Av^ \ \ \\ vV ^''' ^^V ""U":^%^'^ ^-^ * ^ \ BASIL LUBBOCK ROBERT I,. HAATTB CORNELL UNTVERSITY LIBRARIES ITHACA. N. Y. 14853 JOHN M. OUN LIBRARY DATE DUE ! o SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS 49 She was nine days making the passage of the Horn ^om 50° S. to 50° S.; but shortly after rounding the Horn she carried away her fore and main topmasts and sprang her foreyard. Captain Maekay, however, kept the seas and refitted his ship in 14 days, during the whole of which time he is said to have remained on deck, snatching what little sleep he allowed himself in a deck chair. The Sovereign oj the Seas in spite of this mishap arrived in San Francisco only 103 days out, and this was considered the best passage ever made «t such an unfavourable season of the year. From San Francisco she went across to Honolulu in ballast and there loaded a cargo of sperm oil ; it being the custom of American whalers to call in there and leave their oil for transhipment so as to clear their holds for a fresh catch. The Sovereign of the Seas left Honolulu on 13th February. 1853, for New York, and once again made a most remarkable passage in spite of a sprung fore top- mast, jurj' fore topgallant mast and a weak crew — no doubt a large number of her original crew deserted in San Francisco in the hope of reaching the gold diggings, but more probably only to be shanghaied on some homeward bounder. Like all Mackay's wonderful creations, the Sovereign of the Seas was at her best in the roaring forties, and on the run to the Horn she made 3144 miles in 10 days, her best 24-hour runs being: — March 11 332 miles. „ 12 .. 312 „ „ 16 .. 396 „ „ 17 .. 311 „ „ 18 .. 411 „ ,, 19 .. . 1 • i = -l.^ u 360 „ ,J „4. L-- During this time she had strong quartering winds 50 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS and a heavy following sea, which drove her at times as much as 19 knots through the water. After rounding the Horn, she had the usual weather up through the tropics, and arrived at New York on 6th May, 1853, having made the record passage of 82 days from Honolulu. As she was considered to be too big for either the San Francisco or China trades, she was at once loaded for Liverpool, there to take part in the booming Australian emigrant trade. And crossing the Western Ocean she once more made an extraordinary passage, as the following epitome shows:— June 18 — Sailed from New York, passed Sandy Hook at 6.30 p.m. ,, 24^Sighted Cape Race at 6 a.m. „ 26 — Becalmed on the Banks. ., 28 — Distance run 344 miles — ship close-hauled under single reefed topsails. ,, 30 — Distance run 340 miles, under all sail to skysails and royal stunsails off Cape Clear at 6 a.m. July 2— Anchored in the Mersey at 10.30 p.m. Passage New York to Liverpool, from dock to anchorage, 13 days 22 hours 50 minutes, and 5 days 17 hours from the Banks of Newfoundland. Donald Mackay crossed the Atlantic on the ship and spent his whole time watching her every movement, and it was probably the experience gained on this passage which had much to do with the wonderful success of his later vessels. On her arrival in Liverpool the Sovereign of the Seas was at once chartered by the Black Ball Line . Captain Lauchlan Mackay, however, did not remain in her, but returned to New York, his place being taken by Captain Warner, who had been in the ship since she was launched . Taptaia Warner sailed from Liverpool on 7th SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS 51 September, 1853, with 25 first cabin, 40 second cabin passengers and a cargo valued at £200,000, and wrote the following account of his passage to the Liverpool Mercury : — I arrived here after a long and tedious passage of 77 days, liaving experienced only light and contrary winds the greater part of the passage. I have had but two chances. The ship ran in four consecutive days 1275 miles ; and the next run was 3375 miles in 12 days. These were but moderate chances. I was 31 days to the equator and carried skysails 65 days ; set them on leaving Liverpool and never shortened them for 35 days. I crossed the equator in 26° 30', and went to 63° 30' S., but found no strong winds. I think if I had gone to 58° S. I would have had wind enough ; but the crew were insufficiently clothed and about one half disabled, together with the first mate. At any rate we have beaten all and every one oi the ships that sailed with us, and also the famous English clipper Gauntlet 10 days on the passage, although the Sovereign of the Seas was loaded down to 23i feet. Sovereign of the Seas' passage was, in fact, an ex- ceedingly good one, considering all things, but there was not much glory attached to beating the little Gauntlet, which only measured 693 tons register and was built of iron. The Sovereign of the Seas sailed from Melbourne with the mails and a very large consignment of gold dust; but amongst her crew she had shipped some old lags, who attempted a mutiny in order to seize the ship and get away with the gold. However, Captain Warner succeeded in suppressing these rascals without bloodshed and kept them in irons for the rest of the passage . The Sovereign of the Seas made the splendid time of 68 days between Melbourne and Liverpool; but after this one voyage for the Black Ball she seems to have returned to her original owners, who put her into the Shanghai trade for a voyage or two before selling her to a Hamburg firm. 52 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Best Outward Passages for 1853-4, Anchorage to Anchorage. Ship. Port from Date Left. Date Arrived Melbourne. Dys. Try Bristol Oct. 12, '52 Jan. 12, '53 92 A lipnre . . London „ 16, „ ,, 19, „ 95 Marian Moore . . Liverpool Nov. 15, „ Feb. 15, „ 92 Kent London Jan. 27, '53 Apl. 20, „ 83 Eagle .. Liverpool Feb. 22, „ May 13, „ 80 Marco Polo ,, Mar. 14, „ ,i 29, „ 76 Bothnia . . ., 5, „ June 3, „ 90 Ganges . . London „ 23, „ ,, 22, „ 91 Osmanli . . Liverpool Apl. 16, „ July 4, „ 79 Indian Queen . . ,, May 17, „ Aug. 8, „ 82 Gibson Craig London June 4, ,, ,, 22, „ 79 Star of the East . . Liverpool July 7, „ Sept. 23, „ 78 Statesman S'thampton ,. 10, „ Oct. 5, „ 87 Tasmania Liverpool „ 23, „ ,, 23, „ 92 Mobile . . ,. Aug. 16, „ Nov. 16, „ 92 Sovereign of the Seas ,. Sept. 7, „ ,, 26, „ 80 Chimera . . .. „ 17, „ Dec. 17, „ 92 Neleus .. ., Oct. 5, „ ^, 24, „ 80 Flying Dragon . . London „ 14, ., ,, 30, „ 77 Kent ,, „ 26, „ Jan. 12, '54 78 Marco Polo Liverpool Nov. 8, „ J 31, „ 84 Salem ^, Dec. 7, ,, Feb. 28; „ 83 Essex 9, „ Mar. 12, „ ^2 Marlborough London Jan. 1, '54 ,, 19, „ 77 Indian Queen . . Liverpool „ 29, „ Apl. 21, „ 84 Crest of the Wave ■■ Feb. 14, „ •■ 28, „ 73 1854— The Year of the Big Ships. The result of Sovereign of the Seas'" visit to Liverpool and that of her builder and designer Donald Mackay was a further order to America and Nova Scotia for still bigger ships. In fact, Donald Mackay returned to Boston with James Baines' commission to build the famous quart- ette, TAghtning, Champion of the Seas, James Baines and Donald Mackay, which were shortly to astonish the world. Against these the White Star Line put forward the equally big White Star and Red Jacket, SCHOMBERG AND SOBRAON 53' two vessels which both in strength, beauty and speed were worthy to be ranked on equal terms with the great Black Bailers. Only two wooden ships w.ere ever launched in England which could compare in size with these six giants. One of these was the ill-fated Schomberg and the other the beautiful Sobraon, which, however, had iron frames and was not launched until the palmy days of the gold rush were over . Both came from the famous yard of Hall, of Aberdeen. Schomberg was, of course, wrecked on her maiden passage, but Sobraon, though never as hard sailed as the great Black Ball and White Star ships, made equally good passages, and being built of the finest Malabar teak retained her speed right up to the end of her long and successful career . In comparing the measurements of the American built, Nova Scotian built and Aberdeen built ships the most noticeable point is the greater beam of the Nova Scotians and the greater length of the British. This is well shown bv the following table : — Lightning .. 5.54 beams to 1 ;ngth Red Jacket 5.64 ,, American Built ChamMon of the Seas 5.55 ,, James Baines 6.70 . Donald Mackav 6.72 ,, British j f Schomberg . . 6.82 .. Built Sobraon- .. 6.80 ,. Nova Scotian r Marco Polo L White Star 4.86 .. Built 1 4.84 •• Carrying On. Perhaps no ships ever sailed the seas which held on to their canvas longer than these great Black Ball and White Star clippers; and yet the carrying away of spars and sails, which was so common an 54 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS occurrence with the earlier American clippers and also with the early British iron clippers, was quite rare on these big emigrant ships. There is no difficulty, however, in finding reasons, for their freedom from dismasting and heavy casualties aloft, their designers and builders had learnt something by the dismastings and constant losses of spars which overtook their earlier ships, and thus no ships were more scientifically stayed than these big ships, at the same time in their outfit we find hemp rigging and wooden spars in their highest state of efficiency. Strength of gear had for some time been one of the chief problems that a clipper ship builder had to contend with, and in the rigging of these six famous ships we see this problem finally mastered. Topsails, topgallant sails and even royals were diagonally roped from clew to earing. The rope used for standing rigging was the very best procurable and of immense thickness; for instance, Lightning's lower rigging, fore and main stays and backstays were of 11 J inch Russian hemp; whilst in regard to spars, here are the diameters in inches of some of James Baines' masts and yards: — Mainmast . 42 inches in diameter. Main topmast . 21 Main topgallant mast. . 16 Main royal mast . 14 Mainyard . 26 Main topsail yard . 21 Main skysail yard 8 Advantages of a Light Load Line and High Side. But added to their greater strength aloft these great clippers had another advantage over their older sisters in the Californian trade. THE LIGHTNING 55 They sailed on a lighter load line and showed a higher side. Four or five hundred emigrants made them dry and buoyant instead of wet and hard mouthed. Besides being very easy in a sea-way, these big emigrant clippers were extraordinarily steady ships without any tendency to heavy quick rolling. This is easily proved from their logs, for one constantly reads that their passengers were able to enjoy dancing on the poop when the ships were running 15 and 16 knots before the strong gales and big seas of easting weather. Speaking at a dinner given in Melbourne in honour of Captain Enright, Mr. Alexander Young, a veteran voyager to and from the Antipodes, who had just travelled out in the Lightning, remarked: — "I have much pleasure in adding my slight testimony to her well-earned fame by stating that she is the driest and easiest ship I have ever sailed in. I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that we scarcely shipped a bucketful of water all the passage, and when going 16 knots an hour there was scarcely any more motion than we feel at the present moment." And here are other proofs of the Lightning^s steadi- ness taken from the Lightning Gazette, a newspaper published on board: — 9th February, 1855. — 14 knots upon a bowline with the yards braced sharp up and while going at this extraordinary rate she is as dry as possible, seldom shipping a spoonful of water. During the greater part of the day the carpenter was employed on a stage below the fore chains, where he worked as easily as if it had been calm. 18th March, 1857. — The wind increases a little towards evening and we make 15 to 17 knots an hour, yet the ship is so steady that we danced on the poop with the greatest ease (Lat. 42° 34' S., Long. 17° 04' W.) 21st February, 1855. — During this time the ship was going 16 knots an hour and in the saloon the motion was so slight that we thought she had only a light breeze. 56 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Examples of Carrying Sail. Two or three quotations also from the log books and shipboard newspapers may be of interest to show the power of these ships to carry sail in heavy weather and strong winds. Here are two days from the log of the James Baines when running her easting down, in 1856 : — 16th June.— Lat. 43° 39' S., Long. 101° E. : Bar. 29.80° Wind. S.W. to W.S.W. Commences with fresh breezes and squalls of sleet, 8 a.m., more moderate. Noon, sighted a ship ahead; at I p.m. was along- .side of her and at 2 p.m. she was out of sight astern. James Baines was going 17 knots with main skysail set, the Liber tas, for such was her name, was under double-reefed topsails. 18th June.— Lat. 42° 47' S., Long. 115° 54' E. Bar. 29.20° Wind, W. to S.W. First part breeze freshening. At 6 p.m. wind S.W. and freshening. At 8.30 p.m. in all starboard studding sails ; ship going 21 knots with main skysail set. Midnight, fresh gale and fine clear night. 8 a.m., wind and weather the same. Noon, less wind attended with snow squalls. Distance 420 miles. Then in the Lightning Gazette I find the following entries : — 15th January, 1855.— Lat. 39° 42' N., Long 19° 25' E. Wind. S.S.E., strong breezes and cloudy, with occasional squalls and showers ; the ship going 13 knots close-hauled. In the morning we passed a ship outward bound with topgallant sails in and exchanged colours with a Swedish brig homeward bound — this vessel was under close- reefed topsails, while we were carrying three royals and main skysail. 26th February, 1855.— Lat. 45° 48' S. ; Long., 16° 55' E. Wind, N.N.W., course, S.E. Another wet uncomfortable day ; thick mist and small rain. The barometer had been falling for a day or two back and went down half an inch last night. The change took place at 4 p.m., when the wind suddenly shifted to the west and soon afterwards to S.W., from whence it blew hard with squalls and occasional showers of hail and snow. At 8 p.m. it backed again to west, where it remained all night, blowing a fresh gale, the ship running 16 and occasionally 18 knots per hour with main skysail and topgallant studding sails set. 27th February, 1855.— Lat. 46° 22' S., Long. 26° 15' E. Wind, west, course S.E. All last night it blew a fresh gale with heavy squalls and occasional showers of hail and snow, the sea running high. From noon yesterday till noon to-day, we ran down 9 degrees and 20 milet THE LIGHTNING 57 of longitude and 34 miles of latitude, making 390 geographical miles or 450 English miles direct course in the 24 hours, giving an average of 16J knots or 18J statute miles per hour. During 6 hours in the morning the ship logged 1 8 knots per hour with royals, main skysail and topgallant studding sails set, the wind blowing a fresh gale from the westward. 21st October, 1855.— Lat. 36° 4' S., Long. 24° 62' W. During the afternoon the wind chopped round and blew strongly from the S.W. At 5 p.m. sighted a. large ship on our weather quarter, sailing under double-reefed topsails and we apprehend they must have taken us for the Flying Dutchman seen occasionally in these latitudes, for not- withstanding the strong breeze we could be observed carrying our skysails with studding sails 'low and aloft. 14th March, 1857.— Lat. 34° 47' S., Long. 35° 06' W. The breeze a splendid one. A barque on the port beam about 3, homeward bound. The wind was as fair for her as wind could be, yet she had no royals set. We formed a striking contrast to her, for we — on a wind — bad all sail set up to main skysail. 20th March, 1857.— Lat. 43° S., Long. 0° 56' E. We have made during the last 47 hours the greatest run that perhaps ship ever made, yet all the time we have carried our main skysail and all sorts and conditions of studding sails. Extraordinary 24-hour Runs. I have quoted the above passages to show the way in which a Black Bailer could carry sail either with a fresh favouring gale or in a strong head wind. This is sufficiently astonishing in itself, but what amazes most present day sailors and compels many of them to be incredulous are such statements as the muoh quoted one concerning James Baines — "Ship going 21 knots with main skysail set." This and other log book statements have been looked upon by many as far-fetched exaggerations, but, after careful study of the subject, during which I have pricked off the different voyages on a track chart, I have come to the conchision that these amazing performances were in no way a stretching of the imagination. 58 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS To begin with, I will give the main arguments advanced against them by the sceptics . The late Mr. J. N. Barry, writing in an Australian paper, remarks: — Where American records are concerned much caution m»st be observed in taking their feats of speed for granted. Our cousins had a canny fashion of, no matter where they might be saiUng, always reckoning 60 miles to a degree of longitude whilst doing their easting, so that a day's run of, say, 240 miles upon a parellel of 45°, would by this means give the distance covered as exactly 100 miles in excess of what it should be. Another nautical writer remarks: — The skippers of many of the celebrated Black Ball clippers were not above adopting this mode of calculation, viz., 60 miles to a degree of longitude, but while it gave some wonderful results for a single 24 hours, it did not as a matter of fact make their passages any more rapid. And I have had letters scoffing at the Black Ball records, remarking that their skippers were a leery lot and provided "palatable pabulum for the proud passengers . ' ' I will now try and shoAv that these arguments were altogether too sweeping, and if they may possibly have applied to certain individuals, they are by no means fair to the greater number of the skippers. In the first place, not one of the Black Ball or White Star ships was commanded by an American, and though the accusation was levelled at Americans, it was evidently done in the belief that the American built Australian clippers were commanded by Americans. In the second place, such men as Anthony Enright, of the Lightning, James Nicol Forbes, of the Marco Polo, Charles McDonald, of the James Baines, Sam Reid, of the Red Jacket, Captain Prj'ce, R.N.R., of the Donald Mackay, and Alexander Newlands, of THE LIGHTNING 59 the Champion of the Seas, were known and respected all over the world as leading men in their profession, occupying a position in the Mercantile Marine which would correspond with that of Orient and P. & O. commanders nowadays, whilst their performances were very much more widely known, thus s\ich ele- mentary cheating as giving 60 miles to a degree in the roaring forties would have been exposed at once. The greatest 24-hoiir run ever accomplished by a sailing ship was one of 436 nautical miles made by the Lightning when crossing the Atlantic on her maiden passage. The second greatest run was also made by the Lightning. This was 430 miles when running her easting down bound out to Australia in 1857, and on the following day her run was 360. This wonderful performance drew the following letter from Captain Enright to his passengers, and I think it will dispose of the 60 miles to a degree accusation, at any rate as far as the Lightning and her commander are concerned : — 21st March, 1857. Ladies and Gentlemen, — I cannot help informing you of the extraordinary run we have made during the last 48 hours — or rather allowing for change of time, 46 hours and 48 minutes. During this time we have run, by thoroughly good and trustworthy observation, no less than 790 knots or 920 statute miles, being an average of nearly 17 knots or more than 19J statute miles per hour. Yesterday our noble ship made no less than 430 knots amounting to an average during the 24 (23J) hours of more than 18 knots. Our change of longitude has amounted to 1 8 degrees, each degree being equal to 44 miles. I firmly believe this to be the greatest performance a sailing ship, has ever accomplished. I hope this information will in some degree compensate you for the inconvenience which the heavy weather has occasioned you. And I remain. Ladies and Gentlemen, Very faithfully yours, A. Enright, Commander. 60 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS If further proof is wanted that Captain Enright did not allow 60 miles to a degree, but only 44 as he states to his passengers, here are the noon positions found by observation, not account only, from which the runs can be verified on the chart. March 18, Lat. 42° 34' S., Long. 17° 04' W. 19, „ 43° 0' S., ,. 7° 17' W. 20, „ 43° 0' S., „ 0° 55' E. The following is a list of all runs of 400 miles and over, which I have been able to verify. March 1, 1854. — Lightning 436 miles. March 19, 1857.— „ 430 „ February 6,1855. — James Baines 423 miles. February 27, 1855. — Donald Mackay 421 miles June 18, 1856. — James Baines 420 miles. February 27, 1854. — Red Jacket 413 miles. January 27, 1855. — James Baines 407 miles. July 6, 1854. — Red Jacket 400 miles. All these performances were made running east, making the day's work under 24 hours. Several other ships claimed runs of over 400 miles, but I have not included these as I have not sufficient particulars to verify them. Marco Polo is supposed to have done a run of 428 miles under Captain McDonald on 7th January, 1854, and Shalimar 420 miles in 1855 on her first passage to Australia, under Captain Robertson. With this general account of their powers I must now return to a more detailed description of the giant clippers themselves. The "Lightning." The Lightning was built by Donald Mackay to the order of James Baines in the winter of 1853-4 at a cost of £30,000, and on her arrival in Liverpool was furnished and decorated below at a further cost of £2000. THE LIGHTNING 61 Her measurements were: — Tonnage (builders) 2096 tons, (register) 1468 „ (burthen) 3500 ,. Length . . . . 244 feet. Beam . . . . 44 Depth . . . . 23 Dead rise at half-floor 20 inches. Her poop was 92 feet long and her saloon 86 feet, whilst she had 8 feet under the beams in her 'tween decks,- a most unusual height for those days. With regard to design she was one of the sharpest ships ever launched. Her model is thus described by Captain H. H. Clark: — "She had long, concave water-lines and at her load displacement line a cord from her cut -water to just abaft the fore rigging showed a concavity of 16 inches. Her stem raked boldly forward , the lines of the bow gradually becoming convex and blending with the sheer line and cut -water, while the only ornament was a beautiful full-length figure of a young woman holding a golden thunderbolt in her outstretched hand, the flowing white drapery of her graceful form and her streaming hair completing the fair and noble outline of the bow. "The after-body was long and clean, though fuller than the bow, while the stern was semi-elliptical in form, with the plank sheer moulding for its base, and was ornamented with gilded carved work, though this really added nothing to the beauty of the strong sweeping outline of her hull." The Lightning's spar and rigging measurements were tremendous: — Mainmast, deck to truck . . . . . . 164 feet. Foremast ,, Mizenmast Mainyard ,, ,, Lower stunsail booms 161 US 95 65 62 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS She spread 13,000 yards of canvas when under all plain sail. Donald Mackay had her rigged as a three skysail yard ship, but later 3Iessrs. James Baines fitted her with a moonsail on the main by lengthening the skysail mast. This was also done in the case of James Baines. And these two ships had the proud distinction of being perhaps the only two ships afloat which regularly crossed a moonsail yard. The Lightning was provided with iron water tanks holding 36,000 gallons of water — a novelty at that date. And in various other ways her accommodation for passengers was an improvement on anything attempted before. The great Bully Forbes was sent out to Boston to superintend her outfit and take command of her, and he was lucky in finding a valuable friend and adviser in Captain Lauchlan Mackay, who made the trip to Liverpool in her as builders' representative. The " Red Jacket." The Red Jacket, FAghtning's great rival, was Resigned by Samuel A. Pook, of Boston, the well- known designer of Game-cock, Surprise, Northern Light, Ocean Telegraph, Herald oj the Morning, and other famous clipper ships. She was built by George Thomas at Rockland, Maine, for Messrs. Seacomb & Taylor, and only took the water a few days before the Lightning. Her measurements were : — Tonnage (registered) . . . . 2460 tons. (burthen) . . 5000 „ Length . . 260 feet. Beam .. 44 „ Depth .. 26 „ Though her bow and stern were very sharp and LIGHTNING AND RED JACKET 63 beautifully modelled and she had concave bow lines, she was not so extreme a ship as the Lightning. Donald Mackay's ships were chiefly distinguished for their powerful workmanlike appearance rather than for delicate beauty — they showed strength rugged and unmistakable, but the Red Jacket's strength was more disguised under graceful curves ; for instance, she had the graceful arched stem and clipper bow of a China ship, whereas Lightning's stem was almost straight, with only a very slight curve in it. Red Jacket was not named after Tommy Atkins, but after a great Indian chief, and her figure-head was a beautiful representation of this warrior in all the magni- ficence of feather head-dress and beaded buckskins. Race across the Atlantic between "Lightning" and "Red Jacket." The Lightning loaded at Constitution Wharf, Boston, and sailed for Liverpool on 18th February, 1854, whilst the Red Jacket sailed from New York on the following day, and great interest was shown in shipping circles as to which should make the best passage across the Atlantic. In the end these two magnificent clippers arrived in Liverpool on the same day, 4th March, their exact times being: — Red Jacket — Sandy Hook to Rock Light 13 days 1 hour. Lightning — Boston Light to Rock Light 13 days 19i hours. Their 24-hour runs opened the eyes of the packet ship commanders and in fact the whole world. The Red Jacket put up runs of 413, 374, 371, 343. and 300 against the Lightning's 436, 328, 312 and 306, thus there was little to choose between the two vessels on this point. 64 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The. Boston Daily Atlas of 18th February, 1854, thus describes the Lightning's departure from Boston : — ■ At 2 o'clock the Lightning hove her anchor up, and at 3 o'clock discharged her pilot off Boston Light. She went down in tow of the steamer Rescue, Captain Hennessy, and was piloted by Mr. E. G. Martin. Before the steamer left her, she set her head sails, and fore arid mizen topsails, and had a moderate breeze from W. to S.W. She appeared to go at the rate of 6 knots under this canvas, though she draws 22 feet of water and has only 23 feet depth of hold. We have seen many vessels pass through the water, but never saw one which disturbed it less. Not a ripple curled before her cut-water, nor did the water break at a single place along her sides. She left a wake as straight as an arrow and this was the only mark of her progress. There was a slight swell, and as she rose we could see the arc oi her forefoot rise gently over the seas as she increased her speed. At 5 p.m., two hours after the pilot left her, the outer telegraph station reported her 30 miles east of Boston Light with all drawing sails set and going along like a steam boat. And the following extract from her log book was published in the Liverpool Albion on her arrival. Distance. Feb. 19 Wind, W.S.W. and N.W. moderate 20 ,, N.N.E. and N.E. strong breezes with snow 21 ,, E.S.E. with snow storms .. 22 ,, E.S.E., a gale with high cross sea and rain 23 ,, N., strong gales to E.S.E. ; ends moderate 24 ,, S.E., moderate 25 ,, E.S.E. and S.E., fresh breezes with thick weather . . 26 „ W.S.V/., moderate 27 „ W.N.W. „ 28 ,, W. and N.W., steady breezes March 1 ,, South. Strong gales ; bore away for the North Channel ; carried away the fore topsail and lost jib ; hove the log several times and found the ship going through the water at the rate of 18 to 18J knots ; lee rail under water and rigging slack 436 2 „ South, first part moderate, latter part light and calm. 3 ,, Light winds and calms. 8 „ Light S.E, winds and calms ; at 7 a.m. off Great Orme's Head. 12 noon off the N.W. lightship. 200 miles. 328 „ 145 „ 114 .. 110 „ 312 „ 285 „ 295 „ 260 „ 306 „ RED JACKET 65 On 28th February at noon she was in Lat. 52° 38' N., Long. 22° 45' W., and 'her run of 436 nautical miles from that position to her noon position on 1st March gives her the greatest day's work ever accomplished, to the best of my belief, by a sailing ship. The 1st March entry "Wind south — bore away for the North Channel," has misled some nautical critics, who have plotted her as being up with Rathlin Island when she bore away, without noticing the direction of the wind. The log is rather ambiguously worded, but her run of 436 miles puts her some 30 miles west of Achill Head — and she then bore away north, bringing the wind on the starboard quarter. If she had been off Rathlin Island she would have had to bring the wind on the star- board bow for the course through the North Channel . Captain Charles McDonald always hoped to get a day 's run of 500 miles out of the James Baines , and firmly believed she could do it ; but he never succeeded in beating the Lightning's records. The ReA Jacket, which was under the command of Captain Asa Eldridge, of American packet ship fame, had strong winds from S.E. to W.S.W. with rain, snow and hail. As with Lightning, the first half of her passage was the slowest half and for the first seven days she could only average 182 miles a day. But with practically the same weather, it is interesting to compare the performances of the two vessels as they approached the Irish Coast. Red Jacket's last six runs were 219, 413, 374, 343, 300, and 371, giving a total of 2020 and an average of 336 . The only vessel that has ever beaten this six-day run is the famous Cutty Sark, which in 1876, before her wings were clipped, ran 2163 miles in six days in the roaring forties, when outward bound to Sydney. D 66 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS "Red Jacket's" First Voyage to Australia. At Liverpool Captain Eldridge handed over his command to Captain Samuel Reid, who managed to get the Red Jacket away for Australia, as one of the White Star regular packets, 10 days ahead of Captain Forbes. The Red Jacket sailed on 4th May, 1854, one day behind a new Nova Scotian built Black Ball packet named the Mermaid. On the 10th May the two ships were off Oporto, and kept close to each other as far as Teneriffe; the N.E. trades were poor and it was a light weather passage to the line, which was crossed on 29th May by the Red Jacket, the Mermaid being then in 1° north. From this point the Red Jacket, steering a more westerly course, had light and variable winds, whilst the Mermaid was better treated and reached the latitude of the Cape five days ahead, and still held better winds, being actually 1397 miles ahead of the Red Jacket on 15th June. Red Jacket, indeed, did not really get going until 26th June, but from that date her log is so remark- able that I give it below. The Red Jacket was in 40° S., 14° E., before there was any need to touch her topgallant sheets, and Captain Reid was evidently determined to find wind somehow, with the result that, in spite of it being the depth of winter, he was not deterred from standing far to the southward on a Great Circle course. He was rewarded by all the wind he could desire, but so great was the cold that the ship was put down by the head by the frozen spindrift which covered her to the mainmast in an icy mantle. Her log from 26th June, when she first began to feel the benefit of the westerlies, was as follows : — RED JACKETS LOG 67 Date. Lat. Long. Weather Dist. June 26 48 068 34 4'4E Var. and stiff rain and sleet. 315 27 50 06 42 19 Wind N.W., fresh and squally with hail, very cold weather. 330 28 50 64 49 16 Wind W.N.W., squalls with hail showers. 263 29 60 34 66 34 Wind N.N.W., squalls, entire fore part of ship covered with ice. Wind N.N.W., fresh with hail 286 30 62 03 63 50 287 squalls ; very cold, air 19°. July 1 51 39 71 21 Wind N.N.W., fresh, with hail squalls, latter part light, air 19^ Wind S.W., first part calm. 286 2 50 29 72 26 latter part heavy gales and heavy sea. 3 50 12 80 30 Wind W.S.W., first part heavy gales, latter part fresh breezes, high sea, freezing. 