COMPILING A LIST OF THE SHIPS THAT ARRIVED IN 1836
Bob Sexton
The Act to erect the Province of South Australia was passed in 1834. It embodied the principle that rather than land being taken up by squatters, it should be sold in an orderly manner and the proceeds used to bring out free settlers in due proportion to develop it. Meetings were held around the country to generate interest under the auspices of the South Australian Association, whose secretary, Robert Gouger, was rewarded for his efforts by becoming the first Colonial Secretary, and Colonization Commissioners were appointed to manage the scheme. However, to ensure that the colony did not become a financial liability on the home government, the promoters had to sell land to the value of £35,000 before the Act could come into operation, a seemingly impossible task before the final site on the other side of the world was selected, and surveying undertaken so that investors could assess the risks involved. Eventually, the problem was solved when one of the Commissioners, the prominent London merchant George Fife Angas, resigned so as to be able to establish the South Australian Company, which was successful in raising the required capital.
The Company had a vital interest in the progress of the scheme, and free from bureaucratic procedure, was able to despatch the first two ships to leave. The first issue of the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register was published in London on 18 June 1836, so it was able to record the departure of the John Pirie, Duke of York, Cygnet, Lady Mary Pelham, Emma, and Rapid, and foreshadow the departure of the Buffalo, Africaine and Tam O’Shanter. The next issue, published in the Colony on 3 June 1837, had a complete list of the shipping arrivals, adding in the Vansittart, Success and Truelove, which had come from other Australian colonies. As already commented, the sealer William slipped in and was to play an important part in the early days of the colony, and another, generally overlooked, was the survey hatchboat, which came the easy way as deck cargo on the Rapid. In discussing the arrivals of 1836, two other vessels should be mentioned. The schooner Eagle had observed Young’s Rocks, south of Kangaroo Island, in 1831 and saw a number of other coastal features on her way from Sydney to the Swan River in 1836. And there was great fanfare in the South Australian Gazette about the proposed visit of the cutter Mary Ann, to be despatched from Van Diemen’s Land by friends of Osmond Gilles, the Colonial Treasurer. It was confidently predicted that the selection of the site of the capital, and the necessary surveys, would be completed during this visit. Although the Mary Ann did return to Launceston in March 1836, no information about any achievements has survived.
Thus the Company was responsible for the despatch of the Duke of York and the Lady Mary Pelham, which it was hoped would bring a quick return by engaging in whaling; the schooner John Pirie, which took out emigrants and stock; and chartered the brig Emma to take stores and stock. The Colonization Commissioners purchased the brig Rapid for survey purposes, and chartered the Cygnet to take further staff and supplies. The Africaine and Tam O’Shanter on the other hand were ordinary merchant ships despatched by private individuals, while the Governor travelled in style in HMS Buffalo, which was on its way to New Zealand to obtain kauri masts for the Navy.
Now for the ships themselves. If I were looking for information about a particular vessel during the colonial era, my first call would be on Lloyd’s Register. Reprints of the annual volumes are available in the State Library. This gives the tonnage and the name of the master, useful in establishing that you’ve got the right ship. It also records the name of the owner and the place and date of building the vessel, thus giving a hint as to where further information might be found. Prior to 1834, there were two series of Registers, giving much the same information, one put out by the Underwriters, and the other by the Shipowners. Both sponsoring groups went bankrupt, and thereafter there was just one series, for which the surveys that the entries were based on have generally survived. These provide details of the ship’s structure and could be made during an annual survey long after the vessel was built, notable examples being the South Australian Company’s whaler Sarah and Elizabeth, built in British Maryland in 1775, and the Xenophon, better remembered as HMS Investigator, built at Sunderland in 1795.
It must be emphasised that Lloyd’s Register was just a record put out by the insurance industry, and was by no means comprehensive. However, a far more important source is available. It was a long-held principle that trade within the Empire could only be conducted in British Ships, as defined by the Merchant Shipping Act, although of course foreign ships could engage in trade from their own ports. The identity of such British Ships was established by them being registered at the Custom House of their home port, whether it be London or Port Adelaide, and this provides the authoritative record of a ship and its ownership. To guard against fraud, the dimensions and tonnage were recorded, together with descriptive features such as rig, the number of decks, the figurehead, the form of construction, and the shape of the stern. A transcript was forwarded to a central office at the Board of Trade and a certificate recording these details accompanied the ship. However, the original held at the home Custom House was the final arbiter in any legal argument about ownership. There can be something of a problem with ships registered overseas, but the London transcripts are now held in The National Archives at Kew, and the Custom House Registers of all Australian ports are available on microfilm in the State Library.
When it comes to foreign shipping, the Paris-based Bureau Veritas published an annual volume similar to Lloyd’s Register from 1829, and although not relevant for us today, ships of local interest include Captain Hahn’s Zebra, which was listed in 1840. The American Lloyd’s Register did not appear until the 1850s, but their Custom House registers for New York at least are available and it was possible to obtain the official details of the sealing brig Union, built at Barnstable, Massachusetts, in 1786.