loss of Ocean King on Jan. 23, 1881. Thanks to the folks at Southampton City Council/Plimsoll the report of the Court is
readily available. Such report being so very short, here is the
complete report text rather than a link to the source site. The vessel, I read, hit underwater rocks shortly after midnight of Jan. 22, 1881, when 20 miles S.
of Port Nolloth - located on the W. coast of South Africa, a bit to the S. of the Namibia border. The rocks in question were not recorded on the
nautical charts & according no fault was attributed to either her captain of 8 years, Thomas Evans, or to any crew member. No lives were lost - the entire crew took to the ship's boat
& at daybreak proceeded to Port Nolloth & landed there 11 hours or so after the vessel sank. Two
contemporary newspaper reports (A
& B) re her loss. Which tell us that the vessel hit the rocks three times,
and, filled up with water, slipped off the rocks & sank in deep water. The
vessel's cargo was apparently insured, but not the vessel itself. Just a couple of crew lists are available.
Is there anything you can add?
#2172 |
| 29 |
|
Deptford
469/604 (N/G) tons
Hull 237
29243
|
1860 |
An iron steamship
which was launched on Oct. 27, 1860 & first registered (scroll to
#29243) on Nov. 22, 1860.
is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed in 1861/62 only - it had a very short
life. Per 1 ('wrecksite.eu', extensive detail re her loss).
The vessel was owned, per LR, by W. Gray, registered at Shields, &
noted for service out of
Sunderland. With 'B. Starks' stated to be her captain.
On Sep. 27,
1861, the vessel left Cardiff, Wales, for Dantzic (Gdańsk, northern Poland, on the Baltic), 'Stark' in command,
with 715 tons of iron rails. 177
ft. 4 in. long, 70 HP engines - by George Clark I have read.
LR of 1861/62 notes that the vessel had 'SUNK'. On Mar. 13, 1862, per line 2612
here, the 469/606 (N/G) ton steamship was wrecked at Whitby Rock, while
en route from Sunderland to an unstated destination with a cargo of
coal. Crew of 17 - none lost. Then stated to have been owned by James Laing. That source incorrectly states that the vessel's ON was 29343.
Further it now is abundantly clear that it is also in substantial
error in its more basic facts. Thanks to the good folks at 'wrecksite.eu'
(link above) you can read the detail of what actually did happen via many contemporary newspaper articles. A summation of
the events:-
Deptford was en route from Sunderland to London with a cargo
of coal & John Gray in command. Passing Whitby on Mar. 13, 1862, at
6:30 a.m., the vessel came too close to shore & ran aground, in conditions described as
being either in dense fog or misty, with strong winds
& a heavy sea. But she was not then wrecked. Assistance reached her quickly - 2 steamboats,
the 2 Whitby lifeboats & many local fishermen. Her crew, aided
by 30 willing hands, helped
jettison part of her cargo & 3 or 4 hours later, at about 11
a.m., the vessel was floated
off by the rising tide. She was then not taking on water & seemed
to be undamaged. Nonetheless, she decided to
return to Sunderland. The vessel must, in fact, have suffered much more damage than
they had thought. On the next day, i.e. Mar. 14, 1862, the vessel, now with 11 ft. of water
in her holds, came on shore again a little further up the coast, about a mile from Staithes,
Yorkshire. Her sails & running gear were
recovered & it
was hoped that she might again be floated off. But she ended up a
total loss, sunk near Boulby or
Redcar, I have read 2 miles NNW of Staithes. On May 16, 1862 it was
reported that at high water only her masts &
funnel were above the surface of the sea. Her crew had all been saved,
of course, &
transferred to Hartlepool.
The webmaster wonders whether the
U.K. Government report referenced above was further in error when it advised that James Laing was
the vessel's owner in 1862. It seems to the webmaster to be unlikely that having sold the vessel to
'Gray', James Laing would choose to buy it back. Particularly when John Gray was the
vessel's captain when it was lost. No crew lists for the vessel seem to be
available. Can anybody
add to or correct the above text or otherwise
add anything?
#2106 |
| 30 |
|
Samson
590/868 (N/G) tons
Hull 233
28439
Ben More
|
1860 |
The vessel, an iron steamship which was launched on Feb. 6,
1860, is recorded in two Sunderland build lists as Sampson (with a
'p'), but when first registered, at Sunderland, on Apl. 18, 1860 (scroll to #28439), it
was registered as Samson. It is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed, it
would seem, from 1860/61 thru 1897/98 at least. Per 1 (Morrison
fleet list, 4th item). Samson was on Jan. 1, 1861 owned, I read, (line
1415 here) by C. R. Fenwick & others.
Such ownership would seem to relate to the vessel's ownership, thru 1873/74, by Gourley & Co. of
Sunderland. As is confirmed (E. T. Gourley) by Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1865
thru 1872.
Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1874 lists
just 5
shareholders including Edw. Temperley Gourley (34 of 64 shares), Jas. Laing (8 shares) & Chas. R. Fenwick (6 shares). Hopefully soon it will be possible to make
such register page available via these pages. During the period of 'Gourley' ownership, LR lists 5 captains i.e. J. Thompson
thru 1863/64, R. Erlley thru 1866/67, W. J. Hall thru 1868/69 & S. Gordon thru 1874. Initially for service ex Sunderland, from 1861/62
thru 1866/67 for service ex London, including to Natal (Durban, South Africa) in 1861/62 &
1862/63, & to the Mediterranean in 1866/67. In 1867/68 the vessel would seem to have served the Mediterranean ex Belgium ('Blg' means
Belgium?), Thereafter, thru 1873/74 from Sunderland to the Mediterranean. I should note that the vessel, initially recorded at 590/868 (N/G)
tons, became of 845/1045 (N/G) tons in 1868/69, when it was lengthened from 198.0 ft. to 227.0 ft. It would seem also to have
been modestly widened. From 32.0 to 32.7 ft. a matter that, to the webmaster at least, was unexpected. Is it correct? Still with the original 110 HP engines of
unknown manufacturer (per LR) or of 120 HP (per MNL).
In 1873/74, the vessel, renamed Ben More, now of 882/1363 (N/G) tons & 228.0
ft. long, became registered at North Shields ('NS') & owned by 'Morrison' of NS.
Sold on or about May 7, 1874 (in red) apparently,
with MNL of 1874 listing Jas. Laing, of Sunderland, as the vessel's then owner. With, at such time, a change of engines, the new engines being of 98
HP by Gilbert & Cooper of Hull. Morrison would seem to have owned the vessel essentially for the balance of its remaining lifetime (J. Morrison
& Son thru 1897/98 per LR). MNLs of 1875
thru 1882 list John Morrison, of NS, as the vessel's
then owner, while MNLs of 1883 thru
1898 rather list Samuel A. Morrison
of Tynemouth. Turnbull's Register of 1888 (image hopefully soon) lists her then principal
owners as being S. A. Morrison, H. E. Smyth & E. Wilson (jointly 15 shares), H. Birkmyre of Port Glasgow (12 shares), J. Laing (8
shares) & 11 smaller shareholders. From 1892/93 the vessel's tonnage changed yet again - to 827/1320 (N/G) tons. LR records many captains during the period of
'Morrison' ownership i.e. T. Smith from 1873/74 thru 1879/80, J. Kidner thru 1800/81, C. Ellis thru 1882/83, G. W. Rogers in 1882/83
at least, R. Peake in 1885/86, Rumbelton thru 1888/89, C. S. Moffett thru 1890/91 at least, & J. H. Wells thru 1897/98. Christine Simm,
who is researching vessels broken up at Bo'ness (i.e. Borrowstounness, Firth of Forth, Scotland), including this vessel, adds to that captain list William Green in
1891.
Operational details about Ben More? There are many references to the vessel at Welsh Newspapers Online, mainly in
the period from late 1874 thru 1879. With Smith, presumably T. Smith, serving as the vessel's captain. Some examples. On Feb. 18,
1875 the vessel left Cardiff, Wales, for Port Said, Egypt, likely with a cargo of coal. On Jun. 16, 1876, the vessel was reported to be at
Constantinople while en route from Genoa, Italy, to Galatz (i.e. Galați, on the Danube, Eastern Romania, Black Sea). On Oct.
21, 1876 the vessel left Leghorn (Livorno, Italy) for Sulina (Romania, Black Sea, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube River). Probably outbound with coal,
returning with grain. On Nov. 25, 1876, the vessel arrived at Antwerp, Belgium. On Jan. 11, 1877 the vessel left
Malta for Kurrachee (now Karachi, Pakistan) via the Suez Canal. On Jul. 3, 1877 the vessel was cleared out of Cardiff for Singapore. On
Dec. 4, 1879, the vessel would seem to have entered out from Cardiff to New Orleans, with B. M. Kinder in command. Later events? Which I
believe relate to 'our' Ben More since there would seem to have been only one steamer of the name at the time. On Nov. 18, 1887
(in red), the vessel was reported to have been in collision with Bolivia (there were 2 such vessels at the time),
each suffering about £200 of damage. On Jun. 10, 1888, Ben More
(said to be of Aberdeen?), was said to have been in collision with Theodor, a Russian schooner ex Riga, in the North Sea. On Dec. 5, 1888
(in red), the vessel was reported to be ashore at 'B losara' (Belosara, Sea of Azov, Ukraine perhaps). I have so far spotted no references to the vessel trading
to China (see below).
I learn that Ben More was laid up in the Tyne for a while, certainly from Oct. 1893. Now Miramar advise (thanks!) that the vessel was broken up, at Bo'ness in the 3rd quarter of 1898. Christine Simm kindly
advises a) that on Jan. 18, 1898, the vessel was offered for sale (in
red) at a Thomas Pinkey public auction held in Sunderland. and b) that the vessel was bought by Mr. Turnbull,
John S. Turnbull, I understand, of Glasgow. Such 2nd article tells us that Ben More was 'an old China trader' & was towed, by two tugs owned by John Wilson, from Newcastle
to Bridgeness (on the eastern edge of Bo'ness), Firth of Forth, where it was beached for the purpose of being dismantled & broken up.
So 198.0 ft long, later
227.0 ft., later 228.0 ft., signal letters PWKT, 590/868 tons, later 845/1045, later 882/1363, later 827/1320, all N/G tons, 110 or 120 HP engines, later, from 1874, 98 HP engines by Gilbert & Cooper of
Hull. Crew lists are available here. Is there anything you can add to
the above? Or correct? #2136
|
| 31 |
|
Atlas
672/846 (N/G)
later 848/1108, later
997/1301 tons
Hull 246
43757
|
1861 |
An iron steamship, ship rigged, later barque, rigged, launched in Oct. 1861, I
have read on Oct. 19, 1861. Per
1
(brief data),
2
(Temperley Line),
3 ('wrecksite.eu',
Atlas wreck),
4 'Bailey & Leetham'),
5 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). 209.0 ft. (63.70 metres) long, later 251.2 ft.
(76.57 metres), signal letters TQHC, 3 masts, schooner rigged, 100
or 120 HP engines, manufactured, I read, by Thomas Richardson & Sons of Hartlepool.
The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1861/62
thru 1875/76, thru 1874/75 owned by E.
T. Gourley of Sunderland. Data which is confirmed by Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1865 thru
1874 (1870),
all of
which
list E. T. Gourley of Sunderland as
the vessel's then owner. Turnbull's Register of 1874 lists the then owners of
the 948 ton vessel as being E. T. Gourley, C. M. Webster & J. Laing, all of
Sunderland, with,
respectively, 48, 8 & 8 shares. Per LR, the vessel served the Mediterranean
i) ex Sunderland thru 1864/65 ii) ex London thru 1868/69 & iii) ex Sunderland
thereafter. The vessel was chartered
in 1870 to 'Temperley Line' for 2 voyages. One of which was London, England, to Quebec, Canada,
on Sep. 6, 1870. Per LR, 'Young' served as the vessel's captain thru
1865/66, & W. Riches thereafter thru 1875/76.
The 'record-keeping' for
Atlas leaves something to be
desired with the result that I cannot definitively report key vessel data. It is clear that along the way the vessel was lengthened. And
became of 251.2 ft. long. LR first reports the vessel at
251.2 ft. in 1875/76, but the change must have been effected rather earlier,
since i) as I read LR of 1875/76, the vessel was lengthened in 1869 & ii) MNL first records the vessel at 251.2 ft. in 1871. Her power is also confused. MNL always records the vessel as having 100 HP engines. While
LR lists the vessel at 120 HP from 1861/62 thru 1873/74 & at 100 HP only in
1875/76. The Report of the later Official Inquiry into her loss states that she
still had, in late 1875, her original engines. Her tonnage as reported in LR of 1875/76 looks suspect - at 997/1301
(N/G) tons.
Anyway LR of 1874/75 reports the vessel, now barque rigged, as
owned by W. Thompson, which data is confirmed by MNL of 1875
which lists Wm. Thompson of
Kingston-upon-Hull as her then owner. One further ownership change it would seem - LR of 1875/76 names
'Bailey & Leetham' as her then
owners, i.e. William Leetham & William Bailey, both of Kingston-upon-Hull.
(Bailey & Leetham, 1854 thru 1903, the 2nd largest
fleet owner in the history of Hull.
The subject of the 'Ships in Focus Publications' 2002 volume 'Bailey
and Leetham', Arthur Credland & Richard Green
the authors, a history of the firm, noted initially for cargo & passenger
service between Hull &
the Baltic). With J. Wing her new captain.
Miramar report (thanks!) that the vessel was wrecked at
'Wrango', near Gothenburg, Sweden, on Oct. 2, 1875. Apparently while en route
from Hull to Cronstadt (St. Petersburg, Russia). With no loss of life.
In would seem that in late Sep. 1875 violent storms were experienced in the
North Sea & in the Baltic & other areas. Many ships were damaged as a result of
the storms & many were wrecked, including Atlas, said to then be
valued at £30,000 with cargo (which included cotton) estimated at £25,000. Here
(1 & 2) are two
interesting contemporary newspaper reports re the vessel's loss. One of such reports states that Thompson was still the vessel's owner
& that Leetham & Bailey were the vessel's agents. Now Jan Fredriksson reported in
2014 that Atlas had run aground outside Gothenburg, Sweden, on Sep. 29, 1875 &
had become a total loss. That Joseph Wing was then her captain & that during
the
voyage, Alfred Hordon, age 17, had been lost at sea.
Jan, who then & now seeks pictures, drawings or blueprints of the vessel,
indicated that he had 'the Captain's Protest' & her crewlist.
And that he is trying to both locate & document the wreck. Many Atlas crew
lists are available here. That's all
the data I have so far found! More data would be welcomed.
Since
the above was written, the webmaster has become aware that in early Nov. 1875 a Court of Inquiry
was held at Hull into the vessel's loss - as per these two
pages (1 & 2).
And further, that the most extensive text of the resulting Court of Inquiry
Report is available. So extensive is that report that it covers much of three pages (3,
4 & 5).
The vessel left Hull on Sep. 26, 1875 it would seem, under the command of Joseph
Wing. With John Robinson, a name relevant to the history, her chief engineer.
The vessel carried a cargo of 1,200 tons which included 800 tons of iron
products & 400
tons of other cargo including cotton. About 175 tons of both cargo & coal was
stored on
her main deck. The Court concluded that the vessel was too deeply laden for the time of
year. However the evidence suggests that many considered her loading not to have
been either unusual or excessive. On Sep. 27, 1875, a day after leaving Hull,
Atlas encountered gale
force conditions. The vessel was under severe stress for about a day & a half.
Massive waves crashed onto the ship, which laboured heavily under the
onslaught. The vessel suffered considerable damage - do read the report for the
detail. The after steering wheel was smashed & out of commission for a while
- the starboard lifeboat & a jolly boat were rendered useless. Sails were
destroyed, some of the cargo shifted, & the deck structures & her main derrick
were damaged. It was during this storm that Alfred Howden, a lamp-trimmer, was
swept overboard & could not be recovered. On Oct. 2, 1875 the vessel entered the Cattegat (Kattegat,
the sea area N. of the Danish straits islands, that lies between Denmark &
Sweden). Here the vessel's problems suddenly worsened. The captain was advised that the
vessel would have to stop for 3 hours to permit the repair of some (unspecified) engine damage. The
repairs did not take 3 hours to fix, rather 6 1/2 hours. And during that time,
the vessel gradually drifted about 18 miles, closer & closer to the coast, with limited ability to control the vessel.
Later on Oct. 2, 1875, it finally struck & remained fast upon a sunken rock. Efforts were made to get the ship off
the rock, with the engines, now working again, placed in reverse, with pumps etc.
To no avail. Distress rockets were fired. A
'fisherboat' came by on Oct. 3, 1875 & most of the crew were landed
including the Chief Officer who telegraphed Copenhagen for assistance. Help was
slow to arrive. In the meantime, the
vessel had become full of water & on Oct. 6 & 7, 1875 it broke into 3 pieces. The
Court Report has some harsh words about John Robinson, the
vessel's Chief Engineer - 'The gross blundering of the chief engineer is also
deserving of severe censure'. The vessel's captain, Joseph Wing, was held to
be in default for many reasons - for not taking depth measurements, for not
having anchored when that was possible, for not having requested a passing
vessel, the Iceland, to stand by while the engines were being
repaired. His licence was suspended for a period of 9 months. Do read the whole
report via the above links - my few words cannot do the report due justice.
|
| 32 |
|
Earl of Elgin
586/608 (N/G) tons later reported
as 482 tons
Hull 244
43722
|
1861 |
An iron steamer which was launched on Jun. 12, 1861 & first registered, at
Sunderland, on Jul. 23, 1861 (scroll to #43722). Per
1,
2 & 3
(newspaper articles re vessel's loss in 1870),
4
(Earl of Elgin/Jesmond court case, commences at
p.#150, thru 153),
5 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). The vessel is Lloyd's Register
('LR') listed from 1861/62 thru 1873/74. Owned for its lifetime by Morton & Co. of Sunderland,
& always registered at Sunderland.
With, per LR, 'Andues' as her captain thru 1865/66, & C. Mohrke thereafter. Mainly engaged in the carriage of coal ex Sunderland to U.K. ports likely primarily
to London. A London coaster in 1868/69 & from
1869/70, for service from Sunderland to France. The Mercantile Navy Lists
of 1865 thru
1870
all
list H. T. Morton of Biddick Hall, Durham, as the owner of the 482 ton vessel.
180.0 ft. long,
signal letters TQDR, 80 HP engines, many crew lists are available via this page.
On May
06, 1870, per line
653 here, the
586/608 (N/G) ton steamer was sunk off Whitby Light in a collision while en route from
Sunderland to Bordeaux, France, with a cargo of
coal. Crew of 19 - 6 lost. Passengers 3 - all lost. Then owned by Henry T.
Morton. What exactly had happened? The Earl of Elgin left Sunderland for
Bordeaux on the evening of May 06, 1870, under the command of Captain Hammond. At
midnight that day, when about 8 miles off the coast at Whitby & in clear
conditions, Jesmond, under
the command of Captain Whitelaw, bound for the Tyne in ballast, hit the Earl of
Elgin amidships on her starboard side, nearly cutting her in two.
Jesmond was, I see in LR of 1870/71, an 894/590 ton
steamship built at North Shields (Smith) in 1869. Jesmond backed
away but came into contact a second time. The Earl of Elgin sank within a few
minutes. An Earl of Elgin lifeboat reached
the water but was swamped - the port side boat was launched with some of her
crew aboard. Others of the Earl of Elgin's crew had clambered aboard
Jesmond,
soon to return with two Jesmond lifeboats. But before those boats could arrive
the Earl of Elgin's decks blew up, hurling Captain Hammond & his 7 year old
daughter, both of whom were on the vessel's bridge, into the water. As happened
also to the
remaining crew who were on her deck. The survivors were picked up. Jesmond
stayed on the scene searching the waters & at six in the morning of May 07, 1870
she landed the survivors at the Tyne. While the exact details of the disaster
are difficult to determine, there was clearly a sad & major loss of life.
Captain Hammond, who survived the disaster, lost both his wife & his daughter. The
Chief Mate and his wife were both lost. You can read more via three contemporary
newspaper articles (1,
2, 3). Jesmond suffered bow damage but no loss of life. I wonder why the
Earl of Elgin was still LR listed
3 years after her loss. Was there an inquiry, I wonder?
There surely was a Court case
(pages 150 thru 153) in which both vessels were
considered to be responsible for the collision. However, an appeal was lodged and in the final
analysis the Earl of Elgin was found solely responsible for
the collision & liable therefore for damages. More data welcomed.
As I later reread & modify this listing, I wonder what would have caused the
explosion. There would not appear to have been sufficient time for gas from the
vessel's cargo to have accumulated in the brief voyage.
#1925 |
| 33 |
|
Ganges
400 or 500 tons
Hull 243 |
1861 |
A paddle steamer. Need help with this vessel, which
I read was of 400 tons, launched in Jun. 1861 &
would seem, per Miramar, to be possibly related in some way to
Earl of Elgin. Miramar
advises '[hull subcontracted from John Key, Kirkcaldy] - EARL OF
ELGIN'. And refers to ON 43722 which is Earl of Elgin's official number.
But Ganges would seem to have been Laing Hull No. 243 &
Earl of Elgin Hull
No. 244. This Ganges seems not to be listed in
either Lloyd's
Register or in the Mercantile Navy List. At this moment I cannot see that
Ganges
is related in any way
to Earl of Elgin.
Sunderland Maritime Heritage (site now gone, it would appear),
used to refer to i) Ganges as being a paddle steamer of 500 tons and
ii) to Oriental Steam Co.
Tom Scott
tells us that he has 'the original yard ledger of ships built
at Laings. Yard number 243 Ganges, paddle steamer launched '--? June
1861' 250 ft. LBP, 32 ft. BM, 9'-6" DM. all other ships have GRT in
ink, Ganges has a '?' 400 in pencil. Owners are Oriental Inland Steamship.
The ledger has a note beside it 'Erected - taken to pieces and shipped
abroad'. The following ship from Laings is Earl of Elgin, an iron steamship
of 586 GRT launched 12 June 1861 but with no details of owners.'
Someday, hopefully, data will emerge as to to where, abroad, it was
shipped & why it was shipped in pieces. It may well have been renamed
when put into service wherever that was. If it was intended for use
in India, it may well have been considered unable to make its way, under
its own power, from the U.K. to India, it being a modest paddle steamer,
maybe designed to operate on a shallow river. Some additional data that
may be relevant. Oriental Inland Steamship Company operated on the Indus
River, the longest river in Pakistan. Which river, I read, originates
in the western part of Tibet & empties into the Arabian Sea at Thatta.
A very long river indeed - 1,980 miles. Just maybe, the vessel served
on the Indus river. The Journal of the Institute of Engineers (India),
Vol. 34 published in 1953, apparently
refers to the fact that 'In 1870, the Sind Railway Company (1)
started to buy up the steamers on the Indus and the shares of the Oriental
Inland Steamship Company, and in 1882 all ships were laid off.'
Such steamers were, it would seem, at some point in time, directly owned
by 'Indus Steam Flotilla Capital' or a name similar to that. Need
help! #2170
|
| 34 |
|
General Havelock
472 later 506/771 (N/G) tons
Hull 240
29858
Teesdale |
1861 |
An iron steamship which was launched on Mar. 27, 1861 & first registered, at
Sunderland, on May 18, 1861 (scroll to #29858). The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed, as
General
Havelock, from 1861/62 thru 1871/72. While the vessel was later named
Teesdale, it is never recorded in LR as Teesdale. The vessel was owned
thru that entire period, per LR at least, by 'Smurthwaite' of Sunderland.
With Gunn serving as the vessel's captain thru 1865/66 & T. Bennet
thereafter. Initially for service ex Sunderland & from 1865/66 for service from
Sunderland to London. The Mercantile
Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1865
thru 1869 all record the vessel, still named General Havelock, as owned
by R. M. Hudson of Sunderland. At 385 then 322 tons both surely in error. While the MNL lists of
1870, 1871 & 1872 record the vessel, now named Teesdale, at
506/771 tons & owned by James Laing
of Sunderland. 185.0 ft. (or 215.5 ft. per MNL of 1871) long, 90 HP engines, signal letters QHKM.
A puzzle is that this
MNL page (scroll to #29858) seems to state that the vessel had foreign owners from 1869.
On Mar. 28,
1872, per line 2842
here, the 506/771 ton steamer was stranded at Shingle Bank, Isle
of Wight, while en route from Villa Real (where
is it? Portugal perhaps) to the Tyne with a cargo of lead etc. Crew
of 18 - none lost. Then owned by James Laing. I have also read,
here, that the vessel was wrecked on Mar. 27, 1872. Wikipedia reports (thanks!) that
the vessel ran aground off Hurst Castle, Hampshire (near western end of Isle
of Wight), that her crew were rescued by the lifeboat Dove,
& that Teesdale subsequently sank & broke in two.
Am glad to learn all of that. An Official Inquiry into the vessel's loss was held, at Sunderland, on Apl.
16 & 17,
1872. The
Inquiry determined that the master (alas not named) was at blame having
rashly attemped to enter a dangerous channel in thick weather. His
certificate was suspended for six months. That captain may have been T.
Bennet, as per LR, but it could well be that another captain was in
command that day.
It is interesting
to note that R. M. Hudson in late 1868 bought from James Laing a new
steamship of the name of
General Havelock. It should have been prior to
that event that this General Havelock was renamed
Teesdale. Can you
tell us more about the circumstances of the vessel's loss or otherwise
add anything? #2159
|
| 35 |
|
Aries
611/479 tons
Hull 41/251
44499 |
1862 |
An iron cargo ship.
From
1
(Aries, U.S. Naval history), 2 (Wikipedia page),
3 ($147,008.46,
top line),
4 (court re 1863 capture,
thru to p#202),
5 (image,
capture at Bull's
Bay),
6
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 198.0 ft. long, single
screw, of a design (masts that hinged) & low profile most suitable for blockade running (American
Civil War). Likely built by 'Laing' on speculation & soon bought by Frederic Peter Obicini,
perhaps Spanish,
of London. The webmaster believes that the launch of the vessel, early in Jul. 1862, is referenced (in
green) in this newspaper cutting.