312 4 49 26 88 30 Wind variable, fresh gales and 300 heavy sea, freezing, rain and sleet. 6 49 13 95 00 Wind N.N.W., first part light and heavy rain, latter stiff, with heavy squalls. 288 6 48 38 104 15 Wind W.N.W., strong gales and squalls, heavy sea. 400 7 47 25 112 44 Wind variable in strength and direction. 299 8 46 38 119 44 Wind N.N.W., stiff and squalls, with rain. 350 9 45 09 129 18 Wind N.N.W., strong and squally, with rain. 357 10 42 42 134 38 Wind N.N.W., fine weather. 334 11 40 36 139 35 Wind N.W., heavy squalls and rain. 245 12 Wind N.N.W,, fine weather. Made King's Island at 10.60 p.m., crossed bar at 11, 60p.m. 300 Red Jacket made the passage from Rock Light to Port Phillip Heads in 69 days 11 hours 15 minutes; passage under sail 67 days 13 hours, total distance run 13,880 miles. The Mermaid, which gained such an advantage over tlie Red Jacket in the earlier part of the passage, ran 6S THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS her easting down a good deal further to the northward, and did not arrive till the 17th July, having made a passage of 74| days. Bed Jacket set sail on her homeward passage on 3rd August. She was not in very good trim this time, being too light and very much down by the stern, however, she still continued to show her quality, constantly logging 17 or 18 knots in fresh breezes and 14 and 15 knots when close-hauled Only once on the homeward passage were her topsails close-reefed and only once did she ship any water. This was on the 31st August in a heavy squall with foresail and fore and main top- gallant sails set. She rounded the Horn on the 23rd August, only 20 days out, her week's work averaging out as follows : 1st week 231 miles per day. 2nd „ 307 „ 3rd „ 254 „ But on the day after she had rounded the Horn, she had a narrow escape of being embayed by ice, and one of her passengers gave the following account of her danger to the newspapers: — "On the morning of 24th August, I was roused out of sleep by the noise of shorten- ing sail and the look-out singing out land. Ice had been seen some time before, but the solid masses had been supposed in the dark to be land. On getting out I found we were in smooth water and large masses of ice floating about us. As the day broke, we found ourselves sailing along a lake of water not unlike a canal. The ice seemed to extend on every side in solid fields as far as the eye could reach without any prospect of getting out, so that we had to follow the channel. All sail was clewed up except the topsails, and as there was a good breeze we proceeded along at about 4 or 5 knots. Our RED JACKET 69 situation at this time seemed most appalling, as we appeared to be getting further into the ice, so that by 10 or 11 o'clock we were almost making up our minds to remain for weeks in this fearful situation. "About noon the captain and second mate, who had been on the fore topsail yard all the morning, discovered clear sea again, to gain which we had to force a passage through dense masses of ice. It was here she sustained the principal damage to her stem and copper. We soon got clear and the rest of the day we saw no traces of ice and were very thankful we had got off so easily. But to our dismay at 8 p.m. we again fell in with it. The ship was put about and sail shortened for the night and we ran back to the clear water in which we had been sailing. At daybreak sail was made and at 7 a.m. we came up to the ice. At first it was only large pans much melted , the water having all the appear- ance of brine and being quite thick round them. After- wards large masses of icebergs presented themselves. In grinding the ship through these, great difficulty was experienced — very large bergs were also interspersed and visible all round. "This day we cleared it again about noon. Icebergs were still, however, seen both near and in the distance; their appearance was most grand, the largest being thought to be about 2 miles in circumference and 100 feet high. It was passed about 4 or 5 miles distant on our starboard and lee side "We hove to again at night. Next day, Saturday, was for the most part a dead calm and we were carried back with the current. There was not a breath of wind ; a clear sky and beautiful weather, only the air sharp. Icebergs were, however, still seen. The next day, Sunday, we passed a number more, which were the 70 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS last ice seen. One of these was most grand, being about 200 feet high. We cleared it on our port or windward side about a mile or less distant. The weather during this period was clear and fine. Indeed, the day before encountering the ice was beautiful, a fine light breeze which heightened towards evening and sea smooth. We were running close-hauled 14 knots an hour steadily during the night. The sun had set a deep crimson behind a bank of clouds over against Cape Horn." Red Jackets next three weeks' runs averaged: — 4th week 206 miles per day. 5th week 237 ,, (Mostly light breezes, squalls and rain.) 6th week 224 „ (Easterly winds.) The line was crossed, on 13th September, the Red Jacket having run 10,243 miles in 42 days, an average of 244 per day. She now had every hope of beating the record, but, alas, from here on she had nothing but calms and light head winds which drove her across into 43° W. and she was 31^ days from the line to port, reaching Liverpool on 15th October, after a passage of 73 days. This was considered an extraordinary performance, when allowance was made for the light weather experienced after crossing the line. During one whole week in the doldrums she averaged under 100 miles per day, and the two following weeks she only averaged 142 and 106 miles respectively. The whole voyage, however, had been a wonderfully fast one. She had made the trip, out and home, in 5 months 10 days and 22| hours, and had actually circumnavigated the globe in 62 days 22 hours, between 11th June and 2nd September, running 15,991 miles in that time. On hef homeward passage she ran 14,863 miles, her LIGHTNING'S FIRST VOYAGE 71 greatest day's work being 376 miles and her average 202| miles per day. She brought home gold dust and sovereigns to the value of £208,044. She sailed this voyage under the American flag, being only chartered by the White Star Line, but on her return to Liverpool Messrs. Pilkington & Wilson bought her for the sum of £30,000. The "Lightning's" First Voyage to Australia. The Lightning, with the famous Bully Forbes in command and the almost equally famous Bully Bragg as mate, left Liverpool on the 14th May for Melbourne. But unlike the Bed Jacket, she had a light weather passage out, her topgallant sails being carried the whole way. She crossed the line 25 days out and took 30 days running from the meridian of the Cape to Port Phillip Heads, arriving off Sandridge Pier on the afternoon of 31st July, 77 days from Liverpool, her best runs being 348, 332, 329, 311, and 300. On the morning of the 20th August she left her anchorage at Melbourne in company with the Mermaid, having gold dust on board to the value of £1,000,000. The tug dropped her off the Heads at 4 p.m., and by the following noon she had done 268 knots. At 4 a.m. on the 24th she passed a large ship supposed to be the Mermaid, and at 10 p.m. on the same day passed the Auckland Islands. From here she had fresh westerly and south-westerly winds, seldom logging less than 14 and frequently ISJ and 19 knots per hour. Forbes carried on in the most daring manner, and on the Lightning's arrival at Liverpool her passengers told weird stories of Bully 'Forbes keeping his station at the break of the poop with a pistol in each hand in order to prevent his scared crew from letting go the royal halliards. 72 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS By 28th August the ship was in 57° 20' S., but at 11 pvin. on this day a violent squall from the S.W. carried away the fore topmast stunsail boom, and a moment later the fore topmast went over the side, the fore royal, fore topgallant sail and fore topsail being blown out of the bolt ropes at the same instant. For the next four days the ship was kept under easy canvas whilst a new fore topmast was got aloft and the other damage made good. However, in spite of this delay the ship averaged 300 miles from 1st September to the 8th, when Cape Horn bore N.W., distant 50 miles at 3 a.m.; Lightning's actual time from ihe Heads to the Horn was 19 days 1 hour, a record. For the next three days she had the wind ahead at N.E., but on the 13th it came out of the south again strong, and her runs on the 13th and 14th were 351 and 354 miles respectively. Then from the 15th to the 20th with light head winds again, she could only average 6 to 7 knots an hour. On the 20th September she was in Lat. 29° 13' S., Long. 31° 40' W. Light N.E. and N.N.E. winds still held right up to the line. On the 28th she passed Pernambuco, 6 miles off, and at 9 a.m. on 30th September she crossed the equator in Long. 34° 30' W., being only a little over 40 days mean time from Port Phillip, which, considering the poor winds met with after rounding the Horn, was a wonderful performance. For the first five days after crossing the line she had the usual doldrums with torrents of rain and made little or no progress. On 5th October a gentle N.E. trade was picked up in 10° N., 34° W., which held until the 10th when she was in 30° N., 37° W. On the 11th and 12th she had moderate S.E. v.inds. being in the latitude 'CHAMPION OF THE SEAS." ^ ^ f^ ■."- [, B ^^^ p L 9 h 3 I a L i 1 i; z a £ 3 e « M *^ LlCHTMINC ' LIGHTNING." [To face page 73. CHAMPION OF THE SEAS 73 °f St. Michael's ^at noon on the 12th. For the next week she had nothing but very light N.E. and E.N.E. winds, but at 10 p.m. on the 19th when in 46° 15' N., ^8 W., a strong northerly breeze sprang up which held until she reached port. She was off the Old Head of Kinsale at 4 a.m. on 22nd October, passed Minehead at 10 a.m., the Tuskar at 3.30 p.m., and Holyhead Light at 8.30 p.m. A pilot was picked up off Point Lynas at 10.30 p.m., who kept her under easy sail through the night, wait- ing for enough water to take her over the bar. The Lightning anchored in the Mersey at 9.30 a.m. on 23rd October; her actual time being 64 days 3 hours 10 minutes, a record, which, I believe, has never been broken. The Lightning brought answers to letters sent out in the Great Britain which left Liverpool on 13th June, thus making a course of post of only 132 days. The Lightning's round voyage, including 20 days in port, was only 5 months 8 days and 21 hours. "Champion of the Seas." Whilst the Red Jacket and Lightning were astonishing the wci'ld, Donald Mackay was building the Champion of the Seas and' James Baines for the Black Ball Line. He was given a free hand, and the nf-'v vessels were intended to be more perfect than anything he had hitherto attempted. The Champion of the Seas was launched in April, 1854, and, owing to the monster four-master Great Republic being cut down a deck, claimed the honour of being the largest ship in the world until the James Baines eclipsed her. 74 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Her hull measurements were as follows : — Tonnage (builders' measurement) „ (registered) Length of keel „ between perpendiculars . Fore rake . . . . 2447 tons .. 1947 „ .. 238 feet. .. 252 „ ..14 „ Extreme beam .. iH „ Depth Dead rise at half-floor ..29 „ .. 18 inches. Sheer .. ih .. Concavity of load line forward .. 2i „ In strength of construction she was a considerable improvement on the Lightning. Her ends were as long but not quite so sharp or concave and were considered to be more harmoniously designed. She had an upright sternpost and her stern was semi-elliptical and orna- mented with the Australian coat-of-arms. Her figure- head was a life-like representation of the old-time shellback and was an object of interest wherever she went . It is thus described by Captain Clark: — "One of the most striking figure-heads was the tall square-built sailor, with dark curly hair and bronzed clean-shaven face, who stood at the bow of the Champion of the Seas. A black belt with a massive brass buckle supported his white trousers, which were as tight about the hips as the skin of an eel and had wide, bell-shaped bottoms that almost hid his black polished pumps. He wore a loose-fitting blue and white checked shirt with wide rolling collar and black handkerchief of ample size, tied in the most rakish of square knots with long flowing ends . But perhaps the most impressive of this mariner 's togs were his dark -blue jacket and the shiny tarpaulin hat which he waved aloft in the grip of his brawny tattooed right hand." CHAMPION OF THE SEAS 75 The Champion of the Seas had her greatest beam at the centre of the load displacement line, and, like the Lightning, she was fuller aft than forward. Her deck houses and cabin arrangements were also on the same plan as those of the Lightning, viz., atopgallant foc's'le for the crew; a house, 50 feet long, abaft the foremast, for petty officers, galleys and second class passengers; a small house, 16 feet square, contained the chief mate's quarters and sheltered the first class companion, whilst a large wheel-house astern had a smoking-room on one side and the captain's cabin on the other. The following details of her construction, taken from an American paper, may be of interest to present day wood shipwrights : — ' ' Her entire frame was of seasoned white oak and all her hooks, pointers and knees were of the same wood , her planking and ceiling being of hard pine, and she was square fastened through- out and butt and bilge bolted with copper. The keel was of rock maple in two depths, each 16 inches square. The floor timbers were moulded 21 inches on the keel and sided from 12 to 13 inches, and over them were four tiers of midship keelsons, each 16 inches square, and on each side of these were two depths of sister keelsons of the same size, the whole scarphed and keyed and fastened with If inch bolting. The whole frame, fore and aft, was diagonally cross-braced with iron, 5 inches wide, | of an inch thick and 38 feet long. These braces were bolted through every frame and through every intersection; were let into the timbers and ceiling and extended from the first futtocks to the top timbers . AH the waterways as well as the keelsons and ceiling were scarphed and bolted in the most substantial style. The upper deck was of white pine 3-| inches thick and the other decks of hard pine of the 76 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS same substance. Her ends were almost filled with massive hooks and pointers . The hooks in the between decks were beamed and kneed and fastened through all. Her garboards were 9 by 15 inches, the next strake 8 by 14, the third 7 by 14; the bottom planking 5 inches thick, the wales 6 by 7 and the waist 4^ inches thick, the whole finished smooth as joiner work and strongly fastened . ' ' The Champion of the Seas had about the same sail area and spar measurements as the Lightning. Her masts and bowsprit were built of hard pine and the masts were 74 and 63 feet apart. The foremast raked \ inch to the foot, the main f and the mizen 1 inch. When she left the builders her working suit of sails consisted of 12,500 yards of American cotton, 18 inches in width. She was of course painted the regulation Black Ball colours, black outside and white inside, with blue waterways. Her masts white, mastheads and yards black, and stunsail booms bright with black ends. Captain Alexander Newlands was sent out from Liver- pool to superintend her outfit and take command, the lighting and ventilation below being carried out according to his designs. On her completion the Champion of the Seas was towed to New York by the famous Boston tug R. B. Forbes and from thence came across to Liverpeol in the month of June in 16 days. She left Liverpool on her first voyage to Australia on 11th October, 1854, and arrived out in 72 days, coming home again in 84, thus proving herself quite up to the standard of the famous Black Ball Line, and from that date she was always a favourite ship. 7) w I— I THE JAMES BAINES 77 'I'he "James Baines." The Champion of the Seas was closely followed by the James Baines, considered by most sailormen to nave been the finest and fastest of the great Mackay quartette. When she loaded troops for India in 1857 and was inspected by Queen Victoria at Portsmouth, the Queen remarked that she did not know she possessed such a splendid ship in her Mercantile Marine. When she first arrived in Liverpool a well-known Liverpool shipowner wrote to a Boston paper: — "You want to know what professional men say about the ship James Baines 1 Her unrivalled passage, of course, brought her prominently before the public and she has already been visited by many of the most eminent mechanics in the country. She is so strongly built, so finely finished and is of so beautiful a model that even envy cannot prompt a fault against her. On all hands she has been praised as the most perfect sailing ship that ever entered the river Mersey . ' ' Donald Mackay never built two ships exactly alike, and the James Baines was of slightly fuller design than the Lightning and yet sharper and longer in the bow than the Champion of the Seas . Her chief measurements were : — Registered tonnage (American) . . . . . . 25255| tons. „ (British) 2275 „ Length over all 266 feet. ,, between perpendiculars . . . . . . . . 226 ,, Beam 4*1 ,. Depth of hold 29 „ Dead rise at half -floor . . . . . . . . 18 inches. The following extracts are taken from an account of the James Baines given in the Boston Atlas at the time of her launch : — " She has a long, rakish, sharp bow with slightly concave lines below, but convex above, and it 78 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS is ornamented with a bust of her namesake, which was carved in Liverpool and which is said by those who know the original to be an excellent likeness. It is blended with the cut-water, is relieved with gilded carved work and forms a neat and appropriate ornament to the bow. She is planked flush to the covering board, has a bold and buoyant sheer, graduated her whole length, rising gracefully at the ends, parti- cularly forward; and every moulding is fair and harmonises finely with the planking and her general outline. Her stern is rounded, and although she has a full poop deck, her afterbody surpasses in neatness that of any vessel her talented builder has yet produced . " Our most eminent mechanics consider her stern perfect. It is rounded below the line of the plank sheer, is fashioned above in an easy curve, and only shows a few inches of rise above the outline of the monkey rail : and as this rise is painted white and the rest of the hull black, when viewed broadside on, her sheer appears a continuous line along her entire length. Her stern is ornamented with carved representations of the great globe itself, between the arms of Great Britain and the United States, surrounded with fancy work, has carved and gilded drops between the cabin windows and her name above all, the whole tastefully gilded and painted. Her bulwarks are built solid and are surmounted by a monkey rail, which is panelled inside, and their whole height above the deck is about 6 feet, varying of course towards the ends . "She has a full topgallant foc's'le, which extends to the foremast and is fitted for the accommodation of her crew; and abaft the foremast a large house, which contains spacious galleys, several staterooms, store- rooms, an iceroom and shelters a staircase which leads THE JAMES BAINES 79 to the decks below. She has a full poop deck, between 7 and 8 feet high, under which is the cabin for female passengers and before it a large house which contains the dining saloon and other apartments. The outline of the poop and the house is protected by rails, on turned stanchions, and the enclosure forms a spacious and beautiful promenade deck. She has also a small house aft, which shelters the helmsman in a recess, protects the entrance to the captain's cabin, is also a smoking room for passengers and answers a variety of other purposes. "The captain's cabin and sleeping room are on the starboard side and communicate with the wheelhouse on deck, so that it will not be necessary for him to enter the cabin set apart for female passengers . Besides these the cabin contains 11 spacious staterooms, a bath- room and other useful apartments . "The dining saloon is 35 feet long by 15 feet wide; the entrance to the deck from the saloon is 2| feet wide and extends across the house , with a door on each side , and opposite the midship door of the saloon is the pantry, which is spacious and fitted up in superior style. In the front of the saloon house are the staterooms of the first and second officers , and the windows of these rooms are of stained glass and have the ship 's name in them . The staircase in the after part of the saloon leads to the main deck, where are the gentlemen's sleeping apart- ments, 24 in all, each stateroom having two berths. The deck before the gentlemen's sleeping cabin has three large ports for cargo opposite the hatchways, one on each side, and square ports suitable for staterooms along the sides. The lower decks are ventilated amid- ships with trunk skylights which pass through the house forward as well as the cabin and saloon aft. The 80 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS height between each of the decks is 7| feet. The ascent from the quarter-deck to the poop consists of two staircases, built into the front of the poop. She is very heavily sparred and will spread about 13,000 yards of canvas in a single suit of sails. Her mastheads and yards are black; the lower masts, from the truss bands to the fiferails, are bright and varnished, their hoops white and the tops and down to the truss band are also white. She has iron caps and is rigged in nearly the same style as the Champion of the Seas. Her bulwarks and houses are painted white and her waterways blue, and in this style she is also painted below." Captain McDonald left the Marco Polo in order to take charge of the James Baines. She sailed from Boston on 12th September, 1854, and the following is the log of her record run across the Atlantic : — - Sept. 12 — At noon parted with steam boat and pilot. Wind, S.W., light. 13— Lat. 42° 10' N., Long. 66° 33' W. Distance 225 miles. Light airs and calms, increasing in the evening to brisk winds and clear weather. 14— Lat. 40° 18' N., Long. 62° 45' W. Distance 238 miles. Light breezes and clear. 15— Lat. 42° 26' N., Long. 59° 53' W. Distance 21 8 miles. Strong breezes at S.S.W. 16— Lat. 43° 15' N., Long. 53° 9' W. Distance 305 miles. Strong gales from S.S.W. to N.W. 17— Lat. 44° 54' N.. Long. 48° 4S' W. Distance 280 miles. Strong breezes from N.W. 4 a.m., passed several vessels fishing. 18— Lat. 45° 42' N., Long. 44° 16' W. Distance 198 miles. Light breezes and hazy weather. 10 a.m., brisk breezes and cloudy, wind west. 19— Lat. 47° 22' N., Long. 36° 42' W. Distance 342 miles. Strong breezes and squally. :«— Lat. 48° 39' N., Long. 33° 12' W. Distance 200 miles. Light breezes and hazy. Variable. 21— Lat. 49" 34' N., Long. 28° 38' W. Distance 230 miles. Light breezes and clear . Wind, S.W. THE JAMES BAINES 81 22— Lat. 50° 12' N., Long. 21° 00' W. Distance 291 miles. Brisk S.S.W. winds and cloudy weather. Passed several sail standing eastward. 23— Lat. 50° 37' N., Long. 13° 39' W. Distance 337 miles. Strong breezes and cloudy weather Wind, S.W. 24 — Strong breezes and gloomy weather. At 6 a.m. made the land and at 8 a.m. passed Cork. Distance 296 miles. Passed Tuskar at 3 p.m., and Holyhead at 9 p.m. Time 12 days 6 hours from Boston Light to Rock Light. It will be seen that the James Baines had her share of light breezes, and Captain McDonald believed that he could have made the passage in eight days with strong winds. Running up Channel the wind was strong and fair and ver}' squally, the vessel sometimes making 20 knots an hour between points. At Liverpool the James Baines was fitted and furnished for passengers by Messrs. James H. Beal and brother. And her cabin fittings are described as being of " almost lavish splendour," with innumerable pilasters and mirrors. I also note the following in a Liverpool account: — " Before the mainmast there are three gallows frames, upon which her spare boats are stowed , bottom up , and over the sides she carries quarter boats, suspended in iron davits. She has copper -chambered pumps, six capstans, a crab-winch on the foc's'le, a patent wind- lass. Crane's self-acting chain stoppers, a patent steer- ing apparatus and a large variety of other improvements of the most modern kind . ' ' Record Voyage of "James Baines" to Australia. The James Baines sailed for Melbourne on 9th December, 1854, and broke the record by arriving out in 63 days. Captain McDonald wrote the following account of the passage to his owners : — " I have great pleasure in announcing the arrival 82 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS of the James Baines in Hobson's Bay at 8 p.m. on 12th February, making a run of 63 days 18 hours 15 minutes mean time from passing the Rock till the anchor was down in Hobson's Bay, On leaving Liverpool I had strong head winds to contend with. The 7th day from Liverpool I touched off St. Ives Head; the 10th day I had to tack off Cape St. Vincent and stood to the N.W. In 19° N. in the middle of the trade winds, I got the wind at S.S.E., got to leeward of Cape San Roque, and was 18 hours in beating round. I experienced nothing but light northerly winds all the way across. Sighted Cape Otway on the 54th day from Liverpool; main skysail off the ship only three days from Liverpool to this port. The greatest distance run in 24 hours was 423 miles, that with main skysail and stunsails set. Had I only had the ordinary run of winds I would have made the voyage in 55 days . ' ' The James Baines took out 700 passengers (80 in the first class) 1400 tons of cargo and 350 sacks containing over 180,000 letters and newspapers. By her mail contract she was bound to deliver these in 65 days under penalty. Amongst her live stock were a bullock, 75 sheep, 86 pigs, and 100 dozen of fowls and ducks. This passage of the James Baines showed her splendid capabilities both in light head winds and strong fair winds, for after a succession of light head winds she was reported in 8° N., 29° W., on the 29th December, only 19 days out, whilst in the boisterous gales of the roaring forties she made the following splendid 24-hour runs in about a 23|-hour day. Friday, Jan. 26— Lat. 48° 02' S., Long. 50° 46' E. Distance 391 miles. 27— Lat. 48° 56' S., Long. 60° 46' E. ,, 407 ,, Feb. 6— Lat. 50° 09' S., Long. 123° 40' E. „ 423 ,, This magnificent run showed 10' difference of latitude < U < s < 'A O Q K o THE DONALD MACKAY 88 and 10° 40' difference of longitude, her position at noon on 5th February being 50° 19' S., 113° E. Leaving Melbourne on the 12th March, 1855, the James Baines made the run home in 69^ days, having completed the voyage to Melbourne and back in 133 days under sail. Black Ball captains were celebrated for their daring navigation and McDonald was no exception in this respect. His passengers declared' that the James Baines was nearly ashore three times whilst tacking off the coast of Ireland under a heavy press of sail, and that when McDonald put her round off the Mizen- head the rocks were so close that a stone could have been thrown ashore from her decks . It was a lee shore, and if she had missed stays she must have been lost. But as McDonald said, when remonstrated with for taking such risks, it was a case of " we have to make a good passage . ' ' The "Donald Mackay." The Donald Mackay, last of the famous Mackay quartette, was for many years the largest sailing ship in the world , her measurements being : — Registered tonnage . . . . 2408 tons Gross „ .. 2486 „ Net .. 1616 „ Length of keel .. 257.9 feet Length between perpendiculars ..266 Breadth .. 46.3 Depth .. 29.5 „ Dead rise at half-floor ..18 inches. Mainyard .. 100 feet. Sail area .. 17,000 yd A novelty in her sail plan was Forbes' patent double topsail yards. These came out before Howe's, and < W H I— t BLUE JACKET 83 1855, 86 days out, and bringing 104,000 ounces of gold consigned to the Bank of France. Donald Mackay's times on the Australian run, though never very remarkable, were very consistent, her average for six consecutive outward passages being 83 days. And I find her making a passage out to Hobson's Bay in 1867 in 84 days. She once took 1000 troops from Portsmouth to Mauritius in 70 days. "Blue Jacket," "White Star" and "Shalimar." Three other magnificent ships were built on the other side of the Atlantic for the Liverpool -Melbourne emigrant trade in 1854, These were the Blue Jacket, White Star and Shalimar. The Blue Jacket came from the well-known yard of R . E . Jackson in East Boston , the other two ships being Nova Scotian built. The Blue Jacket arrived in the Mersey on 20th October, 1854, having made the run from Boston, land to land, in 12 days 10 hours; the Shalimar arrived about the same time, and the White Star reached Liverpool on 1st December, 15 days out from St. John's in spite of strong head winds. She was timber laden and drawing 22^ feet of water. The Blue Jacket On her arrival was bought by James John Frost, of London , and put on the berth for Melbourne as one of the Fox Line of packets, the other two being owned by the White Star Line . In looking at old pictures and prints of these American built ships, several points in their construction seem to have been common to all, such as the semi-elliptical stern, the bowsprit built into the sheer, the large wheel- house aft, etc.; their figure-heads, also, were generally most elaborate full-length figures and did not grow out of the bow in the graceful way of the British-built, but 86 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS seemed to be plastered upon it. And from Marco Polo to Donald Mackay, these soft-wood clippers had more the appearance of strength and power than of grace and beauty, though the famous Red Jacket was an exception, being an extremely taking ship to the eye . Blue Jacket, however, was of the powerful type, and extremely like the Mackay ships in appearance. She was designed to stow a large cargo, having a full mid- ship section, but her bow was long and sharp enough. Her chief measurements were : — Length of keel 205 feet. Length between perpendiculars .. .. . . 220 ,, Length over all . . . . . . 235 „ Beam 41.6 „ Depth of hold 24 Registered tonnage . . . . . . . . . . 1790 tons. Her poop was 80 feet long and 7 feet high, and she had 8 feet of height between decks . She had the usual accommodation arrangements, two points only being perhaps worth noting; the first was a line of plate glass portholes running the length of her 'tween decks, and the second was^an iron water tank to hold 7000 gallons. Blue Jacket sailed for Melbourne on 6th March, 1855, in charge of Captain Underwood, and made a magnificent run out of 69 days. She further distinguished herself at a later date by making the homeward run in 69 days. Shalimar, the smallest ship of the three, measured 1557 tons register ; 195.8 feet length ; 35.2 feet beam ; and 23 feet depth. She sailed for Hobson's Bay on 23rd November, 1854, was off Cape Northumberland in 67 days, but owing to head winds took another 10 daj's to reach her port. She came home in 75 days, her whole voyage, including 45 days in port, only occupying 6 months and 14 days. The newspaper report of her passage out states that she ran 420 miles in the 24 hours WHITE STAR 87 on one occasion, though unfortunately it gives no particulars. The most celebrated of these three ships was the White Star, which had the distinction of being the largest clipper built by Wright, of New Brunswick, her measure- ments being: — Registered tonnage . . 2339 tons Length over all .. _ ..288 feet Length of keel .. ' .. 