Shipping

Early Fleets and Emigration schemes

The Royal Admiral

Benjamin Carver and Sarah Dibbs arrived in 1792 aboard the Royal Admiral, a ship of the third or forth fleet depending on your terms of reference.

The 914 ton ship Royal Admiral was originally built by Barnard, and completed in 1777 and launched 1777 on the Thames river.

The vessel had 3 decks, 4in bottom, 919 tons. She was 120'2" (36.62 metres) long with a beam of 37'10". (11.53 metres).

Principal Managing Owners: 1-4 Sir Richard Hotham, 5-6 Thomas Larkins, 7-8 John Pascall Larkins.

The Royal Admiral, in 1792 was the largest of the ships to arrive in Australia.

Essex Henry Bond took over as Master of the Royal Admiral on the 5th voyage in 1789..... (5) 1789/90 China. Capt Essex Henry Bond. Downs 17 Apr 1790 - 26 Aug Whampoa - 31 Jan 1791 Second Bar - 9 Apr Cape - 28 Apr St Helena - 26 Jun Downs. (6) 1791/2 New South Wales and China. Capt Essex Henry Bond. Torbay 30 May 1792 - 9 Aug Cape - 7 Oct Port Jackson - 14 Jan 1793 Whampoa - 18 Mar Bocca Tigris - 16 Jun St Helena - 21 Aug Downs. (7) 1793/4 Bengal and Madras.

There are records in the National Archive suggesting the Royal Admiral was renamed the "York" in 1802 and disappeared in 1803/04. It may have been another ship of the same name for the larger scale of this ship (over 50 feet longer and taller), suggests only its parts could have been used for building the HMS York (ex-Royal Admiral) (+1804).

• HMS YORK; 3rd Rate; 64 cannons; 1.433 bm; 174 x 43 ft; Built in 1796 by Barnard, Deptford. HMS YORK (Capt. Henry MITFORD) was last seen on 26 December 1803 and it was supposed that she had foundered in the North Sea in January 1804. source ref. used Colledge & Warlow, Ships of the Royal Navy - Source: National Archives .

An entry by: Lettens Jan, entered: 18/03/2008

HMS YORK; 3rd Rate; 64 cannons; 1.433 bm; 174x43 ft; (Re-)-Built in 1796 by Barnard, Deptford.

general - nationality: british; purpose: war

type: Ship of the Line / subtype/class: 3rd rate Ship of the Line

propulsion: sailing ship

date built: 1796

weight (tons): 1433

dimensions : 52.7 x 13.1 x -- m

material: wood

about the loss: cause lost: foundered - date lost: 00/01/1804 [dd/mm/yyyy]

builde r: Barnard, Deptford (Thames)

owner: British Royal Navy, Admiralty, Rn, London

entered by: Lettens Jan, entered: 18/03/2008

Experiencing Sail Ships today

The Brigantine "Soren Larsen" which I viewed (see link) in Hobart 2013 - was built 1949 in Rotterdam, Denmark and is now home in Sydney. It was originally a sailing cargo ship built of an Oak hull and of length: 145 ft overall (44.2 metres); with a beam of 25,5 ft (7.8 metres), mast height: 98 foot (29.9 metres). It has a crew of 12 and carries 22 on voyages.

The first fleet ships were similar to some of the ships which visit Australia in the Tall Ships Festivals.

Ships of the First Fleet

• 1. The Alexander - Weighing in at 452 tons, 114 ft long and 31 ft at the beam, the Alexander was skippered by Master Duncan Sinclair. She carried 195 male convicts and was the largest ship in the fleet. Being built in Hull, England in 1783, little is known of her after her return journey and then disappeared from records in 1808.

1. The Borrowdale - Very little is known about this ship and it disappeared from records after the return voyage to England. Skippered by Master Readthorn Hobson, this ship weighed 375 tons, was 75 ft long and had a beam of 22ft. She was built at Sunderland in England in 1785, only two years before the trip to Australia.

2. The Charlotte - Being 335 tons, 105 ft long and 28 ft at the beam, The Charlotte held 88 male and 20 female convicts. Built in 1784 and Skippered by Master Thomas Gilbert, her return to England saw her doing the London - Jamacia run until she was sold to a Quebec merchant in 1818 and was then lost off the coast of Newfoundland that very same year.

3. The Fishburn - The Fishburn, like the other storeships, disappeared from all records after returning to england from her epic voyage. She was skippered by Master Robert Brown and weighed 378 tons. Built at Whitby in 1780.

4. The Friendship - This convict ship, being 274 tons and 75 feet long was one of the light weight ships in the fleet and was skippered by Master Francis Walton. Built in Scarborough in 1784, she carried 76 male and 21 female convicts. During her return voyage to England her crew came down with scurvy and with insufficient crew to man her, she was scuttled in the straights of Macassar. The survivors were transferred to the Alexander.

5. The Golden Grove - This ship of 375 tons had the distinction of carrying the Reverend Richard Johnson - the first chaplain to the colony - and his wife. After returning to England to work the London Jamacia run, she disappeared from records after 1804. She was built in 1780 at Whitby and was skippered by Master Sharp for the first fleet voyage.

6. The Lady Penrhyn - This convict transport of 333 tons was skippered by Master William Sever. Built at the Thames in 1786, she carried 101 female convicts. After returning to England , she was put on the London - Jamaica run and was captured in 1811 in the West Indies.

7. The Prince of Wales - This ship carried only one male convict and 49 female convicts. She was of 350 tons and skippered by Master John Mason. Built at the Thames in 1786. She operated in England until 1797 when her registration was transferred to Fort Royal, Martinique, after which, little is known.

8. The Scarborough - Being a large 430 tons, the Scarborough carried 208 male convicts. She was built at Scarborough in1782. The Scarborough sailed back to England and returned to Port Jackson in the Second fleet. Apart from the 'Sirius' and 'Supply', she was the only other ship from the first fleet to return. She was skippered by Master Kohn Marshall.

9. H.M.S. Sirius - Built in 1780 as the 'Berwick' for the East India trade. She was badly burnt in a fire and was bought and rebuilt by the navy in1786 and renamed 'Sirius'. After her arrioval in Port Jackson, she remained as a supply ship and sailed to the cape of good hope in october 1788 to obtain food suppies for the starving colony. After returning she was wrecked off Norfolk Island on the 14th of April, 1790. Being 540 tons and skippered by Captain John Hunter.

10. H.M.S. Supply - The Supply was the smallest of the fleet being only 170 tons and 70 feet long. Carrying 50 people and skippered by Captian Henry Bull, she led the fleet most of the may primarily because of her speed. Little is known of this brig's early history, but it seems she was built in America in 1759 and was commissioned by the Admiralty in October 1786. The Supply returned to Emgland where she was renamed the 'Thomas & Nancy'. The ship seems to have carried coal on the Thames until around 1806.

[i] Reference website - the Church of Latter Day Saints (at Family Search) for the baptism records of Kilseily parish where Broadford is situated. They have the Kilseily parish records from 1844 to 1880

(see also Family search ).

Another barque of the same name Royal Admiral was a three masted barque built in 1828 at Bottomly, London, weight 414 ton. On January 20, 1838, the South Australian Gazette & Colonial Register recorded that she left London on September 26th, 1837 via Falmouth where 112 Colonisation Commissioners' migrants boarded. Captain Fotheringham was in command of 208 passengers who arrived Port Adelaide on 18-01-1838. Prior to this she had been a convict ship 1830-1835 and again in 1842. Source: Migrant Ships for South Australia 1836-1860, by Ronald Parson.

Royal Admiral arrived in Sydney in May 1832 and on the 27th September 1839.