1 states that it was built,
hoping that the vessel 'would be purchased by persons planning to break the
Union Navy's blockade of the South', & indicates that the vessel was
later sold, 'sometime in 1863', to V. Malga & Cie.,
of Havana, Cuba. Which is strange, since the vessel is listed in Lloyd's Registers
available to the webmaster thru
1869/70 with Obicini, the owner - but how that can that be so with the history
which follows? Anyway, it would seem that the vessel sailed
from Sunderland to Charleston, South Carolina, likely in late 1862, with an unknown
(to webmaster) cargo, left
Charleston with cotton for Puerto Rico & St. Thomas, & sailed for Charleston
again via Gibara, near Havana, Cuba, with a varied cargo, largely originating in the 'New
England & Middle States', that included cotton &
clothing, boots & shoes, foodstuffs (butter, cheese & tea), nails, spikes, pig
lead & cordage. It would seem that that voyage ended, on Mar. 28, 1863, when
she was spotted, by Union gunboat
Stettin, off
Bull's Bay, South Carolina. Note that 1 says that she was rather carrying a cargo of whisky. Aries went aground,
was captured as a prize, (in more ways than one if the cargo was whisky), was soon re-floated &
taken to Boston where
she 'was condemned' (whatever does that mean for such a new vessel?). She was purchased
by the Union Navy on May 20, 1863, (for $147,008.46, but can that
possibly be so? Perhaps it was the proceeds of the sale of the vessel & its
cargo of whisky?), & became USS Aries. A couple of voyages
carrying reinforcements to the south. On Aug. 27,
1863, carrying 100 men, including many ill men, back north, she encountered a hurricane off Cape
Lookout, North Carolina, and, fighting the heavy seas, her engines failed. She survived the storm & was towed,
eventually to Baltimore, Maryland, for repairs. The vessel was involved in the capture of
Ceres, Antonio & Dare (which she
burned), & assisted in the attack on Fort Fisher, Wilmington. See 1 for her life for the Union
forces, a good portion of which seems to have been spent under repair! On Jun. 14, 1865, she was decommissioned, & on Aug. 1, 1865, was sold
at a Boston public auction to 'Sprague, Soule & Co.', of Philadelphia - maybe
owned by 'Boston & Philadelphia Steamship Co.'? Became SS Aries.
I read that she
later never changed her name & carried freight between Philadelphia &
New England ports for a great many years. She was sold in 1908 for scrapping.
Some mysteries within the above data. Can you add anything?
|
| 36 |
|
Charente
441 (or 566) tons
Hull 248
44638
Amberwitch |
1862 |
A cargo ship, soon especially fitted for the repair of undersea cables.
From 1
(Amberwitch, 40% down & image),
2 (Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access).
The vessel was built for 'Charente Steamship Co. Ltd.' But sold to T. & J.
Harrison, of Liverpool, it would appear. Her name was changed to
Amberwitch in 1863 when the vessel was sold to the Royal Navy. The
vessel was fitted out
in 1864 for undersea cable repair work (rather than laying the cable), in the Persian Gulf.
In particular, 'fitted
with two cable tanks, two bow and stern sheaves as well as paying out and
picking up gear.' In cable repair service on the Persian Gulf station until 1879
when replaced by Patrick Stewart. We thank Bill Burns of 1 for the
image at thumbnail. Can you add anything?
|
| 37 |
|
Claudine
488 (later 501 & 493) tons
Hull 250
44467
Emil Julius
Anna Sofia
Los Canelos |
1862 |
A fully rigged ship later converted to a 3-masted iron barque.
Was launched in Mar. 1862. Per
1 (Miramar, you now must be registered to access).
151.3 ft. long, signal letters TVGK, later HVBP, later HFBQ. Built for Ord & Co., of Sunderland - the Mercantile Navy Lists of
1867 & 1870 both state
the owner to be Robert Ord of Sunderland. In ? (by 1875) the vessel was sold to D. Fowler of
London, and in ? (about 1877) was sold again, to E. Hagen & Co., of Hamburg, Germany, &
renamed Emil Julius. In 1888, the vessel was sold to C. A. Beug,
of Stralsund, Sweden. And in 1890 was sold to Johan Henrik Sylvander &
partners, of Stromstad, Sweden, & renamed Anna Sofia. While in the Pacific
Ocean,
in 1901, the vessel was damaged in a storm & sought refuge at Ancud, Chile,
where she was condemned. She was, however, sold (certainly prior to 1908/09) to Alb. Haverbeck, of Valdivia,
Chile, who repaired her & renamed her Los Canelos. In about 1916, she was
converted into a barge. Can you add
anything? #1904
|
| 38 |
|
Coldstream
545 later 546 tons
Hull 255
45385
Marie
|
1862 |
A ship, later a barque, that was launched on Sep. 26, 1862 & first registered, at
Liverpool, in early Nov. 1862, maybe Nov. 3 or 7, 1862 (scroll to #45385).
Per 1
(data ex an extensive Danish 'pdf' file that I can no longer locate). Coldstream was
first Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed in 1862/63 as owned by 'JohnstnS&',
presumably Johnston (or Johnstone) Sons & Co. of Liverpool, for service from Sunderland to South America, but in that same year, also per LR, the vessel became
owned by Friend & Co., also of Liverpool, for service from Liverpool to South America thru 1869/70, from Liverpool to Singapore in 1870/71, from Liverpool to Portland (Oregon?) in 1871/72 & from
Liverpool to S. America thru 1873/74. Per LR, Friend & Co., later (from 1876/77) E. C. Friend &
Co., owned the vessel for about 27 years, from 1862/63 until the vessel's sale in 1889/90.
The Mercantile Navy Lists
('MNL') report Coldstream's ownership rather differently. MNL of 1865 lists
Fredk. R. A. Pennell as the vessel's then owner. MNLs of 1866 thru
1869 list E. C. Friend. while MNLs of
1870 thru 1875 list E. C.
Friend & Co. In 1876 E. C. Friend is again listed. MNLs of 1878
& 1879 list William P. Coleborn, of Liverpool, as the vessel's
owner. MNLs of 1880 thru 1884 list Edward C. Friend,
while MNLs of 1885
thru 1889 list Matthew C. Friend. All of Liverpool. It may very well be that such varied names merely record changes in the identity of
the vessel's managing owner.
The vessel, per LR, had many captains - S. Carmichael thru 1864/65, T. Miller thru 1870/71, Danson thru 1872/73, Hender thru
1876/77 at least, Morgan thru 1882/83, Luen thru 1885/86, Blithe thru 1887/88, Kendall thru 1889/90 until the vessel was sold.
LR of 1889/90 records the vessel as sold by E. C. Friend
& Co. to P. N. (Peder Nielsen) Winther of Fanö, Denmark, & renamed Marie. Niels Hald-Andersen confirms
(thanks!) that the vessel was sold in 1889, by W. P. Coleborn to A/S P. N. Winther, of Nordby,
Fanoe (Fanø) Island, W. coast of Denmark, & renamed Marie.
Per LR 162.0 ft.
long, from 1866/67 165.0 ft., later, from 1886/87, 170.3 ft., signal letters VDCP. Her tonnage? 545 tons per LR thru 1874/75, 546 tons from 1875/76.
Always 546 per MNL. Per LR a ship until 1888/89, then a barque. Per MNL a barque from 1872 when
vessel's rigs were first MNL recorded.
Niels Hald-Andersen advises further that the vessel was wrecked on Apl. 7, 1890 at the island of
Madagascar (off the SE coast of Africa) while en route from Mozambique to Port Adelaide, Australia, in ballast. The entire crew got away safely
in the ship's boats. It would appear that a barque named Marie left
London on Feb. 13, 1889 & arrived at Townsville, Queensland, Australia, on Jun. 29, 1889. The correct Marie? I do not know - I could not track
her later movements. What seems to be so is that our Marie left Mozambique under the command of Captain Kloster on Mar. 27, 1890, bound for
Adelaide, Australia, in ballast, but was wrecked off the SW coast of Madagascar. The vessel was boarded by the local inhabitants who plundered
the vessel & took everything portable. The crew took to the ship's boats. It would seem that rather than landing on the Madagascar coast the
crew fled the area. After a difficult journey of 180 miles they were picked by Aurora, a brig, & landed at Durban, Natal,
East Africa. As per
these articles ex Trove, Australia. Anything you can
add? The circumstances of the vessel's loss, perhaps? An image? #2182 |
| 39 |
|
Lucerne
532/678 (N/G)tons
Hull 254
44498
|
1862 |
The vessel, an iron steamship launched
on Aug. 9, 1862 as 'Hylton' (cannot remember where I read
that), is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from
1862/63 thru 1873/74. It was owned throughout that entire period, per
LR, by Gourley & Co. of Sunderland, for initial service, thru 1865/66,
from Sunderland to the Baltic. In 1866/67, per LR, such service became
London to the Mediterranean & from 1869/70 service ex Sunderland. With,
per LR,
'Connell' serving as the vessel's captain thru 1868/69 & 'H. R. Job'
thereafter. The Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of
1865 thru 1869 all list E. T. Gourley, of Villier Street, Sunderland,
as the vessel's then owner. 200.00 ft. long, signal letters TVJL, 90
HP engines.
There are references at 'Welsh Newspapers Online' to
the vessel departing Cardiff, Wales, in 1863 for Barcelona, Spain,
Ancona, Italy, & Trieste (then Austrian Empire I believe), with
'Sheen' in command. With coal and/or with iron. And to Trieste again
i) on Jul. 22, 1864 with 550 tons of coal & ii) on Sep. 15, 1864
with a varied cargo. On Jan. 4, 1869, the vessel left Cardiff for Le
Havre, France, Job in command, with a cargo of coal. There likely
are many more 'Welsh' references to the vessel - I ran out of time
to check them all.
The vessel is not recorded in MNL of 1870. For good reason
it would appear. On an unstated date & month in 1869, per line 33
here, (I think that is what the entry says) the vessel, stated to
be a 7 year old 532 ton iron steamship, went missing while en route
from Middlesboro', Yorkshire, to Trieste, Italy, with an unknown cargo.
The vessel is stated to have had a crew of 22 - all lost of course.
The listing does not indicate where or even approximately where the
vessel went missing, simply stating that it went missing 'On Voyage'.
This page, however, tells us (in
red) that the vessel was last spoken to
passing Dover bound for Trieste - and lists her date of loss as
Mar. 17, 1869. It is a puzzle that LR continued to list the vessel
for so many years after it had gone missing. Crew lists
for the vessel are available here. Is there anything
you can
add? #2199 |
| 40 |
|
Medusa
463/602 (N/G) tons,
later 482/752
later 719/1110 tons
Hull 253
45020
|
1862 |
An iron steamship. A vessel with a most confusing data record indeed!
The
launch of the vessel, early in Jul. 1862, is referenced (in green) in
this newspaper cutting. Stated to have been built for W. S. Lindsay,
Member of Parliament, of London, for use in the Mediterranean
trade. W. S. Lindsay means William Schaw Lindsay (1815/1877), MP for
Tynemouth from 1854 thru 1859 & for Sunderland from 1859 thru 1865.
Do read about him (incl. 1 & 2).
Of humble beginnings & early orphaned, he
became a cabin boy, rose to become ship's captain (for Greenwell of
Sunderland), in 1849 established W.
S. Lindsay & Co., of London, said to be one of the largest ship owning
companies in the then world, I read with 220 vessels. Entered
politics. But had to leave it when, in 1864, he suffered a major stroke, became paralysed from the waist down &
retired from public life. Became a prolific author writing, mainly
on merchant shipping related matters,
from his home at Shepperton Manor House, Middlesex, on the River Thames. Died
young - at age 61.
The vessel was launched on Jul. 3, 1862, & was first registered (scroll to
#45020), at London, on Jul. 3, 1862. The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1862/63 to
1869/70, is not LR listed in LRs of 1870/71 & 1871/72, & is LR listed
again from 1872/73 thru 1883/84.
Thru 1869/70, per LR, the vessel, noted to be 180.0 ft. long & with
90 HP engines, was registered at London, & owned by W. S. Lindsay. For
consistent service from Sunderland to France with 'Vellacott' serving
as the vessel's captain. Such data is partially at least suspect, however,
because the vessel is listed in the Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of
1865 thru 1872 (MNLs of
1867 &
1870), registered at Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire (from 1864), & owned
by Richard Young of Wisbeach. From 1871, MNL reports the vessel as being
of 189.4 ft. long, still with 80 HP engines, built, I have read, by
R. & W. Hawthorn of Newcastle.
When LR coverage resumed in 1872/73, the vessel is LR stated to be owned,
thru 1875/76, by G. Swainston & Co. of Sunderland, for service as a
Sunderland coaster & with G. Dixon serving as the vessel's captain.
Her length is LR reported, from 1873/74, at 189.4 ft., with engines
now of 98 HP, stated to have been manufactured by J. (John) Dickinson of Sunderland.
Signal letters VBNH. What is strange is that MNLs never reference 'Swainston'
at all.
James Laing, of Sunderland, next became the vessel's owner, indeed her
final owner. Per Turnbull's Register of 1874, her was the vessel's
sole owner. With H. (Henry) Wright her captain. But when, I wonder,
did the ownership change? MNL reports James Laing as her owner from
1874 (MNLs of 1874 &
1880), while LR lists such ownership only from 1876/77.
The vessel must have been rebuilt, probably in 1876, & became of 719/1110
(N/G) tons & 222.2 ft. long.
So the vessel, initially of 180.0 ft. became 189.4 ft. & eventually
222.2 ft. long. Her tonnage, initially 463/602 (N/G) ended up as
719/1110 (N/G) tons. Her engines increased in power from 90 HP to 98
HP. It would seem that
the vessel must have been rebuilt a couple of times, been lengthened & had new engines
installed at least once.
LR of 1883/84 notes that the vessel had been 'LOST'.
I read (1,
2 &
3) that the vessel stranded, on Sep. 24, 1883, on Gadden Island
(Aland Islands, close to the mainland of Finland), Gulf of Bothnia,
while en route from Ulaburgh (likely Finland) to London with a cargo
of deals. Due to an unknown current, her holds became filled with
water. Neptune Salvage Company apparently came to her assistance. Then owned by James Laing. Henry Wright, her captain, was
held at fault & was reprimanded by the Court of Inquiry held at Sunderland into her loss.
A great many crew lists are
available
here. Is there anything you can
add? #2103
|
| 41 |
|
Alumbagh
1137 (later 1138) tons
Hull 206
47375 |
1863 |
A wooden ship with iron beams.
Per
1 &
2 (images),
3 (1864 artwork
as troopship),
4 (1882 Edouard Adam
artwork),
5 (1875 voyage to Auckland),
6
& 7
(ex
8)
(both
re 1883 Carnatic rescue).
190.0 ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular, signal letters VNJG. In 1874/75,
the Lloyd's registry data changed - became of 1138 tons & 193.0 ft. long.
The webmaster has many editions of 'Lloyd's Register' thru 1889/90, available to
him ex Google Books, (image at left). The vessel was built in 1863 for Dunbar &
Co. (Duncan Dunbar), of London. for the India
(Calcutta) & East Indies trade. The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') of 1867,
however, (page 18, image soon) lists Gellatly & Co. of London, as the vessel's
then owner. In 1870 the MNL states that
John S. A. Dunbar of London was the then owner. In 1875, the vessel carried 40 passengers to
Auckland, New Zealand ('NZ'). The vessel was sold, in Aug. 1880,
to John Herron, of Liverpool, (later J. Herron & Co.), & used as an emigrant ship to Australia & NZ. On
Aug. 4, 1883, the vessel, then said to be a barque (incorrect per Lloyd's
Registers) & under the command of Dugald McDonald,
encountered a hard gale when off Port Elizabeth, South Africa, at 35S/25E. The vessel suffered considerable
storm damage. At
9 a.m. that day they met Carnatic (an 871 ton barque built
in 1867 by 'W. Pile, Hay & Co.' of
Sunderland) flying distress signals. Carnatic had 3 ft.
of water in her holds, her pumps had failed & she was in the process of sinking.
Effecting an immediate rescue proved to be impossible due to the weather conditions &
Alumbagh stood by.
At 8 a.m. on Aug. 5, 1883, a ship's lifeboat was launched, commanded by J.
Gunning, Alumbagh's Chief Officer, with a crew of 5. In 3 trips the boat saved
all persons aboard Carnatic - 19 lives in all
including the captain's wife. Carnatic sank soon thereafter; her
survivors were landed 21 days later at St. Helena in the South Atlantic. The 'Shipwrecked Fishermen
and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society' granted awards to, it would seem, all
members of the boat's crew. The Board of Trade awarded a piece of plate to Captain McDonald.
J. Gunning later became Alumbagh's Captain. Along the way the ship was chartered by New Zealand Shipping Co. The
vessel was sold again, in 1889, to G. T. Soley and Company, of
Liverpool. However the MNLs for 1890
& 1892 state that Robert K.
Kelley of Liverpool was then the managing owner. In Aug. 1892, while en route from Musquash (Bay of Fundy, New
Brunswick, Canada) to Liverpool, the ship was
abandoned in a hurricane. Link 2 says
however
'In 1867 she sailed from New York and has not since been heard of.' That
reference is troubling in view of the other data above. I believe, however, that my data
is correct.
What happened in 1892 can now be read
here ex here. The vessel, referenced as being a barque, left Musquash for Liverpool on Aug. 14, 1892 with a cargo
of deals which included deals stored & lashed on deck in piles 2 ft. 9 in. high.
The vessel was then owned by G. T. Soley of Liverpool & had a crew of 16. On
the evening of Aug. 21, 1892, at 43.24N/56.56W in the North Atlantic, a heavy sea carried away the starboard lifeboat &
'started' the deck load. The vessel made water but the pumps could not be used.
The storm turned into a hurricane, seas rolled over the vessel & she began to
break up. Hatches were burst in, cabins all washed away & the main mast settled
5 ft. lower down in the hull of the ship. On the afternoon of Aug. 22, 1892, the entire crew was rescued by a
French steamer - I cannot tell you its name. Alumbagh was likely named
after Alumbagh, a fort near Lucknow, India, prominent in the history of the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
Can you add anything?
|
| 42 |
|
Hector
1615/1295 (or 1979) tons
Hull 257
44550 |
1863 |
An iron steamer. From
1 (launch announcement),
2 (data thanks to 'Bonsor' & Ted Finch),
3
(brief data),
4
(Temperley Line),
5 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
Single screw, 3 masts, 284.4 ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular with clipper bow, speed of 10
knots, 200 HP, signal letters TVMW, stated to be the largest vessel ever built
on the Wear at its date of launch. Built for E. T. Gourlay, of Sunderland. In 1864 the vessel was chartered by them to 'British Colonial Steamship Company Limited' (after
1872 known as 'Temperley Line') for a single voyage
(Jul. 30, 1864) from London to Quebec, Canada. Similarly chartered in
1872 for 3 voyages. Two of which were London, England, to Quebec, Canada, in May
& Jun. 1872 (but
maybe were onwards to Montreal?). The Mercantile Navy Lists of 1867 (page 172,
image soon) & 1870
both
list E. T. Gourley, of Sunderland, as her then owner, as does the equivalent
list of 1880. The vessel was sold in 1888, to W. H. Loveridge & Co. of West Hartlepool. And soon sold again, it would seem, - to R.
Livingston & Co., also of West Hartlepool. The Mercantile Navy Lists of 1890
& 1900 state,
however, the then managing owner to be William Livingston of West Hartlepool. It was scrapped at Genoa, Italy, in 1900,
I read & the register for the vessel was closed in that year. That's all
the data I have so far found! But beware! Miramar states that the vessel was 'wrecked on Colding Bank 9.11.65', which would mean 1865 I believe
- data that I do not think can be correct. Or maybe it was thought to be wrecked
but repaired & continued in service. There were many vessels of the name. More data would be welcomed. |
| 43 |
|
Biddick
504/640
later 435/640, 561/875 & 474/788 (N/G) tons
Hull 271
47719
|
1864 |
Biddick, which was launched on May 28, 1864 &
completed on Jun. 27, 1864, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1864/65 thru 1896/97
(1875) at least & is surely LR listed in later years,
probably thru to 1910. It was owned, per LR, thru 1884/85, by H. Morton (Henry T. Morton) of Biddick Hall, County Durham. 'Morton' became incorporated in or about 1885/86 & the name of
the registered owner became H. T. Morton & Co. Per LR it became, in or about 1896/97, rather owned by The Lambton Collieries Ltd. of Newcastle.
The webmaster notes that
'Lloyd's Register Foundation' ('LRF') makes available 20 documents re
Biddick including
this survey, conducted while the vessel was under
construction in Jun. 1864.
The vessel's captains, per LR? 'Warren' (Henry Warren, I read) from 1864/65 thru 1869/70, H. Todd
from 1869/70 thru 1872/73, T. Liddle from 1873/74 thru 1884/85 & T. Roach from 1885/86 thru 1896/97.
This 'Mau' family web page tells us that William Robert Strutt
(1859/1937) was the vessel's
captain from Dec. 28, 1896 thru to Jan. 24, 1902. H. Atkins in 1905/6, R. M.
Blackburn from 1907 thru 1909. While 'Liddle' captained, the vessel served many French ports (Bordeaux, La Rochelle, St.
Nazaire, Le Havre etc.) and other continental ports incl. Bilbao, Spain, Hamburg, Germany, Nieuwe Dieppe (Amsterdam), Ostend, Belgium & also Stockholm, Sweden.
Biddick is Mercantile Navy List ('MNL')
listed from 1865 thru 1910, recorded thru 1894 as being owned by H. T. or Henry T. Morton without reference to the above referenced incorporation. MNL's of 1895 & 1896 record the vessel's owner as
being The Earl of Durham, of Lambton Castle, County Durham. And, from 1897, MNL rather lists 'The Lambton Collieries Ltd.' as the vessel's
owner. Some sample MNL listing years -
1870,
1890, 1896,
1900
&
1910. From 1889, MNLs record the name of the vessel's managers - Thomas J. Reay in 1889 & 1890 (but surely from 1884 or maybe from even earlier), Thos. Nicholson from 1891 thru 1903, & Edward T.
Nisbet from 1904 thru 1910.
Biddick's signal letters were VPSF. It is clear that the vessel was rebuilt in or about 1878. Prior to that date the vessel was 185.7 ft. long,
reported to have had 80 HP & then (from 1876/77) 90 HP engines by George Clark ('Clark') of Sunderland. In or about 1878 the vessel was rebuilt. It became 211.0 ft. in length with 95 or 99 HP engines also by Clark. LRF makes
available a detailed Jul. 1878 report on the vessel's new engines. A great many crew lists are available via
this page.
In researching the vessel's operational history the webmaster, 'best-efforts', came across the following events in the vessel's life. There likely were
more notable events that the webmaster did not spot. i) The vessel quite frequently sailed to Bordeaux, France. On Jan. 25, 1866,
Biddick, with Henry Warren in command, left Bordeaux for
Sunderland in ballast. Soon after departing Bordeaux, in the river Gironde, Biddick was in collision with
Pilot Boat #2, of Pauilliac, which had 3 men aboard & showed no lights.
Biddick took
the much damaged boat alongside but it soon sank. Its 3 crew members were transferred to another
pilot boat & landed at Bordeaux. Per
this captain's report. ii) On Apl. 14, 1866, in the River Thames, London, the vessel collided with a barge. Which sank with the one man aboard being drowned. iii) On Mar. 13, 1878,
Biddick, 'Liddle' in
command, arrived at Le Havre with 800 tons of coal, en route to Rouen, France. It could not immediately proceed due to the state of the tides. A day or so later, on Mar. 16, 1878, the vessel, went
aground on the Berville Bank in the river Seine & suffered damage to its machinery & boilers. Two or three tugs got it off & towed it into Rouen.
Biddick was not repaired at Rouen - it rather was towed
back to Sunderland (arrived Apl. 05, 1878) by Countess of Durham (built at Stockton in 1855), sent from Sunderland for that purpose. Per these contemporary
reports - 1, 2 &
3. iv) On Oct. 10, 1884 a number of vessels, including
Biddick, bound for London with a cargo of coal, & also
Ashford, were sheltering in Bridlington Bay, Yorkshire. During the night,
Ashford dragged her anchor & came into collision with
Biddick,
causing extensive damage to both vessels. Biddick's stem was split open - both had to be run on shore. A part of
Biddick's cargo was thrown overboard & the vessel was soon floated off & presumably repaired. As
you can read in these (4 &
5) contemporary newspaper cuttings. v) On Dec. 01, 1890, Biddick (T. Roach) towed
Fram, a Tvedestrand, Norway, steamship, 'Beruldsen' in command, into Harwich.
Fram with a
broken piston. vi) On Dec. 03, 1890, the vessel, 'Roach' in command, collided with
Dauntless, a Cochester fishing smack near the West Burrows buoy (Thames Estuary).
Dauntless was towed into
Brightlingsea by Emblem, a smack, also of Colchester. vi) On Jul. 18, 1898 it was reported that
Biddick, en route from Sunderland to Bordeaux, France, was in collision with the Royan (SW France, Gironde estuary) pilot
boat Marie. The pilot boat sank, all of the crew being saved. As per
this article (in blue). Biddick later arrived at Bilbao, Spain, on Jul. 21, 1898.
vii) On Jun. 26, 1902, 'Strutt' in command, the vessel, en route from Bilbao to
Middlesbrough with a cargo of iron ore, stranded at North Cheek, Robin Hood's
Bay, Yorkshire during a dense fog. The captain refused assistance. I read that
some cargo was jettisoned, that the vessel got off without serious damage & arrived at
Stockton on Jun. 27, 1902.
What finally happened to
Biddick? On Jan. 25, 1910, 'Lloyd's List' noted that that the vessel had been sold to shipbreakers.
This related report does not name the shipbreakers but does state that
it was sold for about £1,500.