213.3 .. Beam 44 Depth 28.1 ., The White Star soon proved herself to be one of the fastest ships afloat. On her first voyage she did nothing out of the way, being 79 days out and 88 days home. But in 1856 she went out in 75 days (67 days land to land), and came home in 76 days, beating the auxiliary Royal Charter by 10 days from port to port. In 1858, she went out in 72 days, this being the best White Star passage of the year; whilst on 25th February, 1860, she left Melbourne and made her number off Cape Clear in 65 days. In 1860 she went out in 69 days, running 3306 miles in 10 days between the Cape and Melbourne. The Wreck of the "Schomberg." We now come to the unfortunate Schomberg, the only wooden ship ever built in a British yard that could in any way compare with the big Boston and Nova Scotian built ships in size. In 1854, James Baines was so impressed by the success of the little Aberdeen tea clippers, that he gave Hall an order for a monster emigrant clipper of 2600 tons. Unfortunately, Hall had had no experience in the building of emigrant ships and the Schomberg was more of a copy of Mackay's clippers than Hall's own 88 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS beautiful little ships. The Schomberg cost when ready for sea £43,103 or £18 17s. 6d. per ton; She measured : — Tonnage (builder's measurement) ,, (for payment of dues) „ (registered) . . Length over all Length between perpendiculars Beam . . Depth of hold 2600 tons. 2492 2284 288 262 45 29.2 She had three skins, two of diagonal planking, and one fore and aft, the whole fastened together with screw- threaded hard -wood trunnels — a novelty in shipbuilding. She was specially heavily rigged, her mainmast weighing 15 tons, being a pitch-pine spar 110 feet in length and 42 inches in diameter. Her mainyard was 110 feet long. She crossed three skysail yards, but no moonsail. Captain Forbes, as commodore of the Black Ball, was shifted into her from the Lightning, and great hopes were entertained that she would lower the record to Australia . On 6th October, 1855, she was hauled through the pier heads amidst the cheers of a patriotic crowd of sightseers, with the boast of "Sixty days to Mel- bourne" flying from her signal halliards. The passage was one of light and moderate winds. Schomberg was 28 days to the line and 55 days to the Greenwich meri- dian. Running her easting down she averaged 6 degrees daily to 130° E., her greatest speed being 15^ knots and her best run 368 miles. She made the land off Cape Bridgewater at 1 p.m. on Xmas day, the wind being fresh atE.S.E. On 27th December after two days' tacking, with the wind still blowing fresh from ahead, Forbes went about at noon when 4 miles off shore and tacked out; at 6 p.m. he tacked in again. At about WRECK OF SCHOMBERG 89 10.30 p.m., the land being faintly visible, the wind gradually died away. It was a moonlight night. Forbes was playing cards in the saloon when the mate came down and reported that the ship was getting rather close in under the land and suggested going about. As luck would have it, Forbes was losing and, being a bit out of temper, insisted on playing another rubber of whist before tacking ship, and the danger point had been overstripped when at 11 o'clock he came on deck and gave the order to 'bout ship. As there was next to no wind and a current running 3 to 4 knots to the .westward , the Schomberg refused to come round. Forbes next tried to wear her, with the result that the ship slid up on to a sandbank 35 miles west of Cape Otway. On sounding round the ship it was found that she was stuck fast in 4 fathoms of water. Sail was kept on her in the hopes of it pulling her off into deep water again . Forbes, on being told that the ship was hard aground, said angrily: — "Let her go to Hell, and tell me when she is on the beach," and at once went below. Henry Cooper Keen, the mate, then took charge, and finding that the Schomberg was only being hove further in by the swell and current, clewed up all sail, let go the starboard anchor and lowered the boats. And it was subsequently proved at the inquiry afterwards that it was chiefly due to the chief officer and a first class passenger, a civil engineer of Belfast named Millar, that all the passengers were safely disembarked and put aboard the steamer Queen, which hove in sight on the following morning. All efforts to save the ship failed and she presently went to pieces. Forbes at the inquiry was acquitted of all blame for the stranding, the sandbank being 90 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS unchartea, but at a mass meeting of his passengers in the Mechanics' Institute, Melbourne, he was very severely censured. Many of them declared that he was so disgusted with the slowness of the passage that he let the ship go ashore on purpose . Others complained of his tyranny during the voyage and even made worse allegations against his morality and that of the ship's doctor; altogether the affair was a pretty scandal and Forbes never obtained another command in the Black Ball Line. The Best Outward Passages— Liverpool to Melbourne, 1854-5. Ship. Captain. Date Left. Date Arrived. Days. Out. 1854 Red Jacket Sam Reid May 4 July 12 67 Mermaid Devy 3 17 74 Miles Barton . . Kelly 4 ^J 22 78 Lightning J. N. Forbes 14 ,, 31 76 Marco Polo Wild July 22 Oct. 25 95 Arabian Bannatyne Aug. 19 Nov. 13 86 Morning Star . . — Sept. 6 ,, 20 75 Champion of the Seas . . Newlands Oct. 11 Dec. 22 72 1855 Indian Queen . . McKirdie Nov. 12 Jan. 31 80 Shalimar Robertson „ 23 Feb. 7 76 James Baines . . McDonald Dec. 10 1855 Feb. 12 64 Lightning A. Enright Jan. 6 Mar. 20 73 Blue Jacket Underwood Mar. 6 May 13 69 Marco Polo Clarke April 6 June 26 82 White Star Kerr „ 30 July 18 79 Oliver Lang Manning May 5 31 87 Arabian Bannatyne .. 21 Aug. 13 84 Donald Mackay Warner June 6 „ 26 81 Champion of the Seas . . McKirdy July 5 Sept. 26 83 Shalimar Robertson ,. 20 Oct. 16 88 James Baines . . McDonald Aug. 5 23 79 Emma . . — „ 21 Nov. 17 88 Lightning A. Enright Sept. 5 ^j 25 81 Red Jacket Milward ,. 20 Dec. 4 76 Invincible ~~' „ 30 " 18 79 CAPTAIN ENRIGHT AND LIGHTNING 91 1855-1857 — Captain Anthony Enright and the "Lightning." When Forbes was given the Schomberg, James Baines offered the command of the Lightning to Captain Anthony Enright, who had earned a great reputation as a passage maker in the tea clipper Chrysolite. At the same time the White Star Line asked Enright to take over the Red Jacket, and it was only after consider- able deliberation that he decided to take the Lightning, first demanding a salary of £1000 a year. The Black Ball Line replied that it was a great deal more than they had ever previously given to their captains, but even- tually they agreed to his terms rather than lose such a good man . Captain Enright had the Lightning for four voyages, from January, 1855, to August, 1857, and proved himself perhaps the most popular and successful captain under the famous house-flag; indeed, under him the Lightning became a very favourite ship with passengers. Enright was a very religious man, a Puritan of the old type yet no bigot; a stern disciplinarian, the men before the mast knew that he was sure to give them a square deal, impartial and just, and fair treatment for good service, and for that reason never gave him trouble, whilst in controlling his passengers and keeping a happy ship in spite of the trials of such long passages and crowded quarters, he showed the most wonderful tact and gift for ruling men . This gift of tact was perhaps more desirable in the captain of an emigrant ship than in any other walk of life, especially in the days of the gold rush when the emigrants represented every nation- ality, every creed, every class and every trade ; and the Lightning, under Enright, was as good an example of 92 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS the best-run first-class emigrant ships as can be found. I therefore intend to give as good a picture of life aboard the Lightning during 1855-7 as I possibly can with the material at my command. Captain Enright's Regulations. First of all I will give a list of Enright's regula- tions for preserving order amongst his passengers, which were always posted up in prominent places about the ship. RULES OF THE LIGHTNING. 1 St. No smoking or naked light allowed below. 2nd. All lights, except the hatchway lights, to be put out by 10 p.m. 3rd. No Congreve matches to be used in the berths or on the lower deck. 4th. Cleanliness and decorum to be strictly observed at all times. 5th. Every place below to be well cleaned every day after breakfast, for the inspection of the surgeon and chief officer. 6th. All bedding to be on deck twice a week. 7th. The 'tween deck passengers to appoint constables to preserve order and see these rules are strictly observed. 8th. The constables are to keep watch in their respective compart- ments for their own safety and that of their families ; trim the lamps i report all misdemeanours, for which they will receive a glass of grog or a cup of coffee every morning. 9th. Second cabin passengers are not allowed on the windward side of the vessel ; but can promenade at all hours on the leeward side. lOth. Passengers must not upon any account open the 'tween deck ports without my express permission : a violation of this role may be attended with serious consequences, and will, in any case, be severely punished. nth. Dancing and promenading on the poop from 7 till 9 p.m., when all passengers may enjoy themselves, but not abaft the mizen mast. The promenaders are not in any way to interrupt the dancers, but will be expected to promenade in parts of the poop where dancing is not being carried on. 12th. On account of the overcrowded state of the poop and to satisfy all parties, third class passengers are only allowed on the quarter- deck from 7 till 9 in the evening. THE LIGHTNING 98 13th. The use of the private staircase (into the saloon) is strictly prohibited after ! 1 at night, 14th. No person allowed to speak to the officers of the watch whilst on duty : nor io any of the quartermasters, whilst at the wheel ISth. All parties not complying with these rules will be liable to have a part of their provisions deducted as a punishment, as the commander and officers may think fit Anthony Enright. Commandet The Passengers on the "Lightning." Perhaps a few details regarding the number and kind of passengers, for which these rules were framed, may now be of interest . In 1855 the Lightning took out 47 saloon, 53 second cabin, 20 intermediate and 253 steerage passengers, her crew numbering 87 ; total of souls on board — 495. In 1856 her purser gave the following details of the outward bound passengers : — Saloon— Adults 39 i children 12: . Total 91 'Tween deck — Married adults male .. 42 „ female .. 65 Smgl i ,. male .. 184 ,, „ female .. 33 children . .. 47 infants .. 7 crew .. 8S Number of souls on board 604 On the homeward passage the numbers were naturally very much less, and women were not so numerous. In 1855 the Lightning brought home 51 saloon, 123 second cabin and 80 intermediate ; total— 254. On her second voyage that year, owing to the accident to her false bow when outward bound, she could only muster 80 passengers. 94 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS In 1856 her homeward bound passengers consisted of — Saloon — Adults 31 ; children 3 ; "Tween decks — Married adults male Single 3; .. Total 34 3 male . 10 female . 10 male . 114 female 1 children , . 6 Intants . . 4 crew . 77 Total all told . 256 All Europe sailed from Liverpool to the Australian goldfields, so that all nationalities were to be found in a Black Bailer's foc's'le. I find the following account in the Lightning Gazette, the newspaper published on board, of 1855: — "Here in the steerage we find there are many nations, including Jews, Germans and French; the largest number, however, being English with a few Irish and Scots. Here are all ages and not all, but many, trades and occupations. Here are some more or less successful diggers, who had returned to their native land to gratify a feeling of love and affection; or it may be vanity; and who are now returning to settle in the land of promise. ' ' The homeward bound passengers were just as mixed if only half as numerous — thus the Gazette when homeward bound in 1856 : — The passengers generally are a very mixed community, English and French, American and German, Italian and Pole, young and old, merry and sad, the open-hearted and the reserved, thef enterprising merchant and the adventurous gold digger, artizan and mechanic, soldier and sailor, prosperous husbands returning to escort their wives and families to the Colony, and the disappointed man, cheered alone by tjie magic influence of once again beholding home. And under the heading of "The Gent Afloat," I find a very amusing description of the adventurer of the times aboard ship, and though it is rather long. THE GENT AFLOAT 95 it is such a vivid little study of a type of character, ohly too common in the snobbish mid-Victorian era, that I cannot resist giving it in full. The Gent Afloat, "This class of individual is to be found in great abundance in every clipper ship community. He is easily known, more easily detected. He is a man of vast importance when first h* steps aboard ; makes no advances; keeps aloof; is evidently selecting, with great caution, those with whom he dare associate without compromising his connections. After "a little time, however, he — with a condescending grace, which cannot be too highly extolled — relaxes slightly his vigorous demeanour, and smiles upon the very young men of known good family (of course), occasionally honours them with his arm and promenades the deck foi' half an hour — is very careful during the peregrina- tion to recount his latest adventures at home— the parting dinners Captain Allalie and Colonel Gammon would insist on giving him; the ballet dancer, who forsook an Earl for his advances and embraces; the prima donna who would insist on rehearsing her role before him as she entertained so high an opinion of his musical criticism and abilities. The borough he might have gone in for at the last election, with the Duke of Sarum's interest, but that his own family objected on the score of difference in political opinions, and the positive certainty that in a few years his great talents and eloquence must command the most in- dependent seat in the House. "He is of an average height and features, with the exception of a protruding chin, which gives to the mouth a horrible grin; an eyeglass of course; luxuriant 96 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS hair and whiskers, redolent of macassar. He apes the gait of a military man; wears a frock coat terribly inclined to the third and fourth letters of the alphabet; a waistcoat of the most approved and fashionable cut; trowsers of the loudest plaid style about two to the pair, with very ragged bottoms and straps, the latter article proving a very useful adjunct when the supply of socks falls short; a shirt with miniature cartoons after Raphael or a correct likeness of the last murderer and the last ballet dancer printed upon it ; a necktie of the striking stripe pattern, to make him smart. His whole ajjpearance is indicative of a worn-out Stultz. His hands are covered with a variety of rings, from the enamelled and delicately wrought diamond to the massive and substantial signet bearing his crest. An immense watch chain (bearing a striking resemblance to the ship's cable) with an abundance of charms attached completes the tout ensemble of the outer man. His wardrobe is somewhat limited — but this he accounts for by — 'D — n those agents, the rascals have put my trunks marked "wanted on the voyage" in the hold, and left out those "not wanted," isn't it annoying? Could you lend me a few shirts until they're got at? ' He is decidedly great at the berrowing dodge. Of course his cigars, tobacco and all the little comforts for the journey are in his trunks in the hold . But the way he solicits a loan of the required articles is irresis- tible. His natural grace {or impudence, we don't know which) defies refusal. But at last even that — as all things good or bad will — palls and borrowing becomes a more difficult art. Friends shirk him, acquaintances avoid him, and long before the end of the journey 'the Gent Afloat' is known and scouted as a penniless, reckless adventurer void alike of honour or honesty.'? SHIPS' NEWSPAPERS 97 Shipboard Newspapers. This account of an adventurer of the fifties came out of the Lightning Gazette, a paper published weekly aboard the ship . Realising the importance of keeping such a mixed collection of passengers amused Messrs. James Baines put a printing press aboard each of their ships and thus the issue of the shipboard newspaper was something always to be eagerly looked forward to on Saturdays. In many an English and Australian home there are no doubt still to be found treasured, stained and tattered, copies of these ships' newspapers. I have myself handled volumes of the Lightning Gazette, the Eagle Herald, the Royal Charter Times and coming down to more modern days, the Loch Torridon Journal and other Loch Line papers. The printer of these ship newspapers was usually a paid member of the crew, but the editor and sub- editor were elected by the passengers, the captain, of course, acting not only as a frequent contributor but also as a censor — no matter of a controversial sort either religious, political or otherwise being ever allowed to appear in the news sheet of Captain Enright's ship. The Ship's Notice Board. The ship's official newspaper sometimes had to contend against rival productions, promoted by private enterprise, but its chief rival was the ship's notice board, which was a stout one, being no less than the .mainmast. Here are a few notices, gathered haphazard from the Lightning's mainmast. E THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS PURSER .. £0 12 each 4 . 3 6 . 3 6 1 5 6 • .0 7 6 . 5 . 12 . 5 . 3 6 12 3 2 4 . 8 G . 2 1 6 Renn Y, Purser. CLOTHING SOLD BY THE Cigars, 2d. each i per hundred Do. Havannah . . Canvas trowsers Kersey drawers Mits Oilskin trowsers Oilskin coats Pilot cloth coats Pilot cloth trowsers . . Blue serge shirts Regatta shirts (printed fronts) Black alpaca coats . . Felt hats Sou 'westers Black glazed hats Guernsey frocks Scotch caps . . Knives Apply to C. T. RAFFLES. To be raffled for — On Thursday next, June 7, at 2 o'clock, A Splendid Model of the Lightning, By 40 members, at 5/- each. Application for shares to be made at the printing office. HEALTH OFFICE WANTED. Swabbers to assist at the force pump and relieve two saloon passengers, who work with indefatigable zeal. Application to be made to Dr. Colquhoun and Mr. Winter at 5 a.m. any morning. The above is capital exercise, strongly recommended. WANTED. A washerwoman — one accustomed to get up gentlemen's linen preferred. Apply to Mr. Neck, Chief Steward. FOR SALE. Opossum Rugs. Apply to Mr. Fvsh, second cabin tween decks. FOUND. By the Boatswain of this ship, a coat with a pair of pincers in the pocket. The owner can have the same by paying expenses. LIGHTNING'S NOTICE BOARD 99 AUCTION. On Wednesday next, at 2 p.m., a Public Auction will be held on the poop, when a large and well selected assortment of merchandise will be submitted to public competition by — Charles Robin, Auctioneer. Auctioneer's Address — No. 5 After Saloon Stateroom. Riddles and Epigrams, so numerous in the Gazette, were not, however, to be found on the ship's notice board. The riddles are mostly very feeble, many of them making great play with the ship's name, thus: — Why is the Commander of our ship like the electric wire ? Ans. — Because he is a Lightning conductor. But there is a rather more interesting one of the times : — Why is a scolding wife like American steamers ? Ans. — Because she is fond of blowing up. The epigrams are better, as follows: — Upon seeing a lady filling a gentleman's pipe on board the Lightmng — " I would that ladies' hands might find Something worthier to stuff Nor give to those who are inclined An opportunity to puff." and — Upon seeing a young lady printing the Lightning Gazette : — " An angel form in earthly mould Upon my ink has shed a blessing. And manly hearts to others cold Cannot resist when she is pressing." The Ship's Band and Concerts, etc. Perhaps the most important method of keeping an emigrant ship's passengers amused was by means of the ship's band, especially in those days when dancing was so popular, that even in bad weather the poops of these ships were always crowded with dancers every evening. 100 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Of course the bands provided were not quite on a par with those of present day leviathans crossing the Atlantic; the Lightning, for instance, rejoiced in the good old-fashioned German band, which used to be such an institution in the London streets and is now practically extinct. This band consisted of six musicians, and besides playing selections and accom- paniments at the concerts, supplied the music for the daily dancing. In those days the polka was the great dance, the valse had not yet come into fashion and was not very well known, and instead of the romping lancers the stately quadrille was the order of the day . I find a set of instructions showing a sailor how to dance a quadrille in one of the numbers of the Lightning Gazette . It is rather too long to quote , but the following figure shows the gist of it: — " Heave ahead and pass your adversary yardarm to yardarm : regain your berth on the other tack in the same order: take your station in a line with your partner, back and fill, face on your heel and bring up with your partner : she then manoeuvres ahead and heaves all aback, fills and shoots ahead again and pays off alongside: you then make sail in company until stern on with the other line: make a stern board and cast her off to shift for herself: regain your berth by the best means possible and let go your anchor." Looking over the old concert programmes, I find that negro melodies (now called coon songs) were even then very popular, amongst which figured " Nelly Bligh," "Poor Old Joe," "Stop dat Knockin','? "Oh ! Carry Me Back" and others. The rest of the programmes were generally filled up with the old familiar Scots and Irish folk-songs, some well-known CONCERT PROGRAMMES 101 English choruses, the usual sentimental ditty, and amongst the sailor songs I find "A Life on the Ocean Wave,'! " Cheer, Boys, Cheer," "I'm Afloat,'? "The Pride of the Ocean" and "The Death of Nelson.'! Concerts were generally pretty numerous during a passage. As a rule each class had its own; then, to end up, a "Grand Monster Concert" was organised, in which the talents of saloon, house on deck, and steerage were pitted against one another. Other diversions of this kind were plays of the class of "Bombastes Furioso"; mock trials, with the in- variable verdict of guilty on the wretched culprit and the sentence of ''champagne all round," and of course debating, choral and other societies. Then there were the usual high jinks crossing the line; and such occasions as the Queen's Birthday, the "Captain's Wedding Day," etc., were celebrated by " a cold collation of the most sumptuous order'! in the saloon and many speeches . A Bill of Fare on the "Lightning." In the first cabin the living on these big clippers seems to have been unconamonly good for such a length of time at sea. Here is the dinner menu of 14th January, 1855, on the Lightning, when a week out from Liverpool . BILL OF FARE. Soups — Vermicelli and macaroni. Fish — Cod and oyster sauce. Meats — Roast beef, boeuf a la mode, boiled mutton, roast veal. boiled turkey and oyster sauce, roast goose, roast fowl, boiled fowl, minced escallops, veal and ham pie, haricot mutton, ham. Sweets — Plum pudding, rice pudding, roll pudding, tarts, orange fritters, small pastry. Dessert — Oranges, almonds, Barcelona raisins, figs. etc. H'JMfis— Champagne, sparkling hock. 102 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS St. Valentine's Day. Captain Enriglit was very fertile in raising a new amusement directly his passengers began to show signs of boredom. His favourite dodge was to appoint a St. Valentine's Day, when 9 letter box was placed in front of the poop and twice during the day the darkey steward, Richard, who was evidently a great character, came round and delivered the Valentines as postman. He was always dressed up for the occasion in some extraordinarily fantastic costume of his own invention — and his antics and fun, quite as much as the contents of his postbag, kept the ship in roars of laughter and most successfully dissipated all signs of boredom and discontent. Here is one account of his doings: — Richard, the coloured steward, made a first-rate walker, dressed in the tip-top style of St. Martins-le-Grand, with gold-laced hat, yellow collar and cuffs to his coat and white tops to his boots : he acted the part of Cupid's messenger to admiration and drew down thunders of applause. There was a second delivery in the afternoon on the poop, when Richard again made his appearance dressed in full general's uniform. And it goes on to say : — The Valentines, which were very numerous, contained the usual amount of bitters and sweet, flattering verses and lovers' vows j some amusing hits at marked propensities and a few rather broad hints at infirmities and habits were all taken in good part and the day passed off most pleasantly. And here is one of the Valentines which Captain Enright received : — To Captain Go-ahead Enright, Al, Ship ■' Flash of Lightning," who never cracks on, and is supposed to have at no time seen a moonsail. It is currently reported that he lays to and turns in when it blows a gale. N.B.—No certain address, but always to be found, ON DUTY. AMUSEMENTS 103 Other Amusements at Sea. During the time of the Crimea, if there happened to be a soldier or two aboard , a corps of volunteers was raised and drilled daily. A parade in bad weather was a great source of amusement to the onlookers , if not so pleasant for the performers . In the fine weather deck games such as quoits, shovel board and deck billiards were as popular as they are nowadays, but T find no mention of sports, cock-fighting or ship cricket. Below draughts, whist, chess, backgammon and dominoes all had many devotees ; and on the homeward passage nap, poker, blackjack, eucre and other gambling games robbed many a returning digger of his pile and sometimes led to such' trouble that the captain had to interfere . Under captains of Enright's stamp, there was very little disorder and the sailing ships seem to have carried a much happier crowd than the auxiliary steamers. The ill-fated Royal Charter's passage home in the summer of 1856 presents an example of a badly run and disciplined ship. The food was bad, everyone had a growl about something, drunken riots occurred con- stantly, fighting in which even the crew and stewards took a part was of almost daily occurrence, and ex- cessive gambling ruined scores of returning diggers on the lower deck. I am glad to say that I can find no such instance of disorder and lack of discipline amongst the ships which relied upon sail power alone. Best Homeward Passages, 1855-56. The honours for the year 1855 were, however, taken by the Duthie built Aberdeen clipper Ballarat, 713 tons, owned by Duncan Dunbar, which went out to Sydney 104 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS in under 70 days , and came home Melbourne to Liverpool in 69 days with 110,000 ounces on board. The Ocean Chief, Captain Tobin, was a Black Bailer on her second v^oyage. On her previous passage home in the autumn of 1854 she made the run in 86 days, during which she was embayed by ice for three days in the Southern Ocean, had the unusual experience of being becalmed for three days off the Horn and finally had N.E. winds from 18° N . to soundings'. Ship. Port from Date Left Gold on Board Date Arrived D'ys Out. 1855 1855 Oliver Lang Sydney Jan. 3 Mar. 20 76 James Baines . Melbourne Mar. 11 40,000 oz. May 20 69 Indian Queen . Hobart ,, 17 June 5 78 Shalimar . . Melbourne ,, 24 42,000 oz. „ 5 75 Lightning . . ' ,, Apl. 11 69,000 oz. „ 29 79 Ocean Chief Sydney June 3 Aug. 26 84 Marco Polo Melbourne July 26 126,000 oz. Oct. 20 86 White Star ,, Aug. 31 80.000 oz. Nov. 27 88 Donald Mackay •■ Oct. 3 Dec. 28 1856 86 Champion of the Sea ,^ ,, 27 Jan. 25 90 Lightning . . ,, Dec. 27 12,000 oz. Mar. 23 86 1866 Red Jacket - Jan 12 Apl. 8 86 The Oliver Lang, 1236 tons, was called after her designer, being a British built ship from the famous Deptford yard. Best Outward Passages 1855-56, Liverpool to Melbourne . T have failed to point out before that the Black Bailers always sailed on the 5th of the month from Liverpool, and the White Star on the 20th; it thus becomes an easy matter to pick out the ships of the rival lines. At such a time it is only natural to find Golden a JAMES BAINES OVERDUE 105 favourite part of a ship's name. Golden Era, Golden City, Golden Eagle, Golden Light, Golden State, Golden West, Golden Age, and Golden Gate were all down-east clippers, built for the Californian gold rush. Ship Date Left Date Arrived Days Out. 1855 1856 Ocean Chief Dec. 7 Jan. 25 80 Mermaid- 21 1856 Feb. 10 82 Oliver Lang . . Jan. 7 April 3 87 Champion of the Seas March 8 June 1 85 James Baines April 7 24 78 Mindoro .. 22 July 13 82 Lightning May 6 14 69 Red Jacket 20 Aug. 13 86 Golden Era . . June 20 Sept. 9 81 Morning Light July 6 17 73 Mermaid 22 Oct. 17 87 Ocean Chief . . Aug. 5 19 75 White Star .. 21 Nov. 5 76 Marco Polo . . Sept. 5 Dec. 2 89 The Morning Light was a monster New Brunswick built ship, registering 2377 tons. She was on her first voyage and must not be confused with the American clipper of that name, owned by Glidden & Williams, ot Boston, and built by Toby & Littlefield, of Portsmouth, N .H . , a ship of half her size . The "James Baines" Overdue! In the autumn of 1856 there was tremendous sensation in Liverpool, when the famous James Baines, considered by many to be the fastest ship in the world, was posted as overdue when homeward bound. All sorts of rumours spread like wildfire, and as the weeks went by and no definite information was obtained from incoming ships, something like consternation began to reign in shipping circles. 106 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The James Baines sailed from Melbourne at 1 p.m. on 7th August, 1856, passing through the Heads the following morning. On the 9th she made her best run, 356 miles, royals and skysails being set part of the time, the wind fair but squally. She made one more good run, of 340 miles, and then was held up by light airs and calms all the way to the Horn; here she en- countered heavy gales, snowstorms and high cross seas. She was 36 days to the pitch of the Horn; then from 26th September to 8th November another spell of light and baffling winds delayed her passage, and she was 65 days from Port Phillip to the line. On the 30th October, her great rival the Lightning, which had sailed from Melbourne just three weeks behind her, hove in sight, and the two ships were in company foi: a week. The meeting of the two Black Bailers is joyfully recorded in the Lightning Gazette, as follows: — Thursday. 30th October.— Lat. 29° 03' N ., Long 33° 1 4' W. Distance 131 miles. Wind more easterly; 7 a.m. tacked ship to N.N.W. A large ship in sight went about at same time, ahead of us. During forenoon Captain Enright expressed himself confident that she was the James Baines. Great excitement and numerous conjectures, bets, etc. One thing certain, that she sailed almost as fast as ourselves, and her rigging and sails were similar to those of the Baines. By sunset we had both weathered and gained on our companion. Friday, 31st October. — Lat. 30° 31' N., Long. 35° 15' W. Distance 137 miles. All night hght airs, and early dawn showed us our friend much nearer. At 8 a.m., she at last responded to our signals by hoisting the " Black Ball " at the mizen I and a burgee at the gaff, with her name — James Baines ! Great excitement spread throughout the ship, and the conversation was divided between sympathy for all on board our unfortunate predecessor and conjectures as to the cause of her detainment. All day we wei;e watching her every movement ; now she gains, now we near her ; now she " comes up " and now " falls off." About 2 p.m., we were evidently nearer than in tlie morning. A conversation a la Marryat. The Baines informed us that her pas- sengers were all well, asked for our longitude, if any news. etc. Captain Enright invited Captain McDonald to dine, but he did not respond. At 5 a.m., still light airs, James Baines distant I i milo' LIGHTNING AND JAMES BAINES 107 Saturday, 1st November.— Lat. 31° 12' N., Long. 36° W. Distance 56 miles. During Friday evening, about 8 o'clock, the wind being still very light, we passed to windward ol the unfortunate James Baines i so closely that we could hear the people on board cheering, and most vociferously did some of our passengers reply, with the addition of a profuse supply of chaff : such as amiable offers to take them in tow, a most commendable solicitude as to their stock of " lime juice," very considerate promises to " say they were coming " on arrival at Liver- pool, etc. All night the wind was light and baffling. At 2 a.m. it suddenly chopped round to the N.W., and the ship was put on the port tack. At 4, she was put about again. At 6.30, tacked ship to eastward, light airs and variable. The James Baines about 6 miles to leeward, a little brig on lee bow — ^which had been in company all Friday, and a barque on lee quarter. At 9, the brig, having put about, stood up towards us, and passing close to leeward, showed the Hambro ensign with private number 350. We once more tacked ship and stood to the northward and westward, the others following our example, and the breeze freshening, we all started on a race. The barque hoisted her ensign and number and proved to be the Cid. which we passed on the 29th ultimo. The brig soon after bore away to his " chum " to leeward, and they had a quiet little race to themselves, iii which the barque appeared to be the victor. The clipper sisters were now once more pitted against each other : the far famed Lightning, with concave lines and breadth of bilge, in our opinion the worthy Donald's brightest idea, and the champion — the ship of 21 knots' notoriety-s-the James Baines. In light winds or airs we had crept by him, now, as the breeze freshens, as the white crest appears on the short toppling sea, as we lift and dive to the heavy northerly roll and all favours the long powerful ship. What do we behold ? The little brig and barque going astern, of course. Aye, but what else do we see ? Oh, ye Liverpool owners ! et tu, Donald, who thought to improve on the Lightning ; tell it not " on 'Change," publish it not in the streets of Liverpool. What do we see ? Hull down, courses and topsails below the horizon at 2 p.m., five hours from the start, the James Baines just discernible from the deck : at the very lowest computation we have beaten her at the rate of IJ knots per hour. A.t sundown she is barely visible from the mizen topgallant crosstrees. It was generally supposed on board that her copper must have been much worn and rough or we never could have beaten so rapidly a ship of such noble appearance and well-known sailing qualities. Sunday, 2nd November.— Lat. 32° 57' N., Long. 37° 37' W. Dist- ance 134 miles. Another day of light winds, heading us off to N.N.W. still. Evening, a little more wind, ship gging about 7 knots. 108 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Monday, 3rd November.— Lat. 34° 41' N., Long. 38° 28' W. Distance 113 miles. In the middle watch wind backed to the N.E. and fell light again. At 8, improvement again and by noon we lay N.E. by N., the best we have done for some days, but only going from 4J to 5 knots. A ship coming up astern, supposed to be the James Baines, bringing up a fair wind, Tuesday, 4th November.— Lat. 35° 47' N., Long. 38° 28' W. Dist- ance 66 miles. Commences with very light airs from the north, our ship on the port tack. Our friend James Baines again in sight astern. And this was the last the Lightning saw of the James Baines though the two ships arrived in the Mersey within 24 hours of each other, the Lightning leading. Both anchored in the river on 20th November, the Lightning being 84 days out, and the James Baines 105 days. The following comparison between the two passages is interesting, as it shows that the two ships took the same number of days from the equator to Liverpool , viz . , 40 days : — Points Between James Baines Lightning Days Date Passed Days Date Passed Melbourne to Cape Horn Cape Horn to equator Equator to Western Isles Western Isles to Liverpool 36 29 28 12 Sept. 12 Oct, 1 1 Nov, 8 Nov. 20 24 20 " 29 11 Sept, 1 Oct 9 Nov. 7 Nov. 20 Best 24-hours' run 356 miles 377 miles. The James Baines was simply unlucky in having a very light weather passage. Donald Mackay's ships were never light weather flyers, in spite of setting every kind of light weather kite, from tiny "bulldog," as they called the moonsail on the main, down to the lowest watersail, that barely cleared the wave crests. Whilst we are comparing the speeds of James Baines and Lightninfi. it is only fair to do so in heavy weather LOG OF JAMES BAINES 109 as well as light. I therefore give below the logs of their best week's work on their respective outward passages in 1856 . Here it will be seen the James Baines just has the best of it. I have taken the remarks for Lightning's run from the Lightning Gazette, not the ship's log. Best Week's Run by James Baines, Liverpooi, to Melbourne, May, 1856. 25th May.— Lat. 37° 40' S., Long. 3° 28' E. Distance 328 miles. Winds, S.S.W., S.W. This day begins with heavy gale and heavy squalls. I haVe never before experienced such a heavy gale with so high a barometer. At 4 p.m. double-reefed main topsail and cross- jack. Midnight, similar wind and weather, heavy sea, ship labouring very heavily and shipping great quantities of water. Noon, very heavy sea ; sun obscured. 26th May.— Lat. 38° 38' S., Long. 10° 0' E. Distance 320 miles. Winds, S.W., W.S.W. P.M., begins with strong gale and heavy sea, squalls and showers of rain, dark, gloomy weather. Midnight, gale decreasing, reefs put of courses, and set staysails. At 4 a.m., still moderating, out all reefs, set royals and skysail; 8 a.m., set all starboard studding sails. Noon, gentle breeze, fine clear weather ; wind westering all the time and sea going down. 27th May.— Lat. 40° 2' S., Long. 17° 41' E. Distance 384 miles, winds, W.S.W., S.W. Fine gentle breeze and fine clear weather, all sail set. Midnight, same wind and weather. A.M., breeze freshening and heavy black clouds driving up from S.W. Noon, same wind and weather. 28th May— Lat. 42° 44' S., Long. 25° 48' E. Distance 404 miles. Winds, W.S.W., west. P.M., begins with brisk gale and occasional heavy squalls accompanied with heavy rain. At 4 p.m., handed small sails and double-reefed fore and mizen courses. Midnight, still increasing. Noon, as previously. 29th May. — Lat. 44° 16' S., Long. 30° 51' E. Distance 240 miles. Winds west. First part strong gales and fine clear weather, heavy sea, ship rolling. Midnight, less wind, sea going down, set all small sails. At 4 a.m.. set all starboard studding sails. Noon, light breeze, dark gloomy weather. 30th May. — Lat. 46° 16' S., Long. 36° 56' E. Distance 300 miles. Winds, W.N.W., W.S.W., S.S.W. First part light breezes and dark gloomy weather. 8 p.m., sky clearing and breeze increasing, barometer falling. Midnight, fresh gales, took in royal and skysail studding sails i 8 a.m. heavy snow squall ■; took in topgallant studding sails. Noon fresh gales and clear weather with snow showers and squalls 110 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS 31th May.— Lat. 46° 52' S., Long. 43° 64'. E. Distance 300 miles. Winds, W.N.W., W.S.W., S.S.W. First part fresh breeze and squalls. 10 p.m.. ran through between Petit and Grande, Prince Edward Islands. Midnight, dark with snow squalls. Noon, as at midnight. Best Week's Run by Lightning, Liverpool to Melbourne, June-July, 1856. 28th June.— Lat. 44° 25' S., Long. 42° 58' E. Distance 232 miles. Winds westerly. P.M., snow squalls, wind increasing. Preparations were made for shortening sail by taking in the lighter canvas. This was not accomplished before the mizen royal and mizen topmast staysail were torn to pieces. Between 5 and 6 p.m. the conflict raged most furiously. Reefs were taken in the topsails and these with the exception of the foresail were all the canvas set. 29th June.— Lat. 43° 36' S., Long. 50° 07' E. Distance 312 miles. Winds westerly. The gale of yesterday abated the intensity of its fury about midnight, we have set more sail though the wind blows stiff. 30th June.— Lat. 44° 02' S., Long. 56° 35' E. Distance 281 miles. Winds westerly.. The weather has been excessively cold, dark and cloudy. The heavy sea running caused the ship to roll heavily. 1st July.— Lat. 44° 39' S., Long. 63° 27' E. Distance 298 miles. Wind westerly. Fine at first, then cloudy with showers of snow. 2nd July. — Lat. 45° 07' S., Long. 70° 55' E. Distance 319 miles. Wind westerly. Wind still fresh and fair. 3rd July.— Lat. 45° 07' S., Long. 79° 55' E. Distance 382 miles. Wind westerly. Her run to-day has been only once surpassed since she floated. She indeed seemed to fly through the water like a seabird on the wing, causing one of our passengers, who knows something of navigation, to remark that it was skating, not sailing. 4th July.— Lat. 45° 07' S., Long. 88° 30' E. Distance 364 miles. Wind westerly. Still favoured with the propitious breeze. Our week's run is the best we have done yet and the best the Lightning has ever accomplished. It will be seen from the above log extracts that the James Baines ran 2276 and the Lightning 2188 miles in the week . The "James Baines," "Champion of the Seas," and "Lightning" race out to India with Troops in the Time of the Mutiny. In 1857, the James Baines regained her reputation, coming home in 75 days against the Lightning^ s 82 days. CLIPPERS AS TROOPSHIPS 111 Both ships, together with the Champion of the Seas, were at once taken up by the Government, and sent round to Portsmouth to load troops for India, on account of the Mutiny. It was confidently believed that the great Black Bailers would lower the record to Calcutta and the importance of getting the troops out as quickly as possible, was, of course, very great at such a crisis. After being carefully prepared for the voyage, the James Baines and Champion of the Seas sailed from Portsmouth at the beginning of August. Before sailing the Jam£s Baines was inspected by the Queen, when she is stated to have remarked that she did not know she had such a fine ship in her Dominions. On the 17th August the two ships were met by the homeward bound Oneida, and reported to be making great progress. Both ships were under a cloud of canvas — the James Baines had 34 sails set, including 3 skysails, moonsail and sky stunsails — and presented a splendid appearance as they surged by, their rails red with the jackets of the cheering troops. Unfor- tunately for the hopes of countless anxious hearts, the two ^ Black Bailers reached the Bay of Bengal at the worst season of the year, and as they had not been built to ghost along in catspaws and zephyrs like the tea clippers, their progress up the Bay was very slow. Both ships arrived off the Sandheads on the same day, the James Baines being 101 days out and the Champion of the Seas 103 . This was a disappointing performance . The Lightning did not sail till the and of August. Owing to the illness of his wife, Captain Enright was obliged to give up his command, and was succeeded by Captain Byrne. On 24th August, the day before her departure from Gravesend, a dinner was given to Captain Enright aboard his old ship, at which several 112 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS well-known public men, amongst whom was Mr. Benjamin Disraeli, paid their tribute to the world famous sea captain. The Lightning made a better passage than her sisters, being off the Hooghly, 87 days out. The Burning of the "James Baines." After their trooping, the Lightning and Champion of the Seas returned to the Australian run, but her Calcutta voyage proved the death of the famous James Baines . She loaded the usual cargo of jute, rice, linseed and cow hides in the Hooghly, and arrived back in Liverpool in April, 1858. She was hauled into the Huskisson Dock and discharging commenced. The 'tween decks were emptied, and on the 21st April the lower hatches were taken off in the presence of the surveyors , when there appeared no sign of anything wrong. But on the following morning smoke was noticed issuing from her hold, and a fire which started in the main hold soon destroyed her. The following account of her end I have taken from the Illustrated London News : — The fire burst out on Thursday morning, 22nd April, 1858. Although the engines were brought into play as rapidly as possible, there was uo visible effect produced; and four or five times the firemen, whilst endeavouring to penetrate the interior of the vessel so as to get at the seat of the fire, were driven back by the density of the smoke. It then became necessary to cut away the spars, rigging, stays, etc., which was done promptly and after some time it was deemed advisable to scuttle the ship as the exertions from the deck to extinguish the fire seemed unavailing. There was plenty of water in the dock at the time, but at the receding of the tide the vessel grounded and the fire seemed to have run through the entire length of the ship, for the smoke burst out of all parts and baffled every exertion. In the forenoon the masts were an anxiety, their fall being anticipated, and in the afternoon this happened, the main mast and mizen mast falling with terriac BURNING OF JAMES BAINES 113 crashes upon the quay and in their descent destroying the roofs of two sheds. At 9 o'clock at night the inner shell of the hull, for nearly the whole length of the vessel, was rapidly burning, the flames rising with fury between the ribs, which had connected the outer and inner hull, the intervening spaces being to the spectators like so many flues s and iron bolts, released by the flames, were dropping one after the other intQ the hold, where in the fore part of the ship, particularly the uppermost portion of the cargo, was being fast consumed. At first great alarm was felt for the neighbouring shipping, several of the steamers of the Cunard fleet being in the same dock, but no material damage was sustained by them, and they, with others, were as soon as possible removed out of harm's way. The value of the James Baines and cargo is estimated at £170,000. The vessel became a complete wreck, looking, according to one account, like a huge cinder in the Huskisson Dock; and very little of the cargo was saved. The loss of this magnificent ship was considered as a national disaster. Since that date thousands and thousands of people have boarded the James Baines without knowing it , for the old Liverpool Landing Stage was none other than the wreck of this celebrated clipper. America Sells her Clippers to Great Britain. When the great financial depression fell upon America in 1857 and was followed four years later by the Civil War, James Baines seized the opportunity to buy American clippers cheap and many other British firms followed his example. Mr. George Crowshaw, the American shipbroker in London, negotiated the sales and working arrangements. I have given a list in the Appendix of the best known of these ships, which put up the last fight for the sailing ship built of wood. Their day in the Australian trade was a short one; and they soon found iron passenger clippers in the lists against them, even to flying their own house- flag. And in their last days we find the Black Ball and White Star Lines chartering fine iron ships such as the iSam Cearns, Cornwallis and Ellen Stuart. lU THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Notes on the later American-built Passenger Sliips. Space does not admit of more than a few lines on the best known of these later clippers. The Southern Empire was an old three-decker Atlantic packet ship, and so was the, Mackay -built Chariot oj Fame, which is credited with a run out to Melbourne of 67 days. There has lately been a reunion in New Zealand of the passengers who came out to Maoriland in that ship. The Invincible was said to be the tallest ship sailing out of Liverpool. She was a White Star clipper and made some very fast passages. The Empress of the Seas, No. 1, was also a very fast ship. On 1st June, 1861, she left Liverpool, and arrived in Melbourne on 6th August, 66| days out. The Neptune's Car, another big ship, is notable for a very different reason; for in 1857, when still under the Stars and Stripes, she was navigated for 52 days by the captain's wife. Captain Patten had placed his mate under arrest for incompetence and insubordination; then whilst the ship was off the Horn beating to the westward, Captain Patten himself became entirely blind. The second mate was no navigator. In this dilemma Mrs. Patten, who was only 24 years of age, took command of the ship and navigated her successfully from the Horn into Frisco Bay . Golden Age was the ship which claimed to have run 22 knots in the hour with current to help her . The Royal Dane was a well-known ship in the London River when she was commanded by Captain Bolt. She also was a big three-decker. The Florence Nightingale was celebrated for her looks. 'BLUE JACKET." ' ROYAL DANE. [To face page 114. QUEENSLAND EMIGRANT TRADE 115 A curious incident happened anent the Mistress of the Seas; a passenger brought an action against the ship because he was ducked during the ceremony of crossing the line and the captain was fined £100. The Sunda was a very fine fast ship, and made some fine passages under the famous Bully Bragg. Black Bailers in the Queensland Emigrant Trade. Besides some smaller Nova Scotia built ships such as the Conway, Wansfell, Utopia and David Maclver, some of the best of the later Black Bailers were engaged in the Queensland emigration trade in the late sixties and early seventies. The Flying Cloud and the Sunda once had a great race out to Moreton Bay, in which the Sunda beat the Flying Cloud by 18 miles in a 4-day run which averaged 16 knots ; this was the voyage in which Flying Cloud's boat was capsized between Brisbane and the anchorage, the second mate and all in her being drowned. In 1870 I find the following passages to Queensland: Young Australia, Captain James Cooper, 241 passengers left London, 17th May — arrived Brisbane 25th August — 100 days out. Flying Cloud, Captain Owen, 385 passengers left Liverpool, 4th June — arrived Hervey's Bay 30th August — 87 days out. Royal Dane, Captain D. R. Bolt, 497 passengers left London, 30th July — arrived Rockhampton 19th November — 112 days out. "Sunda" and "Empress of the Seas" Carry Sheep to New Zealand. In the early days of the gold excitement, the emigrant ships rushed out and home, but in the sixties we find them making short intermediate passages; for instance, the Sunda and Empress of the Seas one year transported thousands of sheep from Australia to New Zealand, each ship making two trips between Port 116 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Phillip and Port Chalmers, with several thousands of sheep on board each trip. The Gold Rush to Gabriel's Gully in 1862. In 1862 several ships were hurried across with diggers from Melbourne to Port Chalmers for the gold rush to Gabriel's Gully. Money ran like water in Port Chalmers in those days, and as usual the gold miners were a pretty uproarious crowd. The Lightning, which was commanded at that date by Captain Tom Robertson , the niarine painter, made a special trip with 900 diggers on board, and they gave Captain Robertson so much trouble that he put into the Bluff and landed a number of them there. The Bliie Jacket, also, took a load of this troublesome cargo. After Life and End of the Liverpool Emigrant Clippers . A favourite round in the latter days of the Liverpool soft-wood clippers was from Melbourne across to Auckland and from there over to the Chincas to load guano. From this the survivors gradually descended to the Quebec timber trade. By the early seventies I find Marco Polo, Red Jacket, Ben Nevis, and other well-known ships already staggering to and fro across the Atlantic between the Mersey and the St. Lawrence, whilst in June,. 1874, the Flying Cloud got ashore on the New Brunswick coast, when making for St. John's, and was so strained that she was com- pelled to discharge her cargo and go on the slip for repairs. Here misfortune again overcame the grand old ship, for she took fire and was so gutted that she was sold for breaking up. It is curious how many of the old American-built soft-wood ships were aestroyed by fire, their number " LIGHTNING," on Fire at Geelong. From a photograph belonging to F. G. Layton. [To face page 117 BURNING OF LIOHTNING 117 including the James Baines, Lightning, Empress of the Seas No. 1, Blue Jacket No. 1, Ocean Chief, Fiery Star, and second Sovereign of the Seas. The Burning of ••Lighitning". The Lightning was burnt on 81st October, 1869, whilst alongside the pier at Geelong loading wool, and she already had 4000 bales of wool on board when the fire was discovered at 1 .80 in the morning in her fore hold„ From the first the ship seemed to be doomed, and it was feared that the wharf might catch fire . She had an anchor out ahead, and an attempt was made to heave her clear of the pier, but the flames soon drove the crew from the windlass; however, on the mooring lines being cast off, she drifted clear, and swung to her anchor, the whole fore part of the ship being now in flames. The foremast, which was an iron one, melted in its step owing to the heat and soon went over the side. An attempt was made to scuttle her by the desperate means of bombarding her from two 32- pounders, and to a modern gunner the result was as- tounding to say the least of it, for at only 300 yards ■range most of the rounds missed the Lightning altogether, whilst the few that hit her did more harm than good by giving the wind access to the fire and thereby increasing its fury. After burning all day, the famous old ship sank at sundown. The cause of the fire on the Lightning was agreed to be spontaneous combustion. A very different reason was given for the burning of the second Sovereign of the Seas. This ship had just arrived in Sydney with emigrants in 1861 and was discharging at Campbell's Wharf when the fire broke out, and at the coroner's investigation the jury found "that the ship Sovereign 118 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS of the Seas was wilfully, maliciously and feloniously set on fire on the 10th September, and that there was sufficient evidence to commit one of the ship's sailors, then in custody of the water police, on the charge." The Sydney fire brigade fought the flames for a whole day without avail ; then half a dozen ship 's carpenters attempted to scuttle her, but all in vain, and she was left to her fate. The Ocean Chief, which was burnt at the Bluff, New Zealand, was also said to have been set on fire by her crew. The first JBmpress of the Seas was burnt at Queenscliff on the 19th December, 1861, three months after the Sovereign of ike Seas had been set on fire at Sydney. "Blue Jacket's" Figure-head. The first Blue Jacket left Lyttelton, N.Z., homeward bound, and was abandoned on fire off the Falkland Isles on 9th March, 1869. Nearly two years later, on 8th December, 1871, to be exact. Blue Jacket's figure-head was found washed up on the shore of Rottnest Island, oft Fremantle, Western Australia. Part of it was charred by fire, but there was no mistaking the identity of the figure-head, which was described as "a man from the waist up, in old sailor's costume, a blue jacket with yellow buttons, the jacket open in the front, no waistcoat, loose shirt, and large knotted handkerchief round the neck; with a broad belt and large square buckle and cutlass hilt at the side. On either side of the figure-head was a scroll, saying: — •Keep a sharp lookout ! ' " The Loss of the "Fiery Star." On 1st April, 1865, the Fiery Star left Moreton Bay for London, On the 19th one of the men reported LOSS OF FIERY STAR 119 a strong smell of smoke in the foe's'le — this soon burst forth in volumes and a fire was located in the iower hold. The captain, named Yule, immediately had all hatchways battened down and ventilation pipes blocked up. The ship was running free, 400 miles from Chatham Island. A few days before a heavy sea had made matchwood of two of the boats, so the westerlies were evidently blowing strong. On the 20th a steam pump was rigged down the fore hatchway, and wetted sails were fastened over all scuttles and vents in the deck. But the fire continued to gain, and at 6 p.m. it burst through the port bow and waterways. The four remaining boats were at once provisioned and got over the side. Seeing that there was not room for everybody in the boats, Mr. Sargeant the chief officer, 4 A.B.'s and 13 apprentices agreed to stand by the ship — the remainder of the passengers and crew, to the number of 78, leaving in the boats under the captain. As soon as the boats had left, Mr. Sargeant renewed every effort to subdue the fire, and at the same time altered his course to get into the track of other ships. Then for 21 days he and his gallant band fought the flames and the numerous gales of those regions . Finally on 11th May, when the foremast was almost burnt through and tottering, a ship called the Dauntless hove in sight and took the mate and his worn-out crew off the doomed Fiery Star. For their gallantry in remaining behind, Mr. Sargeant and his men were presented Avith £160 by the people of Auckland, New Zealand, and right well they deserved it, for in all the glorious history of our Mercantile Marine fewer brave acts have ever been recorded. 120 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Some Famous Goal Hulks. Many an old Black Bailer ended her days as a coal hulk. Even the winter North Atlantic could not down the Red Jacket and Donald Mackay, and eventually Red Jacket went to Cape Verd and Donald Mackay to Madeira as coal hulks. How many of the Union-Castle passengers knew, when they cast their eyes pityingly or perhaps disdainfully on the grimy looking hulk floating a cable's length or so away from their spotless liner, that they were looking upon a crack passenger ship of their grandfather's day. Light Brigade was a coal hulk at Gibraltar for many years, having as a companion the famous Three Brothers. The Golden South, after lying in Kerosene Bay, Port Jackson , for about twenty years with her holds full of coal, was burnt through sparks from the old reformatory ship Vernon falling upon her decks. The burning ot the two ships lit up the hills for miles round, and many an old time Sydney -sider will remember the spectacle. Loss of the "Young Australia." The Young Australia, after ten years' successful trading between England and Brisbane, was wrecked on the north point of Moreton Island on 31st May, 1872, when homeward bound , just four and a half hours after leaving her anchorage off the pilot station. Whilst the ship was in the act of going about, the wind fell calm and the heavy easterly swell and southerly current set the ship towards the rocks. The anchor was let go too late , and the heavy swell hove the ship broadside on to the rocks . With some difficulty the passengers were got ashore ; and before night, owing to the way in which the heavy swell was grinding the ship on the rocks, it was deemed advisable for the crew to abandon her. 'LIGHT BRIGADE." "YOUNG AUSTRALIA." \To face page 120. CLIPPERS' LAST DAYS 121 By the 6th June the wreck had broken in half and was full of water, and on the 7th it was sold by auction in Brisbane, and after some brisk bidding was knocked down to a Mr. Martin for the sum of £7100 . The Champion of the Seas foundered off the Horn when homeward bound in 1877, The White Star was wrecked in 1883. Southern Empire fell a victim to the North Atlantic in 1874. Royal Dane was wrecked on the coast of Chile when homeward bound with guano in 1877. The Morning Star foundered on a passage from Samarang to U.K. in 1879. The Shalimar was bought by the Swiss and the Morning Light by the Germans, who renamed her J.M. Wendt. The Queen of the Colonies was wrecked off Ushant in 1874, when bound from Java to Falmouth. The Legion of Honour went ashore on the Tripoli coast in 1876, after changing her flag. The Fate of "Marco Polo." The, Marco Polo in her old age was owned by Wilson & Blain, of South Shields ; then the Norwegians bought her. After years in the Quebec timber trade, she was piled up on Cape Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, in August, 1883, and on the 6th her cargo of pitch-pine and the famous old ship herself were sold by auction and only fetched £600 . And so we come to the end of a short but wonderful period in the "History of Sail." — Sic transit gloria mundi PART II.