Can you
tell us more? #2910 |
| 44 |
 |
Onyx
420 tons
Hull 276
51153 |
1864 |
An iron barque that had a very long life indeed. From 1 (1904 grounding at Kaipara
- data sources indicated), 2
& 3
(scuttled in 1925), 4 (image, Onyx, ex 'Trove' image at State Library of Victoria but I cannot successfully link to it),
5 (Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access. Miramar state that the vessel was built in 1865). 136.5
ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular, later 136.6 ft., signal letters WMDF. The webmaster has a number of editions of 'Lloyd's Register' thru 1889/90, available to him ex Google Books,
(image at left), but the vessel was in full service for as many as 20 more years thru 1909. The barque was built for 'Wheatley & Co.', of Sunderland, for service to the Black Sea,
likely coal outbound, returning with grain. In 1866/67 the owners became 'Wheatherly & Co.' & in 1867/68 'Weatherley' - all data corrections? The Mercantile
Navy List ('MNL') of 1870 states Robert Weatherley of Sunderland. It later would seem to have traded
to the Mediterranean & the West Indies & also between English ports & Australia & New Zealand. In 1874/75, 'R. Weatherley', of Sunderland, was the
vessel's owner. By 1876/77, 'R. Sharp & Co.', also of Sunderland (or per the
1880 MNL Robert Sharp of Newcastle), had become the
vessel's owners. The vessels initial captain was named 'Hatch', maybe (unless there were two captains named 'Hatch') 'W. Hatch', who served thru 1882/83 when the vessel was sold to 'W. R. Williams', of
Wellington, New Zealand ('NZ'), with J. Simon assuming command. By 1885/86, R. Guthrie, of Dunedin, NZ,
(or Henry Guthrie per the 1890
& 1900 MNL's) was the vessel's owner with 'Hugh Paterson'
taking over from J. Salmon as her captain. There are many hundreds of references to the vessel at 'PapersPast'
& at 'Trove', far too many of them for me to be able to read them all. It would seem, however that the vessel was active in southern waters &
for many years carried such varied cargoes as wheat, sugar, coal & coke - but most particularly many voyages carrying timber to Australia ex Kaipara, NZ. In late 1903, the vessel carried
coal for use by Antarctic relief ships, from Westport, NZ, to Hobart, Tasmania. On or about Sep. 22, 1904, the vessel bound from Kaipara, NZ, for Melbourne,
Australia, with 307,526 ft. of kauri pine, ran aground on the Lady Catherine Reef off Kaipara Heads. The vessel was refloated with the assistance of two tugs
& apparently suffered no damage. The rest of the voyage was not without incident however - she had to survive major storms at sea which both damaged & delayed
the vessel such that she had to put into Sydney to re-provision. It would seem that the vessel served thru 1909. On Oct. 17, 1909, the vessel left Dunedin/Port Chalmers for Wellington, both NZ, under tow by Haurato. At
Wellington, the tow was taken over by Navua, which took the vessel to Auckland, NZ,
there to become a coal hulk for 'Union Company' (The Union Steam Ship Co. of New
Zealand Ltd. of Dunedin), & moored in the Auckland, harbour. In the summer of 1925, then 61 years old, the vessel was determined to be unsafe, & on
Nov. 5, 1925, the ship was towed out to be scuttled off Cuvier Island, near Auckland. It would seem that the ship did not want to die - it was reported still afloat some days later, on Nov. 9,
1925. Somewhere along the way, Solomon Bryant was her captain. Can you add
anything to this record? Another image perhaps? #1901 |
| 45 |
|
Royal Arthur
1380 tons
Hull 264
48760 |
1864 |
An iron ship. So far as the webmaster can see, this vessel was never recorded in Lloyd's Register ('LR'). I wonder why that was so? The vessel was a substantial ship indeed, its builder was prominent and it was
made of iron.
I have previously recorded H. Fernie & Son as the vessel's initial owner. As is confirmed by
this launch announcement - launched on Dec. 24, 1863. The Mercantile
Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1865 & 1866
both record the vessel as registered at Liverpool & owned by William James Fernie, of Liverpool.
It
would seem that the vessel was then either sold or transferred. More
likely transferred since when the vessel was lost in 1871, see below, W. J.
Fernie is stated to have been her then owner. MNLs of 1867 thru 1871 (1870) record, however, Merchants' Trading Company
(Limited), of Liverpool,
as her then owner.
Signal letters VWDN. Some crew lists are
available
here.
On Apl. 18, 1871, per line 1330
here, the 1380 ton iron ship was stranded near The Hook (a rocky peninsular near Waterford, Munster, Ireland, noted for its ancient, over 800 years old,
Hook Lighthouse), while en route from San Francisco, California, to Liverpool
with a cargo of wheat etc.
This page states that the wreck was on Apl. 22, 1871 but Apl. 18, 1871 does seem to be correct (here
ex here). Crew of 30 - none lost. The
ship, then under the command of Captain Hington, was stated to be owned by W. J. Fernie. I read that the vessel's captain had taken no reckonings
for some time &, during a gale, ran the ship onto the rocks - described as being carelessness on behalf of the captain! -
(1
& 2).
I
read that the vessel was also carrying '200 tons of copper and silver
ore and walrus tusks'. At least 17 walrus tusks but probably many more. A later report from Liverpool, dated Jul. 28, 1871, published
in the 'Daily Alta' of California on Aug. 23, 1871, is of interest & can be read
here.
Is there anything you can add? Or correct? #2498 |
| 46 |
|
Achilles
985/781 (later 1426/910) tons
Hull 273
51181 |
1865 |
An iron steamer. From
1 (brief data),
2 (a reference to an 1870 to New Zealand passenger list),
3
(Temperley Line),
4 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
Single screw, 3 masts, 235.0 later 274.8 ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular with clipper bow, speed of 10 knots,
signal letters HFQT.
Built for E. T. Gourlay (or Gourley), of Sunderland. The vessel was chartered, in 1866, to 'British Colonial
Steamship Company Limited', (after 1872 known as 'Temperley Line'), for their
London/ Quebec/Montreal service. And chartered in 1867 to Hiller & Strauss for Antwerp
to
New York service. The vessel was returned to her owners after two voyages. At
some point along the way, 1871/72 per Lloyd's Register, the vessel was owned by Fenwick & Co. of London
& became of the bigger dimensions. Where was it rebuilt I wonder. The Mercantile Navy List for 1880 states Wm. Stobart of Wearmouth Colliery, Sunderland, to be
the vessel's then owner. In
1883/84 the vessel became owned by Tyzack & Branfoot, of Sunderland.
Achilles was scrapped in 1903. That's all
I have! More data would be welcomed. |
| 47 |
|
Ashford
1058 later 1065 tons
Hull 279
52771 |
1865 |
An iron steamship. The vessel seems never to have been Lloyd's Register
listed - I wonder why. Signal letters HMGN, 120 HP. The Mercantile Navy
Lists of
1867 &
1870 both advise that Chas. Morgan Norwood of London, was the vessel's
then owner. On Feb. 04, 1870, per line 1060
here, the 1065 ton steamer was involved in a collision off Ryhope,
just S. of Sunderland, & sank. While en route from the Tyne to London
with a cargo of coal. Crew of 22 - none lost. Then owned by Charles
M. Norwood. What actually happened is a little different though she
did sink at Ryhope. On Friday, Feb. 04, 1870, Ashford,
'Duff' in command, was in violent
collision with the steamer
Advance, off Whitby, while bound for the Tyne in ballast.
Ashford
suffered the more serious damage of the two. Advance took some of
Ashford's
crew aboard, stood by Ashford for a while, then continued towards Shields.
The damaged Ashford headed towards Sunderland. At 1 p.m. the next
day, i.e. Feb. 05, 1870, Ashford, then off Ryhope, let go her anchors.
'In doing so, the vessel's side was so much injured that she began
to fill, & soon sank'. Her crew were rescued by
Fiery
Cross, a tug under the command of Robert Black, & landed at the entrance to Sunderland South Dock. I have read that 23 crew members
of Ashford were so landed. Mainly as you can read in
these two contemporary newspaper cuttings. Can you
add anything? More data would be welcomed. #2711 |
| 48 |
|
City of Durham
697/538 tons
Hull 280
29960 (I wonder why
such a low number) |
1865 |
A cargo ship. From
1
(Inman Line, City of Durham),
2
(brief data),
3 (William
Inman, with image),
4 (2 page original City of Durham survey document, do see it enlarged,
via the down arrow under the image),
5 (many crew lists available),
6 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
WWW data is limited. The webmaster has, however, a number of 'Lloyd's Registers'
('LR') available to him ex Google Books, (image at left), for what would appear to be
City of Durham's entire life. From 1865/66, the vessel was registered in
the name of 'W. Inman'. The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') of 1870 states William
Inman. In a practical sense that may mean 'Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship
Company', known as the Inman Line, after its remaining founder William Inman (1825/1881).
A passenger (emigrant) line. Inman was an innovator, indeed. What was the vessel?
An iron steamer,
201.1 ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular, signal letters KFJG, 120 HP
engines by, I read, Thompson, Boyd & Co. of Newcastle, later 95 HP engines by
Laird Bros. of Birkenhead. Until the 1878/79 edition of LR, the vessel
had it would seem only one captain - by the name of Phillips. 'Inman Line', in 1867-1870, gained the contract to serve the Queenstown,
Ireland, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, route.
And the City of Durham was used as a 'feeder service' from
Halifax to St. John's, Newfoundland, relative to that route. Link 2 records a
voyage from Liverpool to Halifax via Queenstown in 1871, but suggests the vessel
was built in Glasgow (in error). In 1878, the vessel was sold to J. Edwards, of Liverpool.
The MNL of 1880 states
that Edward H. Capper of Cardiff, Wales, was the
vessel's then owner. By the 1883/84 edition of LR, the vessel was owned by 'Capper,
Alexander & Co.', of Cardiff, & the listing states that the vessel was then
wrecked.
On Aug. 25, 1883, while en route from Bilbao, Spain, to Cardiff, with a
cargo of iron ore, the vessel was lost near 'Ile de Seine lighthouse'. During
dense fog. 'Île de
Sein' is, I learn, a French island in the Atlantic Ocean, off Brittany, Finistère, NW tip of
France - 8 km. W. of Pointe du Raz. The
captain was in default for neglecting the use of the lead & was reprimanded. As per Inquiry #1934 (image at left), the vessel was then
owned by 'M. Angel and others', of Cardiff. A little more data is
available via these newspaper reports (1 (in red) &
2). And now, thanks to the extensive
coverage at 'Welsh Newspapers
Online', we can provide details as to the Court of Inquiry's decision - here &
here.
Including the names of the vessel's captain & chief officer at the time of her loss - 'John
Powell Stevenson' & 'Alfred D. Skey'.
More data would be welcomed.
And an image! |
| 49 |
|
Francoli
1035/829 (later 1038, 1210 & 1241) tons
Hull 277 |
1865 |
A cargo ship. From
1 (Spanish page, extensive data, 4
vessel images plus),
2 (Spanish page, Linea de
Vapores Tintoré),
3 (Compañía Trasmediterránea),
4 (service ex Liverpool),
5 ('uboat.net',
Francoli sinking),
6 ('wrecksite.eu',
Francoli sinking data),
7 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
The webmaster has a number of 'Lloyd's Registers' available to him thru 1889/90
ex Google Books, see left. Single screw, 2 masts, 236.5 ft. long perpendicular
to perpendicular, speed of 11
knots, signal letters HMWJ. The vessel would appear to have had capacity for 108
passengers. Built for 'P. M. Tintoré & Co.', later, in 1877, 'Pablo Maria Tintoré y C.', a
limited partnership, & in the
early 1900s 'Linea de
Vapores Tintoré', all of Barcelona, Spain. Tintoré provided a regular
passenger & cargo service between Almeria & Alicante, Spain, & Oran, Algeria,
but Francoli, it would seem, was used on the Liverpool to
Barcelona route. In 1917, the vessel was transferred
to 'Compañía Trasmediterránea S.A.', a newly formed (Nov. 25, 1916) Spanish company in which Tintoré
had a majority interest. The other shareholders were
i) Ferrer Peset Hermanos, ii) Sociedad Anónima de Navegación e Industria, iii)
Compañía Valenciana de Vapores Correos de África.
Don José Cabot was the vessel's captain, in 1916. Trasmediterránea provided service
from Spain to the Balearic & Canary Islands, & to North Africa. At 1 p.m. on Oct.
01, 1918, Francoli was en route from Alicante
(Mediterranean coast of Spain) to Sfax,
Tunisia, with a cargo of sulfates (or maybe of esparto grass) & a crew of 26.
I wonder who was her captain? The vessel was either under charter to or
requisitioned by the
Spanish Government. What happened that day? I am unable to tell you accurately
since consistent data appears to be elusive.
I have read that the vessel, suspected of carrying war materials, was stopped by
UB-49, Oberleutnant zur See Adolf Ehrensberger in command, which did not await a
boat sent or to be sent by Francoli with documentation to demonstrate that the vessel was Spanish &
therefore neutral. UB-49 attacked Francoli with artillery,
as many as 25 shells,
'off Cape Palos' (Cabo de Palos), Spain, causing the loss of steering, causing
the vessel's boilers
to explode & resulting in a fire. Francoli soon sank. I have however also read, in WWW available contemporary newspaper
reports, that the vessel was sunk, without warning, by torpedo - in words
attributed to the Francoli crew. And that the crew were permitted to take to life
rafts
& then the vessel was dispatched. Where did this happen? I have read at
36.42N/00.44W but that location is about 100 miles S. of Cape Palos & the
newspaper references state 14 miles off the Cape, so I suspect that those
co-ordinates are imperfect. The wreck, known to divers perhaps, as 'Candelero', I read, lies at 100 metres depth, at approximately 37.39N/00.32W,
which is close indeed to the Cape.
The entire crew was saved by Saint Servan,
(a French steamer which attacked the submarine), & landed at Alicante. There must be more to the
crew rescue since M.
A. Levassor, Captain of Saint Servan, was awarded the silver medal of the Spanish
Live Saving Society ('Sociedad
Española de Salvamento de Náufragos') re the rescue. And, I have read also, that
but for his efforts, the crew would have faced certain death. The vessel has not proved to
be an easy vessel to list, in part due to the confusing & conflicting data & to the webmaster's inability in Spanish.
Corrections to the above would be welcomed,
as would additional data or images. Joaquin Tintore, of Spain, is researching
the vessel - any additional data received by the webmaster will be forwarded to
him. #1853
|
|
50 |
|
Hiogo
738/502 tons
Hull 284
58083
|
1865 |
Hiogo/Hyōgo? A port & area in western Japan which in 1868 first became open to foreign shipping.
Per 1 (top
left image source), 2 (Hiogo wreck page).
Hiogo, an iron steamship, is noted, in a number of places,
to have been launched on Dec. 19, 1865. The webmaster understands, however, that the vessel was not
completed until early Aug. 1867. Indeed, the Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') tells us that it was registered at
Sunderland only on Aug. 19, 1867 (scroll to
#58083). It would seem that significant problems must have been encountered in the 'fitting-out' period.
Hiogo is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1867/68 thru 1873/74. Which is, in itself, most strange. Read on for why I say that.
The vessel was
always LR noted to be owned by J. (James) Laing of Sunderland, i.e. by its builder, for consistent service from Sunderland to Japan with R.
Bainton always noted to have been the vessel's captain. An expienced captain, I have read.
The
vessel sailed down the E. coast to London. And at 1 p.m. on Sep. 28, 1867,
Hiogo left London on her maiden voyage, for Yokohama, Hiogo & Nagasaki, all Japan,
with intended stops en route at Falmouth & Cape of Good Hope. With Richard Brainton in command, a crew of 27, six passengers & a valuable cargo. Rough weather was
encountered as she proceeded westwards down the Channel but past Start Point, Devon, the weather became clear with light winds. Captain Brunton had been
on duty for a great many hours. Just before midnight on Sep. 30, 1857, about 21 miles away from Eddystone, he went
below leaving instructions with the chief mate (James Buchanan) to pass on to Henry John Johnson, the ship's 2nd officer, who was to take command of the vessel
at midnight. It would seem that Johnson was quite young, just 18 years of age, was accordingly inexperienced and, I have read, essentially had no knowledge of the Eddystone. The captain's
instructions were to sail WNW, to not get within a mile of Eddystone Light & call him
when they were there. The vessel's course took it to the N. of the Eddystone Light. The captain was roused but did not come to
the deck. At about 2 a.m. on Oct. 01, 1867, Hiogo, proceeding at 10 knots, crashed into Sugar Loaf Rock, at the NE end
of the Eddystone reef. Within 150 yards of & illuminated by the light itself. It was considered astonishing to all, at
the time, that this could have happened since the Eddystone Light was clearly visible for miles & there were no
adverse weather conditions.
To cut a long story short,
Hiogo ended up sinking in
deep water, the passengers were safely landed, a part of the cargo including boxes of coins were saved. And the whole matter became
the subject of a Board of Trade Wreck Inquiry, which commenced at Greenwich,
London, on Oct. 15, 1867. The remains of the vessel are still
there at the site today.
Hiogo was 220.0 ft. long, barque rigged, with 140 HP engines by John
Kerr (have also read John Key), of Kirkaldy, Scotland. At the time of her loss the vessel's sole owner was James Laing who, I read, held 'a power to sell her
for £22,000 at any time within nine months'.
The webmaster has not located the report of the Board of Trade Inquiry which surely
was published. If anybody can provide such report, do be in touch
that it might be made available to all via this page. A summation of such report is, however, here
(ex here). The newspapers of the day extensively reported on the hearings day by day. The loss was the
result of 'unaccountable negligence' in the view of the Court. In its decision, the Court considered Captain Bainton to be guilty of default contributing to the loss of
Hiogo & suspended his certificate for a 12 month period. The Court applied the same reprimand to 2nd officer Johnson.
This page sets out some of the Court's deliberations & its conclusions.
The contemporary reporting of these events were extensive. A today
Hiogo wreck page
is here - which tell us that the 2nd officer was frightened of disobeying his captain & accordingly did not change course himself.
It also refers to one other interesting matter that I had read - that even though the Eddystone Light is only 9 miles off the coast,
folks on shore did not know of the situation until the boats arrived at Plymouth with
Hiogo passengers aboard.
Can you
tell us anything additional? #2750 |
|
51 |
|
Lumley
683/538, later 464/683, tons
Hull 275
51197 |
1865 |
An iron cargo ship, a collier. From
1 (1870 wreck reference),
2 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') recorded
from 1865/66 thru 1873/74, though its listing beyond 1970/71 is a puzzle - read
on. Owned by Morton & Co. of Sunderland for service ex
Sunderland & later ex Shields as a collier or coaster. The 'Laing' build list however, available here, indicates that the vessel was built for
Lambton Collieries.
I cannot
explain the relationship between Lambton Collieries & 'Morton & Co.' or
'H.
T. Morton & Co.', but it was
surely very close indeed - they seem almost to be one & the same entity. The
vessel would seem to have had just one Captain - Captain E. Edwards. I have
found few meaningful WWW references to the vessel which surely carried coal
from the northeast to the S. of England & to the continent. 195.2 ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular, single screw, signal letters HVGM.
The Mercantile Navy List of 1870 lists Henry Thos. Morton of Biddick Hall, Durham, as
the then owner of the 464 ton vessel. The 1873/74
edition of LR notes (image at left) that the vessel was lost. I now see
that Lumley was in fact lost on Jul. 21, 1870, when, en route to
Bordeaux, France, the vessel 'struck on a reef near Alderney and became a
total wreck'. Such data is further confirmed at line
658 here. Crew of 18 - none lost. An eBay
builder's half model was described by the vendor as being.
Of interest perhaps - the 1874/75 edition of LR reports H. T. Morton as the owner of a new
Lumley, a 472 ton steamer built by 'Blumer' in 1872. That's all
I have! More data would be welcomed.
And an image! |
|
52 |
|
Hilda
444/653 (N/G) tons
Hull 288
45747
|
1866 |
An iron steamship. Per
1 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). Hilda, which was launched on May 31, 1866, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1866/67 thru 1873/74 & not thereafter. The vessel's life proved to be quite short. LR records that Thomas & Co., of Whitby, was always the vessel's owner for service ex Sunderland - incl. service from Sunderland to France thru 1871/72. With 'Wilkinson', per LR, serving as the vessel's captain from 1866/67 thru 1872/73, F. Brittain from 1872/73 thru 1873/74 & J. Tose from later in 1873/74.
The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') notes that Hilda was first registered at Whitby on Jul. 18, 1866 & from 1867
thru 1874 consistently records Robert Harrowing, of Whitby, as the vessel's owner.
How to reconcile the conflicting ownership data? It seems likely that Robert Harrowing was the vessel's managing owner but not her majority owner.
This Whitby history page tells us that 'Jn. Harrison Thomas' owned 48 of the vessel's shares & Robert Harrowing the remaining 16 shares. And also advises that the vessel was lost on Oct. 22, 1873.
192.7 ft. long, 90 HP engines, crew lists for the vessel are available here.
LR of 1873/74 notes that the vessel had been 'Wrecked'. It seems clear that in late 1873
Hilda was engaged in the carriage of iron rails to Riga, Latvia, ex Newport, Wales, returning with cargoes of timber. On Oct. 13, 1873,
indeed, Hilda was cleared out of Newport for Riga,
with Jose (rather than Tose) noted to have been in command, with a cargo of rail iron. This article, which seems to suggest that the vessel was then Newport rather than Whitby registered, tells us that on Oct. 22, 1873 the vessel stranded 2 miles S. of Windau (Ventspils, Latvia) & became a total wreck. With 9 crew members saved. Or put another way, one crew member was lost - drowned. A bit inland on the
Venta river it would seem. Wikipedia (thanks!) essentially confirms such data.
Is there anything you can
add? Or correct? #2566 |
| 53 |
|
Parramatta
1521, later 1402/1465 & 1416/1468 tons
Hull 209
54740
|
1866 |
Parramatta?
A city, located within the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales ('NSW'), Australia,
which lies along the Parramatta River (empties into Sydney harbour). Sometimes
named Paramatta. Initially an outlying farm colony of Sydney named Rose Hill, it was
renamed Parramatta (an aboriginal name) in 1791.
A 3-masted fully rigged ship, later
(from 1896/97, maybe a year earlier) a barque, of composite construction,
launched on May 29, 1866 (per these contemporary news reports - 1 & 2. I note that
'Lloyd's Register Foundation' kindly makes available 22 Survey related
documents re the vessel including this Survey conducted while the vessel was in
course of construction.
Per eBay (a 1977 oil painting of Parramatta by artist
James G. Butler, eBay available as this listing is updated in Mar. 2024), 1
(data, including voyage details), 2 (extensive
vessel data & imagery), 3 (informative
2017 'Sunderland Echo' article), 4 (Parramatta at Circular Wharf, Sydney, in
1872, in a splendid artwork by artist John Stobart).
Parramatta is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1866/67 thru 1898/99,
though the webmaster is not able to access LR of 1895/96.
For all of the years thru 1887/88,
Parramatta was, per LR, owned by Devitt &
Moore (1 & 2) of London. For the Australian cargo
& passenger trade.
The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL'), which records the managing owner where there
was more than one owner, records Joseph Moore, of London, as the vessel's owner
from 1867 thru 1871 (1870).
From 1872 thru 1875 MNL reports 'Devitt & Moore', while MNLs of 1876 thru 1887 (1880)
record Thomas Lane Devitt, of
London. MNL of 1888 rather records Joseph Moore, jun., of London. MNL does not
list the vessel after 1888.
While
'Devitt & Moore' owned, the vessel had, per LR, just three captains. J.
(John) Williams
thru 1871/72, J. Swanson from 1871/72 thru 1873/74 or 1874/75 & 'Goddard'
(William Goddard) thereafter thru 1886/87. Link 1 tells us, however, that J. R.
Brown was the vessel's captain in 1873/74.
Some partial, 'best-efforts',
Parramatta operational data - by captain.
John Williams:- i) On
Sep. 12, 1866 the vessel arrived at Plymouth ex London, en route to Sydney,
where it arrived on Dec. 14, 1866. It left Sydney on Feb. 09, 1867 & was entered
in at London on May 08, 1867. ii) On Aug. 27, 1867 the vessel passed Gravesend,
London, for Sydney via Plymouth. It arrived at Circular Wharf, Sydney, on Nov.
28, 1867, with about 70 first class passengers & ten more in steerage. Its
varied cargo included iron rails, railway chairs, 3 rams & possibly some horses.
The vessel left Sydney on Feb. 08, 1868 with 3,200 bales of wool, 1,000 bags of
copper ore, 2,100 cakes of copper, tallow etc. I have not spotted when it
arrived back in London. iii) On Aug. 25, 1868, the vessel left London for
Sydney, via Plymouth (left Sep. 05, 1868). It arrived at Sydney on Nov. 24,
1868, to depart Sydney on Feb. 09, 1869 for London with a cargo that included
3,330 bales of wool, cotton, copper ore, etc. It arrived back at London on May 12,
1869 (but maybe on May 19, 1869). Captain Williams, I read, retired from active
service.