— "THE WOOL CLIPPERS." {Wood and Composite Ships). With tallow casks all dunnaged tight, with tiers on tiers of bales. With cargo crammed from hatch to hatch, she's racing for the sales; A clipper barque, a model ship, a "fiyer" through and through, O skipper blufi! O skipper brave!' I would I went with you! — G. J. Brady. The Carriers of the Golden Fleece. TF it was the discovery of gold that founded Australia's ■*■ fortune, the Golden Fleece and the Wheat Sheaf have set it upon a rock . It was the gold fever that swept the great tide of emigration in the direction of the Southern Cross and carried the star of the Liverpool shipowners upon its flood, but that star began to set as soon as the output of alluvial gold began to diminish, as soon, indeed, as the great soft-wood clippers of the Black Ball and White Star began to grow water -soaked and^ strained, for their prosperity may be said to have ended with the sixties and had scarcely a longer run than the classifi- cation of their ships . But the percentage of emigrants landed by these ships, who stuck for any time to the elusive hunt for gold, was very small ; and the greater number of the gold seeking emigrants eventually settled and worked on the homesteads and great runs of the interior, with the natural result that there was a large and steady increase in the output of wool, hides, tallow, wheat and other land products. The huge Liverpool emigrant ships, however, wert 122 LONDON WOOL SALES 128 not fitted for the economical transport of these products to their central market in London. They were too big for one thing, for, in those early days, wool and tallow dribbled into the big ports in small amounts; also the repair bills of these soft-wood clippers were an ever increasing item to put against their freight receipts. Thus it came about that the wonderful American- built ships dropped out of the running. But their London rivals, the beautiful British-built hard -wood ships of half their size, having no heavy repair bills, being splendidly built of that imperishable wood teak, and being able to fill up their small holds quickly, continued to carry passengers outward and wool home- ward until supplanted in their turn by the magnificent iron clippers of the Clyde, Liverpool and Aberdeen. The London Wool Sales. These were the days when great races home from Australia took place — not only did ship race against ship, but it was the aim and object of every skipper to get his ship home in time for the first wool sales in London. And in the wool trade, unlike the custom in the tea trade, the fastest ships were loaded last — the pride of place — that of being the last ship to leave an Australasian port for the London wool sales being reserved for that which was considered the fastest ship in the trade. In the eighties, when the tea trade was entirely in the hands of the steamers, this pride of place in Sydney was always kept for Willis' famous clipper. Cutty S ark, no other ship, either wood or iron built, being able to rival her passages both out and home in the wool trade. The London wool sales took place in January, February and March, and the lists of the first sales 124 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS were closed as soon as a sufficient number of cargoes had arrived or been reported in the Channel. Thus it was the aim of every skipper to get reported as soon as possible after reaching the Channel, as the cargoes of ships reported in the Channel by noon on the opening day of the sales were included in the sale lists . Whereas if a captain missed the sales, his cargo would have to be warehoused for perhaps two or three months until the next sales, thus involving extra expenses such as warehouse charges, loss of interest, etc., not to speak of the possibility of a fall in the price of wool. In those days signal stations were not as numerous on our coasts as they are now, and so wool clippers on arriving in the Channel kept a specially sharp look- out for fishing smacks or pilot cutters to take their reports on shore. Occasionally the captains of the late-starting, crack ships were promised substantial cheques if they caught the sales and truly it was money well earned. The Lost Art of the Stevedore. In the present days of steam, steel and water ballast, stevedoring is no longer the fine art which it used to be in the days of masts and yards, clipper keels and oak frames. As every sailor knows, no two ships are alike, even when built from the same moulds; and though this is the case with every water-borne vessel, it is specially noticeable with that almost living thing — the sailing ship. Not only does every sailing ship have its own character as regards its stability, but its character often changes with age, etc., and no tables can give the exact way in which its cargo should be loaded as regards weights and trim. The hand THE STEVEDORE'S ART 125 books on the subject give rough, general rules, but the captain of a ship, from his own first hand knowledge of his ship's peculiarities, would always give careful instructions to the stevedore as to how he wanted the weights of the cargo placed or distributed. So first of all the old time stevedore had to load his ship in accordance with her own particular character and the wishes of her captain. Next he had to be an expert packer, especially with a wooden ship with a hold cut up by big oak frames and knees. No space was wasted. There is an old story told of a stevedore loading the little Tasmanian barque Harriet McGregor, who sang out to his mate on the wharf. *' Sling us down a box of pickles, Bill!" Then the stevedore had all sorts Of goods in a general cargo, some of which could not be stowed near each other, such as soda, which melts at sea and destroys cottons, etc. Also washed wool, leather, flour or wheat would be damaged if stowed with tallow and greasy wool. Other goods could only be stowed in the hatches, such as cases of glass, whilst wine and spirits had to be stowed aft to be out of the way of the crew. Instances have been known also of ships coming home from Australia with their iron masts packed full of bullocks' horns, shank and knuckle bones, which were more generally used for broken stowage. An amusing case with regard to bullocks' horns and knucklebones happened on one of Carmichael's ships, through the mate signing the bills of lading without examining them . He signed for so many horns , so many shank bones and so many knuckle bones loose. On arrival in London the consignee sent a lighter for the horns, and intimated that he wanted the shank bones delivered entirely separate from the knuckle 126 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS bones. Carmichael's got out of it by some very plain speaking, the mate's receipts proving that a fraud had been attempted. Bags of pearl shell were generally used in Sydney to fill up cargo near the hatches; and I find in July, 1868, that the Jerusalem, (Captain Largie) shipped 9 tons of mother-of-pearl shell at Melbourne in small casks and 3-foot cases. Below are specimens of early cargoes home from Australia in the sixties, with port charges, pilotage dues, etc. The ship Omar Pasha, Captain Thomas Henry, belonging to Messrs. G. Thompson, Sons & Co., of Aberdeen , took in at Melbourne, in October, 1864: — 3550 bales of wool, 20 tons spelter, 14,000 hides, 4000 ounces of gold 80 casks of tallow, and 12 cabin passengers. With the above she drew 19 ft. aft and 18 ft. 9 in. forward, her best trim at sea. The ballast of stones, spelter and hides was estimated at 430 tons. The wool was screwed in; and the dunnage, stones and horns, was 12 inches thick in the bottom and 15 inches in the bilges. Port charges were Is. per ton ; pilotage in £28 18s. 6d.; out £28 18s. 6d. The ship Transatlantic, Captain Philip, belonging to Messrs. G. Thompson, Junr., & Co., of London, took in at Sydney, June, 1864 : — 1360' bales of wool, 300 bags and 40 cases Kauri gum, 135 casks of "tallow, 50 tons of iron bark timber, 5300 hides. She had no ballast. Dunnage wood in the bottom 9 inches, bilges 12 inches, one treenail between the wool and the sides. So laden, she drew 14| ft. aft, 14 ft. forward. Her best sea trim was 6 inches by the EARLY CARGOES 127. stern. Port charges at Sydney, customs entry and shipping office £4 4s . ; pilotage out 4d . per ton ; the same in. The ship Queen of Nations, Captain Thomas Mitchell, belonging to Messrs. G. Thompson & Co., left Sydney on 21st September, 1865, loaded with: — 484 bales o£ wool, 2602 ingots and plates of copper, 44 bales of cotton, 62 tons of gum, 1037 casks of cocoanut oil, 9452 hides. 219 casks of tallow. For ballast she had 30 tons of kentledge; dunnage, treenails and bones, 12 inches in the bottom, 18 in the bilges and 6 in the sides . The hides were laid from two beams abaft the foremast to the mizen mast; oil on the hides, with a tier of tallow between; the wool, cotton, gum, etc., in the 'tween decks. Her best trim was 9 inches by the stern. So laden she drew 18 ft. forward and 18| ft . aft . Pilotage in £14 2s . ; out £14 2s . The Murray , under the command of Captain J . Legoe , belonging to Anderson's Orient Line, left Adelaide in December, 1863, loaded with: — 3182 bales of wool, 35 boxes silver lead ore, 19,522 ingots of copper, 15 bales of leather, 1590 bags of silver lead ore, 277 calf skins, 473 bags of copper ore, 1150 horns, 16 cases and 10 casks of wine. She had a full complement of passengers, who occupied 250 tons of cargo space. So laden she drew 15^ ft. forward and 16 ft. 2 in. aft, her best draught for sailing being 15 ft. forward and 15 ft. 8 in. aft. Port charges, harbour dues and light and tonnage dues £28 lis. 6d.; pilotage in and out £17. Screwing Wool. As every sailorman knows, wool is screwed into a ship's hold like cotton; and a good captain in the 128 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS old days would see that his ship was jammed so tight with bales that one would think her seams would open — indeed wood and composite ships always used to have their decks and topsides well caulked before loading wool. As showing how much the amount of wool loaded depended upon a the captain, Captain Woodget used to get 1000 bales more into the Cutty Sark than his predecessor . He made a habit of spending most of the day in the ship's hold and thought nothing of having a tier or half longer pulled down and restowed if he was not satisfied with the number of bales got in. You can dunnage casks o' tallow; you can handle hides an' horn; You can carry frozen mutton; you can lumber sacks o' corn; But the queerest kind o' cargo that you've got to haul and pull Is Australia's "staple product" — is.her God-abandoned wool. For it's greasy an' it's stinkin', an' them awkward, ugly bales Must be jammed as close as herrings in a ship afore she sails. For it's twist the screw and turn it. And the bit you get you earn it; You can take the tip from me, sir, that it's anything but play When you're layin' on the screw, When you're draggin' on the screw. In the summer, under hatches, in the middle o' the day. So sings the Australian sailor's poet Brady. In the sixties the bales of wool were pressed on shore by hydraulic power, then lashed with manila or New Zealand hemp, or hoop iron, at the ship's expense. The bales were generally pressed on their flats, but sometimes, for the sake of stowage, on their ends, when they were called "dumps." They had to be stowed immediately after being pressed, as if left for any time, especially in the sun, the wool would swell and carry away the lashings . There were from 8 to 12 lashings for each package of Sydney wool, which were called singla dumps, doubles, trebles and fourbles, according to the number lashed together, trebles being the most common. LOCH line" AITKEN,LILBURN«,CtllllAlTKEN,LILBURN8fC9 A.sJ.CARMICHAEL. T.S&S It. STEPHENS & SONS. "LONDON line;' BETHEL, eWYNSfC? WATSON BROTHERS ALEX. NICOL » C9 1 | MINE BROTHERS MEWZEALANDSHIPC? SHAW, SAV ILL & C9 ALBION SHIPPING C? WOOL CARGOES 129 The actual loading of a wool cargo was a slowish process, and sometimes attended with danger to the stowers if great care was not used, as wool bales have great elasticity. A description of the uses of screws, Sampson posts, trunk planks, toms, shores, etc., would, I fear, be so technical as to be wearisome. One of the chief dangers in a wool cargo is spontaneous combustion. This caused the end of several fine ships, such as the Fiery Star and the new Orient liner Aurora. Spontaneous combustion was likely to happen if the bales were wet or damp , either when loaded or through contact with other damp cargo, dunnage, ballast or even sweating water tanks. Often enough the wool got a wetting on its way to the ship , and though possibly afterwards sun-dried on the outside of the bales, so that to all appearances it was perfectly dry, was really damp inside and very inflammable. Some Australian wool growers contended that the practice of clipping sheep in the morning when the fleeces were heavy with dew was a cause of spontaneous combustion. Wool, of course, being a very light cargo, requires stiffening, but hides, tallow, etc., were generally used as deadweight, also copper ore. A ship with a wool cargo was reckoned to require two-thirds of the ballast necessary when in ballast only. Wool freights in the early days were Id. per lb., and gradually fell to a farthing per lb. — this was for washed wool: the freight for greasy wool, which had not been cleaned and was there- fore heavier than washed wool, being about 25% less. The Aberdeen White Star Line. Amongst the pioneers of the trade with the Colonies George Thompson, of the Aberdeen Clipper Line, known to generations of Australians as the 130 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Aberdeen White Star Line, holds a foremost place. The history of this celebrated firm dates back to the year 1825, when its first representative, a clipper brig of 116 tons named the Childe Harold, was sent afloat . It may safely be said that from that hour the Aberdeen White Star Line has never looked back. From the first it earned a reputation for enterprise and good management. Amongst its fleet were numbered some of the earliest clipper ships built in the United Kingdom, ships whose records were worthy to rank with those of the celebrated Black Ball and White Star Lines; and which in their liberal upkeep had little to learn from even such aristocrats of the sea as the Blackwall frigates . Until the discovery of gold, the green clippers ran regularly to Sydney, but when all the world began to take ship for Melbourne, the port of the gold region, it was only natural that some of the Aberdeen White Star ships should be put on the Melbourne run, and from that date the little flyers from Aberdeen were as well known in Hobson's Bay as Sydney Cove. The ships were all built in the yard of Walter Hood, of Aberdeen, in whose business Messrs. Thompson held a large interest, and were all designed by Walter Hood with the exception of the celebrated Thermopylae. George Thompson, who founded the line, was joined, in 1850, by his son-in-law the late Sir William Henderson, and later on Mr. Thompson's sons, Stephen, George and Cornelius, came by turns into the partner- ship. The following is a complete list of the wood and composite ships of the Aberdeen White Star fleet, dating from 1842 : — ABERDEEN WHITE STAR LINE 181 List of the Wood and Composite Ships of the Aberdeen White Star Fleet. 1842 Neptune, wood ship . 343 tons 1842 Prince of Wales ,, . 582 „ 1846 Oliver Cromwell „ . 530 „ 1846 Phoenician „ . 530 „ 1849 John Bunyan ,, . 470 ., 1850 Centurion „ . 639 „ 1852 WooUoomoolloo „ • 627 „ 1852 Walter Hood „ . 936 ., 1853 Maid of Judah . 756 .. 1854 Omar Pasha „ . 1124 ., 1855 Star of Peace jj • 1113 „ 1856 Wave of Life ,, . 887 „ 1857 Damascus „ . 964 „ 1857 Transatlantic ,j • 614 „ 1858 Moravian „ . 996 „ 1860 Strathdon ,, • 1011 „ 1861 Queen of Nations 1, • 872 „ 1862 Kosciusko J, . 1192 „ 1864 Nineveh ,, • 1174 „ 1864 Ethiopian ,, . 839 „ 1865 George Thompson ,, . 1128 „ 1866 Christiana Thompson ,, .. 1079 „ 1866 Harlaw , ,, . 894 „ 1867 Thyatira comp ship • 962 „ 1867 Jerusalem wood ship . 901 „ 1868 Thermopylae comp ship • 948 „ 1868 A scalon wood ship . 938 „ 1869 Centurion comp ship . 965 „ 1870 Aviemore wo od ship . 1091 „ No ships that ever sailed the seas presented a finer appearance than these little flyers. They were always beautifully kept and weBe easily noticeable amongst other ships for their smartness: indeed, when lying in Sydney Harbour or Hobson's Bay with their yards squared to a nicety, their green sides* with gilt streak and scroll work at bow and stern glistening in the sun, their figure-heads, masts, spars and blocks all painted • The green with which the Aberdeen White Star ships were painted was a composite paint always known as Aberdeen green. 132 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS white and every rope's end flemish -coiled on snow- white decks, they were the admiration of ail who saw them. There's a jaunty White Star Liner, and her decks are scrubbed and clean And her tall white spars are spgtless, and her hull is painted green. Don'tyousmell the smoky stingo? Ech! ye'll ken the Gaelic lingo Of the porridge-eating person who was shipped in Aberdeen. — Brady. From the first to the last they were hard -sailed ships, and some of the fastest were often sent across to China for a home cargo of tea, though the Thermopylae was the only bona-fide tea clipper in the fleet. On the outward passage, whether to Sydney or Melbourne, they generally carried a few first-class passengers, but it was only during the very height of the gold rush that their 'tween decks were given up to a live freight. The " Phoenician." The first of the Aberdeen White Star fleet to make a reputation for speed was the celebrated Phoenician, under the command of one of the best known passage makers of the day. Captain Sproat. Her dimensions were: — Length of cut keel Rake of stem Rake of sternpost Extreme breadth Depth of hold Registered tonnage (old) „ „ (new) Deadweight capacity Her first three voyages inarily good for those days . 1849-50 London to Sydney 90 days— Sydney to London 88 days 1850-51 „ „ 96 „ „ ,_ 103 1861-52 .. ., 00 „ .] ;,' 83 " 122 feet 25 „ 7 „ 27 feet 5 inches. 19 „ 1 „ 526 tons. . . 478 „ 780 „ re considered extraord ABERDEEN WHITE STAR LINE 138 The John Bunyan in 1850 made the run home from Shanghai in 99 days, which, even though she had a favourable monsoon, was a very fine performance. The Walter Hood on her maiden voyage under the command of Captain Sproat made the passage out to Australia in 80 days, and the account given in the papers remarks: — " Her sailing qualities may be judged from the fact of her having run during four several days 320 miles each 24 hours." The Maid of Judah had the honour of taking out the Royal Mint to Sydney in 1853. Her dimensions are interesting to compare with those of the Phoenician, so I give them : — Length of keel 160 feet. Length over all .. .. .. 190 „ Beam .. .. .. .. 31 „ Depth of hold 19 „ The Queen of Nations, under Captain Donald, went from Plynaouth to Melbourne in 87 and 84 days; but the fastest of these earlier clippers was the well-known Star of Peace, which made four consecutive passages to Sydney of 77, 77, 79, and 79 days under the redoubt- able Captain Sproat. I remember seeing a picture of this fine clipper, representing her off the Eddystone when homeward bound. She was a very rakish looking craft with long overhangs and carried a heavy press of sail, which included double topsails, skysails, main and mizen sky staysails and also three-cornered moonsails stretch- ing to the truck of each mast. The Ethiopian, on her first voyage to Melbourne, went out in 68 days under Captain William Edward. She sailed her last voyage under the British flag in 1886. She was then rigged as a barque, and on her passage 184 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS home from Sydney had a remarkable race with the iron Orontes, belonging to the same owners. The two vessels cast off their tugs together outside Sydney Heads, sighted each other off the Horn, were becalmed together in the doldrums, spoke the same ship off the Western Isles; and when the chops of the Channel were reached, the Ethiopian was hove to taking sound- ings in a fog, when the Orontes came up under her stern within hailing distance. Finally the Ethiopian got into the East India Docks one tide ahead of the Orontes, thus winning the race and a considerable sum in wagers. The Lucky *' Nineveh." TheNineveh, built the same year as the Ethiopian, was an extremely lucky ship in her freights and pas- sengers and made a great deal of money. Old Stephen Thompson was so pleased that he gave Captain Barnet a banquet at the Holborn Restaurant, and all through the dinner kept toasting "the lucky Nineveh.'^ The " Jerusalem." These wooden clippers were often very tender coming home with wool, as the following reminiscence given by Coates in his Good Old Days of Shipping will show: — "Apropos of Jerusalem, I re- member a most exciting race with the large American ship Iroquois. We were homeward bound from the Colonies, flying light and very crank, a not uncommon condition with a wool cargo. The Yank was first sighted on our quarter, the wind being quarterly, blowing moderately, though squally at times. "Whilst the wind remained so the Iroquois had no chance, but when it freshened the Jerusalem heeled over to such an extent that it necessitated sail being THE JERUSALEM 185 taken in. Soon the American was ploughing along . to leeward carrying her three topgallant sails and whole mainsail and going as steady as a die, whilst the Jeru- salem was flying along with fore and main lower top- gallants and reefed mainsail, but heeling over to such a degree that one could barely stand upright, the water roaring up through the lee scuppers, and during the squalls lipping in over the rail. "In a short time the topgallant sails and mainsail were handed and preparations made to reef the fore topsail. By this time, however, the Iroquois had just passed the beam, when, apparently, her skipper, satisfied to have passed us, snugged his ship down to three reefed topsails and we shortly after lost sight of her in a blinding squall." And Coates goes on to say: — "To see this ship when moderately light was a great pleasure, her lines were the perfection of symmetry. In one day I remember 324 miles being got out of this ship ; she was one of the first to carry double topgallant yards." As, a matter of fact, the Jerusalem was generally considered the fastest ship in the fleet next to Ther- mopylae. She made several very good passages from China in the seventies of under 110 days. Captain Crutchley, in his book My Life at Sea, gives an instance of her speed , in describing how she raced ahead of the tea clipper Omba, both ships being bound up the Channel with a strong beam wind. On this occasion, however, it was the Omba which was the tender ship, as she could not carry her royals though the Jerusalem had all plain sail set. The Thyatira, Thompson's first composite ship, was also a very ticklish vessel to handle when wool-laden. On her maiden voyage she went out to Melbourne in 186 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS 77 days, but took 96 days to get home, during which passage she gave her officers much anxiety owing to her extreme tenderness. Captain Mark Breach's First Encounter with his Owner. Captain Mark Breach , one of the best known of the Aberdeen White Star captains, entered the employ of the firm as second mate on the newly launched Thyatira. The Thyatira was on the berth for Melbourne when he joined her. On his second day aboard he was superintending the stowage of cargo in the hold, when old Stephen Thompson came down to have a look round. The Thyatira' s owner happened to be smoking a fine meerschaum pipe, and young Breach, being completely ignorant of the identity of the visitor, im- mediately went up to him and informed him in no uncertain language that his lighted pipe was dead against all rules and regulations. Mr. Thompson, without disclosing his identity, at once apologised and returned his pipe to its case. Presently when the visitor had departed, the mate asked Mr. Breach what he had been talking to Mr. Thompson about. And one may well imagine that the new second mate was somewhat scared when he learnt that it was his owner to whom he had been laying down the law. However, the mate comforted him by telling him that Stephen Thompson had been very pleased and prophesied that he would be a good servant to the company. Mark Breach afterwards served as mate of the Miltiades, then commanded the Jerusalem, Aviemore, and finally the famous Patriarch. The Thyatira was a very favourite ship and made some very good passages. She and the Jerusalem both THERMOPYLAE AND CENTURION 137 loaded tea, home from China on more than one occasion, and made passages of under .110 days , in the N.E. monsoon . The "Thermopylae." Thermopylae's career I have already dealt with fully in the China Clippers. Her sail plan was cut down twice in her old age, thus taking off a good' deal of her speed in light weather, but even then there were not many vessels which could give her the go-by, either in light or heavy weather. The "Centurion.*' The second Centurion was launched in the spring of 1869, and measured : — Length 208 ft. ; beam 35 ft.; depth 21 ft. Captain Mitchell overlooked her building and was her first commander. She was a very fast ship and he always hoped to beat the Thermopylae with her, but never succeeded. On her first voyage she went out to Sydney in 69 days. It was a light weather passage and she never started the sheets of her main topgallant sail the whole way. She is stated to have made 360, 348 and 356 miles in three successive days running down her easting, but I have been unable to verify these runs. Captain Mitchell; died on her second voyage just before reaching the Channel homeward bound She also made some creditable tea passages, but was mostly kept in the Sydney trade. In 1871 she went out in 77 daj's and in 1872 in 78 days. The "Aviemore." The Aviemore was the last of the wooden ships, and at the date of her launch, the first iron ship built 188 THE COLONIAL CLit'fERS for Thompsons, the celebrated Patriarch, had already proved herself such a success as to put all idea of building any but iron ships in the future out of the question. The Fate of the Early White Star Clippers. The first Centurion ended her days as a total loss in 1866. The Walter Hood was wrecked near Jervis Bay Lighthouse, New South Wales, on 27th April, 1870, when bound from London to Sydney with general cargo, her captain and 12 men being drowned. The Woolloomoolloo ended her days under the Spanish flag and was wrecked in 1885. The Maid of Judah was sold to Cowlislaw Bros., of Sydney, in 1870. In December, 1879, she left Sydney for Shanghai, coal-laden, with Captain Webb in command, and the following June was condemned and broken up at Amoy. The Omar Pasha was burnt at sea in 1869, when homeward bound from Brisbane, wool-laden. The celebrated Star of Peace, after being run for some years by Burns, Philp & Co., of Sydney, was converted into a hulk at Thursday Island, being only broken up in 1895. The Wave of Life was sold to Brazil, and sailed as the Ida until 1891, when she was renamed Henriquita. Finally she was condemned and broken up in March, 1897. The Damascus was bought by the Norwegians, who changed her name to Magnolia. On 1st September, 1893, she stranded at Bersimis and became a total loss. The Transatlantic was rebuilt in 1876; in 1878 she was owned by J. L. Ugland, of Arendal ; and on 15th EARLY WHITE STAR CLIPPERS 189 October, 1899, when bound to Stettin from Mobile, she foundered in the Atlantic. The Moravian was sold to J. E, Ives, of Sydney, and ended her days as a hulk, being broken up at Sydney in March, 1895. The Strathdon, under the name of Zwerver, did many years' service with the Peruvian flag at her gaff end. She was broken up in 1888. The Queen of Nations was wrecked near Woolloagong, New South Wales, on 31st May, 1881, when bound out to Sydney. All hands were saved except one. The Kosciusko, like the Maid of Judah, was bought by Cowlislaw Bros., being broken up at Canton in 1899. The Nineveh was bought by Good let & Smith, of Sydney. She was abandoned in the North Pacific in February, 1896. The Ethiopian was sold to the Norwegians. In October, 1894, when bound from St. Thomas to Cork, she was abandoned near the Western Isles. She was afterwards picked up 15 miles from Fayal and towed into St. Michael's, where she was condemned. The George Thompson passed through the hands of A. Nicol & Co., of Aberdeen, and J. Banfield, of Sydney, to the Chileans. On 13th June, 1902, she was wrecked at Carlemapu . The Christiana Thompson went to the Norwegians and was renamed Beatrice Lines. She was wrecked near Umra in Norway on 7th October, 1899. The Harlaw was wrecked at Hongkong in 1878 . The Jerusalem, like many of the others, was con- verted into a barque in her old age. In 1887 she was bought by the Norwegians. On 28th October, 1893. she left New Brunswick for London with a cargo of 140 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS pitch-pine and resin and never arrived, the usual end of timber droghers on the stormy North Atlantic. The Thyatira was bought by J. W. Woodside & Co., of Belfast, in 1894. In July, 1896, when bound from London to Rio with general cargo, she was wrecked at Pontal da Barra. The Ascalon was bought by Trinder, Anderson & Co. in 1881 . They ran her for nine years and then sold her to the Norwegians. She was wrecked on 7th February, 1907, at Annalong, when bound from Runcorn to Moss. The second Centurion left Sydney for Newcastle, N.S.W., on 17th January, 1887; at 1.30 a.m. whilst off the Heads, the tug's line carried away: the ship drifted on to the North Head, struck and then sank in 18 fathoms, barely giving her crew 15 minutes to get clear. The Aviemore was bought by the Norwegians. In October, 1910, she left Sandejford for the South Shetland where she was converted into a floating oil refinery. Later she was resold to the Norwegians, and I have a snapshot of her taken in Bristol in 1915, rigged as a barque with a stump bowsprit. Duthie's Ships. Another well-known Aberdeen firm which was a pioneer in the Australian trade was Duthies . They were builders as well as owners. The original William Duthie started his shipbuilding business over 100 years ago . Besides owning many of the shipr, he built, he was also a large timber merchant, and kept some vessels in the North American timber trade. He was also one of the first to send ships to the Chinchas and Peru for guano. He eventually turned over his shipbuilding business to his brothers John and Alexander, but retained his interest in some of the ships. DUTHIE'S SHIPS 141 The first of Duthie's ships of which I have any record is the Jane Pirie, of 427 tons, built in 1847 for the Calcutta trade and commanded by a well-known skipper of those days, Captain James Booth. The next vessel to be launched by Duthie was the Brilliant in 1850. She measured 555 tons, and, commanded by Captain Murray and sailing under Duthie's house-flag, she became a very popular passenger clipper in the time of the gold rush. On her first outward passage she went from London to Melbourne in 87 days, and this was about her average. She generally loaded wool for the London market at Geelong, and made the homeward run in under 90 days. Few ships came home from the Antipodes in those days without gold dust on board; and the Brilliant on one occasion brought home 7 tons of gold, giving Captain Murray an anxious time until he had it safely banded over to the Bank of England. After a dozen years as a first class passenger and wool clipper the Brilliant was debased to the guano and nitrate trades, being finally lost at sea when homeward bound from Callao with a cargo of guano . The next of Duthie's ships was the James Booth, of 686 tons, named after the celebrated captain. She was launched in 1851 for the Calcutta trade. In 1852 Duthie built the Ballarat, 713 tons, for the great shipowner Duncan Dunbar. The Ballarat distinguished herself by coming home from Melbourne in 69 days in 1855. All these early ships had the famous Aberdeen clipper bow and painted ports, and ably maintained the high reputation of the Aberdeen clipper. In the sixties Messrs. Duthie launched the following 142 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS well-known wool clippers, all called after various members of the family : — 1862 William Duthie wood ship 968 tons. 1863 Martha Birnie ,, 832 „ 1864 John Duthie 1031 „ 1867 Alexander Duthie „ ,, 1159 „ 1868 Ann Duthie ,, 994 „ The ships were all three skysail yarders, and good passage makers ; they were kept almost entirely in the Sydney trade, and must have made good dividends in those early days. The John Duthie on one occasion made £5000 freight for the wool passage home. Her commander at that time was Captain Levi, a very well- known character, who always offered a glass of Scotch and an apple to any visitor who came aboard his ship. The next Duthie ship was the Abergeldie, of 1152 tons. She was their first ship with iron in her com- position, having iron beams. She was launched in 1869, the same year as the Windsor Castle, a beautiful little wood ship of 979 tons, which Duthie built for Donaldson Rose. This Windsor Castle must not be confused with Green's Blackwall frigate of the same name. For some years both ships were trading to Sydney, and one year there was more than a little confusion owing to the two Windsor Castles arriving out on the same day. Duthie 's Windsor Castle made many fine passages both out and home, her best known commander being Captain Fernie. After being sold her name was changed to Lumberman's Lassie, and under this name she was for many years a well-known Colonial trader, and finally a coal hulk Passages of Aberdeen Ships to Sydney, 1872-1873. The best passage made out to Sydney between these dates was that of the iron tea clipper Halloween on her ABERDEEN SHIPS 148 maiden voyage . She left the Thames on 1st July, 1872 , crossed the line in 27° W. on the 20th, 19 days out, crossed the meridian of the Cape on 10th August, 40 days out, ran her easting down in 42° and arrived in Sydney on 8th September, 69 days out. Another very famous Aberdeen ship, the Star of Peace, left London, 21st September, 1873, and arrived at Melbourne on 16th December, 86 days out. This little table will perhaps give a good idea of the usual passages made by the wood and composite built ships . Ship Sailed Crossed Equator in Long. Crossed Meridian of Cape Ran Easting Down in Lat. Arrived D'ys Out - 1872 O o Thyatira Feb. 23 Mar. 20 22 W April 25 42 S May 23 89 Ann Duthie . . Mar. 5 „ 25 27 — 48 ., 24 80 Ascalon 5 April 2 23 April 30 41 June 7 94 Maid of Judah ., 21 ,. 18 22 May 21 — ., 23 94 Centurion April 18 May 10 22 June 8 39 July 5 78 John Duthie June 4 June 30 27 July 28 42 Aug. 29 86 Straihdon July 8 Aug. 14 26 Sept. 9 45 Oct. 25 109 William Duthie „ 16 ,. 17 27 ., 15 44 .. 