J. B. Swanson:- iv) The vessel was cleared
out of London for Sydney via Plymouth on Aug. 27, 1869. It arrived at Sydney on
Nov. 27, 1869 (87 days) having experienced a series of gales after passing Tasmania
- with about 58 cabin passengers aboard. Those passengers hosted a sumptuous
reception at the Metrpolitan Hotel in Sydney on Nov. 30, 1869 to thank Captain
Swanson & his crew re the voyage. It
later left Sydney on Feb. 05, 1870 on its return journey to London, with about
46 cabin passenger & 36 in intermediate, with 3,300 bales of wool, tallow etc. In leaving the harbour, the vessel drifted towards the rocks at Sydney Heads due
to a broken hawser, but got away safely. I have not spotted
when the vessel later arrived back in London. v) On Aug. 30, 1870, the vessel
left Gravesend, London, for Sydney via Plymouth (left Sep. 04, 1870),
with a varied cargo (incl. sheep, horned cattle & birds), a full load of passengers, arriving at
Sydney on Dec. 10, 1870 (97 days). And departing on Feb. 16, 1871, towed to sea
by the steam-tug Goolwa. With what looks to have been a full passenger load & a
cargo that incl. 2,823 bales of wool, 522 hogsheads of treacle, tallow, beeswax,
etc. Again I have not spotted its arrival date at London.
vi) On Aug. 29, 1871 the vessel left Gravesend again for Sydney. In due course
it arrived at Sydney on Nov. 30, 1871 (89 days ex Plymouth) with lots of
passengers & a varied cargo which included extensive livestock. It left on Feb. 06, 1872,
again with a full passenger list & with a cargo that incl. 2,000 bales of wool,
tallow, copper, wheat etc. To be entered in
at London on May 22, 1872. vii) On Aug. 29, 1872 the vessel left Gravesend for
Sydney, via Plymouth, arriving at Sydney on Dec. 16, 1872. With a lengthy
passenger list & a vared cargo. It left Sydney on
Feb. 17, 1873, with a cargo that included 2,452 bales of wool, copper & copper
ore & a great many passengers - arriving back at Gravesend on May 23, 1873.
'Brown', apparently
J. R. Brown:- viii) On Sep. 05, 1873
the vessel left Plymouth, ex London on Aug. 31, 1873, for Sydney, arriving there
on Nov. 29, 1873. With many passengers. All the newspaper references are to 'Swanson'
being her captain, but 'Brown' was in command of Parramatta when the vessel
left the U.K. in Aug. 1873. And was its master when it left Sydney for London on
Feb. 22, 1874, with about 73 passengers (40 in intermediate), &
a varied cargo that incl. 3,228 bales of wool, copper, tin & tin ore, etc. It arrived
back at
Gravesend on May 26, 1874.
William Goddard:- ix) The vessel left Gravesend
on Aug. 30, 1874, via Plymouth (left Sep. 04, 1874), for Sydney, arriving there
on Nov. 25, 1874 (82 days from Plymouth), again with many passengers & a full
cargo. It left Sydney on Feb. 16, 1875, with over 130 passengers & a cargo that
incl 2,678 bales of wool. It was later entered in at London on May 28, 1875.
Extensive lists of passenger names re most if not all of such voyages are
available via 'Trove'. Hopefully,
in due course, more Parramatta operational details may be referenced
here. In the meantime, however, I
refer you to this link which provides details of later return voyages from
Sydney.
Parramatta's fastest trip from Sydney to
the U.K.
is said to have been of 79 days
(Feb. 01/Apl. 21, 1876).
In 1887/88, per LR,
likely on or about Jan. 13, 1888, the vessel was sold to J. Simonsen, of Mandal, Norway
-
Joh. Simonsen from LR of 1896/97. The vessel's existing name was maintained. I have read that in 1888 the vessel was sold to O. P. Hegnander of Norway.
That data
is not, however, referenced at
1,
nor is it LR supported. However, per LR, O. P. Hegnander (a number of
spellings) served as the vessel's captain from 1887/88 thru 1894/95. In 1896/97
& 1897/98, LR records S. Williamson as the vessel's captain & O. Johnson (I
think that is what the text records) in 1898/99.
231.0 ft. long, signal letters HFSR (from 1887/88), later JDVL (from 1891/92),
of English oak & teak, the last 'Laing' wooden ship, a 'Blackwall frigate'.
With six large lifeboats & a
condensing engine that could desalinate 400 gallons of water every 12 hours.
Did the vessel carry any guns? Are the gunports fake gunports?
What finally happened to the vessel? LR of 1898/99 noted that the vessel had
gone 'Missing'.
The history is confusing. I learn that on Jun. 30, 1897
Parramatta arrived at Darien,
Georgia, U.S.A., ex either Shields or Newcastle & that on Aug. 06, 1897, the
vessel left Darien for Amsterdam - arriving in due course at Ymuiden, Netherlands, on Sep. 08,
1897. The vessel's captain re such voyages was variously noted to have been 'Johnsen' in some
reports, 'Jansen' in others. It went on to Naples, Italy, it would appear. Fast
forward!
On Jan. 12, 1898, the vessel again left Darien this time for Lynn (King's Lynn, Norfolk), Apparently with a cargo of
pitch pine & with a crew of 18 all told. Rather
later - on May 18, 1898 - Lloyd's sought info about the missing vessel which was stated to
have left Sapelo (an island about 60 miles S. of Savannah, Georgia), on Jan. 12,
1898 for King's Lynn with 'Jahnsen' in command. In this
(the best legible of 3 similar articles)
newspaper report,
however, 'Pederson' is noted to have been the vessel's
captain on such voyage. Does anybody know which name is correct? I suspect that
such report is in error re the captain's name. So, so far as I can see,
Parramatta sailed
from Sapelo, Georgia, not Sapelo, Galveston, Texas, as I have read in so many places. Some further confusion. A
barque named Parramatta arrived at Grangemouth, Firth
of Forth, Scotland, ex Sapelo, on Jul. 06 or Jul. 08, 1898. Presumably it was not 'our'
vessel, though I note that Lloyd's lists no then other such vessel. At the time of its loss, 'our' Parramatta is stated to have been the largest sailing
vessel then Norwegian owned (or one of the largest as per the report
above referenced).
Re the images at left. A Sunderland shipping
website, which website requests no links or recognition, has available on its
website an image of Parramatta while it was in course of construction -
credited to the 'Anthony Renton' collection. I hope that Anthony Renton will be
content with such image also being available on this site - as at left. We thank
Anthony Renton & also that Sunderland shipping website. The 4th & 5th thumbnail images at left are of a print (31 x 19 cm. & 43 x 36 cm. overall) by 'The Insurance Company of North America', of
an F. (Frederick) Tudgay (1841/1921) 1879 artwork of Parramatta.
Of the vessel off
Sydney Heads, Australia. The 6th is of the label on the rear of a framed such print.
It would be good to be able to read the descriptive text that was recorded below
the image on an original print.
I would welcome more data.
Or corrections to the above text, large or small. |
| 54 |
|
Sherburn
644 tons
Hull 290
54877 |
1866 |
An iron cargo ship, a collier, which was launched on Jul. 28, 1866.
Per
1 (image,
Sherburn, in 'Mines de Lambton', an 1891 volume),
2
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access).
187.0 ft. long
perpendicular to perpendicular, signal
letters HNBW, 99 HP engines by W. Pile & Co. of Sunderland, but from 1887/88 at
least 80 HP engines by W. Pile & Co. Limited, of Sunderland. Miramar state
that in 1872 the engine was compounded.
The role of the vessel was to carry
coals to London & return to Sunderland with water ballast. Sherburn? A village 3 1/2 miles E. of Durham.
The webmaster has a
number of 'Lloyd's Registers' ('LR') available to him thru 1890/91 ex Google Books, see
image at left. Built for H. T. Morton, of Biddick Hall, Sunderland, for whom the
vessel would seem to have traded to Hamburg, Germany & then to France.
I note that in
late May or early Jun. 1870, the vessel left Sunderland for Bordeaux, France,
with 'Benson' in command. When off
Ushant, (French, Channel Islands, off Brest) Sherburn,
on Jun. 10, 1870, picked up the passengers & crew of Star of the West & landed them at Brest, France.
Star of the West had struck one of the Kella rocks,
off Ushant, had filled with water, & had sunk.
H. T.
Morton was long associated with Lambton Collieries ('Lambton'), indeed the 'Laing'
build list on
this site page used to indicate that the vessel was built for Lambton. In
the 1876/77 edition of Lloyd's, the owner's name was restyled as H. T. Morton & Co. The
Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of
1870 thru
1890 indicate that H. T. Morton was the
owner. The 1900 edition, however, states that The Lambton Collieries Ltd. of
Newcastle was then the vessel's owner. The vessel is still listed in LR of
1892/93 with H. T. Morton & Co. the stated owner. It is also listed in LR of
1897/98, then owned by Lambton Collieries Limited with T. Nicholson the manager.
MNL of 1904 lists the vessel
with George Lindsay, junr. of West Sunniside,
Sunderland, her managing owner. Miramar tell us (thanks!) that the vessel was
broken up in Dec. 1906.
Despite the above, it would seem that in May 1878 the
vessel was in fact owned by 'some gentlemen residing at Sunderland', with
Thomas Jowsey Reay her managing owner. On Apl. 30, 1878, Sherburn
left London, under the command of Richard Benson, with a crew of 17 all told.
Benson had been, I read, a master in the service of her owners for some 9 years.
The night was unusually dark - lights could be seen clearly but an unlighted
object could not be seen if it were further away than a ship's length. Soon
after midnight, i.e. on May 1, 1878, -Sherburn was proceeding down-river at its full
speed of 9 knots. It had to pass through the 'West Swin', a channel a little over a
mile wide between sand banks - a place where it would be normal to expect to meet other
river traffic. The forward lookout cried out that a vessel was ahead. They tried
to change course to avoid what proved to be Union, a 46 ton ketch
built in 1833, manned by a crew of 3. The ketch was hit on her starboard quarter &
immediately sank. Union had been en route from London to her home
port of Blakeney, Norfolk, with 30 casks of flour & 75 tons of manure (the
romance of the sea?). Union's 2nd mate was below at the time of
the collision & drowned. Her master scrambled up the rigging into Sherburn's
bow while a boy threw himself into the water & was saved by a Sherburn
boat. Union was unlighted (permitted by the then law) & tried to
call & whistle Sherburn. The facts were not in dispute. The Court determined that Sherburn
had been proceeding at too fast a speed in all of the circumstances & her Master's
certificate was suspended for a three month period. You can read the
Report of the Court of Inquiry here.
Can you
add anything
additional?
|
| 55 |
 |
Dacia
1517/1163 (or 1856) tons
Hull 295
56907
laid
down as Stella |
1868 |
An iron steamer.
From 1
(Dacia),
2 (good looking page,
stamps),
3 &
4 (both data),
5 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). 243.4 ft. long perpendicular to
perpendicular. Featured on no less than 3 postage stamps,
indeed! (2 Jamaica & 1 St. Vincent). Laid down as Stella. But
delivered to Norwood & Co. likely C. M. Norwood & Co. ('Norwood') as Dacia. The
vessel was chartered by
Norwood to 'British Colonial Steamship Company Limited', (after
1872 known as 'Temperley Line') for 4 voyages in 1869. It was sold, in 1870, to Sir Charles Tilston Bright
(1832/1888, Knighted 1858), who cut her in two pieces, added a 40 ft. section,
& strengthened her to accommodate a cable tank
amidships & otherwise equip her for use as a
cable laying ship. Conversion completed, (tonnage would have
changed?), the vessel was sold to
'The India-Rubber, Gutta-Percha and Telegraph Works Company Limited'
('India-Rubber'), of Silvertown, London. In 1870/3
the vessel laid an extensive cable network in West Indies
&
west to Panama. An 1895 journal of Captain Basil C. Combe is here.
The vessel worked on
the Cadiz/Tenerife cable but also in the Pacific (Chile & Peru), in the Mediterranean
extensively, on the west coast of Africa etc. The vessel was in cable service
still owned by India-Rubber until Dec. 3, 1916 when
it was torpedoed
off Funchal, Madeira Islands, while 'in the process of diverting the German South American cable
into Brest', France. An image of the attack is at 3. Anything you can add? |
| 56 |
|
Good Hope
1221/935 tons, later
1555/1018, later
1641/1045 & 1588/1027 tons. Have also read of
1256
tons
Hull
298
60848
Lunedale |
1868 |
An iron steamer, brig later schooner rigged it would seem.
Initially of 140 HP, soon 120 HP, from 1873/74 of 150 HP. From 1
(Board of Trade 1889 'pdf' Wreck Inquiry Report, Good Hope),
2,
3 &
4 (all re
Lunedale 1892 loss),
5
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 228.6 ft. long, later (from
1871/72) 268.6 ft. long,
signal letters JPLH. Though not all editions of Lloyd's Register
('LR') are available to the webmaster, the vessel appears to be LR listed from 1868/69 thru 1892/93.
It was initially owned, thru 1873/74 per LR, by 'C.G.H. S Sh.Co', of London, which I believe
means Cape of Good Hope Steam Ship Co. For initial service from London to Cape
of Good Hope, soon London to Natal (1869/70), both South Africa, from London to Liverpool
(1870/71), from London to Natal again (1871/72) & from Liverpool to the United
States (1872/73). However, the Mercantile Navy List of 1870
rather lists Henry S.
Mackenzie, of London, as the vessel's then owner. In 1873/74, per LR, James Laing,
the vessel's builder, became the owner of the London registered vessel. On Sep.
22, 1889, the vessel left Bergen, Norway, for Sunderland, under the command of William
Rees (also the ship's manager), in ballast & with 24 aboard all told including one
passenger, the Captain's daughter. The vessel is stated to have then been owned
by James Laing & William Stobart. At 2:20 a.m. on Sep. 24, 1889, a light was spotted on the starboard beam &
soon thereafter the possibility of land close by - both sightings were reported
to the Captain, who chose not to use the lead. At about 3:45 a.m. on Sep. 24,
1889, the vessel ran aground on the N. end of Saint Mary's Island, likely the
island of the name near Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear. With the help
of 3 tugs, the vessel was floated off at about 3 p.m. that same day & proceeded
to dry dock in Sunderland, where a broken rudder post was repaired as were 15 or 20 damaged
plates. The Board of Trade Inquiry held Captain Rees to be solely at fault for the grounding - for
neglecting to use the lead. His Master's certificate was suspended for a period of three months. All as per the
Board of Trade 1889 Wreck Inquiry
Report available at the link above. The
Mercantile Navy List of 1880 records James Laing as the
then owner of the London registered vessel. The equivalent list of 1890
also lists James Laing with
Wm. Rees the manager, with the vessel then registered at
Sunderland. In 1890/91, per LR, the vessel was renamed Lunedale. LR of 1892/93
notes that the vessel was 'Abandoned 11/92'. On Oct. 31, 1892, Lunedale left Philadelphia, U.S.A., for
Copenhagen, Denmark, with a cargo of wheat in bulk, under the command of
Captain W. F. Lorimer with a crew of 24 all told. The vessel soon encountered a
storm which became a hurricane in mid North Atlantic. The engines failed & the
steamer was 'left to the mercy of the wind and the sea'. Worse was to
come. The ship developed a leak & on the night of Nov. 16, 1892 the pumps failed, perhaps due to grain getting into the
mechanism.
For the next 7 days & nights, the crew attempted to bail the ship using
wooden buckets - eventually, on Nov. 21, 1892, the vessel's deck was level with the
sea. Cynthiana built in 1891, under the command of Captain McKenzie, fortunately
came on the scene - & just in time. The crew boarded a ship's boat to make for
Cynthiana (or alternatively boarded one of the Cynthiana's boats) & a few minutes later
Lunedale sank below the surface of the ocean -
at 52.37N/28.20W, 1,100 or so miles W. of Ireland. The entire crew were safely landed by Cynthiana at Brooklyn,
New York. In passing ... there would seem to have been an unusual confusion as to the early dimensions
etc. of the vessel. The vessel was initially LR listed as being of 1221/935
(gross/net) tons, of
140 HP & 228.6 ft. long. In 1871/72 that data became 1561/1239 tons of 120 HP &
268.6 ft. long. In 1873/74 the data changed again, becoming of 1555/1018 tons, of 150 HP &
still 268.6
ft. long. Curious! Anything you can add?
#1926 |
| 57 |
|
Beltana
734 (or 741 or 773) tons
Hull 313
60951
Nova Sympathia |
1869 |
A 3-masted composite fully rigged ship, a wool clipper. Later a barque. Per
1 (Beltana,
ex 'The Colonial Clippers' by Basil Lubbock, 2nd edition published 1921,
an 'archive.org' book),
2 (The 1871 Court of Inquiry, ex 'Trove', Australia (3),
4
& 5 (fire in 1889),
6 (disabled in 1895),
7 & 8 (images),
9 (lawcase 1879),
10 (Miramar, link, you now must be registered to
access). 172.5 ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular,
signal letters JPGL, a fine & fast ship it would seem. The webmaster has a
number of 'Lloyd's Registers' available to him thru 1889/90 ex Google Books, see
left. Beltana? A small town, now a semi-ghost town, W. of Flinders Ranges, N. of
Adelaide, South Australia, once noted for silver mining & possibly named after
an aboriginal word meaning 'running water' or 'crossing of the waters'. The
vessel was built for W. Stevens of London, for the Australian trade. i.e. per
the Mercantile Navy List of 1870, William Adams Stevens. The 1876/77
edition of Lloyd's Register records A. L. Elder and Co. ('Elder'), of London, as
the then owner. (The Mercantile Navy Lists of 1880
& 1890 record Alexander Lang
Elder as the vessel's owner). Elder's vessels were engaged in the passenger & cargo trade between
Britain & S. Australia, general cargo being carried to Port Adelaide & wool,
grain & other products taken aboard for the return voyage. Do read Basil Lubbock's words about
Beltana rounding
the Horn under Captain Richard Angel ('Angel'). Now at first I thought that the vessel had a
very short life - wrecked in 1871 at South Kangaroo Island, South Australia. But it would seem that that
was not so. The ship, under the command of Captain Angel, did run aground on Aug. 20, 1871, en route from London. While significantly damaged
it clearly later got off the reef - at Vivonne Bay, or maybe at Michies Reef, S. of Kangaroo Island, 70 miles SW of Adelaide, South Australia. The grounding was
not reported by Captain Angel. The ship's cargo was landed & a cargo of wool was taken on at Port Augusta but the ship leaked so much it had to be taken to Port
Adelaide for repairs. Basil Lubbock discreetly said 'Angel got his dismissal' - the truth is rather more interesting. A Court of Inquiry into the grounding
commenced at Adelaide on Nov. 16, 1871. The cause of the grounding primarily related to the master being, for much of the voyage & at the time of the grounding, in a state of intoxication.
The ship's log was largely fictitious & pages had been intentionally torn from it. Do read the summary at 2. Angel's captain's certificate was suspended for 2 years &
chief officer Hayward's mate's certificate was suspended for 3 months. A Captain Blanche arrived to take over command, while the ship was still in dock at the time of the hearing for 'stripping and resheathing'. It clearly soon was ready
for sea again. Lubbock refers to Beltana & Yatala leaving Adelaide together for London, on Dec. 18, 1871 & racing one another. It would seem
that Yatala was way in front, but it did not win the 'race', rather Yatala was lost at Cap Griz-Nez, in France, on Mar. 27, 1872. At an unknown date before May 3, 1889, Beltana was lashed alongside Nelson,
a steam tug, at Gravesend. Nelson came into collision with Hankow & a lawsuit resulted. I cannot tell you if Beltana was damaged in that collision. By the 1882/83 edition of Lloyd's
Register, the vessel had been re-rigged as a barque. The ship is said to have been destroyed by fire at Lyttelton, New Zealand. But that is untrue also. On Nov. 22, 1889, Beltana left Port Augusta, bound for London, with a cargo of 4037 bales
of wool. On Dec. 9/10, 1889, when near Antipodes Island, the cargo caught fire & Captain Henry Bright
headed for Lyttleton, NZ, knowing the port was well equipped for such a
situation. A tug brought the burning vessel into Lyttleton harbour, the wool
having then been burning for 6 days. Despite major efforts including the use of
chemicals, the fire was not quickly extinguished. Was that the end? It would seem
not. The fire was put out on or about Dec. 21, 1889. I read that the cargo was
worth £61,000 & damage to it was valued at £6,000 only. The ship suffered no
material damage & repairs were not expected to exceed £125. The fire was caused,
it is believed, by spontaneous combustion of the Merino wool, which may have been
baled in a damp condition. On Oct. 31, 1894, the ship left Adelaide for London. It was
involved in a collision in the English Channel (with which ship?) her stern 'being torn & smashed'. The ship was towed to
Gravesend, River Thames, in late Feb. 1895. On Nov. 27, 1895, Captain Bright placed a current paper, a
newspaper perhaps, into a sealed bottle & tossed it overboard. At
45.42S/147.30E, about 2,500 miles E. of NZ. It came ashore, about 21 months later, at Pitt Island, Chatham
Islands, about 600 miles E. of NZ, on Aug. 23, 1897. On Feb. 16, 1897, the vessel arrived at London.
What did later happen to her? Luc van Coolput, of Antwerp, has kindly provided the answer.
Luc advises that in 1897 Elder sold the vessel to 'Vareta,
Santos & Co.', of Oporto, Portugal, who renamed her Nova Sympathia.
Her captain was 'José d'Oliva da Velha'. On Nov. 17, 1899, the vessel stranded
at Caites, (Brazil, I believe) while
en route from Cardiff to Pará, Brazil, with a cargo of coal.
The vessel suffered major damage & she was abandoned in Dec. 1899 as a wreck. A watercolour of the
vessel, painted by H. Percival (1868/1914), as was published in 'The Golden Age of Sail',
by Frank C. Bowen, is now available at left. I read that 'Sailing Ships of the
London River', 1940, also by Bowen, contains a history of the vessel & a
diagram. A scan of the illustration & the Beltana text would be most welcome. Can you add
to or correct the above?
|
| 58 |
|
Finchale
687/549, later 714 tons
Hull 309
62526 |
1869 |
An iron, schooner rigged, cargo ship, a collier.
From 1 (Board
of Trade inquiry into the 1876 collision with & sinking of John Pegg, ex 'Accounts and Papers', published 1876,
a 'Google' book),
2
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). Single screw, 196.9 ft.
long, signal letters JDSW, with 99 HP later 90 HP engines by North Eastern
Marine Engineering Co. Ltd., of Sunderland. Speed?
Probably modest - of 8 or 8 1/2 knots perhaps.
Built for Morton & Co. i.e. Henry Thomas Morton of Biddick Hall, Durham. The
Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') of both 1870
& 1880 both list Henry Thomas Morton as the vessel's then
owner. I need to have
clarified the relationship between the Lambton Company & 'Morton'. On Feb. 16, 1876, Finchale,
a vessel
then said to be owned by Henry Thomas Morton & William Wylde, with Charles
Mew ('Mew') in command, left London, in ballast, for Sunderland, with a crew of
17 all told. She discharged her pilot at Gravesend & proceeded down the Thames
at her normal speed. Charles Kedgley ('Kedgley'), the mate, took command.
Suddenly, soon after 7:00 p.m., a faint light was seen close to, & a collision
could not be avoided. The vessel that they had hit sank. Finchale
came back to the point of collision, launched her quarter boat, but no survivors
were found thru daylight of the next morning - nor any wreckage of any sort. The
next day, the Shoeburyness Coastguard picked up a boat with the name of
John Pegg, & the name Richard Prichard painted on its inside -
Richard was the Master of John Pegg, of Carnarvon, Wales. The
Court attributed no blame to either Mew or Kedgley. Some documents re 'Mew'
kindly provided by Chris Caines. I have only a few editions
of Lloyd's Register available, but Finchale was still recorded in
the 1889/90 version, still owned by H. T. Morton & Co. As is confirmed by
MNL of 1890. The
1900 edition of
MNL records 'The Lambton Collieries, Ltd.', of Newcastle,
as the vessel's then owner. I do not know what later
happened to her, however the register for the ship was closed in 1903. Can you add anything? |
| 59 |
|
Frankland
541/706, later 439/728 (N/G) tons
Hull 315
62542
|
1869 |
Frankland, an iron steamship which was launched on Sep. 23, 1869 & completed on Oct. 15, 1869, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1870/71 thru 1896/97
(1875/76) at least & is surely
LR listed in later years, probably thru to
1914 (1912/13).
It was owned, per LR, thru 1893/94 at least, by H. Morton (Henry T. Morton) of Biddick Hall, County Durham. 'Morton' would seem to have become incorporated in or about 1876/77 & the name of
the registered owner became, from 1876/77 per LR, H. T. Morton & Co. It became, again per LR, in or about 1896/97, rather owned by Lambton Collieries Ltd. of Newcastle.
The webmaster notes that
'Lloyd's Register Foundation' makes available 25 documents thru 1882 re
Frankland including this
Lloyd's survey, conducted while the vessel was under construction in Oct. 1869.
The vessel's captains, per LR? R. Fowles from 1870/71 thru 1873/74, H. Warren from 1873/74 thru 1884/85, T. Begg from 1884/85 thru 1890/91 at
least, J. Leighton in 1892/93 & 1893/94 at least & J. Goodfellow in 1896/97 at least. R. Herring in 1912/13.
Frankland is Mercantile Navy List ('MNL')
listed from 1870 thru 1914, recorded thru 1894 as being owned by Henry Thomas Morton (or Hy. Thos. Morton) without reference to the above referenced incorporation. MNL's of 1895 & 1896 record the vessel's owner as
being The Earl of Durham, of Lambton Castle, County Durham. And, from 1897 thru 1911 at least, MNL rather lists 'The Lambton Collieries Ltd.' of Newcastle, as the vessel's owner. In 1913 & 1914 MNL lists The Lambton and Hetton Collieries
Ltd. as then the vessel's owners. Some sample MNL listing years -
1870,
1890, 1896,
1900
&
1914. From 1889, MNLs record the name of the vessel's managers - Thomas J. Reay in 1889 & 1890 (but surely from 1884 or maybe from even earlier), Thos. Nicholson from 1891 thru 1903, & Edward T.
Nisbet from 1904 thru 1914.
196.8 ft. long, signal letters WPTD, reported to have had 90 HP engines by John Dickinson of Sunderland but I note that LRs of 1873/74 thru 1875/76 rather record the
engines as being by North Eastern Marine Engineering Co. of Sunderland.
Some 'best efforts' events in the life of the vessel. By captain.
Richard Fowles, thru Jul. 1872. a) On Dec. 09, 1869,
Frankland left
Sunderland for St. Nazaire, France. It would seem that on Dec. 10, 1869, in foggy conditions, the vessel grounded on Middlecross Sands
(off Great Yarmouth). Per this report (the only reference I found to the matter),
Royal Consort of Banff, picked up three Frankford crew
members in a small boat off the coast of Norfolk & landed them at Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire. b) On Apl. 03, 1870, the vessel was leaving Sunderland for Hamburg, Germany, with a cargo of coal. It
took ground on the bar, but, after a portion of her cargo was unloaded into keels, was later that day towed off, apparently
without damage. Per these reports - 1 & 2. c)
On Apl. 22, 1871, Frankland left Sunderland for London with a cargo of 900 tons of coal & Richard Fowles her captain. All went well until at about 9.00 a.m. on Apl. 23, 1871, when 9 miles N. of Cromer, Norfolk, a few miles off the
Dudgeon Lightship, a dense fog set in. Kestrel, a 392 ton steamship (built at Hull in 1868 - ON#60143) was in the area as the time, returning to Hull from its weekly voyage to Rotterdam.
Kestrel,
under the command of Robert Danipace, had a general cargo & 134 passengers aboard, mostly emigrants en route to America via Hull & Liverpool. Both vessels sounded their foghorns & both captains
stated that they slowed down their vessels and took the necessary evasive actions.
Kestrel's captain says that she was struck amidships by
Frankland, lost engine power & began immediately to
sink. Frankland's captain says that she was struck on her stern by
Kestrel. It seems clear that Kestrel's version of the events is the more accurate of the two - witness
Frankland's bow (stem) which was severely damaged.
Frankland
took on board all of the passengers & some of Kestrel's crew, while other
Kestrel crew members incl. her captain stood by
Kestrel. The passengers were transferred from
Frankland to Eugenie, a Whitby steamship (but maybe
of Grimsby), also ex Rotterdam, which vessel also picked up
Kestrel's crew from the ship's boats & landed everyone at Grimsby.
Kestrel's hatches blew off
& she sank bow first at about 1 a.m. on Apl. 24, 1871.
Frankford, bows stove in & leaky, continued her voyage to London,
arriving there in the early hours of Apl. 25, 1871. Per these
contemporary news reports 3, 4,
5, 6 &
7.
The loss of Kestrel is recorded (in blue) in this U.K.
Government 1871 wreck listing, ex here. Such report notes that
Kestrel was owned
at the time by Christ. L. Kingrose - I read that she in fact was owned by William Henry Heap Hutchinson, John Raspin Ringrose & Christopher Leake Ringrose, all
of Kingston-on-Hull.
In Feb. 1872, both vessels sought damages from the other in a court case held at Admiralty Court in London -
Kestrel claimed £20,000 from Frankland. It was noted that the fog had been so
very dense at the time of the collision that a vessel could not be seen until one or two ship's lengths off. The correct course of action for both ships would have been, per the Court, for each to
have stopped then reversed away, rather than continue even at a slow speed. The Court determined that both vessels were at fault. Which
per this London news report effectively meant that
Frankland would pay Kestrel for half of
Kestrel's damages. And vice-versa.
Frankland appealed the Court's
decision in Dec. 1872, but the appeal was denied.
'Warren' from Jul. 1872. d) There surely
will be many more events to record. A project of another day, alas.
I read that the vessel was broken up in 1914.
Can you add anything?
Or correct the above text in any way? #2913 |
| 60 |
|
Kepier
703/518 tons
Hull 318
62549 |
1869 |
An iron cargo ship, clearly a collier.
From 1 (Board
of Trade inquiry into 1875 grounding, ex 'Accounts and Papers', published 1876,
a 'Google' book),
2 ('pdf' file, 1886 wreck report),
3
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). Single screw, 194.7 ft.
long, later 194.5 ft., speed of 8 or 8 1/2 knots, signal letters JKHN, 90 HP.
Built at the cost of £13,200 for H. T. Morton, of Sunderland. H. (Henry) T.
(Thomas) Morton
was associated with Lambton Collieries, hence Captain Mohrke, her sole Captain it would essentially
appear, is said in 1876 to have been in the service of the Lambton Company for
20 years. Audrey German advises (thanks Audrey!) that John Burgess, born in Manningtree, Essex,
in 1832, served as 1st Mate aboard Kepier from Apl. 1 to May 4,
1870. At 1:50 a.m. on Oct. 13, 1875, Kepier,
a vessel
then owned by Thomas Morton, of Durham, & John Straker, of Northumberland, registered at
Sunderland, Carl Mohrke in command, left Sunderland, with 870 tons of coal,
bound for Antwerp, Belgium, with a crew of 17 all told. At 6:20 a.m. that same
day, the vessel ran aground on Whitby Rocks. The weather had been hazy but the
vessel soon encountered thick fog. When the ship struck, the vessel was under the command of the
boatswain, the Captain being below decks. 150 tons of coal were thrown overboard
& with the help of a tug she was pulled off the rocks at 2:30 p.m. & taken into Hartlepool
for repair. No lives were lost. The Board of Trade inquiry found the Master to
be at fault for being absent from the deck, & suspended his certificate of
competency for 3 months. It would seem, however, from reading the report, that
the Master had left very clear instructions, which instructions were not carried out.
Carl Mohrke lost his certificate again 9 years later when the vessel was lost. On this occasion, he was allowed a chief mate's
certificate during the 3 month suspension & the Court acknowledged his lengthy
good conduct. What happened? At 7:10 p.m. on Feb.
11, 1886, Kepier,
then stated to be owned by Henry Thomas Morton and another, with Thomas Jowsey
Reay, of Sunderland, the managing owner, left Sunderland with 828 tons of coal,
bound for London, with a crew of 15 all told. That routing was the ship's
regular route, having done it 45 or 50 times a year for 16 years. Soon after
3:10 a.m. on Feb. 12, 1886, the vessel went ashore at Thornwick Scar, 2 miles N.
of Flamborough Head. Rockets were fired, & with the help of some fishermen, a
portion of the cargo was jettisoned. When the tides rose, the water rose within
the ship also, which broke its back & became a total loss. The weather en route had been hazy but
had become thick fog. The Court was of the opinion that the cause of the
grounding was the Captain's overconfidence as to his location, on a route
travelled so many times before, & his lack of casting the lead. Such 'neglect of
the lead' was considered to be unjustifiable. The ship was said to be worth
£8,000 when she was lost, was insured for that amount but the cargo was not
insured. The vessel was recorded in the Mercantile Navy List of
1880. Can you add anything? |
| 61 |
|
Galeed
606/950 (N/G) tons
Hull 323
60555
|
1870
|
An iron steamship that was launched on May 14, 1870 & first registered, at
North Shields, on Jul.
12, 1870. Per 1 (Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access).
The vessel is Lloyds Register ('LR') listed from 1874/75 thru
1880/81. Always, per LR, owned by J. F. Middleton of North Shields. I understand that J.
F. Middleton means John Forster Middleton, as per Mercantile Navy Lists of
1871 thru 1880.
The LRs did not name any of the vessel's captains. Per Welsh Newspapers Online:- In 1873 William Davies was
her captain. In Aug/Sep 1876 'Young' was the vessel's captain & John Spurling
was her
chief officer. 'Wright' was the vessel's captain in 1877. Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1874 lists the vessel's then owners as being the
following, from the biggest shareholding to the smallest:- 9 shares, J. G. Hill,
8, J. F. Middleton, 5, Thos. Day, J. Robson, Dennis Hill, W. H. Atkinson, W.
Green & R. Hodgson, 4, George Storey, 3, T. Hunter & W. F. Vickerson,
2, J. Rowntree, T. T. Bolton & Hugh Brown. The data does not add up
to 64.
219.6 ft. long (66.93 metres) perpendicular to perpendicular, signal letters JPSR,
99 HP engines by George Clark of Sunderland, many crew lists are
available via here.
In Jun. 1873 William Davies, the then captain of Galeed, was
modestly fined for entering East Bute Dock, Cardiff, with 75 lbs of gunpowder aboard the
vessel.
On Nov. 10, 1877, Galeed, en route from Riga, Latvia, to London with a cargo of
grain (oats), stranded 5 miles N. of the Oland Light (Oland Island, Frisian
Islands, Germany), during foggy or hazy weather or maybe during dense fog. The vessel was then owned, I read, by J.
F. Middleton & others. The vessel did get off & was taken into Copenhagen,
Denmark, for temporary repairs to be effected. The vessel then continued on its
voyage & arrived at London on Dec. 29, 1877. A Board of Trade Inquiry was held at South Shields on Jan. 21/22, 1878, into the stranding & the master
(Joseph Whittle Wight) was
held to be guilty of negligent navigation & of deceiving the court in his evidence.
His master's certificate was suspended for a 6 month period. As per this article (in blue) from Nautical Magazine.
And as per these contemporary news reports - 1 & 2.
LR of 1880/81,
notes that the vessel was 'Missing'. As is confirmed by line 77 on this
U.K. Government wreck lising page
which states that the vessel was not heard from since sailing on Mar. 11, 1880 from Gothenburg, Sweden, to London with a cargo of 1200 tons of bar iron & with
a crew of 17. With, I learn, W. Lambert in command. Such listing has a notation that states that per her owner, the
vessel, in Feb. 1880, was fitted with new boiler, cylinder, etc., & was
examined on a shipway by a Liverpool Underwriters surveyor. The page notes 'Inquiry
pending'. We thank Alan Craxford for this newspaper cutting from the
North & South Shields Daily Gazette .... of Mar. 22, 1880.
Alan advises that John Ridley Nesworthy, aged about 24, a member of Alan's family, served aboard the vessel as a
fireman on its final voyage, with a crew of 17 all told. It seems likely that the cargo was not loaded aboard the ship in a safe manner.
An Official Inquiry was held into the vessel's loss on May 04, 1880, & a summary of the Inquiry's
findings can be read
here. This newspaper article relates to her loss.
Is there anything you can add?
#2067 |
| 62 |
|
Severn
1271 tons
Hull 327
62611 |
1870 |
An iron cargo ship.
From 1,
2,
3,
4 (all data),
5 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
Single screw, 2 masts, 245.2 ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular, speed of 10 knots,
signal letters JVHT. Built for
E. T. Gourlay of Sunderland who chartered her to Temperley Line
in 1871. The vessel was purchased by 'Temperleys, Carter & Darke' in 1873.
And engaged on the London/Quebec/Montreal service
(via Plymouth) through 1883, when it was sold to Huntley, Berner & Co., of London. In
1884, the vessel was sold to Wycliffe Steamship Co. Ltd., also of London. The
1885/86 edition of Lloyd's Register notes that the vessel had had a collision. On Mar. 26, 1885, while en route from Milazzo,
Sicily, to Rouen,
France, with a wine & general cargo,
the vessel was in collision with Indus in Havre Roads & sank.
It would seem that no lives were likely lost. Is there anything you can add?
|
| 63 |
|
The Barton
417/649 (N/G) tons
Hull 320
62589
|
1870 |
An
iron steamship with some 'record keeping
issues'. If you were to only access Lloyd's Registers ('LR') you would surely
believe that The Barton lasted until 1883/84 at least - when she in fact was
lost in 1874. It is LR listed from
1874/75 (not earlier that I can see) thru 1883/84 at least, always said to be owned by J. Dunn of
Glasgow, with J. Young always serving as her captain. Thru 1880/81 the vessel was listed as
built by Laing, but strangely, from 1881/82, LR reported the vessel as rather built by
R. Thompson & Sons. Unfortunately, the Mercantile Navy List, which usually can
help fill in missing detail, is of little help re this vessel, but it does
indicate that the vessel was first registered at Sunderland on Sep. 2, 1870
(scroll to 62589).
Per 1 (Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access).
Now
the Laing build list on site indicates that
The Barton was launched on Jul. 19,
1870 & was first owned by J. (the
J. means John it would appear) T. Stanton, of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Thanks to Miramar we can tell you that the vessel
changed ownership twice very quickly. To Peter M. Duncan of Dundee, Scotland, in 1871 & to
Dunn & Raeburn, of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1872. J. Dunn per LR as above.
201.5 ft.
(61.42 metres) long perpendicular to perpendicular, signal letters LGHV, 80 HP engines by George Clark & Co. of Sunderland.
Crew lists are available here.
Line 18 on this page tells us that on Apl. 9, 1874 the vessel left Glasgow for Licata, with a cargo of 673 tons of
coal & a crew of 18. It was never heard from again. Miramar tells us, slightly
differently, that the vessel had sailed on Apl. 10, 1874 & had rather left
the port of Greenock. Licata, I learn, is
located on the S. coast of Sicily, about midway between Agrigento & Gela.
What happened to the vessel? These two articles (1 &
2) indicate that the vessel
may have been in collision with Liberia, a 1470 ton steamer ON 63781, which left
Liverpool for Madeira on Apl. 11, 1874 & also went missing. They possibly
collided off the Scilly islands. Liberia carried a general cargo of about 1,000
tons, a crew of 46 & 12 passengers. Is there anything you can add
to the above text? Or correct? #2068 |
| 64 |
|
Tweed
853/1304 (N/G) tons
Hull 319
63579
Maria Vittoria
José Monteys
Alejandria
Josefina |
1870 |
This listing needs to be significantly amended, with new data not available when
the listing was first created. Hopefully it will be amended soon. An iron
steamship, brig rigged. Per 1
(data),
2 (data),
3 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). The vessel is not Lloyd's Register ('LR')
listed before 1874/75. 246.0 ft. long, signal letters JMGC (note that Mercantile Navy Lists ['MNL']
always recorded JMGC, while LR thru 1885/86 recorded TMGC changed thereafter to
JMGC), speed of 10 knots, 110 HP engines by North Eastern Marine Co. of Sunderland,
but in LR of 1897/98 148 HP & per LR from 1908/09 at least, 145 HP engines by North Eastern Marine
Engineering Co. Ltd. of Sunderland. It would seem, per MNLs, that the vessel was
owned from 1871 thru 1874 by C. M. Norwood of London.
It became owned by Jas. Laing of Sunderland in 1875
& became registered at North Shields ('NS') & from 1876 thru 1898
was owned by 'Morrison' of NS - thru 1880 by
John Morrison of NS & from 1882 thru
1898
by Samuel A. Morrison of Tynemouth.
'Norwood' initially chartered the vessel to Temperley Line - her maiden voyage for Temperley, would seem to have been from London (dep. Apl.
16, 1870) to Quebec, Canada, (arriving May 16, 1870). Thanks to Christine Simm, I can tell you that the vessel
was laid up for a while in the Tyne, certainly from Oct. 1893, & that on Jan. 18, 1898, the vessel was offered for sale (in
blue) at a Thomas Pinkey public auction held in Sunderland. The
vessel must have been sold - to, per Miramar, Italian owners 'Flli Grasso Cicerone', of Genoa,
who re-named it Maria
Vittoria. In 1900, per Miramar, the vessel, renamed José Monteys,
became owned by 'Cia Barcelonesa de Nav.', of Barcelona, Spain, who in 1902
renamed the vessel Alejandria. Also in 1902, per Miramar, the
vessel became owned by J. E. Galofre, of Barcelona, & renamed Josefina.
In 1908, still named Josefina, the vessel became owned by 'Deposito Flotante de
Carbones de Barcelona', also of Barcelona. I read that in that year, i.e. 1908,
she became a coal hulk. And was scrapped in 1920. Need
help! |
| 65 |
|
Bahia
1949 tons, (later 2607 tons)
Hull 337
Cremon
Dalmatia
Fides |
1871 |
A passenger ship.
From 1 (data),
2
(page in Portuguese, with modest image of painting of vessel by Benedicto Calixto),
3
[Hamburg South American Line, Bahia (1)],
4 (Hansa Line,
Cremon),
5
[Hamburg America Line, Dalmatia (1)],
6 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
302.3 ft. long, 3 masts, speed of 10
knots. Capacity for 200 passengers, 40 in 1st Class and 160 in 3rd. Built for
Hamburg South American Line (Hamburg Sudamerikanische D.G.) for service to Brazil, Argentina & Uruguay. 1886 or 1887
(have read both) sold to Hansa Line & in 1887 renamed Cremon.
That year modified by addition of triple-expansion engines at
Blohm & Voss, Hamburg. Used on the
Hamburg/Quebec/Montreal service. In 1892, sold to Hamburg-America Line (HAPAG).
In 1894 renamed Dalmatia. In 1897, sold
to D. Fuhrmann of Albis, Germany. In 1900, sold to Raimondo Mollinari, small Italian ship-owners. Renamed Fides
& used in the Mediterranean. In 1916, scrapped at Genoa, Italy. Can you
add to or correct the above? |
| 66 |
|
Ben Nevis
998 (later 1003) tons,
Hull 344
65441
Vreede |
1872 |
An iron cargo ship launched in Mar. 1872. Per 1 (Morrison
Steamship, Ben Nevis),
2 [Hollandsche Stoomboot, Vreede (2)],
3 (modest data),
4 (North Sea,
Vreede at page bottom),
5
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 232.7 ft. long, signal letters LFWT. Built for J. Morrison, later J. Morrison & Son, of
North Shields. On Sep.
18, 1883, while en route from Taganrog (Sea of Azov, Black Sea, Russia), to
Trieste, Italy, with a cargo of wheat, the vessel stranded on Bielosarai Spit,
Sea of Azov. Inquiry #2011 (left) determined that the grounding was caused by
negligent navigation. No material damage, however. The vessel would seem to have
been then owned by 'S. A.
Morrison & others'. I read that in 1896/7 the vessel traded to Australia, but I can spot no references to the vessel at Trove, Australia. In 1899 the vessel was sold
to 'North Eastern Shipping Co.' ('NE'), (G. Elsmie & Sons managers?), of
Aberdeen, & in 1901 was sold again to 'Hollandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij', of Amsterdam, &
renamed Vreede. On Aug. 20, 1901, Vreede, en route
from Amsterdam to London was in collision with sand barges in the Thames, one of
which sank. Vreede put back to Amsterdam with holes in her bow
above the water line. On Aug. 20, 1903, the vessel, J. Parlevliet in
command, en route from Antwerp, Belgium, to Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, with
a cargo of steel billets, nails & cement, was in collision with Spanish
ship Luchana & sank.
With no loss of life.
Luchana was a Sunderland ship also, built as G. E.
Wood by Joseph L. Thompson in 1873. But where did the collision happen? This site
used to say that the collision was in the North Sea based upon the WWW
references I had seen to that effect. But, thanks to Arie Jan de Lange's
research of Dutch newspaper records, (image at left) we can advise that the vessel sank on the
banks of a river & broke into pieces - so it could not have been in the North
Sea. It is now clear that the collision occurred in the River Usk, a modest
river which flows through the centre of Newport, Wales. How do I know
that? The 2nd paragraph of the Dutch text at left (bottom image) so states, &
also states that Vreede
sank immediately. Can you add anything additional, an image perhaps?
|
| 67 |
|
Alegria
1757 tons,
Hull 358 |
1873 |
A passenger/cargo ship that had a very short life. Per 1 (data,
"Vapor Alegria", 40% down),
2 (wreck data, in Spanish, ex
3),
4 ex 3rd image of 5 (fine painting of Alegria),
6
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). The webmaster has a
number of 'Lloyd's Registers' available to him thru 1885/86 ex Google Books, see
left. Single screw, 2 masts, 231.5 ft. long (85.8 metres) perpendicular to perpendicular. A distinguished looking ship
indeed. Built for 'P. M ª. Tintoré & Co.', later, in 1877, 'Pablo Maria Tintoré
y C.ª', a limited partnership,
of Barcelona, Spain ('Tintore'). Or maybe for 'Joaquín Mª Tintoré'. We thank the folks at 1
for their fine data re this vessel, most particularly the data & images provided
at the foot of their page. Miramar advises us that on Nov. 25, 1875, the vessel,
en route from Barcelona to San Juan, Puerto Rico, was wrecked on the reefs of Isla de las Cabras,
at the entrance of the port of San Juan. 2 advises
that 300 passengers & crew were saved, & refers to Cadrita, Puerto Rico, presumably
where the vessel sank. Perhaps all aboard were saved by a Navy vessel? ('Los pasajeros y tripulantes, en número de 300, se han
salvado, merced al auxilio y poderosos esfuerzos hechos por la marina.') A puzzle is that Lloyd's Register continued to list the
vessel for another 11 years after 1875, though it should be noted, the listing data
did not change for that entire period. Can you provide additional detail as to the 1875
sinking, or otherwise add
to or correct the above. Another image? Joaquin Mª Tintoré,
of Spain, is researching the vessel - any additional data received by the
webmaster will be forwarded to him. In late Dec. 2012, 'Ernesto' was in touch respecting a ship part
(image at left) found near Alegria's wreck site in Puerto Rico,
seeking help as to exactly what he had found. The part is 12 in. in diameter,
weighs about 7 lb. & is made of bronze. While at first glance it looks like the
end plate of a boiler, two site supporters knowledgeable in such matters,
believe that it is, in fact, a boss from the centre of the ship's steering
wheel, hence the material & the engraved name. The name Alegria is
better seen on the item in this
2nd image. Ernesto, we all thank you! Any additional thoughts on the matter
would be welcomed.
#1854 |
| 68 |
|
Ben Ledi
701/1107 later 708/1111 tons
Hull 353
65459
Runo
|
1873 |
An iron steamship. Ben Ledi? A noted, 2,884 ft. tall,
Scottish mountain, located in the Trossachs, NW of Stirling, Scotland.
Per 1 (Miramar,
link, you now must be registered to access). This Ben Ledi, which was launched on Jan. 30, 1873, would seem to have been Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1872/73 thru 1896/97 - I say
'would seem to' because not all of such LR editions are available to the webmaster. The vessel was initially owned by J. Morrison of North Shields ('NS') - J. Morrison & Son from 1876/77. The
Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1874 thru 1879 all
record that John Morrison, of NS, was the owner of the NS registered vessel. Now LR ceased to reference proposed voyages in 1874/75. In 1872/73 & 1873/74, service
from Sunderland to the Danube (enters the Black Sea at Sulina, Romania), is referenced. Per LR, T. Evans was the vessel's captain thru 1877/78. There are plenty of references to 'Evans' being
Ben Ledi's captain at 'Welsh Newspapers Online', serving such ports as Ancona,
Constantinople, Dunkirk, Marseilles, Palermo, Rotterdam, & (in the Black Sea), Berdienski, Nicolaieff, Odessa, Sulina & Taganrog. LR also lists 'Buchannan' as the vessel's captain from 1877/78 thru 1878/79 (but the data looks suspect), & T. W. Laing from
1878/79 thru 1879/80.
In mid Dec. 1878, Ben Ledi, under the command of T. W. Laing, was en route from Newport, Wales, to Venice,
Italy, with a cargo of coal. On Dec. 15, 1878 the vessel collided with
Leader, a 107 ton schooner built at Bideford in 1858.
Leader, both owned &
captained by N. Butt, was en route from London to Swansea, Wales, carrying a cargo of zinc & iron & had a crew of 5. The collision, I read, occurred
either 2 or about 20 miles (data differs) N. of St. Ives, Cornwall. The collision occurred at 3:30 in the morning & both vessels had
their lights shining brightly at the time. Leader was hit on her starboard bow & sank with one of her crew (Peters) losing his
life in the disaster. Ben Ledi proceeded to Falmouth, Cornwall, to effect repairs & there landed the surviving 4
Leader crew members. An Official Inquiry into the collision was held
at Falmouth on Jan. 7, 1879. The Inquiry held that the master of Ben Ledi was not to blame, however Nathaniel Steele,
Ben Ledi's mate, was found guilty
of careless navigation & his mate's certificate was ordered cancelled. The mate was specifically found guilty of 'violating
the 16th article of the Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea'.
Read these contemporary newspaper articles to see what that likely means. George
Pearce, Leader's mate, was also found to be modestly in default. I have not been able to find a copy of the Inquiry Report, but a summary of its
findings can be read here.
Now it would seem that John Morrison sold 'our' vessel in late 1879 (see next paragraph) & replaced it in his fleet with a vessel named
Benledi (all one
word) built by 'Barclay' at Glasgow in 1868. If that is not confusing enough,
item #277 on this page tells us that what clearly looks to be our vessel was lost near Souter Point (1 mile S. of the mouth of the River Tyne) on Apl. 7, 1879.
While en route from Rotterdam to the Tyne, in ballast. An Official Inquiry into such loss is stated to have been held at South Shields on May 3, 1879.
Though the text surely seems to relate 100% to 'our' vessel, the webmaster has doubts. There surely was a vessel lost at Souter Point on that
day, but I think that it must have rather been Benledi as above, despite the words in item #277. Can anybody definitively identify the vessel which was
lost in Apl. 1879? Wikipedia seem to confirm that the lost vessel was
Benledi (ref. Apl. 06, 1879) via articles
ex the Times of London of Apl. 8 & 9, 1879. Need help! It would be good to be able to access both of those references to learn exactly what they say.
Two pages in LR of 1879/80 tell us that W. & T. W. Pinkney, of Sunderland, had
i) become the owners of 'our' Ben Ledi, now of 708/1111 tons. Further ii) that the vessel, renamed
Runo,
had been so registered in late 1879 (as per this
1880 MNL).
'Pinkney' owned Runo, per LR, from 1879/80 thru 1883/84 at least (per MNLs of
1880 thru 1885), with a number of captains - G. Lucock thru 1881/82, C. Page
briefly, J. Hummel in 1882/83 & 1883/84 at least. In 1885/86 (per LR) the vessel became owned, thru 1889/90, by 'The Neptune Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.', of
Sunderland, a limited liability company likely owned by 'Pinkney' who served (Thos. W. Pinkney) as the vessel's manager. As is confirmed by
MNLs of 1887 thru
1889.
With 'Sinclair' the vessel's captain in 1885/86 & 1886/87 & S. Wilson from 1887/88 thru 1889/90 when the vessel was sold.
Sold to 'The Thornton Steam Ship Company
Ltd.' of Cardiff, Wales, (per MNLs of 1890 thru
1895) with Thomas C. Howe acting as her manager. 'Edwards' & M. Mills served as the vessel's captains while it was 'Thornton' owned.
There were further ownership changes. MNL of 1896 lists Ernest
H. Forward, of London, as the vessel's managing owner, while LR of 1896/97 lists 'Bugge & Co.' of Mandal, Norway, as the vessel's then owner with C. Emanuelsen
serving as the vessel's captain. Miramar tells us (thanks!) that from 1899 the vessel was owned by Handelsbolaget 'Sölvesborgs Skeppsvarf' of Karlshamn, Sweden. With Otto Banck her manager.