31 107 Ethiopian „ 25 1873 „ 29 21 — — „ 31 98 Harlaw Feb. 5 Feb. 25 23 Mar. 22 45 April 29 83 Nineveh „ 11 Mar. 8 21 April 3 44 May 1 79 Aviemore Mar. 14 „ 29 23 May 28 45 June 4 82 Abergeldie July 7 " " Sept. 1 42 Oct. 2 87 The South Australian Trade. During the sixties and seventies, when Sydney and Melbourne were filling their harbours with the finest ships in the British Mercantile Marine, Adelaide, in a smaller way, was carrying on an ever increasing trade of her own , in which some very smart little clippers were making very good money and putting up sailing records which could well bear comparison with those 144 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS made by the more powerful clippers sailing to Hobson's Bay and Port Jackson. From the early fifties South Australia had been sending wool home in exchange for general cargoes from London. This trade was in the hands of two or three well-run firms, such as the Orient, Devitt & Moore and Elder. These firms owned some beautiful little composite ships, which up till now have received scant notice in the annals of our Mercantile Marine. These little clippers, most of them well under 1000 tons register, were driven as hard as any Black Ball or White Star crack, and this without the incentive of publicity. Their captains, however, were always in keen rivalry and put a high value on their reputations as desperate sail carriers. They made little of weather that would have scared men who commanded ships of three times the tonnage of the little Adelaide clippers, and they were not afraid of a little water on deck — indeed, when running down the easting, their ships were more like half -tide rocks than merchant vessels, being swept from end to end by every roaring sea ; and even in only a fresh breeze their decks were hidden by a curtain of spray . It was a common saying that they took a dive on leaving the tropics , came up to breathe at the Cape and did not reappear again till off Cape Borda. A South Australian trader prided himself on carrying a m,ain topgallant sail when other ships were snugged down to reefed topsails ; and he considered that he had made a bad passage if he was not up with Cape Borda in 70 days. Indeed he usually began to look for the Australian coast about the 60th day out, and if he was at sea for much longer than that without raising the land would begin SOUTH AUSTRALIAN TRADE 145 to think that he had overrun his distance and got into the Gulf of St. Vincent. It is not surprising, therefore, that the crews of these vessels rarely knew what it was to have a dry shirt on their backs, and usually had had more than enough of it by the time they were off Kangaroo Island; thus it was the general thing for them to run on arriyal . The late Mr. Barry wrote the following interesting account of the usual homeward bound crew on a South Australian wool clipper :^" They loaded some of the golden fleece at the Port and the rest perhaps at Port Augusta at the head of Spencer's Gulf. There one could see at times quite a clump of pretty little clippers lying in the stream between the mangroye-clad shores, waiting for the camel trains to come in from Pekina and Coonatto and Mount Remarkable. Much rivalry there was too between the ships, as to which should get her hatches battened down first, complete her crew and clear away for the February wool sales. And men in those days were not always easy to procure, for the long, cold Cape Horn passage and the prospect of shipping again out of London at 50s. per month were not very tempting experiences . Thus it often happened crews ran in Port Adelaide and 'runners' or temporary hands, just shipped for the trip, had to be engaged to take the vessel round to Port Augusta. These returning by the Penola or the Royal Shepherd or the Aldinga left the shipmasters to trust in providence for men to work the vessels home.. But, now and again, bushmen coming down country for a spree at 'the Port', a mere hamlet, consisting then mainly of gnats, sand and galvanized iron, would be induced, once their money was gone, to sign articles for the trip home. Men who had never thought to use the sea again, bullock drovers, 146 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS boundary riders, shepherds and station hands of every description were thus often found on board the clippers of the composite wool fleet. Many of them had not been to sea for years ; but before they had got the smell of ice in their nostrils all the old tricks of the craft came back to them and better crowds no skipper could wish for, if at times apt to be a little intolerant and careless of discipline, with the liberal life of the bush so close behind them. ' ' A hard experience , too , it generalh'^ proved for them , quite unprovided as they (for the most part) were with a sea-going outfit of any description and dependent on the often scantily supplied slop chest. And many a time when washing along the decks in icy Cape Horn seas or hoisting the frozen canvas aloft, while hail and rain pelted and soaked them, poorly fed, poorly clad, the merest sport of the bitter southern weather, they regretted with oaths deep and sincere their snug bunks and ' all night in* of the far away bush stations, where tempests troubled them not and the loud command of 'all hands' was unknown. Nor, as a rule, London Town once reached, did they lose any time in looking for a ship bound to some part of the country they had so foolishly left." The Orient Line, Of the firms which were chiefly instrumental in exploiting the South Australian trade first mention should perhaps be made of the Orient Line of clippers, the forerunners of the present Orient Line of steamers. The Orient Line was originally started by James Thompson & Co., who had a number of small ships and barques trading to the West Indies, then Mr. James Anderson joined the firm and eventually became head THE ORIENT LINE 147 partner, upon which the name was changed to Anderson, Anderson & Co. The first of the firm's Australian ships was the Orient and this vessel gave her name to the line. The Orient Line were nothing if not enterprising. Most of their vessels were built in the Nelson Docks, Rotherhithe, to the designs of Mr. Bilbe. Mr. Bilbe was a designer of great ability and he and Mr. Perry, an old shipmaster, were the working partners of the Nelson Dock, which consisted of a dry dock and a building yard, owned by Anderson, Anderson & Co. Mr. James Anderson had a wonderful knowledge of every- thing pertaining to ships and their business, and like many an old-fashioned shipowner took a practical interest in his ships, and nothing either in their design, construction or management was undertaken without his approval. Messrs. Bilbe & Perry built one of the earliest com- posite clippers, the Bed Riding Hood. She was launched in 1857 some six years before the first of the composite tea clippers. They also went in for iron ships at an early date, their first iron ship, the White Eagle, being built as far back as 1855. But owing chiefly to a very ill-advised strike of shipwrights, the Thames builders found themselves unable to compete with the North in iron shipbuilding and the Clyde took the trade which should have belonged to the Thames. Thus 1866 saw the last of the Thames composites to be built in the Nelson Dock vfhen Argonaut was launched for the Adelaide trade. However, Messrs. Anderson, Anderson & Co. meant to have the fastest ships procurable, and gave Hall, of Aberdeen, Steel, of Greenock and the Sunderland shipyards each a chance to turn them out a flyer. 148 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The " Orient." The Orient, the pioneer of the line, was launched at Rotherhithe in 1853, and measured: — Registered tonnage Length Beam Depth 1033 tons. 184.4 feet. 31.7 „ 21.1 „ She was built to participate in the gold boom to Melbourne, and was fitted to carry passengers under a poop 61 feet long. However she was not destined to start life on the Australian run, for she had barely been launched before she was taken up by the Govern- ment for the transport of troops to the Crimea. At the landing at Alma in September, 1854, she was transport No . 78 , carrying the 88th Connaught Rangers . She managed to ride out the gale of the 14th November, 1854, off Balaclava, in which 34 of the Allied ships were wrecked and over 1000 lives lost . And in October, 1855, we find her acting as a hospital ship during the expedition against Kinburn and Odessa. In 1856 she returned to London and was then put on the berth for Adelaide , She sailed from Plymouth under Captain A. Lawrence on the 5th July, 1856, with a full passenger list, £^nd hence forward was a favourite passenger ship in the South Australian trade. "Orient's" Outward Passages. The following table gives her time out for twenty- one voyages under the Orient flag. She generally took about 95 days coming home via the Cape, calling in at Capetown and St. Helena, as it was the custom with ships carrying passengers. « ! o u -t-> • ■a o 60 n §■ I ORIENT'S OUTWARD PASSAGES 149 Date. Captain. Date Left London. Date Left Plymouth. Date Arrd. Port Adelaide. Days Out. 1856 A. Lawrence June 28 July 5 Sept. 24 81 1857 28 2 22 82 1858 28 4 18 76 1859 ,_ 28 2 23 83 1860 May 29 June 5 Aug. 24 80 1861 ,, 26 1 „ 20 80 1862 Harris 27 2 24 83 1863 »» — May 1 July 12 73 1864 „ May 29 June 2 Aug. 22 81 1865 „ April 29 May 4 July 20 77 1866 ,^ Sept. 10 Sept. 16 Nov. 27 . 72 1868 R. de Steiger Oct. 31 Nov. 6 Jan. 26 81 1869 ,, Aug. 29 Sept. I Nov. 24 84 1870 „ Sept. 17 ., 22 Dec. 17 86 1871 j^ Aug. 28 2 Nov. 27 86 1872 W. H. Mitchell Nov. 4 Nov. 7 Jan. 27 81 1873 ^, Sept. 28 — Dec. 16 79 1874 J, July 25 Downs 27 Oct. 19 84 1875 ,j 22 Downs 25 16 83 1876 M. Haffner _, 23 11 80 1877 •■ Aiig. 21 — Dec. 3 104 •♦Orient" Nearly Destroyed by Fire. On 3rd November, 1861, the Orient left Adelaide with 2600 bales of wool, some copper ore and several passengers. Touching at the Cape she left Table Bay on 18th December. On the morning of 2nd January, smoke was observed to be rising from the fore hatch. Captain Lawrence at once had the lower deck hatches lifted fore and aft , but there was no smoke in the hold , which seemed to prove that the fire was confined to the 'tween decks . The hands were turned to breaking out cargo, but were driven from the fore hold after getting to the third beam aft of the hatchway. The mainsail was then hauled up and the fore hatches put on to prevent a current of air. The main hatchway was then opened and an attempt made to break out the 150 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS cargo from that hatch, but again the crew were driven back. The hatches were next battened down and every aperture closed . The carpenter was then ordered to bore holes in the deck. He started in the galley and gradually worked forward until he was over the seat of the fire. On this being found the fire engine, condensing engine and every other means was brought into use for pouring water below; and as fast as it went down it was sucked up again by the ship's pumps. The deck ports and scupper holes, also, were closed and the deck itself kept some inches deep in water. Whilst the crew fought the fire, the passengers, under the direction of the bosun, provisioned and lowered the boats and streamed them astern. At 5 p.m. dense smoke began to issue from the scuttle under the fore chains, the woodwork was charred, and the glass bull's-eye melted. The scuttles were immed- iately plugged and the deck cut through at this place . The result was startling. Smoke and flames burst out in volumes. All night long the crew kept doggedly at the pumps and fire engine . Next day the women passengers were all transferred to a Dutch ship which stood by the burning Orient . At last the fire was smothered and on the 5th January the Orient arrived at Ascension , where a large portion of the cargo was taken out and examined . She was temporarily repaired and tlicn proceeded, and arrived safely in the London River. Twelve of her timbers were so charred that they had to be replaced, together with the planking of the main deck as far aft as the main hatch. The saving of this ship was a very fine performance and the under- writers presented Captain Lawrence with a piece of plat" worth £100, and also £800 for himself, officers ORIENT AND LAMMERMUIR 151 and crew. The steadiness and discipline of both passengers and crew were worthy of all praise, and undoubtedly saved the ship. The "Orient" delivers her Carpenter's Chest to the "Lammermuir" in Mid-Ocean. In 1872 the Orwnt was diagonally sheathed, and Captain Mitchell took command of her. In 1873 the Orient was just about to leave London for Adelaide, when old John Willis, with his frock-coat flying open and his white hat on the back of his head, came aboard and said to Captain Mitchell: "The carpenter of my Lammermuir has left his tool chest and tools behind; will you take them out to Adelaide and deliver them to him." " No," replied Captain Mitchell, who was a skipper of the good old sort, " but I will take them and deliver them before I reach the line." The Lammermuir had sailed some 10 days before on the 12th of September to be exact. Old .lohn Willis immediately offered to bet Captain Mitchell £5 that he would not be as good as his word. The bet was accepted and the Orient sailed on 28th September. In 5° N. a ship was sighted ahead and overhauled. It turned out to be the Lammermuir. Signals were exchanged, and a boat put over with the chest on board, and the Lammermuir 's carpenter duly received his tools as Captain Mitchell had promised. The two ships then parted company and the Orient eventually arrived at Adelaide on the 16th December, 79 days out, the Lammermuir arriving six days later. It was a great triumph, and the apprentices of the Orient composed a puifiping chanty to the tuue of 152 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS "Marching through Georgia" to commemorate it, the first verse of which ran as follows : — The Lammermuir left London, boys, A fortnight's start she'd got. She was bound to Adelaide, Her passage to be short. But the Orient overhauled her Before halfway she'd got As we were sailing to Australia. In 1879 the Orient was sold to Cox Bros. , of Waterford, and she was still afloat quite recently as a coal hulk at Gibraltar. The Little "Heather BeU." In 1855 Hall, of Aberdeen, built the little Heather Bell for Brown & Co., from whom the Orient Line bought her. Her measurements were — Registered tonnage . . . . 479 tons. Length . . . . . • . . 155 feet. Beam 28.5 „ Depth 17.5 „ She was not one of the South Australian traders, however, but ran regularly to Sydney and Melbourne. She made herself famous by a wonderful run home from Melbourne under Captain William Harmsworth. She left Port Phillip Heads on 15th October, 1856, with a strong easterly wind and took the route down the West Coast of Tasmania. In spite of five days of easterly gales, she made the passage to the Horn in 26 days. The record for this run was made by the Lightning in 1854, being 19 days. Heather Bell ran from the Horn to the line in 21 days. This was a record, and con- sidered such a remarkable performance that it was pricked off on old South Atlantic charts. And so far as I know, it has only been twice beaten, once by the Cutty Sark and once by the Thomas Stephens. Heather HEATHER BELL AND MURRAY 153 Bell made the land at Start Point 20 days from the line, thus making a passage of 67 days. Her best 24-hour run was 330 miles, and her best week's work was 1885 miles. Of course she had great luck with her winds, but, even so, she proved herself a very speedy little ship. Heather Bell had a long life of 39 years, and was finally broken up at Balmain, Sydney, in 1894. The " Murray." Another Adelaide passenger ship belonging to Anderson was the Murray . She was built by Hall, of Aberdeen, in 1861, being the last Orient liner to be built entirely of wood. Her measurements were: — Registered tonnage . . , . 903 tons. Length of keel 180 feet. Beam 33.3 „ Depth 20.8 „ She had a long floor with sharp ends, and, whilst fitted with every convenience for passengers, she carried a very large cargo on a very small draught . The Murray was considered a fast ship, her best day's run being 325 miles, but I can best show her capabilities as to speed by recalling a race which she sailed with the well-known Blackwall frigate Hotspur. The two ships, as was usual with passengers on board, had called in at Capetown ; and they left Table Bay together. Then with stunsails set alow and aloft they were 11 days in company running down to St . Helena . In 26° N . they again met and were six days in company, finally they made the Channel within a day of each other, the Hotspur leading. Regarding this race, the late Captain Whall, who was OP board the Hotspur, says of the run to St. Helena : 154 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS "The wind was steady, and the two ships seemed so nearly matched that for hours together our bearings did not alter." Under the well-known Captain Legoe, the Murray made the following fine passages out from Plymouth i — 1861 Left Plymouth, July 26. arrived Adelaide Oct. 16—82 days out. 1862 ., „ „ 13, „ „ Sept. 30— 79 1863 .. „ „ 15, „ .. Sept. 26—73 (68 days to the Borda) . 1864 Left Plymouth, Aug. 6, arrived Adelaide Oct. 21 — 77 days out. The Orient Composite Clippers. It was during the sixties that the Orient Line came to be known in Australia for the remarkable speed of its beautiful little composite clippers, consisting of: — Date Built Ship Tonnage Builders. 1863 1864 1864 1865 1865 1866 Coonatto Goolwa Borealis Darra Yatala Argonant 6B3 717 920 999 1127 1073 Bilbe, of London Hall, of Aberdeen Bilbe, oi London Hall, of Aberdeen Bilbe, of London The Coonatto' s measurements were — Length 160 ft. 2 in.; beam 29 ft.; depth 18 ft. 7 in. She was an out and out clipper with very fine lines, but like most of Bilbe 's ships — very wet.^ However this may in part be put down to the hard -driving of her skipper, Begg, a Highlander, who never spared her and made some very smart passages out and home . Her best run to the Semaphore Lightship was 66 days, and she once did a 70-day passage out after broaching to off St. Paul's Island and losing both helmsmen and the wheel itself overboard. This famous little ship stranded on Beachy Head in 1876. PEKINA " and " COONATTO," at Port Adelaide, 1867. JOHN DUTHIE," at Circular Quay, Sydney. [To face page 154. THE YATALA 155 The Darra also went out to Adelaide in under 70 days, on which occasion her captain wrote home that she ♦•dived off the Cape and came up to blow off the Leeuwin." " Yatala." Probably the fastest of the six was the fine passenger clipper Fa toZa, which the redoubtable Captain Legoe left the Murray to command. The record from London to Adelaide, pilqt to pilot, 65 days, was shared by the Yatala and Devitt & Moore's clipper City of Adelaide until the famous Torrens beat it. "^ Unfortunately, Yatala came to an early end, and the following are the times of her outward passages during her short existence : — Date. Left Plymouth Arrived Adelaide. Days Out 1865 Aug. 4 Oct. 27 84 1866 2 14 73 1867 10 15 66 1868 July 9 Sept. 24 77 1869 Aug. 7 Oct. 23 77 1870 11 26 76 1871 July 6 2 88 On 18th December, 1871, Yatala left Adelaide in company with the Elder Line clipper, Beltana, which she led to the Horn by a day The Beltana arrived safely after a tedious light weather run from the line, but the Yatala got ashore near Cape Gris-Nez on 27th March, 1872, when almost in sight of home. Her wool cargo was nearly all saved, but the ship herself became a total loss. Of the other Orient composites, the Goolwa dis- appeared frorti the Register in 1880, but Borealis and Argonaut lasted some years longer. 156 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The " Beltana," and Captain Richard Angel. The Beltana, which raced the Yatala in 1871-2, was a composite clipper, belonging to A. L. Elder & Co., a well-known firm in the Adelaide trade and the agents for the celebrated Torrens. Built by Laing, of Sunder- land, in 1869, the Beltana measured: — Registered tonnage . . . . . . . • 734 tons. Length 172.5 feet. Beam . . . . . . . . . . 33.6 ,, Depth 19.2 „ She was a beautiful little ship, a fine sea boat with a good turn of speed. In 1872, when running her easting down, she did a day's work of 335 miles under foresail, three lower topsails and fore topmast staysail. She made her reputation as a heeler under Captain Richard Angel, a sail carrier of the most determined character, as the following anecdote will prove. The Beltana was rounding the Horn, homeward bound and reeling along before a heavy westerly gale under topgallant sails, when a vessel was sighted ahead, head-reaching under three close-reefed topsails, though bound the same way as the Beltana. Angel, to show his contempt of such caution, immediately bore down on the stranger, and passing ahead of him, put his helm down and brought his yards on the back- stays. As the Beltana came up to the wind, she lay right down until the amazed crew of the stranger could almost see her keel, and momentarily expected to see her capsize or her masts go overboard. But the little ship bore this harsh treatment in the bravest manner and, though her rail was fathoms deep in the scud to leeward, never stranded a ropeyarn. Having crossed the stranger's bows. Angel rounded to close under her stern, then squared his yards and raced ahead again . This TORRENS. 'TORRENS" at Port Adelaide. [To face page lo7. THE BELTANA 157 manoeuvre of ' ' sailing round a vessel" was not one that most men would care to attempt in Cape Horn weather. Indeed, hardly was the Beltana on her course again before Angel's trembling mate approached his captain with a request to be allowed to shorten sail, only to be met by the scornful order of: — "Get the royals on her; and then, if you can't find anything else to set, go below and ask Mrs . Angel to lend you her petticoat . ' ' Such an order was worthy of Bully Forbes himself. Captain Richard (\.ngel lost the command of the Beltana on the voyage that she raced the Yatala. On his passage out he ran the Beltana ashore on Kangaroo Island, but got her off and did not report the accident. He loaded wool at Port Augusta, but on getting to sea the ship leaked so much that he had to take her in to Port Adelaide. Here the wool was discharged, and the Beltana hauled up on the slip and repaired,, whilst Angel got his dismissal and a Captain Blanch took his place. Beltana caught fire when loading wool in Port Lyttelton, and her end was one of the biggest ship fires in New Zealand. The Wonderful "Torrens." Of other ships managed by Elder & Co . , the most noteworthy were the Glen Osmond, Collingrove and Torrens. Of these the Torrens requires special mention, as she was without doubt one of the most successful ships ever built, besides being one of the fastest, and for many years she was the favourite passenger ship to Adelaide. She was built in 1875 by James Laing, of Sunderland, and launched in October of that year, her chief measurements being : — Registered tonnage 1276 tons. Length 222.1 feet. Beam .. .. 38.1 „ Depth 21.5 „ 158 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS She was composite built with teak planking and was specially designed for carrying passengers, having a poop 80 feet long. A beautifully modelled ship and a splendid sea boat, she was very heavily sparred and crossed a main skysail yard . She was also one of the last ships to hold on to fore topmast stunsails ; indeed for years she was the only ship with stunsail booms aloft in the Australian trade . Regarding her capabilities as a sea boat, in easting weather she would drive along as dry as a bone, making 300 miles a day without wetting her decks. But it was in light winds that she showed up best , her ghosting powers being quite extraordinary. The flap of her sails sent her along 2 or 3 knots, and in light airs she was accustomed to pass other clippers as if they were at anchor. Commander Harry Shrubsole, R.N.R., in a letter to the Nautical Magazine, gives the following interesting reminiscences of her wonderful speed. Some items of one of her passages are worth noting. Crossed the equator in 15 days from Plymouth; arrived off Semaphore, Port Adelaide, 61 days from Plymouth. The last two days were employed in beating up the Gulf from the western end of Kangaroo Island, I forget the name of the point we made, so 59 days could easily be counted as the passage. We sighted the Jennie Harkness, obviously American, at daylight right ahead in the S.E. trades; at noon we were alongside her, and our Foo-Foo band played " Yankee-Doodje " as we passed her. She had Jimmy Greens and water-sails, flying jib topsails and what not aloft, and we slid by her as if she was — well — sailing slowly, as she undoubtedly was, compared to our speed. We passed a. large ship running the easting down. She was under upper topgallant sails, whilst we were^ under upper topsails with weather upper and lower stunsails set. The old ship was never driven; she did not need it, neither would she stand it. But she sailed rings round anything sighted. To sight a ship to windward and ahead, on a. wind, was to ensure the tautening of the weather braces, an order to sail a bit finer and to see her passing ahead THE TORRENS 159 and to windward of that ship by the early afternoon. We did this with a four-master, the Amazon, and I bear a scar on my eyebrow to-day in memory of that ship— merely a small argument about her name. In the case of the Jennie Harkness, I was the " leadin' 'and " of the Fqo-Foo band and can picture the incident now in all its features. Captain H. R. Angel, who had previously commanded the Glen Osmond and Collingrove, was the chief owner of the Turrens, and had a great say in her design ; and after overlooking her building he took her from the stocks and commanded her for 15 voyages. Under him she was a wonderfully lucky ship and a great deal of the credit for her success undoubtedly belonged to Captain Angel. Her biggest run in the 24 hours was 336 miles ; and her fastest speed through the water by the log was 14 knots. Her average for 15 outward passages under Captain Angel was 74 days from Plymouth to the Semaphore, Port Adelaide. Captain Angel always brought her into the St. Vincent's Gulf via the Back- stairs Passage, east of Kangaroo Island, instead of through Investigators" Straits. On the homeward passage he always took the Cape route, for the benefit of his passengers, calling in at Capetown, St. Helena and Ascension. To show the extraordinary way in which luck clung to the Torrens as long as Captain H. R. Angel com- manded her, I will give the following instance, given me by Captain Angel himself. On a certain homeward passage, the lamp oil ran short or was lost through some mismanagement. This caused Captain Angel to grow very anxious as the Torrens approached the mouth of the English Channel, in whose narrow crowded waters lights are naturally of the utmost importance. But before soundings were reached a barrel was passed, floating on the water. 160 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Angel at once hove his ship to and lowered a boat, picked the barrel up and took it aboard^and, on being opened, it was found to contain oil. As commodore of the Elder Line, Captain Angel flew a white flag with red crescent and stars at the masthead of the Torrens, instead of the ordinary house-flag with red ground, white crescent and stars. In the autumn of 1890 Captain Angel retired from the sea and handed over the Torrens to Captain Cope, With the change of captain, the Torrens luck deserted her . On her first passage out under her new commander the Torrens lost her foremast and main topmast in 6° N., 27° W., and put into Pernambuco to refit; and before she was refitted she caught fire. However, the fire was put out, she was remasted and she eventually reached Adelaide 179 days out. Whilst Captain Cope had her, the Torrens had the honour of having Joseph Conrad as mate for a voyage . This was in 1893, and Conrad made two important literary friendships whilst on the Torrens, for W. H. Jacques made the voyage in her and Galsworthy was a passenger from Adelaide to Capetown . In 1896 Captain F. Angel, the son of Captain H. R. Angel, took over the command of the Torrens, and again the Goddess of Fortune objected to the change. On his third voyage , young Angel ran foul of an iceberg in the Southern Ocean; and with her bow stove in and partially dismasted, the Torrens managed to struggle into Adelaide, for the second time in her career over 100 days out. Her last passage, also, under the British flag was a disastrous one. She left Adelaide on 23rd April, 1903, and before she was clear of Kangaroo island a storm burst on her and she had difficulty in clawing off the THE TORRENS 161 land . . Then when she got down to the Cape latitudes another heavy gale forced her back towards Mauritius . However, at last she got into Table Bay. She had little cargo from Adelaide on board, and as no cargo was offering at Capetown, she went on to St. Helena, and took in a load of explosives for the British Govern- ment—ammunition, etc., returning from the Boer war. But even when the Thames tug had got her hawser, the dangers of this passage were not over, for whilst the Torrens was in tow a vessel tried to pass ahead of her, between her and the tug, and was cut down and sunk by the sharp forefoot of the famous clipper. When the collision was seen to be imavoidable there was almost a panic on the Torrens, owing to her cargo of explosives. However nothing happened, the Torrens was uninjured and Captain Angel was not held to blame. But old Captain Angel had had enough of it — her cost for repairs since he had given her up had come to more than her original cost to build ; and he sold her to the Italians. "Torrens'" Outward Passages. When inspecting Torrens* wonderful times, two things in her favour must be remembered, firstly that she sailed from England at the most favourable time in the year, and secondly that, carrying passengers, she was always in perfect trim. On the other hand, everything was done to make the passengers comfortable, especially as many of them were invalids or consump- tives going for the benefit of the voyage, thus she was never driven as she might have been. With the change of ownership as with the change of skippers, evil luck again struck the celebrated old 162 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS ship, for the Italians soon ran her ashore atid after getting her off again sent her to Genoa to be broken up. But when the Genoese shipbreakers saw the beauty of her model and construction, they went to the expense of repairing her, only to again bump her on the rocks. This time she was towed back to Genoa for good and all, and was broken up in 1910. Captain. Date Left Date Left Date Arrived Days London. Plymouth Adelaide Out. H. R. Angel Dec. 8, 1875 Dec. 12, 1875 Mar. 7, 1876 85 ,, Oct. 26, 1876 Oct. 29, 1876 Jan. 18, 1877 81 , 27, 1877 Nov. 4, 1877 ., 11. 1878 68 , 26, 1878 2, 1878 .. 18, 1879 77 , 26, 1879 Oct. 30, 1879 8, 1880 70 , 28, 1880 Nov. 2, 1880 6, 1881 65 , 27, 1881 Oct. 29, 1881 8, 1882 71 , 26, 1882 „ 29, 1882 ., 16, 1883 79 , 27, 1883 „ 29, 1883 7, 1884 70 , 26, 1884 Nov. 2, 1884 „ 25, 1885 84 , 27, 1885 1, 1885 8. 1886 68 , 28, 1886 2, 1886 „ 15, 1887 74 , 27, 1887 8, 1887 „ 14. 1888 67 , 27, 1888 I, 1888 „• 14, 1889 74 , 30, 1889 7, 1889 ,. 26, 1890 80 W. H'.'Cope , 29, 1890 Dismasted April 26, 1891 179 — Nov. 25, 1891 Feb. 28, 1892 95 Oct. 25, 1892 — Jan. 30, 1893 97 Nov. 3, 1893 — ,. 26, 1894 84 Oct. U, 1894 — „ 13, 1895 91 Sept. 18, 1895 — Dec. 6, 1895 79 F. Aiigel Oct. 26, 1896 Left Downs Oct. 28 Jan. 11, 1897 75 ,, „ 30, 1897 — ,. 15, 1898 77 ,, . 25, 1898 Stiruck Iceberg Feb. 5, 1899 103 J , „ 31, 1899 — Feb. 5, 1900 97 .. 27, 1900 ' Left Downs Jan. 20, 1901 82 Oct. 30 ^, „ 24, 1901 — Feb. 2, 1902 101 " ,, 26, 1902 — Jan. 17. 1903 83 The Torrens, with the exception of the Lochs, was the last sailing ship to carry passengers. As a com- posite ship, built specially for passengers, she had no rival except Devitt & Moore's celebrated Sobraon. " SOBRAON." SOBRAON." To face page 163. THE SO BR AON 163 The Great "Sobraon." The Sobraon was built by Messrs. Hall, of Aberdeen, to the order of Lowther, Maxton & Co., the tea clipper owners, and launched in Ncfvember, 1866. She was the largest composite ship ever built, being constructed of solid teak with iron beams and frames ; she was copper fastened and classed 16 years Al. Her measurements were : — Registered tonnage 2131 tons. Burthen 3500 Length over all .. .. .. .. 317 feet. Length between perpendiculars . . . . 272 ,, Beam . . 40 ,, Depth of hold 27 ,, Her lower masts were of wrought iron, and her topmasts and lower yards on each mast of steel. On her first two voyages she carried skysails, but these were found to make her rather crank and so were done away with. In the eighties she followed the fashion and was fitted with double topgallant yards on her fore and main masts. With all sail set, she had a spread of just 2 acres of canvas. Mr. A. G. Elmslie, who served in her for 11 years under his father, from apprentice to chief officer, gave me the following account of her sailing qualities : — A glance at the perfect lines of the ship in dry dock would be quite sufficient to show there was nothing to stop her going through the water, and I can honestly say that during my 1 1 years I never saw any other sailing ship pass her in a breeze either on a wind or before it. The fact of the Sobraon being first intenaed for an auxiliary steamer and having the two stern posts, the space between which was filled up with solid timber, gave her a perfect run. and her bows were as fine as any yacht's. Runs of over 300 knots when running down the easting were frequent. On one occasion over 1 000 knots were covered in three days and over 2000 in a week. 340 knots in the 24 hours was the best run made. I have seen over 1 6 knots reeled off by the log. This was with the wind some 2 or 3 points on the quarter, which was her best saiUng point. On a wind and sailing within 5i points, she could do her 7 to 8 knots good. 164 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS On her first five voyages from 1866 to 1871, Sobraon sailed to Sydney, and after that, from 1872 to 1891, to Melbourne, always returning via the Cape of Good Hope instead of the Horn. Her fastest trip to Sydney was 73 days and to Mel- bourne 68 days. On the latter passage she sighted Cape Otway on the morning of tjhe 60th day out, but then had light variable winds, which spoilt what promised to be a 61 -day passage. Most of her outward passages were between 70 and 80 days, but it must be remembered that she was never driven hard out of consideration for her passengers, or there is little doubt that she would have gone near to lowering the golden cock at Thermopylae's masthead. On her first voyage to Sydney in 1866-7, she went out in 75 days and came home in 78. Lowther & Maxton only owned her for a few years, and from the first she loaded as one of Devitt & Moore's monthly line of packets to Australia, the latter firm buying her outright about 1870. On her maiden voyage the Sobraon was commanded by Captain Kyle. In 1867 he was succeeded by Lieut. J. A. Elmslie, R.N.R., who had her for the rest of her active career, from 1867 to 1891, a period of 24 years. Captain Elmslie commenced his career in 1842 and for several years traded out to India and China and later to Australia in the well-known London ships La Rogue and Parramatta. Prior to taking the Sobraon, he commanded the ill-fated Cospatrick, from 1863 to 1867, his brother, who was afterwards lost in her in 1873, succeeding him in the command of that ship. Captain Elmslie 's name was so closely and lor so long associated with that of the Sobraon, that passengers were no doubt as much attracted by the one as by the THE SOBBAON 165 other. In fact there were many instances in which they booked their passages solely on account of the name of the commander. Whilst being a strict dis- ciplinarian and respected by all who sailed under him, he was, at the same time, kindness itself and laid himself out on every occasion to study the interests of his passengers. The fact that the Sobraon never had anything approaching a serious loss of spars or sails may be safely put down to his never ceasing attention to the ship and the weather. He was always about, and his keen sense of watchfulness and duty readily imparted itself to his officers and crew. Captain Elmslie was elected a Younger Brother of the Trinity House on 1st September, 1868, and he would have been elected an Elder Brother many years before his death had he been eligible, but the fact of his never having served in steam barred him. No greater proof of the popularity of the Sobraon and her captain can be given than the length of time both officers and men stayed in her. James Cameron, who was foreman shipwright at the building of the Sobraon, served as carpenter on her during the whole time that the ship was afloat — service 1866-1891. Thomas Willoughby, formerly with Captain Elmslie in Cospatrick, from 1864 to 1867, transferred with his captain to the Sobraon and served throughout, first as butcher and later as chief steward — service 1866-1891. James Farrance served 16 years as A.B. and boat- swain. Thomas Routledge served 10 years as sailmaker. This length of service on the part of her petty officers is, I should think, easily a record. And amongst well-known seamen who learnt their craft in the Sobraon were — 166 THK COLONIAL CLIPPERS Captain R. Hoare, apprentice to chief officer, 1872- 1882 (a commander in the Orient Line and Elder Brother of Trinity House). Captain F. Northey, apprentice to chief officer, 1867-1869, and 1874-1882 (afterwards commanded the John Rennie). Captain A. E. Baker, apprentice to chief officer, 1887 (afterwards commander in the P. & 0.) Captain Elmslie also had his first and second sons with him. C. T. Elmslie, the eldest, as apprentice before going into the P. & O. and Captain A. G. Elmslie from apprentice to chief officer, 11 years from 1880 to 1891. The Sobraon^s crew usually consisted of captain, 4 officers, 8 apprentices, carpenter, sailmaker, boatswain, engineer, 2 boatswain's mates, 26 A.B.'s, 4 O.S.'s, 2 boys, 16 stewards and 2 stewardesses — total all told =69. Only one voyage was made in each year, the sailing date from London always being the latter end of September and from Australia early in February. From her immense carrying capacity, the cargo was invariably a good source of revenue. Owing to her regular sailings there was never any difficulty in getting a full hold, and this applied especially to the homeward run, when her cargo consisted chiefly of wool and wheat. It was, however, as a crack passenger ship to Australia that the Sobraon was most celebrated as she never formed one of the fleet which raced home to be in time for the February wool sales. Indeed, on the homeward run she usually touched at Capetown and always at St. Helena, these brekks in the passage being very popular with passengers. At St. Helena the ship made a regular stay of about THE SOB R AON 167 three days, and this visit was as ^uch looked forward to by the inhabitants of the island as by the Sobraon's passengers. As a rule about 100 tons of cargo, con- sisting of flour, corn, preserved meat, etc., were landed there and occasionally a few bullocks were taken there from Capetown. Whilst the Sobraon lay at St. Helena, the passengers roamed the Island, climbed the 699 steps to the barracks, visited Longwood and Napoleon's tomb and generally enjoyed themselves. Captain Elmslie also made a habit of giving a fancy dress ball on board before leaving, to which all the elite of the Island were asked. Sobraon's passenger accommodation was unequalled for a sailing ship. She only had a short poop, but her first class saloon reached from right aft to within 20 feet of the foremast, and was 200 feet in length. The second class saloon took up the remaining space in the 'tween decks, with the exception of 20 feet in the eyes of the ship, which was bulkheaded off as a store room and sail locker. The number of first class passengers on the outward trip averaged close on 90, with 40 in the second saloon. There were generally a few less coming home. Owing to the good accommodairion and to the fact that the voyages were timed for the finest climatic conditions, there were always a fair number of invalids booked and a good many of them made the round voyage. And there were many instances, also, of marvellous cures aboard the Sobraon. In her early days she took many notable people out to Australia. Lord and Lady Belmore and their suite went out in her, the former to take up the Governorship of New South Wales. It was on this voyage that the Duke of Edinburgh was in Sydney whilst the Sobraon 16S THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS lay there ; and it waf at his request that she was made the flagship at the Sydney Regatta. Captain Elmslie had the honour of entertaining and being entertained by the Duke on several occasions, and on his return passage brought home numerous cases of curios collected by the Duke whilst in the East. On the next voyage the Sobraon took out Mr. Ducane, the new Governor of Tasmania, and his suite. Fresh food was obviously a necessity for the class of passenger carried, and the following live-stock were carried on each passage — 3 bullocks, 90 sheep, 50 pigs, 3 cows for milking and over 300 geese, fowls and ducks. Fresh water and plenty of it was always pro- curable — a large condenser running every alternate day; there was an ice chamber, also, in which several tons of ice were stored. The Sobraon came through her 25 years' active service with singularly little damage at the hands of the elements. On making the African coast on the homeward run, she had the usual narrow shaves from being dismasted, which are experienced by all west-bound ships in that locality. The wind shifts from N.W. to S.W. in squalls accompanied by the most terrific thunder and lightning at this dreaded spot, and it is almost impossible for a close-hauled ship to avoid getting caught aback. The most serious storm experienced by the Sobraon was in 1889, when running her easting down. She was a little to the north of the Crozets, and it began to breeze up on a Sunday morning. The glass gave every indication of a real snorter, and by 4 p.m. had tumbled doM'n. to 27.75. By that time the Sobraon had been shortened down to foresail, lower fore topsail, upper fore topsail reefed, main lower topsail and fore topmast THE SOBRAON 169 staysail. The shift from N.W. to S.W. came at 5 o clock, and the yards were hardly round before the foresail went and in a few moments there was nothing left of it. The sea was running in mountainous ridges, and with the foresail gone threatened every moment to poop her badly. It was too late to heave to and the ship was kept away before it . After four hours ' battling and over 30 men aloft a brand new foresail was bent and set reefed. This was hardly done before the fore upper topsail blew away. However, with the foresail reefed and two lower topsails the Sobraon fled before the blast like a startled deer. The squalls every few minutes were terrific and in spite of such short canvas the Sobraon was making over 14 knots an hour. The sea was all the time running higher and higher and breaking aboard in the most alarming fashion. During the night the greater portion of the bulwarks on the port side was carried away ; a boat in davits, hanging 22 feet above the water, was filled by a sea and disappeared, the davits breaking short off : the main skylight over the saloon was washed away and tons of water found its way below before the open space could be covered over. The amount of water in the saloon at this time can be imagined when pas- sengers were actually being washed off their feet. On deck there were many narrow escapes of men being washed overboard, the broken bulwarks being a great source of danger. The mate and three of the men were washed from the main fiferail to the break of the poop, and, after being dashed up against the heavy boarding which had been put up to protect the fore end of the poop, managed to save themselves by the life-lines which had been stretched across. The forward deck house which held the galley and engine room was 170 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS almost demolished and everything moveable in it was washed over the side. The storm continued at its height from the Simday afternoon until Wednesday morning. The passengers, who had been battened down for three days, were in a sorry plight owing to the quantities of water that had got below and the catering for them under such con- ditions proved very difficult. As is usually the case after such a storm, the wind subsided very much quicker than the sea, and for a few hours on the Wednesday night, the wind having dropped completely and the ship losing way, the rolling was terrific. Fortunately everything held aloft in spite of the great strain on the masts during these few hours. On two occasions the Sobraon had narrow escapes of getting ashore when making the Channel in thick weather. On her first voyage, after several days without sights and when it was calculated that the ship was in the chops of the Channel, several fishing boats were met, and, on asking his position, the captain found that he was heading up the Bristol Channel. Several of the passengers availed themselves of the opportunity of going ashore in the fishing boats, and, landing on the Devonshire coast, reached London several days before the ship. On the homeward passage in 1888 it came on very thick after Land's End had been sighted. The Sobraon stood on for some 24 hours and then suddenly the fog lifted and disclosed the land inside Portland Bill dead ahead and under a mile distant. The wind was easterly and light, and the Sobraon close-hauled on the starboard tack; however, she came round in time and stood off, thus escaping destruction by the narrowest rnargin. ■ THE SOB R AON 171 The Sobraon had two escapes from being burnt at sea. The first was on the outward passage in 1884. A little water had been making in the vicinity of the main hatch and the carpenter went beloT^ ' one morning to try to discover where it was coming in. Amongst the cargo in the square of the hatch and around it were several crates of bottles packed in straw. In climbing over these the carpenter dropped the light he was carrying and inside of a minute the straw was alight and the flames darting out in every direction. Luckily the ship carried a quantity of fire extinguishers, and with these and the hoses from two pumps the fire was got under in about 20 minutes. Had there been the slightest delay the fire must have spread to the other cargo, and there being no means of getting at it nothing could have saved the ship. The second instance occurred in the tropics when outward bound in 1888. A quantity of oil and some 90 tons of coal were down in the fore peak, which was only separated from the cargo in the fore hold by a wooden bulkhead. By spontaneous combustion appar- ently the coal caught alight, and one morning smoke was discovered coming out of the hatch. All hands were at once started getting the coal up, but as the hatch was only 4 feet by 3 feet this proved an extremely slow job. After 20 tons had been got on deck, the smoke had become so thick and the heat so intense that the hose had to be resorted to. However, this conquered the fire in about half an hour. Luckily the burning part of the coal had been well away from the bulkhead or the consequences must have been more serious. There was only one person lost overboard off the Sobraon in her whole career, but this was a particularly 172 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS distressing case. The following account of it was given to me by Captain A. G. Elmslie : — "In about latitude 35° S. and longitude 5° W., one Sunday evening early in November, 1883, we were bowling along at a good 13 knots with the wind on the starboard quarter and royals set, being outward bound to Australia. I was third mate and keeping the first watch. Four bells had just been struck when I noticed a lady passenger come up on the poop and walk aft, sitting down on the weather side of the wheel box and close to the man at the wheel. About five minutes later the quartermaster cried out: — 'My God! she's overboard ! ' "I rushed aft, and with the quartermaster tried to get hold of the girl, who was then hanging on to the lower rail outside, but before we could get her she let go and dropped into the water. Although only a few seconds had elapsed since the quartermaster had let the wheel go, the ship was up in the wind and nearly aback . " After telling the midshipman to throw some life- buoys over and the fourth oflFicer to get the boat ready, I sang out : — ' Man overboard ! Let go your royal and topgallant halliards ! ' " Fortunately the men were handy and the yards came down before we were flat aback. By this time the captain and other officers and all hands were on deck. Owing to the pace the ship was still going through the ■water, together with the strong wind blowing, it was necessary to let the topsails come down also. ' ' With the courses and lower topsails alone set, she soon lost way sufficiently to allow the boat being lowered, which by that time had been manned. Only four minutes elapsed between the girl going over the THE SOBRAON 178 side and the boat being in the water, but in this short space of time the ship had travelled a good half mile and quite far enough to make the search a most difficult one, especially seeing that the night was intensely dark and a heavy sea running. The search was kept up for some four hours and only abandoned then through the danger of keeping the boat in the water, for she was several times nearly swamped. Needless to say, on such a night, and the probabilities being that the girl was drowned at once, no sign was seen of her. Two of the life-buoys were afterwards picked up by another ship. The reason of the suicide, for such it undoubtedly was, remained a mystery. The girl had no relations Avith her and no one on board could throw any light on the matter. " On another occasion the ship was going some 5 knots in the tropics when an apprentice fell overboard during the forenoon watch. It was quite 20 minutes before the boat reached him, but he was found swimming along quite composed, having unlaced and taken his heavy boots off and slung them round his neck, as their weight was less felt there and he did not want to lose them. Another of Sobraon's apprentices was even still more cool-headed. This one fell off the footrope of the mainyard, being one of 30 hands aloft stowing the mainsail. Luckily he was well in to the quarter of the yard and so fell on the deck. If he had gone overboard there would have been little chance of picking him up. The fall was one of 58 feet and he fell within 3 feet of the second mate. The latter naturally expected to find him dead, but he recovered consciousness within an hour, and was about again a month later quite recovered. He declared that as soon as he felt himself falling he 174 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS made himself as rigid as possible, brought his head and legs together and protected the former with his arms ; and he landed in that position on his side. He was a big fellow, being over 6 feet in height and weighing 14 stones. Another marvellous escape from aloft was that of a man who was helping to stow the main upper topsail. This man suddenly lost his hold and came down spread- eagle fashion. He dropped on to the main rigging and carried away 7 ratlins of 27 thread stuff, then landed on the rail without breaking a bone. This was in 1886, and the Sobraon was just making Plymouth. The man was taken to hospital and recovered in a few days. As soon as he came out of hospital, he claimed damages from the ship, declaring that a grummet on the jackstay had given away ; but it was easily proved that nothing went and the man had simply lost his hold. But all falls from aloft on the Sobraon were not so fortunate as these two. A young ordinary seaman once fell from the mizen topgallant rigging with fatal consequences. The crossjack had just been hauled up and the mizen topgallant sail clewed up, and the hands were sent aloft to make the sails fast. This man, with three others, being first aloft, went up to stow the topgallant sail. Suddenly the men on the crossjack footropes heard an agonising cry and a form whizzed past them, struck the spanker gaff and then fell on the deckhouse. The poor fellow broke his spine amongst other injxiries and died almost immediately. On still another occasion, when the Sobraon was again coming into Plymouth, a man working in the main futtock rigging lost his hold and fell on deck right in the midst of a crowd of passengers. There were close on 100 people standing about at the time and it THE SOBRAON 175 was extraordinary that he fell on no one — he just touched a lady on the shoulder and bruised her a little — but was of course horribly smashed up himself and killed instantly. The shock to the crowd of passengers standing round may easily be imagined. There were two curious cases of somnambulism amongst the passengers of the Sobraon. The first was a Church of England clergyman and he was most methodical in his movements. He invariably appeared on deck about midnight and would first of all go up on the poop and peer into the compass ; and then, after strolling the deck for a few minutes, would go below to the small saloon aft where prayers were held by him on that voyage. Here he would go over the service to an imaginary congregation, after which he would return to his berth and turn in. In the early days of the voyage he was spoken to about his sleep walking, and, at his own request, was locked into his cabin one night. The result was that when he found that he could not get out for his sleep walk, he worked himself into a fury of rage and began smashing things in his cabin. At last the door had to be opened for fear that he would do himself some damage and after a great deal of coaxing he was got back to bed. For some days after this, however, he was in a pretty bad way and no further attempt was made to stop him walking in his sleep. The second case was of a young man who generally appeared on deck for about an hour each night. On one occasion the officer of the watch, thinking that he was too close to the side of the ship and fearing that he might get on the rail or fall overboard, touched him with a view to getting him away. The somnambulist at once grappled with the mate and was only mastered after over a quarter of an hour's desperate struggle. 176 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS As on an ordinary occasion the mate in question could probably have accounted for three men of the somnam- bulist's build and physique, the incident goes to prove that sleep vealkers, if interfered with, are possessed temporarily of a madman's strength. On her last trip the Sobraon arrived at Melbourne about mid -December, 1891, and after discharging took in sufficient ballast to take her round to Sydney. Here she was sold to the New South Wales Government, who turned her into a reformatory ship, and for the next twenty years she lay moored in Sydney harbour. In 1911 she was handed over to the Federal Government to be converted into a training ship for boys entering the Australian Navy. On being put into dry dock for survey, it was found that, in spite of her age, she was as sound as a bell. Messrs. Devitt & Moore. In Sobraon Messrs. Devitt & Moore undoubtedly had possessed one of the finest passenger sailing ships ever launched ; this firm, indeed, possessed a very keen eye where ships were concerned. The two partners started as shipbrokers, and loaded ships for the Aus- tralian trade as far back as 1836. They always loaded on commission, and I believe the first ships for which they did business belonged to Robert Brooks, after- wards the well-known M.P. for Weymouth. But the most famous shipowner who gave Devitt & Moore his ships to load was Dimcan Dunbar. And on the death of Dunbar in 1862 Devitt & Moore acquired an interest in several of his best ships, notably the wonderful old La Hogue, one of the favourite passenger ships to Sydney in her day and celebrated for her huge figure-head and single mizen topsail. DEVITT & MOORE'S SHIPS 177 Shortly before his death Duncan Dunbar had com- missioned Laing, of Sunderland, to build him a 1000-ton frigate-built passenger ship, to be called the Dunbar Castle. This ship, afterwards known as the "Last of the Dunbars " was launched in 1866, and sailed regularly in Devitt & Moore's list of passenger ships to Austrajia. The La Hogue, by the way, was built by Pile, of Sunderland, and measured 1331 tons, being one of the largest frigate-built ships ever launched. Devitt & Moore kept her in the Sydney trade, and so popular was she with the Australians that they would wait weeks and often months on purpose to sail in her. In 1866, Laing, of Sunderland, launched the equally wejl-known and popular frigate-built liner Parramatta, of 1521 tons, for Devitt & Moore's Sydney passenger trade. These two ships do not properly come within the scope of this book and I shall give a more detailed account of them in the next book of this series, which will deal specially with these frigate-built Blackwallers. Few shipowners can escape scot-free from disaster, and the firm's greatest loss was when their new ship, the Queen of the Thames, considered by many to be the finest ship that ever left the London River, was lost off the Cape on her first homeward bound passage from Melbourne. With La Hogue and Parramatta in the Sydney trade and Sobraon in the Melbourne trade, the house-flag was well known throughout Victoria and New South Wales. Nor was it less well known in South Australia; indeed Devitt & Moore's ships were amongst the pioneers in the passenger and wool trade of Adelaide. 178 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS " City of Adelaide " and " South Australian." In the Adelaide trade, the beautiful little composite ships of Devitt & Moore rivalled those of the Orient and Elder Lines. Of these little clippers the best known passenger ships were the City of Adelaide and South Australian. The City of Adelaide was launched in 1864 from Pile's yard, her measurements being : — Registered tonnage . . . . . . . . 791 tons. Length 176.8 feet. Breadth 33.2 „ Depth 18.8 ,, She was a very fast little ship with a 65 -day run from London to Adelaide to her credit. The South Australian came out in 1868, also from Pile's yard, and measured : — Registered tonnage .. .. .. .. 1040 tons. Length 201 feet. Breadth 36 ., Depth 20.1 .. She had a poop 80 ft. long, and was classed 17 years Al. Though not as fast a ship as the smaller City of Adelaide, she was a very fine sea boat with very comfortable accommodation for first and second class passengers. She was commanded by Captain David Bruce, who with his three sons was very well known in the Adelaide trade. Old David Bruce was one of the good old breed of sea dog — a sturdy, weather-beaten, grey -whiskered Scot. He always dressed in black broadcloth, topped by a straw hat and puggaree. He possessed a merry wit — also a lame leg, which had been crushed by a run-away cask during a storm. His three sons served their time under him, and the commands of the City of Adelaide and South Australian seem to have been taken in turn by each member of the Bruce family. From an old lUhograph. "CITY OF ADELAIDE." David Bruce, Commander. 'SOUTH AUSTRALIAN." From an old lithograph. [To face page 178. DEVITT & MOORE'S SHIPS 179 South Australian was occasionally seen in Melbourne, but the City of Adelaide was always in the South Aus- tralian trade, and usually loaded wool at Port Augusta. Both ships were still running in the late eighties. The Speedy Little " St. Vincent." Messrs. Devitt & Moore always considered that the little St. Vincent, launched in 1865 by Pile, of Sunderland, was the fastest ship they ever owned. Her measurements were:— - Registered tonnage . . . . . . . . 892 tons. Length 190 feet. Breadth 35 „ Depth 18.9 „ She was also composite built, with a 68-ft. poop and 36-ft. foc's'le. With hard driving skippers, like J. Bissit and J. Barrett, she had as bad a reputation amongst foremast hands as the Orient flyers in the matter of wetness. However, she was such a beauti- fully modelled ship that she came to no harm in spite of generally travelling through the water instead of over it. But no hard driven ship comes through the westerlies year after year without a scratch, and one occasionally comes across such entries as the following in her log books : — 27th October, 1878. — Struck by a heavy squall, sustained severe damage to spars, losing bowsprit, headgear, etc. She was not often over the 80 days going out, and her times coming home would have been as good, if she had not come via the Cape and St. Helena like most South Australian traders ; nevertheless she was usually home in under 90 days. In spite of being hard driven for most of her life the St. Vincent was still afloat in 1905 as a Norwegian barque under the name of Axel. 180 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS " Pekina " and " Hawkesbury." Messrs. Devitt & Moore owned two other well- known clippers, built of wood. These were Pekina, 770 tons, built by Smith, of Aberdeen, in 1865 ; Hawkesbury, 1120 tons, built by Pile, of Sunderland, in 1868. The Pekina was in the South Australian trade, but the Hawkesbury always ran to Sydney. Though she had many fine passages to her credit, the Hawkesbury^ s chief claim to fame was her reputation for being the wettest ship in the wool trade. She was composite built, but the Pekina was all wood. Messrs. Devitt & Moore sold the Pekina in 1880, but the Hawkesbury was still in the Sydney trade in the late eighties. Mr. T. B. Walker. Messrs. Devitt & Moore, as shipbrokers, had many fine ships figuring in their books, notably Mermerus and Thessalus, and at odd times others of Carmichael's fleet. They were also brokers for Mr. T. B. Walker's speedy little barques in the Tasmanian and Brisbane trades. These sailed under the Devitt & Moore house-flag, and Mr. Walker occupied a room and his clerk a desk in their office. Mr. T. B. Walker was a very prominent man amongst London shipowners and for many years was chairman of Lloyd's Register. He was a shipmaster of the old school and took a great pride in his ships, and kept them up in most liberal fashion. One of his customs was to keep officers and apprentices on board whilst the ships were at home, an old pensioned cook going into the galley and acting as shipkeeper. Thus the Walker apprentices had a most valuable training in MR. T. B. WALKER 181 docking and undocking, shifting ship, refitting rigging, bending and unbending sail, etc., and a further result of this custom was that these pretty little barques were kept in such good order whilst at home that they came to be known as the West India Dock yachts. Jfr. Walker lived at Hackney and later at Snares- brook, and he used to arrive at the docks punctually at 9.30 every morning. By this time the decks of all the Walker clippers in port had been washed down, the ropes Flemish coiled, the brass polished and everything was in order for his inspection. And everything had to be in perfect order, for he had an eye like a hawk and nothing escaped him : the least thing wrong or out of order and he was sure to detect it. His captains used to assemble together to meet him and make a daily report on their ships. After Mr. Walker had made his inspection it was the long-estab- lished custom for his captains to conduct him to the West India Dock Station, where he entrained for his day's work in the City. In the spring when most of the ships were home, this procession of Mr. Walker and his captains from the docks to the station was a well-known sight of the neighbourhood and was referred to as " Mr. T. B. Walker and his satellites." Walker's Clipper Barques. Mr. T. B. Walker's long connection with the Tasmanian trade began in 1851-2 when he despatched the brig Arnon, of 338 tons register, to Launceston. She was commanded by Captain Benjamin Fowler, a brother-in-law of Mr. Walker's ; she arrived out of season and lay in port for some months waiting for the following season's wool, during which time Captain Fowler married a daughter of Captain William Nielley 182 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS (late 40th Regiment), of Rostella, East Tamar, Laun- ceston, and by so doing set an example which was followed by quite a number of Walker's skippers and officers. To name only a few, I may mention Captain Barwood, who succeeded Fowler in the Arnon and is, I believe, still living in Tasmania ; Captain Witting- ham, who was lost in the Lanoma ; Captain Smith, of the Westhury ; and Captain Brown, of the Corinth. To return to the Arnon, on her return trip besides wool, she carried the mails and a large shipment of gold. On his arrival home Captain Fowler transferred to Walker's new barque, the Henry Reed, of 495 tons, and finally commanded the Alfred Hawley, another new barque of 420 tons. Captain Fowler retired early from the sea and settled down in his native town, Scarborough, where he took a great interest in municipal and local affairs, becoming in turn Alderman and Mayor, and lived to a good old age, being greatly respected and esteemed by his fellow townsmen. In the early sixties Walker kept three ships in the Launceston trade, the Durnstan, Fugitive and first Westbury, all small wooden barques. He also had ships in the Queensland trade ; most of his ships were built by Pile, of Sunderland, as the following list of his later ships will show : — Date Built. Ship. Description Tons. Builders. 