A website which requests no
recognition or links advises that on Nov. 22, 1898 Runo stranded at Fjaderegg, Swedish E. coast near Umea. The vessel was refloated, repaired & sold, presumably to Handelsbolaget 'Sölvesborgs Skeppsvarf' as above.
231.2 ft.
long, signal letters WSHL (until Norwegian owned), JHLS when Swedish owned, 98 HP engines by Gilbert & Cooper of Hull, later re-engined, in or about 1887. Then 120 HP engines (or 110 HP or 119 HP) by George Clark of Sunderland. Many crew lists
are available here.
What finally happened to the vessel? Miramar tells us (thanks!) that
Runo was wrecked, on Dec. 18, 1901, off Sölvesborg, Sweden, while en route from Burntisland, Fife, Scotland, to Sölvesborg with a
cargo of coal. As is stated in this Lloyd's Register Casualty Return.
The detailed circumstances of her loss are not yet to hand. Can you
add to
and/or correct the above text? #2403 |
| 69 |
|
Dafila
874 tons
Hull 340
68501
Nuestra Señora De Loreto
Fuso Maru
Daikoku Maru |
1873 |
An iron steamship.
Per
1 ('pdf' file,
Court report re the 1882 collision & sinking of Mary Ann),
2
& 3 (Dafila,
stranding in May 1886),
4
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 67.5 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular,
221.5 ft., signal letters WSLV. The webmaster has a number of 'Lloyd's
Registers' available to him thru 1890/91 ex Google Books - see left. Built for Porteous & Senior
(or maybe Porteous & Senier), of London & registered there. By the 1876/77
edition of Lloyd's Register, the vessel was owned by James Laing, most likely but not
necessarily the James Laing who built her. Became registered at Sunderland. On Feb.
19, 1882, Dafila, left the 'Derrick' &
proceeded down the River Thames, against the incoming tide. Her master (not named) had
engaged Thomas Raine, a licensed pilot, to assist with her navigation as far as
Gravesend. However Thomas was not present when the ship left dock & Henry Raine,
Thomas's brother & not a licensed pilot, took his place. Henry Raine was in
command of Dafila as the vessel approached Broadness Point, (2
miles E. of Greenhithe, near Northfleet, Kent). The master was not on deck but had instructed Raine to take care rounding the
Point. Up-bound was Mary Ann, a 50 ton sailing barge, carrying
bricks to Vauxhall. Raine slowed Dafila but did it too late.
Dafila struck Mary Ann on her port side & sank her.
Mary Ann's mate saved himself by using a small boat to escape but her
master went down with the barge & was drowned. The Court laid the responsibility
solely upon Dafila & particularly on Henry Raine. Site
contributor Derek Lambert advises that in 1885, William H. (Henry) Lambert,
Derek's great grandfather, was the vessel's captain. On May
12, 1886, while en route from Bangkok, Thailand, to Hong Kong, the vessel,
Captain Mooney in command, went aground on the South Bank of Hainan Straits,
which straits, shallow & just 9 1/2 miles wide, separate Hainan Island,
from mainland China to the north.
Much of her cargo was transferred to lighters, & the vessel was then re-floated
& towed to nearby Hoihow (Haikou) by HMS Albatross. It arrived at Hong Kong on May
29, 1886. Apparently Albatross also went aground in trying to
effect the rescue. The vessel had left Bangkok with insufficient
coal & should wisely have put into Saigon or Touron to replenish her supply.
They burned up every scrap of woodwork aboard the ship in trying to make Hoihow
- which sounds like Phileas Fogg's voyage across the Atlantic in 'Around the
World in Eighty Days'! The problem? Head winds & the different rates of consumption of
Welsh
& Australian coal. The vessel's charts were inadequate for the voyage also. The
Court did not consider the captain's errors of judgment sufficient to deal with
his certificate. The weather was calm throughout; had it not been so, Dafila
& also Albatross
probably would have been total losses. Miramar indicates that the vessel was
'salvaged'. She certainly required repairs at Hong Kong to fix leaks & strengthen
the hull & would have needed her interior totally rebuilt. In the
1887/88 edition of Lloyd's Register, the owner had become 'Kaw Hong Take', of
Hong Kong, with no change of vessel name. In 1888, the vessel, Captain Neilsen in command,
carried sugar & camphor wood from 'Taiwan Fu' to Shanghai, China. In 1890,
the vessel was sold to Albino Goyanneshia, or, per Miramar, 'Goyenechea', of Manila,
the Philippines, & renamed Nuestra Señora De Loreto.
In 1895, the vessel was sold to Y. Iwata, likely of Japan, & renamed Fuso Maru. And
sold again, in 1900, to K. Miyazaki, also likely of Japan, & renamed Daikoku Maru. I read
that the vessel was later wrecked, on Oct. 26, 1901, near Fusan, China. But I
have not been able to learn the circumstances nor if there was any loss of life. WWW data
about the vessel is really quite limited. Can you add anything? |
| 70 |
|
Kashgar
2621 (later 2661) tons
Hull 360
68549
launched
as Brabant |
1873 |
An iron passenger/cargo vessel.
Per
1 (Ryde Line),
2 (data, Kashgar),
3
[P&O, Kashgar (1)],
4 (Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 110.5 metres long, perpendicular to
perpendicular, 362.5 ft., speed of 11 knots, two masts, with accommodation for 120 passengers, 80 in 1st Class & 40 in 2nd, signal letters MWQG. The
webmaster has a number of 'Lloyd's Registers' available to him thru 1890/91 ex Google Books, see left. Now Miramar
indicate that the vessel was completed on Jun. 6, 1874 & that the vessel is an 1874 vessel. And most other references also consider the vessel
to be 1874. I have chosen to list the vessel as 1873, to reflect her lifetime of Lloyd's Register listings. Launched as Brabant, for John Ryde & Co.,
of London (which company had a contract with the Belgian Government, likely for the carriage of mail), for their Antwerp & Falmouth service to Rio, Buenos Ayres & other
ports in South America. The vessel featured the Belgian coat of arms in its interior decoration. Due to declining passenger traffic, & while the vessel was being fitted out, it was sold, on Mar.
3, 1874, so I read, to Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., also of London, & delivered to them as Kashgar. The vessel was engaged on the India
(Bombay) & China service with a few voyages to Australia & New Zealand. In or about 1886, the vessel was converted to a cargo liner with accommodation for 8
passengers only. I wonder where that conversion was done? In 1889, the vessel was sold to F. L. Upton, of Kobe, Japan, (2 says F. H. Upton, of Shanghai,
China), with no change of vessel name, & used on Far East services. On
May 16, 1890, while en
route from Mauritius to Kobe, Japan, via Saigon & Hong Kong, the vessel was
damaged. So seriously damaged, in fact, that she was considered
to be beyond repair & was broken up at Yokohama, Japan. I have not been able
to read about the circumstances, the nature of the damage, her cargo at the
time, the name of her captain, etc. etc. All I can see is that Lloyd's indicated that the vessel was
'wrecked', so it is likely that the vessel ran aground. Is it possible that you know
the wreck detail? The National Archives, has many crew lists re the vessel, I
see.
|
| 71 |
|
Vulcan
967 (or 1042) tons
Hull 354 |
1873 |
A collier.
Per
1 (Hamburg-America Line, Vulcan),
2 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
Built for Hamburg-America Line ('H-A'),
maybe correctly named, but am not sure, 'Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfarhrt Aktien-Gesellschaft',
of Hamburg, Germany. An expired eBay listing stated that
Vulcan was the first cargo ship owned by H-A & used as a collier to
supply H-A's ocean going fleet. In 1877, the vessel was sold to H. Naumann, also of Hamburg. In
1890, I read, the vessel was in collision with Salamanca near Greenwich & sank. Data
is most limited.
Need help! |
| 72 |
|
Saint Lawrence
2220 tons
Hull 356
70581 |
1874 |
A cargo ship.
Per 1,
2 (both data),
3 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
Note that all of the above links refer to 'St. Lawrence'. Lloyd's Register
however lists the vessel as Saint Lawrence, registered in the name
of Temperley & Co. Miramar refer to 'Temperley, Carter & Darke',
of London. Used on London to Quebec, Canada,
via Plymouth route. On Nov. 8, 1876 the vessel was wrecked near Cape Town, South Africa, while in use as a
troop ship. On 'Paternoster Point, Cable Rocks, N Table Bay'. I had previously
stated that the vessel was built for British & Colonial Steamship Co. Ltd., of
London, which reference I will leave for the moment. |
| 73 |
|
Langdale
883 tons
Hull 373
68941
|
1875 |
An iron steamship, which was launched on Dec. 11, 1875.
Per 1 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
The vessel would seem to be Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1876/77 thru
1886/87 (LRs of 1877/78 & 1884/85 are not available to the
webmaster). 212.0 ft. long, signal letters PSBK, 95 HP engines by Thomas Clark & Co.
of Newcastle.
Before recording such limited data about the vessel I have been able to
find, a word on the issue on the vessel's year of first registration. LR
editions thru 1883/84 all list the vessel as first registered in 1876. As do the
available Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1879 thru 1885. LR of 1885/86 however
seems to correct that date & records the vessel as an 1875 vessel as I believe
is correct.
The vessel was initially owned, thru 1883/84, per LR, by W. H.
Dixon & associates, of Sunderland - 'W. H. Dixon' thru 1881/82, & 'Dixon & Wilson'
thru 1883/84. MNLs of 1879 thru 1883 all record Thomas Wilson of Sunderland as
the vessel's (likely managing) owner. MNL of 1880 is here.
I presume that 'Dixon' & 'Wilson' & possibly others were partners in the vessel's
ownership. W. (William) Warren (1833/?) served as the vessel's captain in 1882/83 & 1883/84 but
clearly was her
captain prior to those dates. In 1883/84, P. H. Laing, also of Sunderland,
became the vessel's owner, with 'Dickman' & then 'Green' serving as her captains. Such
owner name is clarified by MNL of 1885 to mean Philip H. Laing, of
Deptford Yard, Sunderland. In mid Apl. 1885, Langdale, en route
from Shields to Copenhagen, Denmark, ran aground near Copenhagen & had to be
lightened. LR of 1886/87 notes that the vessel had been 'Wrecked'.
Miramar indicate (thanks!) that she was wrecked on Beacon Rocks, near (Roker) Sunderland
on Apl. 19, 1886 while en route from London to Sunderland. I cannot yet provide
detail as to the circumstances of the loss, however a Board of Trade inquiry, held at Sunderland
on May 7, 1886, determined that careless navigation & lack of
the use of the lead were the causes of the disaster. Captain Green's master's licence was
suspended for 6 months but the court recommended that during that period he be
granted a chief officer certificate. The local lifeboat was clearly involved in
rescue efforts. The Royal National Life-boat Institution included Langdale in an 1886 list of lives saved by the institution as per this
page (in red), ex this
volume. And stated that 16 Langdale lives were saved. It would
seem that Miss Roberts, a Shields tug, was at Sunderland later on
in May 1886. It apparently
hit the wreck of Langdale, & much damaged, returned to Sunderland
& was beached. As per this contemporary newspaper cutting. Crew lists of 1876 thru 1886
are available.
LR did not record the names of the vessel's captains thru 1881/82. Derek
Lambert kindly informs me that his great grandfather, William H. (Henry) Lambert,
was the vessel's captain in 1879 & later commanded the other 'Dale Line' vessels
Ferndale, Deepdale & Alandale. (He also was the captain of
Emma
when it was lost in 1888). Is there anything you can add?
#1959
|
| 74 |
|
Torrens
1335 tons
Hull 371
73595 |
1875 |
A 'composite' clipper - iron frames and wooden decks.
Per
1 (6
page extensive history, including dates of all of her 27 voyages to Adelaide, at p#157 - need help with this item - the Google Books link, which link does not include the book's title, no longer works),
2
&
3 (all data re Torrens),
4 (late 1880s
Elder advertisement re Torrens),
5 (mystery report, re Captain Cope voyage),
6 (image),
7 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). Fast and popular with its
passengers. Teak planking. Built for A. L. Elder & Co. ('Elder'), of London. Captain Henry
Robert Angel ('Angel') was the vessel's 1st Master - thru 1890. He was, in fact, the majority owner of Elder.
The figurehead of the ship was of Flores Angel, Angel's daughter, who in
fact launched the vessel (it is possible that the figurehead, headless, still
exists, at the Queen Victoria Museum, in Launceston, Tasmania,
per a 'Sunderland Echo' link which is no longer operational. The vessel was able to sail well,
even in light winds, faster than most other vessels - Robert Snowdon's thoughts
on that subject. 336 miles in a single day was achieved. The vessel sailed
from Plymouth to Adelaide, Australia, 27 times, & in 1880, did it in 64 days - one day
faster than
the record set by City of Adelaide.
A 'lucky' ship, it would seem, at least while under the command of Captain
Angel. An interesting anecdote used to be at link 1 (which no longer works)
- the ship, returning to England & approaching the busy
shipping of the English Channel, ran out of lamp oil. But ... a barrel was
passed, floating in the water. The 'ship was hove to and a boat was lowered,
and the cask, when recovered, was found to contain oil.' In 1890, in her first
voyage under Captain W. H. Cope, the vessel lost her foremast & main topmast in a
squall, & put into Pernambuco,
Brazil, under jury rig, for repairs. She caught fire there, her masts had to be
replaced, but she still made Adelaide in 179 days. A strange report issued at
Cape Town re that voyage - see link 5. In 1896, Falkland Angel, the
son of Angel, took command. On a voyage which commenced on Oct. 25, 1898, the vessel hit a large
iceberg while en route from London to Adelaide, was partially dis-masted, but was able to make Port Adelaide in 103 days.
On Sep. 04, 1903, while Torrens was being towed in the River Thames,
carrying Boer War explosives loaded at St. Helena, Cauplet cut across the bow of Torrens & was sunk in the
collision.
No blame to the Torrens Captain (Falkland Angel), but considerable concern at
the time with the cargo containing explosives. It would seem that the vessel was
soon afterwards sold, to Italian interests, (to
whom specifically?) in 1903. A now dead link stated that vessel was later twice run aground.
After its last stranding, it was towed, in 1910, to Genoa, Italy & there broken
up. Józef Korzeniowski [later author Joseph Conrad (1857/1924)] served
as Chief Officer/Mate under Captain Cope on two 1893 voyages, from London to
Adelaide & back (he also served aboard Amity).
A Polish postage stamp, issued in 1957, featured Joseph Conrad with
Torrens under full sail (image at left). A painting of the vessel,
likely by Montague Dawson, is referred to
here.
I seem to have a few unanswered questions re this
vessel. Can you add anything?
|
| 75 |
|
Yembo
1655 tons
Hull 367
68923 |
1875 |
An iron brig-rigged cargo ship.
That had a very short life - less than 4 months. From 1 (Board
of Trade inquiry into the 1875 wreck, ex 'Accounts and Papers', published 1876,
a 'Google' book),
2 (French page, re wreck),
3 (link 2 translated),
4 (wreck images),
5
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). Single screw, 81.8 metres
long, perpendicular to perpendicular, speed?
Probably modest - of 9 or 10 knots perhaps.
Built for D. G. Pinkney & Sons, of Sunderland. On Aug. 4, 1875, Yembo,
a vessel
then said to be owned by 'David G. Pinkney, and others', with Thomas Colling in command, left
Sunderland with about 2,000 tons of coals, bound for Savona, Italy, with a crew
of 27 all told. A North Sea
pilot was aboard until the vessel passed through the Downs early on Aug. 6,
1875. The chief mate requested that the vessel head northwards to sight Start
Point, Devon, before proceeding south-westward but the request was denied. The
conditions deteriorated & became thick fog. At 4:00 a.m. on Aug. 8, 1875, land
was seen by the mate, too late to avoid striking a rock on Ushant, (a
small rocky island in the English Channel off the coast of Brittany, near Brest,
France). Near the cliffs at Stiff, it would appear. The vessel filled with water & went down by the bow. The crew,
aided by two local Frenchmen, took to the boats & safely landed at Ushant. The 'patent log' was not set when passing Beachy Head. The Court determined that 'ordinary
precaution was not used in the navigation of the vessel', & suspended the
Captain's certificate for a one year period. A number of sites reference,
incorrectly, that the vessel
was wrecked on Aug. 1, 1875. It would seem that the wreck may have been
auctioned off. A dive site today. At 48.28.714N/ 05.02.924W. It would seem
that the vessel was not listed in Lloyd's Register. Can you add anything?
|
| 76 |
|
Dora Ann
589/609 (N/G) later 558/613 (N/G) tons
Hull 376
67635
Keranna |
1876 |
The vessel was launched on May 6, 1876 & first registered, at
Aberystwyth, Wales, on May 23, 1876 (scroll to #67635).
The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1876/77 thru 1894/95 at least.
Was owned thru 1889/90 per LR by R. James of Aberystwyth, with J. (John) Lloyd serving
as the vessel's captain. Richard James per Mercantile Navy Lists of 1878
thru 1889. 171.5 ft. long, signal letters PNGC
later JVKC.
I read that Dora Ann traded principally from the U.K. to the west
coast of America & that it made several voyages to Australia. On May 6, 1882 the
vessel
arrived at Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 78 days out of New York
(left Feb. 17, 1882), with
John Lloyd in command & with a cargo which included kerosene oil, tobacco &
timber. The vessel went on to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, & on Oct. 20 or
21, 1882 left there with a cargo of wool & preserved meats bound for London. It
arrived at London, Gravesend, on Jan. 30, 1883. On Jul. 11, 1887 the vessel left
Port Louis, Mauritius, for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, (arrived Aug. 6,
1887), with a cargo of sugar, went on to Sydney, New South Wales ('NSW')
(arrived Sep. 4, 1887) & on Sep. 19, 1887 left Sydney for Wilmington (Los
Angeles), California, with 919 tons of coal. In other voyages - i) on
Jul. 22, 1883, while the vessel was en route from New Zealand to Chile, John
Jones, a Dora Ann seaman, fell 54 feet to the deck of the vessel, landed on his head &
soon died. ii) on Apl. 22, 1885 the vessel was en route from Antwerp to Conception (where is it?)
iii) on Aug. 24, 1888 the vessel was spoken to en route from Cardiff to Buenos
Ayres, Argentina. iv) on May 9, 1889 Star of the East spoke to the vessel about
1250 miles E. of Rio de Janeiro headed north. There are many references to the
vessel at Welsh Newspapers Online including references to departures from the
Cardiff area, each with about 900 tons of coal, to Penang, Malaysia, (Jun.
1877), Cape Town, South Africa, (May 1878), Ancona, Italy, (Jul. 1879), etc.
Also arrivals from Bordeaux, France, (Apl. 1884) with pitprops, & from Portland,
Oregon, (Jun. 1888) with wheat. It would seem that John Lloyd was
the vessel's captain during the entire period when the vessel was named Dora
Ann.
In 1889/90, per LR the vessel, renamed Keranna, became owned by A.
(Alexandre) Viot of Nantes, France, with F. E. Aoustin serving as the vessel's captain,
then, from 1891/92 at least, by A. (Aubin) Delahaye. The vessel had been sold on Sep.
27, 1889, I read. The vessel sailed,
likely regularly, between Mayotte (an island in Indian Ocean between Madagascar
& the African coast), Pondicherry, Calcutta (both India), & Réunion Island
(a French island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar & 109 miles SW of
Mauritius).
I read, however, that the vessel's final voyage left Saint-Nazaire, France, on Aug. 17,
1894, Delahaye in command & with a crew of 14 all told, for Bourbon Island (the
earlier name for Réunion) with a cargo of timber. Anchored at Réunion, a major storm approached with high
winds & seas. The vessel went out to sea but wanted to stay
close to the island since a portion of its cargo still needed to be unloaded. The vessel became
'lost' in the bad weather conditions & ended up
ashore on the 'St. Gillois' coral reefs. With its hull badly damaged by the
jagged coral, the
vessel sank, early on Dec. 9, 1894, off Pointe des Aigrettes, Réunion, with the loss of 8 lives. Extensive data in
French is available here
(in English), complete with an image of the vessel's anchor at the gravesite of
the victims in the Saint Paul marine cemetery. Additional data is here,
here,
& here, all in
French. I read that Aubin Delahaye, the
ship's captain, who had been 'unable to board', was
reprimanded by ministerial decision on Apl. 30, 1895, but his certificate as a
captain would seem not to have been revoked. I now learn that Delahaye (Aubin
Marie Joseph Delahaye 1858/1940) was
ashore supervising the unloading of her cargo when the alarm
sounded & the vessel had to put out to sea. In the then weather conditions,
he was not able to rejoin his ship. Why the official reprimand, I wonder? Some crew lists (Dora Ann) are
available here. Is there anything you can add?
#2147 |
| 77 |
|
Glendovey
609 tons
Hull 375
67633
Pavo |
1876 |
A 3-masted iron barque.
Per
1 (storm
at Valparaiso in Aug. 1888, ex 2),
3 (Lloyd's
register data, unchanged 1930/31 thru 1935/36, ex 4
'plimsollshipdata.org'),
5
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 52.4 metres
long perpendicular to perpendicular, 171.8 ft., signal letters QNLR. The
webmaster has editions of 'Lloyd's Registers' available to him thru
1889/90 ex Google Books, see left. Built for W. (William) James, of Aberystwyth, Wales,
however in the 1881/82 edition of Lloyd's register that became 'W. James & Co.'
Note however, that the 'Laing' build list on this site, states the original
purchaser to be 'W. James & N. Boath'. In
1882/83, the owner had become J. Lewis, also of Aberystwyth. J. Williams was
Lloyd's recorded as the vessel's Captain from 1876 thru 1889. Some events in the
life of the vessel. On May 24, 1879,
the vessel arrived at Wellington, New Zealand after a voyage of 107 days from
London - and later left for Guam. In early 1888, the
vessel was at Valparaiso, Chile, when the area was hit by a massive storm, which
caused many lost lives & enormous damage particularly to sailing vessels, driving them onto
shore or onto one another. Two such casualties were Etoile du Sud, a French barque
built at Sunderland in 1865, & Cambrian, a British iron barque built in 1867.
Etoile du Sud was driven onto
Cambrian, & the two vessels collided & re-collided until
Cambrian sank, as also did Etoile du Sud an hour later. This all at night. Only two of
Cambrian's crew were
saved - Armstrong, her captain, & a 14 year old apprentice named Frederick Masson,
who cast himself overboard, swam for an hour in the churning seas kept afloat by a piece of wreckage,
& found himself under the stern of Glendovey. His cries were heard
by Captain Williams & his crew & lines were thrown to him. Too weak to grasp the lines,
he was snagged by a bight or loop of rope & was pulled aboard. On Mar. 26,
1903, the vessel, stated then to be owned by Mrs. Lewis of London, & captained by
W. H. Larkin, arrived at New York from Cienfugos, Cuba, in a most unseaworthy
condition & with an unhappy crew. On May 11, 1911, the vessel arrived at
Richmond, Virginia, with a cargo that included 45 tons of bones, from Argentina,
from animals that had starved as a result of a locust infestation in
1910. There was at least one earlier such shipment, from Uruguay, in 1910. In 1917, the vessel
was sold to H. E. Wolden, of Montevideo, Uruguay, & renamed Pavo.
While detail seems not to be WWW available, some years later, the vessel was
seized by a bank for an unpaid debt. The vessel maybe had little value because
it stayed moored at Montevideo, sank on a bank of mud in 1926 & heeled over,
gradually lost her masts & was ransacked by thieves. The wreck lay in
Montevideo Bay for many years - eventually it was, per Lloyd's Register &
Miramar, broken up in Q4 of 1935, though a data snippet referred to it being
removed, piece by piece, between 1938 & 1943. A 1935 issue (Vol. 19) of 'Sea
Breezes', would seem to have referred to the vessel's history, per a Google data
snippet. Can you add anything?
#1848
|
| 78 |
|
Rosedale
609/996 (N/G) tons, in 1889 609.81/935.79 (N/G) tons,
in
1890/91 750 or more likely 591/910 (N/G) tons
Hull 388
68963
|
1877 |
An
iron
cargo ship, which was launched on Oct. 6, 1877 & first registered, at
Sunderland, on Nov. 21, 1877 (scroll to #68963). Per
1 ('pdf', Board of Trade
report re 1889 grounding),
2 ('wrecksite.eu', Rosedale wreck data),
3
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 211.8 ft. long (64.56 metres),
signal letters WVKM, speed?, 99 HP engines by George Clark of Sunderland. The vessel is listed in Lloyd's
Register ('LR') from 1878/79 at least thru 1893/94 at least (the editions of
some years are unavailable to the webmaster). It was last recorded in Mercantile
Navy List ('MNL') of 1894. Was initially owned by its
builder, James Laing, & registered at Sunderland (MNL of 1878),
but in 1878 the vessel became registered at London, sold to T. G. Beatley
& Co., from 1882/83 T. G. Beatley,
from 1890/91 T. G. Beatley & Son. Which company operated a fleet of cargo
ships serving the Baltic timber trade. MNLs of 1879 thru 1894 all list her owner
or managing owner as being Thos. G. Beatley, of London (MNLs of 1880 &
1894). Per LR, G. Cutting served as the vessel's
captain thru 1883/84 at least, W. Dudding thru 1888/89, Winchcombe in 1889/90 at
least possibly followed by J. Glover, & G. Dickson from 1892/93 at least.
On Aug. 31, 1889, the vessel,
then owned by Mr. T. G. Beatley
& others, stated in the Board of Trade report to be of London, en
route from Sundsvaal, Sweden, to West Hartlepool, with a cargo of timber, was stranded inside Ytter Grund,
off Husvalla, on the NE coast of the island of Oland, (SE Sweden). She was
beached by Jestyn Winchcombe, her master. Temporary repairs were effected & the
vessel proceeded to Oskarshamn (Oskarsharn), Sweden, for repair. The master was held not to be at
fault, his instructions having not been followed by the vessel's chief officer.
A few years later, Rosedale was driven
ashore, broadside, during hurricane conditions, directly under the railway
station at Porthminster Beach, St. Ives, Cornwall,
on Nov. 18, 1893. She was en route from Southampton to Cardiff (Penarth), Wales,
in ballast, with 'Dickson' (G. Dickson) in command.
The Captain, it would seem, chose to intentionally run her ashore in the extreme
wind & sea
conditions. The St. Ives lifeboat tried to go to her assistance but ended up on
the beach, high & dry, close to Rosedale, thrown into that position by a giant
wave. Fortunately the local coastguards arrived in the nick of time. Rosedale
was close to the shore being only about 50 yards out. The coastguards fired a line over the ship by rocket & by means of a breeches buoy brought all 16 crew
members safely ashore, Dickson being the last to leave. Initially it was though that she might be saved, but she
soon became half full of water. The next night the storm destroyed the ship which broke in two.
So no loss
of life at least.
The vessel became a total wreck,
broken to pieces where she lay. On Dec. 11, 1893 it was reported that the hulk
had been sold for just £300, an unusually low value since she was stated to have
been insured for £10,000. Do read these contemporary newspaper cuttings (A, B
& C).
Rosedale was just one of many vessels lost in the Nov. 18/19, 1893 hurricane, which
effected most of the British Isles & the Continent also. You can get a feel for
how extensive the hurricane was from the many articles on this page
& also here. Many
Rosedale crew lists are available here. If you can
add more,
or correct the above in any way, do please consider consider being in touch. |
| 79 |
|
Vectis
950 (or 907) tons
Hull 386
76835 |
1877 |
A steamship, a collier.
From
1 (Vectis, wreck data),
2 ('wrecksite.eu Vectis, wreck data),
3 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
2 masted. 212.5 ft. long perpendicular to perpendicular, signal letters RCDW, speed?
Initially registered to W. Hill & Co. of Southampton. But soon J. G. Hill & Co.,
owned by John Hill (or
John George Hill Shipping), of Southampton, later of Sunderland, (Witherington
& Everett the managers). The vessel was later registered in the name of J.
G. Hill, of Cardiff, with Harrison, Moore & Moore the managers. John G.
Hill, jun. owned the vessel in 1900. The
Mercantile Navy List of 1910 records The John George Hill Steamship Co. Ltd., of
Newcastle as the vessel's then owners with John W. Witherington & Harry P.
Everett the managers. It would seem that Vectis was wrecked early
in 1912 at Andurn or Renny Point, a few miles east of Plymouth, U.K. On Feb. 5,
1912, she put out to sea after unloading her cargo of coal at Cattewater
wharves. Just outside the breakwater, her steering failed & time and tide
drove her hard onto the rocks. Efforts to re-float
her failed. The vessel was abandoned. No loss of life. The wreck was later
broken up in the 'Christmas Hurricane' of Dec. 1912. If you can
add more,
do please consider doing so. |
| 80 |
|
Glaucus
1357 (later 1363) tons
Hull 398
68988 |
1878 |
A cargo ship, rigged as a topsail schooner.
A large listing for a quite modest vessel! From
1 (image?, previously entitled
'Glaucus-03' at Photoship,
the vessel in front perhaps?),
2 ('pdf', Australian data
& images),
3 (James Paterson, & Glaucus data & image),
4 &
5 (clearly this vessel,
Timaru Herald, New Zealand, 1884 & 1885 reports - thanks so much!),
6 (an
Oct. 1885 Brisbane newspaper article)
7 (hearing into the grounding of Glaucus on Dec. 23, 1885),
8
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 72.7 metres (238 ft. 5
in.) long perpendicular to perpendicular, 245 ft. overall, speed of 9 knots, signal letters WVPN. Built to carry coal to & grain
from the Mediterranean. 'In her construction, the pleasing of the eye was
left out. Elegance of form was not in her specifications.' And 'The Glaucus is not at all noticeable for her beauty,
but her lack of that is amply made up by the fact that she is capable of
carrying something like 1950 tons dead weight ... at an average speed of about 9
knots.' Built for Thomas Kish & Co. ('Kish'), of Sunderland. It would
seem that in or about 1882, the vessel went to Australia & traded on the
Australian coast. Likely very often carried coal. In 1884, the vessel was chartered for 2 years by C. W. Turner of New Zealand. At that time, the vessel would still seem to
have been
owned by Kish. I do like to advise of ownership changes in all listings, & an
eBay item advises that the vessel was later owned by i) H. H. Black & ii) by
James Paterson. Do read the text at 3 about
James Paterson & Co. ('Paterson'), of Melbourne, which suggests that Paterson
bought the vessel in 1883 but also suggests that Paterson may have only been the
manager. It would seem however, from Lloyd's Registers available (at left),
that Kish owned the vessel at least thru to the 1885/86 edition of Lloyd's. And
by the 1887/88 edition, Paterson were the owners. Black? Have seen no references
(yet!) to the name. From the early
1880s, Glaucus was engaged on 'the Australian coastal run' &
there suffered a series of mishaps including minor collisions & groundings.
One of them occurred on Dec. 23, 1885, when, with Robert Corvey ('Corvey') in
command, the vessel ran aground about 6 miles N. of Dunk Island, Queensland,
while en route from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Hong Kong with a cargo of
coal. A part of the cargo was jettisoned & a week later, the vessel floated
off. The inquiry concluded that the grounding was caused by the careless
navigation of both Corvey & William Knowles, the ship's mate. On another
voyage (when was it?) from Port Pirie, South Australia, to Newcastle, NSW, while carrying 500 tons of
bullion (how interesting), the vessel's propeller shaft broke, near Althorpe Island in Investigator Strait. The weather was fortunately
favourable,
& the disabled ship was towed to Port Adelaide for repairs,
presumably with no loss of any part of its cargo! Would seem to have served the
Pacific region also. In 1927, the
vessel was used to store barley, at Williamstown, Victoria, & soon, in 1929, was used
as a grain hulk in Port Adelaide. Now I have read that the vessel was hulked in
Q4 of 1929. However it would seem that the owners intended to break up the vessel at
Ethelton, Adelaide, in 1934, but the
salvagers holed the hull below the water line. After emergency repairs, the hulk was towed to the Garden Island Ships' Graveyard,
(North arm graveyard, Port
of Adelaide) where it was beached on
Jul. 4, 1935. Where she remains in large part to
this very day. The bow section is completely missing,
but the stern post & rudder are still relatively intact. We thank Summer
Lynch, whose significant data has enhanced this listing. Summer's GGG
grandfather was Robert Corvey, referenced above. If you can correct
the text and/or
add more
data,
do consider doing so. An image of the wreck today? |
| 81 |
|
Czar
1397 (or 1391) tons
Hull 407
79155
Vesuvio |
1879 |
An iron steamship.
From 1
(Ben Line, Czar),
2 (brief reference below Petersburg image),
3 (wreck data),
4 (ref. Vesuvio),
5 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
243 ft. long. Built for William Thomson & Company of Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, which company later
(1919) became Ben Line Steamers Ltd., known as Ben Line.
Engaged in the Baltic trade. The vessel was sold, in 1898, to Mossgiel Steamship Co., of Glasgow & renamed Vesuvio.
It was sold again, in 1900 or 1901, to General Steamship Co. Ltd. of London. On Apl. 6, 1916, while en
route from Messina, Sicily, to London, & off Beachy Head, Sussex, 6 miles E. of Owers Light Vessel,
Vesuvio hit a mine, & an explosion occurred 'on the port side
by way of the bridge'. The Captain (Elgar), the 2nd Officer & 3 others were
killed by the blast. The vessel sank within 15 minutes. 14 survivors were landed at
Newhaven, 1 of them seriously injured. 7 lives were lost. Can you help with more data? |
| 82 |
|
Contest
524 (or 486, or 505, later 697) tons
Hull 412
81610
5400968
Hermine
Jyden
Märta
Argo
Evangelia
Xenia
Abdullah |
1880 |
An iron steamship.
A vessel that had a lot of names & owners. But that must be forgiven since this most tiny
ship lasted over 123 years! Many references to its being built in 1879
rather than 1880 - it was launched on Dec. 22, 1979. Per 1
(data, 40% down, 19/04/2006 15:47, Contest),
2 (Danish text,
Sides 8 & 9, image Abdullah, thanks Bent Mikkelsen! Provided
by the webmaster since the data no longer is at its original source),
3 (Norwegian
data, & image Contest),
4 (Some
Lloyd's registers),
5 (ref. in text to Contest & Vesuv),
6 (UC-58),
7
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 50.6 metres long
perpendicular to perpendicular, 170.1 ft. Built for William France, a merchant from Leeds, for the coastal
& short sea continental trades.
Registered at London. William France later became Wm. France Ltd. & Wm. France & Company & even later
W. France, Fenwick & Co. Ltd. Noted for its involvement in the coal trade on the
U.K. East Coast. On Apl. 7, 1883, leaving Goole with
a cargo of coal destined for London, the vessel was in collision with
Vesuv, of Copenhagen, Denmark, in the Humber river. Vesuv sank as a result,
but was re-floated when over 300 tons of mud was removed from its hull! An
Inquiry, in London in Jun. 1883, found both captains to be at fault. It would be
good to be able to read that inquiry report, wouldn't it. In
1884, the vessel was sold to W. Clarke of London - with no change of name. It would
seem, (can it be correct?) that it reverted to William France's ownership in
1887. In or about
1891, the vessel was sold to 'A/S Contest', a company owned by F. M. Bachke
of Trondheim, Norway, with no change of name.
I believe in 1895, the vessel was stranded behind the breakwater, at Ayr,
Scotland. It was acquired & extensively repaired by S. McKnight & Company',
shipbuilders of Ayr, again with no change of name. And was sold, also in 1895, to
J. Reston, of Glasgow, W. S. Miller, the manager.
Again in 1895,
the vessel was sold to
F. J. Reimers, of Hamburg, Germany. Who renamed the ship Hermine. In
Jul. 1913, the vessel was sold to
'A/S D/S Løgstør', of
Løgstør, Denmark, Christian S. Odgaard the managers,
& renamed Jyden. In Oct. 1915, it was sold again, to 'Rederi AB Ester',
owned by Niels Osterman,
of Norrkøping, Sweden, for 95,000 kroner, J. E. (or
maybe J.
R.) Østerlund the manager, &
renamed Märta. Maybe also known as Martha. On May 19, 1917,
the vessel
was seized in the Gulf of Bothnia, by UC-58, while en route from
Stockholm to Raumo, with a general cargo. No loss of life in the seizure. The
ship was taken to Stettin. But the period of 1917 to 1922 is an unknown to me (15.8.17 FECH; 19.11.17 t Ostsee). In 1922, perhaps owned by Dönitz
Witte & Co. & in 1924, by R. Bornhofen, of Hamburg, Germany. On Jul. 28, 1938, the vessel was sold to Finnish owners
of Turku (Åbo)
- with no change of vessel name. That owner's name seems to be 'Rederi A/B
Lindship', 'O/Y Lars Krogies A/B' the managers, both of Turku (Åbo). Can anybody tell us about the vessel's WW2
service? Converted in some way in 1949? In 1952, the vessel's steam engines were replaced with
diesel engines (have also read this was in 1982 or could that be the conversion
in 1949?). But ... Thomas Simpson indicates (thanks Thomas!) that her original
George Clark of Sunderland, two-cylinder engine lasted for an amazing 64 years,
was replaced in 1943 (with a water-cooled 6 cylinder diesel engine manufactured
by 'Motoren Werke Mannheim AG', of Mannheim, Germany). A refit in 1952. In 1962, it was sold to N. Kathreptis et al,
(maybe the managers only) of Greece, &
renamed Argo. In 1965, the vessel was sold to
S. G. Halaris, (maybe the managers only) also of Greece, & renamed Evangelia.
Traded from Greece into the Black Sea. In 1969, the vessel was sold
to 'Dionisios Maltezos', of Piraeus, Greece,
D. Manganoudakis the manager, & renamed Xenia.
The vessel was lengthened in 1979 & became 54.9 metres long with a new gross
tonnage of 697. The vessel was again re-engined in 1982, with the installation
of an 8 cylinder diesel engine made by 'SKL', of Magneburg, East Germany,
located in the stern section of the ship. A major redesign then, in fact - both
lengthened & widened. The ship's new bridge & accommodation block was situated
above the engine room, thus allowing unbroken cargo space all the way from the
bridge front to the break of the forecastle head. A modern foremast, supporting
the two forward (3 ton) cargo derricks & their associated winches was situated
at the after part of the forecastle head. To compensate for this encroachment,
where space was at a premium, the forward part of the forecastle head was
extended forward by around ten feet or so, thus increasing space for handling
the mooring ropes when arriving or leaving port & also giving the ship its very
modern flared bow. Thomas Simpson would like to know whether those 1982 changes
were effected by the Greek owners of Xenia, who then sold it to
the Turks; or maybe effected by the Turks, after they had bought the Xenia. In 1982, the vessel was sold for the last time, to 'Ishak-Sadik Kalkavan Ve
Ortaklari', of Istanbul, Turkey, M. R. Ozmelek the manager, & renamed Abdullah.
The vessel may have been significantly altered at that time. It continued to trade
into the Black Sea. On Apl. 13, 2003, the vessel arrived at
Aliağa, Turkey, to be broken up. Thomas Simpson (thanks!) has provided much
of the above data. More was from 'Google'
snippets, or from texts in Danish & Norwegian, all easily misinterpreted.
There are published articles, but those articles are not available to me. The
listing may therefore require significant correction. Can you do that, or help with more data? |
| 83 |
|
Charrington
1823 (or 1773) tons
Hull 427
81498
Carvoeiro
Antonina
Douro
Commandante Castilho
Arataia |
1881 |
An iron cargo ship that had a
very long life.
From
1 ('Culliford
& Clark' brief data),
2 (Spanish
page, Carvoeiro),
3 (link 2 translated
into English), 4 ('plimsollshipdata.org', many Lloyd's Register listings
for years 1930 thru 1945, 3 vessel names),
5 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
The webmaster has a few editions of 'Lloyd's Registers' available to him thru
1890/91 ex Google Books, see left. 81.7 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular, 269
ft., signal letters WBGT, later PUUH. Built for 'Culliford & Clark', of Sunderland,
the Culliford maybe being 'J. H. Culliford' or or 'J. H. W. Culliford' - a tramp shipping company which owned 13 steamers in 1884. In 1906, the vessel was sold to
'Montenegro & Co.', of Para, Brazil, & renamed Carvoeiro. It
would seem likely that the vessel spent the rest of its life in South American waters. In 1919, the vessel was
sold to 'Lloyd Nacion Soc. Anon.', of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, & renamed Antonina.
At that time, it would seem that the ship's engines were changed. The vessel had three later names while still being owned by Lloyd Nacion
Soc. Anon.
In 1927, the vessel was renamed Douro, in 1931 Commandante
Castilho, & in 1935 Arataia. I wonder why the name
changes were all necessary? No WW2 convoy references at 'convoyweb.org'. On Nov.
04, 1961, the
vessel was broken up at Rio de Janeiro. The WWW record for this vessel
is modest indeed. Can you help with more data?
Or correct the above, as may be required. |
| 84 |
|
City of Hamburg
1219 (later 1174, 1200 & 1142) tons
Hull 429
81436
1233
Panaghis Dracatos
Arthur
Serena
Arturo Serena
Tenace |
1881 |
An iron cargo ship that had a very long life.
From
1 (1941, 25%
down in German, Tenace. '5.– 12.5.1941 Mittelmeer' - translates as
'During the night of 8.5 bombard the light cruisers Ajax (Capt. McCarthy) and the Destroyer Imperial, Hotspur and Havock the port facilities in Benghazi and sink the Italian Capitano A. Cecchi (2321 BRT) and Tenace (1142 BRT).'),
2 (main 'plimsollshipdata.org'
link, Lloyd's Register data, Tenace, 1930/31 thru 1943/44),
3 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
231.0 ft. long (70.41 metres) perpendicular to perpendicular, later 239.8 ft.
long (73.09 metres) perpendicular to perpendicular, signal letters WFGC, later
NEYS, PIXZ & IURM. Built for 'Palgrave, Murphy & Company' of Dublin, which company
provided service between Ireland & the Continent. In 1919, the vessel was sold to T. Dracatos
(of Greece perhaps?), & renamed Panaghis Dracatos. It was sold
again, in 1921 & 1925, to 'A. Narizzano' (of Italy?) & then to 'Fratelli S. & E. Accame' of Genoa, Italy, & renamed
respectively Arthur
Serena & Arturo Serena. ('Fratelli' means 'brothers').
However Lloyd's Register of 1930/31 indicates that 'Soc. Anon. di Nav.
LaSerenissima', of Genoa, was the registered owner. In 1931,
the vessel was sold to 'Ignazio
Messina & Co.' (Linea Messina S.p.A.),
of Genoa, & renamed Tenace. On May 8, 1941, British warships
Ajax, Imperial, Havock & Hotspur
shelled the harbour facilities at Benghazi, Libya. I have difficulty in telling
you exactly what happened to Tenace, which was there. Per this book Tenace, along
with Capitan A. Cecchi, was
shelled, set on fire & blown up
when 20 miles SW of Benghazi. Miramar indicate (thanks!) 'gunfire near Tajunes 8.5.41 & beached W Benghazi'.
While this site, (search for
Tenace'), states 'Italian steamers
TENACE (1142grt) and CAPITANO CECCHI (2321grt) were sunk at Benghazi in the
bombardment at 3½ miles 299° from Marabutto Sidi Bu Fachra and 2½ miles 314°
from Tre Palme, respectively.' The vessel may have been beached. Lloyd's
Register continued to list the vessel thru 1944/45. Can you help with more data?
Or correct the above, as may be required. |
| 85 |
|
Thorndale
2980 (or 2898) tons
Hull 441
87344 |
1883 |
An iron cargo ship
completed in Apl. 1883.
Per
1 (1887
Board of Trade Inquiry report, 'pdf' available),
2 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
The webmaster has a few editions of 'Lloyd's Registers' ('LR') available to him ex
Google Books, see at left. 313.5 ft. long, clipper bow & stem, signal letters HQJV,
274 HP. It would seem that the vessel was built for 'Dixon & Wilson' ('Dixon'), but
by the time the 1883/84 Lloyd's Register was printed, the registered owner had
become 'P. H. Laing', of Sunderland.
P. H. Laing, means Philip Henry Laing ('PHL'), of Deptford Yard, & other
investors, PHL being the managing owner. Could it be that Dixon had financial
difficulties & the shipyard took back the ship for sale to another buyer? On Sep.
11, 1886, the vessel left Sunderland, in ballast, for Galveston, Texas, U.S.A.,
with a crew of 30 all told. When about 600 miles W. of the Western Islands, (the
Azores, I believe), on Sep. 23, 1886, 4 crew members were designated to paint
the lower holds with an anti-corrosive quick drying paint manufactured by Sissons & Sons, & one of them, the boatswain, held a lighted candle. In the
confined area below decks, there was an explosion & a flash of light, & the
paint ignited & spurted in all directions. 3 of the 4 crewmen were severely
burned & one of them, Boggie, an able seaman, was so badly burned that he died
on the afternoon of the next day. A most unfortunate matter indeed caused by the
dangers of using such paint not being understood. The registered owner became 'A. Laing' in 1889/90.
LR of 1897/98 still records P. H. Laing as the vessel's owner. A long expired eBay postcard stated that in Jul. 1907, when the card was mailed, 'Weardale
Steam Ship Co. Ltd.', of Sunderland, were the vessel's owners. Robert Rowlands
has been in touch (thanks Robert!) to advise that on Sep. 11, 1910,
Thorndale arrived at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, under the command
of W. C. Poole & with a crew of 24. It proceeded to nearby Goose Green to unload
materials to build a meat canning factory & then left for Punta Arenas,
Strait of Magellan, Chile.
(Robert adds that Captain Poole returned to the Falklands in 1912 in
Oravia (built 1897, Belfast) to be wrecked on Billy Rock outside of
Port Stanley on Nov. 11, 1912, & returned again in 1913 when delivery captain for the
island's steam coaster Falkland, ex Wheatsheaf,
built at Ayr in 1906). In the 4th quarter of
1910, Thorndale was hulked at Punta Arenas, per
Miramar (thanks!). Can you help
with more data? Or correct the above, as may be required.
|
| 86 |
|
Westward Ho
1241 (or 1267) tons
Hull 409
90315
770
Bille
Gueiteas
Guaytecas |
1884 |
A 3-masted iron barque,
which had a very long life.
Per
1 (image as Guaytecas),
2
(Lloyd's Register data, Guaytecas, 'Southampton City Council/Plimsoll', 1930/31 thru 1945/46
- but I cannot spot it indexed any more, so I have provided a link to Guadaira
which should bring you to the correct pages),
3 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
Built for R. H. Gayner, of Sunderland. Gayner owned 59/64 of
the vessel & M. Mariner 5/64. Sister to Northernhay.
225.0 ft. (68.7 metres) long, later 225.5 ft., signal letters JSLT, later HCDQ,
CBGU & HPYZ. Served the western coast of South America (Chile).
On Jul. 4, 1900, the vessel was sold to E. Holtzapfel, of Hamburg, Germany, (F. C. Bramslow, the manager?) & renamed Bille.
As per this newspaper article (in blue) sold for £7,700. In 1907,
the vessel was sold
to 'Austral de Maderas', of Chile & renamed Gueiteas. It was sold
again, in
1914, to R. Valdes & renamed Guaytecas. In the 1930/31 Lloyd's
Register, Jerman Oelkers y Cia ('Jerman'), of Valparaiso, Chile, were the
registered owners. The 1944/45 edition of Lloyd's Register records the sale from
Jerman to 'Julio Anahory du Quental Catheiros', of Panama, Conde da Cavilha the
manager. The vessel was towed, dismasted, into Cape Town, South Africa, in 1946.
Its final disposition?
Miramar indicates that the vessel was deleted from the registers in 1955. A portion of the above data was from a long-expired eBay listing. Can
you help
with more data?
|
| 87 |
|
Northernhay
1269
(or 1256) tons
Hull 461
90319
Nostra
Signora Assunta |
1885 |
A 3-masted iron barque.
From
1 (data, 90% down),
2 ('u-boat.net',
Nostra Signora Assunta),
3 (image, Northernhay),
4 (a difficult arrival in British Columbia, in Dec. 1885,
3rd column),
5 (U-34),
6 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
68.7 metres long, 225.5 ft. long, signal letters JTRD. Fitted with single top gallant sails,
royals, & a triangular main course. Built for Robert H. Gayner of Sunderland
& christened by E. S. Gayner, daughter of the owner. 100% Gayner owned
(64/64). Sister to Westward Ho, built in 1884, also by 'Laing'. Have read the briefest references that say the vessel sailed to San
Francisco & maybe to the Far East & to India, which words would apply to many
ships, I suspect. It certainly travelled to the W. coast of N. America & to
Australia. On Aug. 27, 1909, the vessel was sold for £2,500 to Tomaso Gazzolo, of Genoa,
Italy, who may however be the manager
rather than the owner (have seen references to 'Tomaso Gazzolo Fu A', with the
'A' likely meaning Angelo, managers, of Nervi, Genoa), & renamed
Nostra Signora Assunta. On Aug. 31, 1916, the vessel, en route from Genoa to Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.A., in ballast, was sunk by
gunfire, by U-34, Kapitänleutnant Claus
Rücker in command. 30 miles NE of Cape Palos, near Cartagena, SE Spain. With no
loss of life. U-34 was, I read, the 4th most successful
German submarine in WW1, sinking 119 ships & damaging 5 more. Claus Rücker
was responsible, in his career, re 88 ships sunk & 3 more damaged. Have read no detail as to the circumstances
of the sinking. WWW data re the vessel is modest. We thank Clive Fisher of the U.K. for kindly providing data re this vessel.
John E. (Efford) Beadon (1880/1916), grandfather of Eve Fisher (Clive's wife),
was captain of Northerhay, at dates unknown, but probably to the
time when the vessel was
sold in 1909 to Italian owners. He left the ship, indeed left sailing ships, to become Captain of
Lorca, a steam vessel, & lost his life when that vessel was
torpedoed by U-49, 200 miles W. of Ushant, (an island off the French Brittany coast), on Nov. 15, 1916.
All 32 aboard were lost. Can
you help
with more data?
|
| 88 |
|
Bawean
935 tons
Hull 467
Bunuan
Islas
Filipinas |
1886 |
A passenger/cargo ship.
Per
1 (interesting 1886 ref. to
launch, p. 297),
2 ('Koninklijke',
Bawean),
3 (an image ex Photoship (Bawean-01). Hopefully will soon be available. Of this Bawean?
I suspect so.),
4 (Miramar,
link, you now must be registered to access).
Built for 'Netherlands India Steam Navigation Company (Limited)', (i.e. 'Nederlandsch Indische Stoomvaart
(or Stoomboot) Maatschappij') ('Netherlands'), of
Batavia, (today Jakarta, Indonesia). 210 ft. long, facilities for 20 passengers in 1st or 2nd class. Engines
'expected to drive the vessel at a high rate of speed'. Intended for 'the conveyance
of cargo, passengers, and troops between the ports of Java and other ports in
Netherlands India'. Poop & main decks of teak. To be fitted with a bullion
room & a large gunpowder magazine. At the launch, named Bawean by
Miss Quinet. In 1891, 'Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij' took over the fleet
of Netherlands. In 1901 (or 1902), vessel was sold to 'Tan Auco' of the Philippines & renamed Bunuan.
It was sold again, in 1906 or 1907, to Fernandez Bros., (Fernandez Hermanos), also of
Philippines, & renamed Islas Filipinas. There are WWW references to 2 or 3 modest lawsuits
involving the vessel. In Jan. 1942, the vessel was sunk in the Bay of Manila, after a Japanese air raid. Can
you help
with more data? |
| 89 |
|
Lake Ontario
4502 tons
Hull 462
93725 |
1887 |
A passenger ship. Per 1
&
2
(Launch etc. ex Marine Engineer, Apl. 1, 1887 & Jul. 1, 1887),
3 (extensive voyage data),
4 (data, Lake Ontario),
5 (data),
6 (Hindoo collision),
7 (Vancouver, 90% down),
8 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
Accommodation for 200-1st, 85-2nd & 1,000-3rd class passengers.
Attained over 15 knots at her trials, about 2 knots over the speed which was
guaranteed. ... one of the finest ever turned out from the Deptford yard.
114.1 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular, 392 ft.
overall, with bow plating etc. strengthened to handle N. Atlantic ice conditions. Built for Canada Steamship Company
or Canada Shipping Company (Limited) i.e. Beaver Line. Used mainly on the Liverpool,
U.K., to
Montreal or Quebec, Canada, run. In Aug. 1896, the vessel collided head-on in the St. Lawrence River with
Vancouver of Dominion Line & was damaged. Lake Ontario's 'clipper bow' prevented critical damage to either ship but the
Vancouver
was out of service for three months.
On Jan. 31, 1898, the vessel collided with Hindoo, of Wilson Line, in the
N. Atlantic &
was damaged. It happened at 47.35N/42.55W in a very heavy snowstorm.
Hindoo proceeded to New York & Lake Ontario to Liverpool. In 1899, Beaver Line
(history at link above) was transferred to Elder Dempster & Co. The name of the ship
was not changed, & the line continued to operate as Beaver Line. The vessel's last voyage was Liverpool to Saint John, New Brunswick,
Canada, on Mar. 28, 1903.
The vessel was scrapped, in Dec. 1905, in Italy. Anything you can add? |
| 90 |
 |
Mombassa
4662 (or 4689) tons
Hull 485
96082 |
1889 |
A passenger/cargo ship.
Per
1 (British India Steam Navigation),
2 (Oct. 1916),
3 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
123.1 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular, speed of 12 knots. Built for British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.
The vessel was sunk, on Oct. 20,
1916, (defensively armed), by U-39, eight miles NW by N of Cap
Corbelin, Algeria. One life was lost. Can you add more? |
| 91 |
|
Wychwood
1272 tons
Hull 481
95290 |
1889 |
A 3-masted iron barque launched in Jun. 1889. Per
1 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
69.0 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular, 226.5 ft. long, signal letters
LFPG. Built for Robert H. Gayner,
of Sunderland, who I now see still owned the vessel in 1908/09 per Lloyd's
Register ('LR'). The webmaster has a single LR ex Google Books
available to him which lists the vessel, see at left. eBay vendor scott-base advises (thanks!)
- i) that in Oct. 1910, the vessel was dismasted off La Plata, Argentina, & was towed in that condition
into Pernambuco, now Recife, Brazil, ii) that in Mar. 1911 the vessel was sold (to whom
I wonder)
with no change of vessel name, iii) that during WW1 Wychwood was
used as a naval receiving ship off Kirkwall (Orkney Islands, I presume), iv) that she later became a barge &
was broken up at about 1923. I can find no WWW references to most of those
matters, which is strange for a very late sailing ship, said to have indeed been the
last sailing ship owned on the U.K. east coast. Can you add more?
|
| 92 |
 |
Baria
3069 (or 3155) tons
Hull 498
Kambyses |
1890 |
A cargo ship.
Per
1 (launch,
ex 'The Marine Engineer', of Jun. 1890),
2 (DDG Kosmos),
3 (Miramar,
link, you now must be registered to access).
About 108 metres long, speed of 11 knots. A difficult launch, on Jun. 04, 1890, it would appear
- owing to an accident, the vessel was suddenly stopped in her course before
getting clear of the 'ways'. She lay in a somewhat awkward position for several
days, but was eventually floated, without, as we understand, having suffered any
damage. Built for
'Hamburg-Calcutta-Linie', of
Hamburg, Germany, (A. Kirsten, the manager - they were also shipowners). The
vessel must have been later transferred or
sold to 'Hamburg Pacific Dampfschiff Linie' (also A. Kirsten), of Hamburg, since
the vessel was sold by them, in 1898, to 'Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft Kosmos' (DDG Kosmos),
also of Hamburg.
For service to S. America. In 1900, the vessel was renamed Kambyses. On Oct.
06,
1902, Captain Grimm in command, the vessel was wrecked at Punta Guionos, Costa Rica, while en route from
Puget Sound, Washington, U.S.A., to Hamburg, via San Francisco & S. American ports. Her cargo
included 5,000 cases of canned salmon bound for Europe, also coal for S. America
& flour. A part of cargo was likely recovered. Probably no loss of life.
Have not read the circumstances. Can you add
more?
|
| 93 |
|
Umkuzi
2050 or 2057) tons
Hull 500
98092
Tilde |
1890 |
A cargo ship, but it carried passengers so it probably was a
passenger/cargo vessel. Per
1
[Bullard King, Umkuzi (1)],
2 (related ephemera),
3 (Boer War,
70% down, no date),
4
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access).
85.8 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular, speed of 10 knots, signal
letters LRMV. Built for 'Bullard King
& Company, Limited' (Natal Direct Line), of
London. Who had, in history, 3 vessels of the name. Engaged on the London to Durban, South Africa, service (&
surely beyond, to Delagoa
Bay, now Maputo Bay, & Beira in Mozambique). Now Natal Line also connected India with South
Africa in the years of 1899 to 1911. There are a number of WWW references to the
ship being at Madras & Calcutta in those years & a reference to its bringing 125 personnel from Ceylon
(now Sri Lanka) to South
Africa to serve in the Boer War. But ... there really is no meaningful WWW data re the vessel.
The vessel was
sold, in 1923, to 'V. Schuppe', of Berlin?, Germany, & renamed Tilde. The vessel arrived,
in Oct. 1927,
at German ship breakers, to be broken up. Can
you tell us
more?
|
| 94 |
|
Umona
1288/2031 (N/G) tons
Hull 506
98194 |
1890 |
A steel cargo liner, which was launched on Oct. 29, 1890 & completed in Dec.
1890. Per 1
[Bullard King, Umona (1)],
2 (Natal
Line of Steamers, ex 3, Whitakers 1894, a 'Google' book),
4 (image),
5 (final
voyage, Chapter 12, commencing at page #67),
6 (a brief Report of the Inquiry into the vessel's loss in
1903),
7
(Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 281.5 ft. long (85.80
metres) perpendicular to perpendicular, with accommodation for 10 passengers,
signal letters MBFQ, 250 HP engines by George Clark Ltd. of Sunderland.
Built for 'Bullard King & Company, Limited' (Natal Direct Line), of London.
But maybe the initial owner was rather John King, of London. Why do I suggest
that? A 'bill of sale' was sold via eBay in Mar. 2012 -
re the sale of a 1/64 share of
the vessel, at an unstated date in Feb. 1901, to Benjamin Tilley, of Newport, Hampshire, with John King the
vendor. However, Daniel King is listed as the vessel's managing owner from 1891
thru 1902 & in this
1900 Mercantile Navy List. Engaged on
the Cape Town, Durban (Natal), Colombo & Calcutta service. I read however that
the vessel was generally on charter to the Natal Emigration Department to carry
Indian labourers, at £6 a head, to work in the sugar plantations of Natal &
Transvaal. On May
15, 1903, the vessel was en route
from Colombo, Ceylon, ex Calcutta, India, to Natal & Cape Town, Charles Hedley in command, with 475
Indian men, women & children aboard, 9 (have also read 10) passengers, & a cargo of jute & rice.
Bad weather was encountered - & the vessel approached the 'One and a Half Degree
Channel' thru the Maldives islands late & at night. At 2:45 a.m. on May 15,
1903, the ship, 76 miles off her course due to ocean currents, ran aground at Suvadiva Atoll,
Maldive Islands. The nearest island was 2 miles distant & at dawn a scouting party went to the
island & sought help from 4 Maldivians gathering coconuts. Soon they returned to
the ship with eight small vessels intent not upon helping but rather upon looting
Umona. 100 Indians walked to the island through the surf at low tide - the Maldivians
did agree to ferry the other 375 Indians ashore. The location
being
isolated, the decision was made to send a 26 ft. long boat, one of only 4 ship's boats,
to Colombo, Ceylon, 480 miles away, under the command of Chief Officer Bruckland.
The boat was driven off course, survived a major storm due to the skill of Bruckland & Tollemache,
Umona's
3rd officer, but did safely reach Colombo. Both Bruckland & Tollemache were awarded
the Lloyd's Silver Medal for Meritorious Service for their actions & bravery.
The passengers were later all rescued & the ship was abandoned. So the Maldivians presumably
did end up looting the abandoned ship. An Inquiry into the loss found no fault
with the captain or officers. Can you
add
anything? #1893 |
| 95 |
|
Minna Craig
4644 tons
Hull 509
98970
Muttra
Yuan
Ta |
1891 |
A passenger/cargo ship.
From
1 (Muttra),
2 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). Built for Minna Craig Steamship Co. Ltd. (Beyts, Craig & Co., the managers).
The vessel was sold, in 1893, to
British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. & renamed Muttra. And
sold
in 1921 to Chinese interests (Jensien Transport Co., the managers), &
renamed Yuan Ta. Can you help with
more data? |
| 96 |
|
Port Douglas
4285 tons
Hull 510
99000 |
1891 |
A cargo ship that had a very short life.
Per 1 (Milburn Line),
2
(6th item Port Douglas),
3 (Port Douglas),
4 (Kaikoura),
5 (underwriter ref.),
6 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
371.5 (or 390) ft. (about 118 metres) long, speed of 10 knots. Built for William Milburn & Co., of London,
'Milburn Line'.
Sister to Port Albert. Engaged, from Oct. 24, 1891, on service to
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. On May 24, 1892, while on her second
voyage to Australia & en route from London to Sydney via the Cape
of Good Hope with general cargo, the vessel ran aground on a reef & sank off the
island of St. Vincent, Cape
Verde islands. Salvage efforts failed & the vessel was declared a total loss. The cargo
however is said to have been recovered by the enterprising locals. Which is strange because the
underwriters accepted an offer for the salvage of the Port Douglas
&
for its cargo at 40% of value. She must have carried passengers, because
it would seem that Kaikoura likely carried them to Hobart, Tasmania.
Can you add
more? An image?
|
| 97 |
|
Venango
2938 (or 3005) tons
Hull 508
97542
Rouennais
Wilfred |
1891 |
A cargo ship.
Per
1 (Neptune
Steam Navigation, Venango),
2 (New
York Times 1894 'snippet', 50% down),
3
(French data, Wilfred),
4 (Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, Wilfred),
5 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
94.1 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular, speed? The launch of the
vessel was reported in 'Marine Engineer & Naval Architect' of 1913, but the text
cannot be seen. Preparing
this listing has been most difficult & the result will almost certainly require
correction. Do please help in that regard, if you can. The vessel was built for
Neptune Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. ('Neptune'), i.e. Neptune Line, W. & T. W. Pinkney, the
managing owners, both of Sunderland. Acquired for the company's weekly freight
service between Rotterdam & Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
It also was engaged, however, in other areas, including the carriage
of cotton & grain from New
Orleans, likely to Manchester. While detail is not WWW available, the vessel
stove in some plates at Latchford, & met with other accidents in the Manchester
Ship Canal, either through bad steering, or bad pilotage. On Nov. 28, 1894, the New York Times advised that both Venango &
Govino (built by Laing of Sunderland, in 1892) were a
week overdue at Baltimore, having encountered a storm on their
voyages from Rotterdam. What happened to Neptune? I read that the company ran into
financial difficulties & in 1906 Furness Withy & Co. ('Furness') purchased the Rotterdam to
Baltimore service & 7 of Neptune's vessels. Not including Venango,
I believe. Neptune became managed by Bolam
and Swinhoe, of Newcastle, (maybe from 1904) & in 1910 Neptune was purchased by Furness. The vessel is
not however included in the Furness fleet list here.
The vessel
served for many years on the Liverpool to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, route.
Note that Miramar do not refer at all to Neptune or to Furness. In 1913, the
vessel was sold to 'La Compagnie Des Vapeurs Français', of Rouen, France, Jean Stern
the manager, & renamed Rouennais. And in 1916 or 1917, the
vessel was sold again, to Joseph Lasry of Oran, French Algeria, & renamed Wilfred. From
1922 to 1926, the vessel was bareboat chartered to
'Compagnie Generale
d'Armement Maritime', a subsidiary of 'Compagnie Générale Transatlantique' ('Générale'), for
its Mediterranean service, with no change of vessel name. Or it may have in fact
been purchased instead by Générale. The vessel was broken
up in Q2 of 1927. In that regard, 3 indicates, if I understand the French
correctly, that Wilfred was rather sold in 1934 to A. P. Möller, (of
Shanghai, China), & renamed Daisy Moller. That was however another vessel
named Wilfred,
launched as
Pindos
in 1911. A puzzle perhaps is that for many years (1920 to 1927) there
were two registered vessels named Wilfred. Much of the above data came from
incomplete references, including Google data 'snippets'. Can you correct
the above and/or add anything more? Another image?
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| 98 |
|
B. G. Baker
2154 tons
Hull 535
104257
Adolf Deppe
Panaghis M. Hadoulis
Galounis
Mykonos |
1894 |
A cargo ship.
From
1 ('Plimsollshipdata.org', Lloyd's Register data),
2 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). 83.8 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular,
275 ft., signal letters JFHP. Built for Stephens & Mawson, of Newcastle, who owned, it would
appear, 'Red "R" Steamship Co. Ltd.'. It would be good to learn in which name the
vessel was first Lloyd's registered. A puzzle, perhaps, is that the vessel's name
clearly did not commence with the letter 'R'. In 1902, the vessel was sold to Armement Adolf Deppe, of
Antwerp, Belgium, & renamed Adolf Deppe. Engaged on
their Rotterdam to New York service. In 1923, the
vessel was sold to P. M. Hadoulis, maybe P. M. Hadoulis & partners, of Andros, Greece, & renamed Panaghis M. Hadoulis.
Another
vessel of the name. In 1927, the vessel was sold to P. Voyazides & Co.,
likely of Athens or Piraeus, Greece, & renamed
Galounis. The vessel would seem to have been soon sold again. In the 1930/31 edition of Lloyd's register, the vessel was
registered to A. Bistis, of Andros. The vessel was sold for the last time, in 1933, to Theodorou Sigalas,
of Greece, & renamed Mykonos. The vessel was broken up, in Italy, in
1934. The WWW record for this vessel is most limited. Can you help
with more data? Another image?
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| 99 |
|
Cairnross
1509 tons
Hull 534
104251 |
1894 |
A cargo ship.
From 1
[Oldenburg
(1)],
2 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access). 77.7 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular,
255 ft. Built for Cairns, Young & Noble, of Newcastle, which company became
Cairn Line of Steamships Ltd. On Nov. 12, 1898, the vessel was in collision
with Oldenburg, 618 tons, which sank & became a total loss. I
have not read the circumstances, but I
have read that the collision was in the river Guadiana which rises in Spain &
empties into the N. Atlantic at the Gulf of Cadiz. For many miles, the river seems to
be the border between S.E. Portugal & Spain. On Dec. 5, 1910,
while en route in ballast from Toulon, France, to Seville, Spain, the vessel ran
aground & was
wrecked, 7 miles E. of Malabat Point. In Tangier Bay, Straits of Gibraltar
area. At 35.52N/05.37W. Have not read the circumstances. Any
lives lost? Can you help
with more data? An image?
|
| 100 |
|
Onega
2017 (or 1759) tons
Hull 523
102841
Chariclia
Leonidas
Asp |
1894 |
A cargo ship, launched in Mar. 1894.
From 1 (item
#26, page in Norwegian, Asp),
2 (2nd Onega),
3 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
273.0 ft. long, signal letters NHDL, later HRJB. Built for C. M. Norwood & Co., of London. The vessel
was sold, in 1898, to
'Paul & Shellshear', also of London. In 1906, it was sold again, to C. N. Castriotti (or
Castrioti), of Piraeus, Greece, & (3 says 1905)
renamed Chariclia.
In 1907, it was again sold to 'Domestini, Oeconomou & Co.', also of Piraeus, & in
1912 renamed Leonidas. And in Feb. 1916, was sold to A/S Vesterhav (Thv. B. Heistein & Sønner A/S),
of Kristiansand, Norway, & renamed Asp. On Jan. 18, 1917, while en
route from Barry to Fayal, the Azores, with a cargo of coal, the vessel was sunk 'by an
explosive device' from UB38, off Bishop Rock. At 50.36N/06.45W. Any
lives lost? Can you help with more data?
An image?
|
| 101 |
|
Michelangelo
2498 tons
Hull 537
Marjan |
1895 |
A cargo ship.
From
1 ('plimsollshipdata.org', Lloyd's
Register data, 1930/31 & 1931/32),
2 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
300.0 ft. long (91.4 metres) perpendicular to perpendicular, speed of ? knots,
signal letters JMOE. Built for Andrea Dall'Orso & Co.,
(possibly M. & A. Dall'Orso) of La Spezia, Italy. The vessel was used, I
have read, in the fruit trade. The vessel was sold, in 1925, to 'V. Alesic', & renamed Marjan.
The Lloyds's Register listings linked above, refer however to 'Levant Soc. di
Nav a Vap.' as the registered owner in 1930/31 & 'Levant Parobrodarsko Drustvo
s.o.j.' in 1931/32, both of Šibenik, Yugoslavia now Croatia. On Dec. 07, 1931, the vessel was wrecked in the Adriatic, nr. Medolino, Croatia. The vessel must have been
re-floated since it was later broken up at nearby Pola (should be Pula, Croatia,
I believe) in Q1 of 1932. Any
lives lost? The circumstances? I was unable to find any WWW references to this vessel &
to its wreck.
So thanks go to Miramar for their data. Can you help with more?
|
| 102 |
|
Orissa
5436 (or 5433) tons
Hull 558
106100 |
1897 |
A cargo ship.
Per
1
[British India,
Orissa, (2)],
2 (Miramar, link,
you now must be registered to access).
125.0 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular, speed of 10 knots. Built for
'British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.', of London or maybe of Glasgow. Orissa? A coastal state in
NE India. I read that on Dec. 24, 1923, the vessel
was sold to 'Chai Lai Fong', of Shanghai, China, & that it was broken up at Shanghai.
A most difficult search subject. Need help! Can you add
more data?
|
The list of vessels physically built at the Deptford Yard continues here
& here. And then, as a result of the 1954 merger
of Sir James Laing and Sons Limited with
Thompson's and 'Sunderland Forge' to become 'Sunderland Shipbuilding Dry Docks & Engineering Company Ltd.'
May I suggest that you navigate the site via the
index on page 001.PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE
To Thomas M. M. Hemy Data Page
41. All
of the other Thomas Hemy pages, including image pages, are accessible though the index on
Thomas Hemy page
05.
[ ] £ á é ö ü
To the
Special Pages Index.
| A SITE SEARCH FACILITY
THE GUEST BOOK - GO
HERE
|
|
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BELGIAN PRINCE?
A long expired eBay listing offered for sale a 4 page leaflet which set out what happened to the
Belgian Prince, back in 1917. The
leaflet is named at the end of the vessel's listing here. The
eBay listing included the extensive text which I next provide verbatim, a text which surely
merits inclusion here. Alas, I did not retain the name of the eBay vendor to be able to thank him for his diligence
in making this material available.
4 page tract on the sinking of the British steamer Belgian Prince - worn
condition but well worth the effort of conservation or exhibit. Nice WWI anti
U-boat propaganda.
Another forgotten story of the Great War is that of the cargo ship Belgian
Prince. The ship was built as Mohawk in Sunderland by Sir James Laing &
Sons Ltd. in 1901 for the Megnatic Steamship Company of Bristol, she was sold twice and finally ended up with the Furness Withy Company (she had been
bought by the Prince Line Ltd. in 1912 but in 1916 the line was bought by
Furness). In 1915 she was renamed Belgian Prince.
Her last voyage took her from Liverpool with a load of blue clay bound for
Newport News, Virginia. However on July 31, 1917 about at 19:50 when they
were about 175 miles from Tory Island, Ireland, without warning, a torpedo hit
the ship on the port side between the engine room and the #5 hold. The engines
soon were disabled along with the dynamo, this kept the ship from sending a
distress signal.
The ship took on a list and the crew abandoned her in three lifeboats. During this time
the U-55 surfaced and began to shell the ship with the intention of
disabling the wireless. Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Werner, the commanding
officer of the U-55 of course had no way of knowing the wireless could not be
used, so this action is understandable. For an unknown reason the U-55 moved
around to the starboard side and fired her machine gun at the ship.
Werner then approached the three lifeboats which held the entire forty-two
man crew. They were all ordered to get out of the boats and taken on board
the casing of the U-55. The Master, Harry Hassan was taken below while the
men on deck were searched. They were asked if they had any weapons and handled
quite roughly by the German crew, according to the survivors. What happened next can only be described as deliberate murder. The crew of
the U-55, under orders from Werner, took the lifebelts from most of the
survivors and threw them overboard. They then got into the lifeboats, took
what they wanted and tossed the rest into the sea, removed the corks and further damaged them with axes to be sure they would sink.
One small boat was kept intact and boarded by five of the Germans who took
her to the damaged drifting hulk.
According to Chief Engineer Thomas A.
Bowman, one of the three survivors; "When they boarded her they signaled to
the submarine with a flash lamp, and then the submarine cast the damaged
lifeboats adrift and steamed away from the ship for about two miles, after which
he stopped."
If the crew were taken aboard the U-55 to be returned
to Germany as POW's getting the men on board and destroying the lifeboats would
be understandable, a U-boat captain did not want to leave any evidence floating
in the water that would indicate that a ship had been sunk lest his boat be
discovered, and drifting lifeboats were the best evidence. However at this time
the Belgian Prince had not sunk and Werner even had some of his own men on the
ship.
The U-55 crew then went below and closed the hatch and the boat got
underway on the surface. Werner sailed about two miles then submerged the U-55 with the forty-one survivors still on
the casing of the boat. Chief Engineer Bowman stated; "About 10 p.m. the
submarine dived and threw everybody in the water without any means of saving
themselves, as the majority of them had had their lifebelts taken off them." Having taken their lifebelts and destroyed their lifeboats he now
decided to just drown the entire crew, a clear act of cruelty and outright
willful murder, and this was not the first time he had done this. He did
the same thing with the crews of the Torrington on Apr. 8, 1917 and four days
later on Apr. 12 to the crew of the Toro, despicable acts of murder on the
high seas. The men in the water had little chance of survival and all but
three died, but the three who survived were able to tell the tale of what
happened to their fellow crewmen after they were picked up by a British
patrol boat later in the day.
Able Seaman George Silessi swam back to
the Belgium Prince and reboarded her, he was on board when a U-boat came
alongside of the ship the early the next morning. He said several Germans boarded the stricken ship and looted her, lucky for him the
Germans did not see him and he jumped off the ship and got into a small boat
which was nearby.
The third survivor was an American, 2nd Cook William Snell of Jacksonville
Florida, he survived by hiding his lifebelt under his clothes. After the
U-55 went under he also headed for the only place he could, the
Belgian Prince. He got within a mile when he saw the Belgian Prince explode
and sink. Silessi stated the U-boat fired two shots from her deck gun and
the Belgian Prince sank stern first at about 07:00 on Aug. 1, 1917. Thirty-nine crewmen died in the North Atlantic, courtesy of Wilhelm Werner
and the crew of the U-55, but what happened to the ship's master? It is unclear
if Harry Hassan was brought back on deck or kept as a POW, but I have been told
by a family member that he "was never seen or heard from again by his
family". Bringing the total lives lost to forty.
The KTB
(Kriegstagebuch, in English War Diary) of the U-55 mentions little of the
event;
"July 31: Unterwasserangriff. Heckschuß, G-Torpedo.
Scheneidewinkel 80°, 600 m, Treffer Mitte. Englischer bewaffneter Viermastendampfer, 4800ts,
in Ballast auslaufend. Vor Bewacher getaucht."
(Attack submerged. stern
tube, G-torpedo. Edge angle 80°, 600 m, hit at center. Armed British four masted
steamer, 4,800 tons, leaking out of ballast tanks. Dove in front of escort
ship.)
"Aug. 1: Dampfer mit Sprengpatrone versenkt; vor
Foxglove bis 9 h vm getaucht.
(Steamer sunk with scuttling charges, dove at 9
a.m. in front of Foxglove)
Werner makes no mention of the name of
the ship, or the fate of the crew. He also makes no mention of taking the
captain prisoner, a clearly evasive entry in the log of the boat to keep this
crime a secret.
In Germany the public was told that what the
British press had reported was "A low calumny" and that "Nevertheless, it can be confidently asserted that the story of the
German sailors taking the crew of the sunk ship on deck and then submerging
and washing them into the sea can only be a low lie and calumny. If our
U-boat men had wanted to let the foreign crew perish, they did not need laboriously to take them on board. The idea that Germans out of
sheer devilry pretended to save the men, only in order to let them perish,
could not possibly occur to German sailors."
In Holland the press mocked the Germans by publishing a pastoral letter which
was read at Protestant churches in Germany, including the cathedral attended
by the Kaiser. The letter was published next to the story about what
happened to the men of the Belgium Prince. It read in part; "We will comport
ourselves as Christians toward our enemies and conduct the war in the future
as in the past with humility and chivalry."
Wilhelm Werner sank a
considerable amount of shipping and in 1918 he torpedoed and sank HMHS Rewa, a fully lit and marked hospital ship, fortunately only four people were
killed. He tried to sink another Hospital Ship, the Guildford Castle, but
because of a dud torpedo and a misfire he failed in this endeavor. He was
charged with war crimes, but fled Germany and never faced trial. He lived in Brazil and later returned to Germany where he joined the NSDAP
(Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NAZI party), more
specifically the SS and rose to the rank of SS Brigadeführer serving on
Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler's personal staff. Never answering for his
crimes, he died on May 14, 1945.
|
.jpg "An 1882 artwork by Edouard Adam. Re 'Alumbagh', built by Laing in 1863.")