1863 Arab Steed wood barque 635 Pile, of Sunderland, 1866 Araunah 448 Gardner 1867 Westbury iron 493 Pile 1868 Decapolis ,, 632 , , 1869 Berean comp. ,, 526 1870 Corinth If i> 614 1873 Barossa iron ship 968 ,, 1876 Lanoma ,, barque 665 Austin Captain JOHN WYRILL, of " Berean." " BEREAN." From a painting in possession of the late Captain John WyriU, [To face page 183. THE BEBEAN 183 The beautiful little "Berean. " The best known, as well as the fastest, of all Walker's barques was the beautiful little Berean. She was built by Pile, of Sunderland, on similar lines to the tea clippers Maitland and Undine, and was launched in August, 1869. She was a 19-year Al ship, and so fine was the shipwright's workmanship that when she was 18 years old and due for remetalling, Mr. Spencer, Lloyd's senior surveyor, who was superin- tending the work, asked Captain Wyrill when she was last caulked, to which he got the reply : — " On the stocks before launching." Mr. Spencer could hardly believe this surprising statement ; he had the seams of the topsides put to the severest test, but was obliged to admit that they could not be improved, his opinion being shared by the master caulker. And the Berean continued to the end of her career without being recaulked ; even after years of carrying heavy ice cargoes when owned by Norwegians, it was not deemed necessary to touch her seams. Her registered measurements were : — Net tonnage . . . . . . . . . . 326 tons. Gross tonnage . . . . . . . . 542 „ Under deck 506 Length 160.5 feet. Breadth 30.2 Depth 17.2 She had a raised quarterdeck 43 feet long. This was laid with New Zealand Kauri pine planking, 4 inches wide, extending the full length without a butt, and what is more without a knot. All the deck fittings, houses, fiferails, skylights and topgallant bulwarks were of selected teak, the bulwarks being panelled M'ith fretwork designs. The boats also were of polished teak • in fact, the only bit of painted wood about the 184 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS decks was the longboat chocks. Even the bunk boards and linhig of the foc's'le were of teak. The Berean carried skysails for many years, and the following are her spar measurements : — Spars. Foremast. Mainmast. Mizen mast. ft. ft. ft Mast (deck to truck) 112 116 93 Lower mast (deck to cap) 50 54 50 Doublings 12 12 9 Topmast 38 38 29 Doublings 6.6 6.6 — Topgallant, royal and skysail masts 42.6 42.6 23 i Lower yard 62 62 — Lower topsail yard 55 55 — Upper topsail yard 50 50 — Topgallant yard 40 40 — Royal yard 30 30 — Skysail yard 23 23 — Spanker boom — — 44.6 Spanker gaff — — 44 Bowsprit and jibboom 48 Berean's best point of sailing was with a whole sail breeze and smooth water, the wind quarterly or 2 points abaft the beam. Her best run in the 24 hours was 315 miles. She was, of course, too small and hardly powerful enough to equal the larger iron clippers when running down the easting, but in moderate weather there were not many ships which could show her their sterns. The following sailing records will give some idea of her powers : — - Equator to the Channel First 4 passages out averaged First 4 passages home averaged 17 days. 77 „ 84 „ In sailing round the world from 30° S . , 20° W. , to 30° S, 20° W., her yearly average was from 80 to 85 days, her quickest circle of the globe being 76 days. CAPTAIN JOHN WYRILL 185 Hei best outward passage to Launceston was : — 71 days pilot to pilot. 68 days land to land. In 1881-2 she ran from Launceston to the Lizard in 79 days. During her first 14 voyages, all her passages were under 90 days. She generally left the West India Docks in May and was back in the Thames about the following March. Captain John WyriU. Captain John Wyrill, who, T am glad to say, is still hale and hearty, took Berean from the stocks and only left her when she changed her flag. He is one of the few sailors left of the good old sort, for he has the distinction of never having served in a steamship. Coming from one of the foremost seafaring families in Scarborough, Captain Wyrill went to sea as far back as 1850 ; his apprenticeship indentures were for seven years, but he was an acting second mate within three years of his going to sea. His first command in T. B. Walker's ships came about in rather a curious way. He was appointed to command a ship, belonging to Mr. Hodgson Smith, the father of Scarborough's present harbourmaster, in place of a captain who was ill. This ship lay in a South Coast port, but on Captain Wyrill arriving there to take up his command he found that the sick skipper had recovered and sailed on his voyage. Mr. Smith thereupon introduced him to Mr. T. B. Walker and his brother Henry Walker, who, by the way, were natives of Scarborough. Through them he obtained command of a ship called the Lady Stanley, his next command was the Asphodel, then the Velocidade, which he left to take the Berean. 186 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Captain Wyrill circumnavigated the gJobe no less than 36 times, and was 44 years in command of sailing ships, for 42 of which he was in the Tasmanian trade. Indeed no history of Tasmania's rise to her present prosperity and importance would be complete without some mention of the Berean and her commander. And when it was known in Launceston that Captain Wyrill was leaving Tasmania homeward bound for the last time, with the intention of retiring from the sea, a meeting ahd public send-off was arranged and a purse of sovereigns and an illuminated address were presented to the veteran captain by the Mayor of the town after several eulogistic speeches, in which Captain WyriU was referred to "as one of the most popular men ever connected with the shipping of Launceston." Like many another sailing ship captain, Captain Wyrill was no mean surgeon and the setting of broken limbs at sea held no terrors for him. He once made a very good job of his second mate's broken arm. The Berean was so free from accidents at sea that after she had been afloat some years the underwriters at Lloyd's offered to insure her at a specially reduced premium. Her most serious misfortune, whilst under Captain Wyrill, occurred whilst she was towing up to the docks from Gravesend. A large ship ahead suddenly took the ground and the Berean was unable to clear her, the collision costing her a new bowsprit, besides damages to figure-head and cutwater. Her narrowest escape from shipwreck was owing to a wrong light in 1888 in no less a place than the Channel. Fairplay, in criticising the misdeeds of Trinity House, gives the following accoimt of the incident : — The Berean, Captain WyriU, left London for the Colonies in the fall of last year. Before sailing the captain received from the Board THE BEREAN 187 of Barnacles notice that the light on St. Catherine's, Isle of Wight, was to be altered in October from a, fixed oil light to an electric flash with intervals of about five seconds. The captain, like a prudent man, entered this on his chart, so that it should not be overlooked. Before he left the Colonies, another notice of the inpending change was given him, and he was well armed with timely advice. He made his homeward voyage, and calculated he was ofE the Channel. He had not been able to get an observation for three days, but he felt sure of his position, and he shaped a course right up Channel for Beachy Head, A strong S.W. wind was blowing, and the weather was thick and dirty. .When he judged he had run his distance to Portland, he bore up a little for the English land to catch St. Catherine's light, and word was given to look out forthe bright electric flash. No such light was visible and the vessel was still kept away. Presently a dim light was seen 2 points on the starboard bow. At first this light looked green and was taken to be the starboard light of an approaching ship, and the helm was starboarded a little to give more room. A little time .showed that idea to be wrong, and eyes were still strained to catch St. Catherine's with no result. Then the light seen was taken for a steamer's masthead light, but that notion did not do, and it was quite clear that the light, let it be what it might, was a fixed shore light. Over went the lead, and the soundings showed the shore to be handy, but what shore ? Or what part of the shore ? Clearly not off St. Catherine's, because according to notice given there could be no fixed light there. The course and soundings would have agreed with the French shore in the neighbourhood of Cape I.a Hogue. Something had to be done, and quickly. The light was getting clearer but no land could be seen. If the vessel was on the French coast it would be fatal to haul her wind, if on the English coast it would be destruction to bear up. What was to be done ? Over went the lead again. Twelve fathoms. That was enough, thank you. There was too much sea on to stay the ship in a hurry, so the captain wore her round and stood off on the port tack to get back where he came from. The compass soon show^ed that the flood tide was setting the vessel in by the light, and there was nothing for it but to wear again and get out past the light on the old course, if it could be done. The captain took the wheel, and calling to the crew to pull hard if ever they pulled in their lives, sent her round again. It was hit or miss, but the vessel was smart, and was smartly handled. She came round like a duck and just managed to go clear of the light, which after all, turned out to be St. Catherine's. It had never been altered. The *' Berean's " Races. In her 27 years of sailing out to the Antipodes and home, the Berean had many a contest with clippers 188 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS twice her size, in which she gave a very good account of herself. Captain Wyrill gave a very interesting description of three of these encounters in the Nautical Magazine a few years ago, and I do not think I can do better than quote his own words. He writes : — Coming home from Tasmania in the Berean early in 1870, about the equator and Hearing the tedious " variables," alias " doldrums," alias " horse latitudes," we overhauled the clipper ship Yosemite, from San Francisco for United Kingdom for orders. Her captain signalled for permission to come on board, and a prompt reply of welcome went up. The captain reported himself tired and restless, that he was racing home with two or three ships, and was anxious to know what vessels we had spoken. My list was produced, but none of his com- petitors was in it. After a pleasant visit the captain returned to his ship giving me the names of two of his antagonists. Berean gradually crept away from Yosemite, and in about two days she had dipped below the horizon, but was still visible from aloft. By this time we were, coming up with two ships, which, by their spread of stunsails, water-sails, Jimmy Greens, etc., were evidently in a great hurry. In exchanging signals they proved to be the two vessels racing the Yosemite, viz., ship Lady Blomfield and barque Cerastes ; the latter was slightly ahead. We passed within hail of t^e Lady Blomfield, and when I reported the Yosen^ite not far astern the cap'ain was greatly excited. Throwing up his cap, he exclaimed, " Go and tell the other ship there is a bet of £100 between them." A hand went aloft and pointed out the Yosemite astern. Shortly after we sailed alongside the Cerastes, but the captain took the news of the racer's proximity very calmly and seemed to be surprised she was so near. We gradually got away from these two ships and saw no more of them. On arrival in the English Channel I sent a report ashore which appeared in the Shipping Gazette, and I found considerable interest was being taken in this race. I was interviewed by Yosemite' s agents as to my opinion which ship would win. Two or three days after Berean arrived in London Cerastes reached Queenstown, and was the winner of that race. In 1893, homeward bound from Tasmania to London, Lat. 19° S., Long. 22° W., Berean fell in with Geo. Thompson's Aberdeen White Star clipper Samuel Plimsoll from Sydney to London ; strong S.E. trade wind, squally. At daylight the two ships were exactly abeam of each other, and throughout the day neither could gain an inch. (The old man of the Samuel Plimsoll stamped up and down his poop all day in a THE BEREAN 189 very excited state of mind and kept exclaiming, " A little thing like that hanging on to me like a flea and I cannot shake her off.") The royals were frequently lowered during the squalls and hoisted again when they had passed. Samuel Plimsoll steering slightly more easterly, the two ships gradually closed, and if the respective courses had been continued roust have collided. Berean, being the windward ship, was bound to give way, so at sundown she was shaken up in the wind and the Samuel Plimsoll allowed to pass ahead. At daylight next day, the Aberdeen clipper was well out to windward and slightly ahead, and in that bearing the ships parted, seeing no more of each other. Unfortunately, in the chops of the Channel, Berean was surrounded with a fleet of herring nets, some of which clung to her the rest of the passage impeding her speed. Samuel Plimsoll arrived at Gravesend an hour or two ahead, but being too early in the tide had to anchor. Berean, being of lighter draught, passed her and was first in dock. But for the detention through fouling the nets, in all probability these two ships would have reached Gravesend together after a race of 6000 miles. In 1895, when outward bound to Tasmania and in the doldrums north of the equator, Berean fell in with the four-master Loch liner Loch Carron, bound to Adelaide. The two ships after a. chat with signals parted on opposite tacks and did not sight each other again until crossing the Great Bight of Australia, when at lunch one day the welcome cry of " Sail-ho ! " was heard. Going on deck the chief officer and myself naturally looked ahead for the stranger, but a ship on our starboard quarter was pointed out. Berean was steering due east for Tasmania with the wind right aft, the worst point for fine-lined ships, head sails all becalmed ; the Loch Carron hauling up for Adelaide was carrying the wind 2 or 3 points on the quarter, all sails drawing, and was gaining on the Berean. When she got into our wake she kept off on the same course as if intending to speak, but finding she could not gain on that course hauled to again, crossing astern, and with the difference in the courses the two ships were soon out of sight of each other. The picture of the Loch Carron as she sheered away under all sail, scattering the feathery foam from her bows, still lives, forming one of the series of mental photographs an old sailor naturally collects. Another still more interesting meeting was with the famous Thermopylae. Both ships were outward bound, and the Thermopylae overhauled and passed the Berean to the southward of the Cape, the weather being unsettled, and the Thermopylae, being able to bear more sail than the little Berean, soon went out of sight ahead. Nevertheless she only passed CapeOtway 190 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS 17 hours ahead of the Beremi, so Captain Wyrill was not quite broken-hearted. On another occasion the Berean, when outward bound, crossed the southern tropic in company with Green's Melbourne (afterwards the well-known cadet ship Macquarie) and the little barque arrived in Launceston two or three days before the big iron ship arrived in Hobson's Bay. Again, when homeward bound, the Berean was passed oft the Falkland Isles in a strong breeze by Green's fast Blackwall frigate Windsor Castle, never- theless the Windsor Castle docked in London four days later than the Berean. All the above trials of speed were with vessels very much larger and more powerful than Mr. Walker's clipper barque, but the Berean once had a very inter- esting race round the world with another well-known barque, the little Harriet McGregor, of 331 tons, be- longing to Hobart. The two ships left Tasmania toother, and the Berean arrived at Gravesend, 90 days out, beating the Harriet McGregor by a week. On the return passage, the Harriet McGregor was loaded first and got away about nine days ahead of Berean, but again Walker's clipper got in ahead of her, this time by one day only, after making the run to Launceston in 77 days. " Berean " as an Ice Carrier. Mr. T. B. Walker died in 1894, and all his ships were sold two years later. Berean went to the Norwegians and was employed for the next 14 years carrying ice from Norway to the Thames. Captain Wyrill took over the Eden Holme and some of his old hands went with him. He was THE BEREAN 191 hauling into the London Dock after his first voyage to Tasmania in the Eden Holme, when the poor little Berean under her new flag was hauling out ; and the change for the worse in the old ship was so marked that one of her old crew remarked to Captain Wyrill with tears in his eyes : — " There she is, sir, but she looks very different from what she was when we had her. ' ' Nevertheless, though uncared for, the Berean still continued to make good regular passages, and was a constant visitor to the Regent's Canal Dock. But in 1910 she was run into by a foreign steamer below Gravesend, when inward bound from Langesund, and was towed ashore in a sinking condition. This was the end of her active career, for she was now condemned, and after being patched up went to Falmouth as a hulk. I saw her there not many years before the war, and the marks of the thoroughbred were still plain to be seen. Loss of the ♦* Corinth." The Corinth, Walker's only other composite ship, was lost by spontaneous combustion. In the year 1890 she sailed from Launceston, in the wake of the Berean, with a cargo of wool and skins, under command of Captain Littler. When she was a week out and about 300 miles S.E. of New Zealand, signs of fire in the hold were discovered early on a Sunday morning. Prompt measures to fight the fire were at once taken, everything was battened down, holes were cut in the deck, through which the hose was led and the wool bales were soused with water ; never- theless the fire gained rapidly and at 10 o'clock the same night the ship had to be abandoned. The crew got safely away in two boats and headed for the New Zealand coast, but with little hope of making the land 192 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS against the stormy weather of the prevailing westerly winds. After they had been five days and nights adrift, the smoke of a steamer was sighted about sundown ; then darkness set in. The provisions had become soaked in salt water but the shipwrecked crew had managed to keep a few rockets dry, and these were sent up one after the other in the hope of attracting the attention of the steamer. At last only one rocket remained, and after some discussion as to whether to risk it or keep it for a future occasion, it also was fired and was seen from the bridge of the approaching vessel. However, she showed no signs of having seen it in the way of an answering rocket or flare, so one can imagine the relief of the shipwrecked crew when her masthead and later her side lights were seen, steering end on for the boats. The steamer proved to be the Fifeshire, home- ward bound from New Zealand, and she took the Corinth castaways right on to London. A description of Walker's iron barques will be found at the end of Part III. The Little " Ethel." Perhaps the most familiar ship to old City men was the little Ethel, which under the command of Captain A. Ross ran for years with the utmost re- gularity between London and Tasmania, and when in the Thames always moored at Hayes Wharf, London Bridge. She was a composite barque of 556 tons and was built in 1866 by Pile, of Sunderland, and owned by Fenwick & Co., of London. The Hobart Barque '• Harriet McGregor." A still smaller ship than the Ethel in the Tas- manian trade was the smart little Harriet McGregor, HARRIET McGregor 193 which had the " round the world " race with Berewn. A. McGregor Avho built her was also her owner. She was built at Hobart in- 1871, and measured: — Registered tonnage .. .. .. .. 331 tons. Length 134.2 feet. Beam 27.6 „ Depth 15.9 „ This little ship for year after year did the following annual round with the regularity of a clock. On Christ- mas day she left Hobart for London, loaded with wool and sperm oil. She returned to Hobart from London with general cargo at 40s. and often more. Then she ran across to Mauritius from Hobart with coal, and returned with a cargo of sugar, in time to get away on her usual sailing day for London. The Fremantle Barques " Charlotte Padbury " and "Helena Mena." In the early days the Fremantle wool trade, including that of the Ashburton River and Sharks Bay, was all carried in the holds of fast clipper barques, such as Walker's Westbury, Decapolis and Corinth, and well worthy to be ranked with these were the Charlotte Padbury and Helena Mena, both of which were well known and much admired in the London River for many years. The Charlotte Padbury was a wood barque of 640 tons, she was built at Falmouth in 1874 for W. Padbury, of Fremantle. The Helena Mena was a composite barque of 673 tons, and was built by Thomson, of Sunderland, in 1876, for J. Wilson, of London. The Charlotte Padbury was wrecked in April, 1903, and the Helena Mena was sold to the French for £1275 in 1898. H 194 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS These were two of the last of the wood and composite clippers, for by the early seventies every shipowner, however conservative, found himself compelled to go in for iron ships, if he was to compete sucessfully in the world's freight market. PART III.— "THE IRON CLIPPERS." Fill us with wool till we're nigh overflowing, Send us away when strong breezes are blowing, And we'll show all the others the road. The tug boat is coming for us in the morn, We'll drive her like blazes from here to the Horn, For the main royal shall never be stowed — J. St. a. Jewell. The Introduction of Iron in Sliipbuilding. IT was the introduction of iron, as the chief materia! for the building of ships, that contributed more than anything else to the supremacy of the British Mercantile Marine. Iron killed the competition of our American cousins, who, as long as wood was the chief factor, were able to give us a hard fight as to which should lead the world in shipbuilding. Yes, it was the advent of iron, more than the North and South War, more than the sinkings of the Alabama, more than any slump in freights or foolish shipping legislation on the part of the United States, and more even than our adoption of Free Trade, which made the British nation the carriers of the world. Many people think, and they have been fostered in their belief by the good old conservative wood and hemp sailor, that iron also sounded the knell of the sailing ship. This is, of course, to a certain degree true, yet sail continued to flourish for 50 years after the advent 195 196 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS of iron, and up to the late nineties no finer ships had ever been built or sailed than the iron clippers from the Clyde and other British shipyards. It was the deterioration of the man before the mast which the advent of steam brought about, and the cutting of freights induced by coal, the cry for bigger ships and more luxury, and also, that soulless modern institution, the company manager, which drove sailing ships down and down in the trade of the world ; these and the growing desire for mechanical speed, which have invaded almost every department of life, killed the windjammer. But in iron, as in wood, sail had a zenith to reach before the decline set in, and through the last half of the nineteenth century the ports of the world were crowded with magnificent iron full-rigged ships and barques, such as it would have been hard to improve upon with all our new knowledge of wind pressure, streamlines, and least resistance curves. The Drawbacks and Advantages of Iron. Like everything else iron had its drawbacks as well as its advantages. At first its effect upon the dev-iation of the compass caused many a stranding and many a disastrous shipwreck. Then too, though an iron ship can be driven into a head sea in a way no dare-devil of a Yankee driver would have dared to attempt with bis soft-wood clipper, iron has not the buoyancy of wood, and the sight of a modern four- poster's main deck when running before the westerlies would have made a Black Ball skipper rub his eyes with astonishment. As a preventative of weed and barnacles, no anti-fouling has yet been discovered which can compete with copper, and thus an iron hull, THE SIZE OF SHIPS 197 especially if it had been long in certain well-known localities, was ever a handicap to a vessel's speed through the water. Iron ships have never been able to equal their wooden sisters in light winds, and this chiefly owing to the trouble of foul bottoms. The three chief advantages of an iron ship were firstly, that her hull would stand unlimited driving, especially into a head sea; secondly, she had more room for cargo than a wooden ship of the same size ; and thirdly, she was safer from that dreaded scourge at sea — fire. Increase in the Size of Ships. The chief change brought about by iron has been the increase in the size of ships. The old-style ship- owner held that a very big ship was a very big mistake. When the Jason, a 1500 -ton ship, went out to Calcutta at the beginning of the seventies, Patrick Keith, of Gladstone, Wyllie & Co., wrote to the Carmichaels, her owners, saying that she was far too big a ship for the Indian trade, and that Smith's smart little 1000-ton "Cities " were quite large enough. Yet on her last voyage to the Hooghly, 20 years later, the Jason was by far the smallest deep-water sailing ship in the port of Calcutta. The difficulty of working wood in big sizes kept down the tonnage in the old days, but with the intro- duction of iron this difficulty was at once removed. And iron masts and yards in the place of Oregon pine, and wire in the place of the tremendous hemp shrouds, solved the problem of rigging strain — thus, with sail as with steam, the first result from the use of iron was the steady increase in individual tonnage. 198 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Sail Plan Alterations. Iron masts and wire stays caused a big change in the sail plan of the full-rigged ship. The increased strength led at first to a certain amount of over-masting as well as over-carrying of sail, with the result that many a new clipper was dismasted on her maiden voyage. 1874 was a specially disastrous year in this way. No less than seven ships lost their masts bound out to Australia, and tlie Loch Ard was twice a victim. It was her maiden voyage, and she lost her ' ' gossamer, ' ' as Joseph Conrad poetically calls it, before she had cleared the land. She put back to the Clyde and refitted, only to again lose her masts running the easting down. About this date also a great number of iron ships were posted as missing, notably the Africa, Asia, Loch Laggan {ex- America), Cairo and Great Queensland. No doubt some of these losses were due to dismasting. It was not only that the ships were tremendously lofty, but their yards became squarer and squarer, until it was found that stunsails were a luxury. In fact, partly for this reason and partly owing to the com-^ petition of steam and the resulting need for economy, flying kites of all descriptions were given up and by the early eighties even a fore topmast stunsail was looked upon as a curiosity. The lesson of rigging strain had to be learnt with the iron clippers, just as it had had to be with the early wood clippers, but it was not long before the seas were crowded by perfectly sparred iron ships. Specially worthy of mention for perfection of sail plan were Carmichael's beautifulmain skysail clippers, such as the Golden Fleece, Jason, Mermerus, Thessalus, Argonauf- and others. Double topsail yards were followed before very long by double tongallant yards, then came the eclipse, and the MAINYARD TABLE 199 seas became covered with stump topgallant mast horrors and that pathetic sight, the full rig ship mas- querading as a barque. I give a mainyard table, which may be of interest as showing the development of width in sail plans. MAINYARD TABLE. Length Mainy'd Ship Tonnage Date Built Description. in Jeet 120 Great Republic . . 3357 1853 American 4-mast barque 108 British Ambassador 1794 1873 British iron "jute" clipper 102 Preussen . . 5081 1902 German 5-mast ship, nit- rate clipper 100 Hoyal Sovereign . . 1637* 1637 Brit. 1st rate man-of-war ■■ Daylight , . 3756 1902 Brit, steel 4-mast barque. Oil tank James Baines 2515 1854 "Black Ball" pass, clipper __ Donald Mackay . . 2598 1855 It tt It 96 Prince Royal 1187* 1610 Brit. 1st rate man-of-war Clary of the Seas .. 2103 1869 Amer. "C. Horn" clipper 95 Lightning .. 2084 1854 "Black Ball" pass, clipper „ Champion of the Seas 2448 1854 II II If , J Royal Charter 3000 1855 Brit, full-rigged auxiliary ,, Roanoke . . 3559 1892 Amer. wood 4-mast barque 94 Shenandoah 3258 1890 II II II 92 Diri^o 3005 1894 American steel 4-mast barque (British design) 90 Challenge . . 2006t 1851 American wood clipper _, Sovereign of the Seas 2421t 1852 II II II 89 Star of the East .. 1219 1853 New Bruns. wood clipper 88 Mermerus 1671 1872 Brit, iron "wool " clipper Loch Torridon 2000 1881 Brit, iron 1-mast barque 84 Ben Voirlich Loch Maree 1474 1581 1873 Brit iron "wool" clipper Port Jackson 2132 1882 British iron 4-mast barque 82 Cimba 1174 1878 British iron "wool" clipper Flying Cloud 1793t 1851 American wood clipper 81 Salamis 1079 1875 British iron "wool" clipper Witch of the Wane 1500t 1851 American wood clipper 80 60-gun ship 1500* 1800 Brlt.4th rate man-of-war Thermopylae 948 1868 British tea clipper Typhoon .. 1610t 1851 American wood clipper 79 Dreadnought 14131 1853 Amer. Atlan. packet ship 78 Cutty Sark 921 1869 Briti-sH tea clipper Hallowe'en 920 1870 British iron tea clipper Surprise .. 1361t 1850 American wood clipper 75 Roscius UOOf 1836 Amer. Atlan. packet ship 74 Norman Court 834 1869 British tea clipper 72 Ariel 852 1865 ♦Old. tAn nencan. 200 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The "Ironsides," First Iron Sailing Ship. The first vessel to be constructed of iron was launched in 1838, and appropriately named the Iron- sides. She was built at Liverpool by Messrs. Jackson, Gordon & Co., and in appearance differed very little from wooden ships of that date. She was very short, with heavy stern and low bow, out of which cocked an extremely long bowsprit and jibboom, whilst her masts in contrast to her hull seemed to rake the heavens. However she was the pioneer of the new material and at one time her picture was a common sight in shop windows. It is doubtful if she was altogether a success, and iron ships were still a rarity 20 years later. The ♦'Martaban." In 1853, an iron sailing ship was launched from the yard of John Scott, of Greenock, with intercostal plates and stringers. This was the Martaban, of 743 tons register, built for the well-known firm of Car- michael. Her specifications were the product of the brains of Matthew Orr, brother-in-law of the first Thomas Carmichael, and of John Ferguson, who was afterwards a member of Barclay, Curie & Co., the famous shipbuilders. The Martaban was classed nine years Al at Lloyd's, being rated equal to a nine years wooden ship. At that time Lloyd's had no rules or class for iron ships, so they retained Martaban' s original speci- fication as a basis for their rules concerning iron ships. That the Martaban was a success is proved by the fact that she received £4 a ton for a cargo of coffee and cotton from Bombay to Havre, and was offered a Diploma d'Honneur at the local exposition for delivery of her cargo in perfect condition. Mr. THOMAS CARMICHAEL, of A. & J. Carmichael. [To face page 200. THE AUSTRALIAN TRADE 201 Iron Ships in the Australian Trade. It was in the Australian trade that the iron passenger ship was to be seen in her perfection. She succeeded the great Liverpool clippers and the little Blackwall frigates, and she was as beautiful and perfect as any of her wooden sisters. In the sixties, seventies and even eighties thousands of emigrants were carried from the Old Country to Australia and New Zealand in these magnificent iron clippers. They also took out blood stock of every description from racehorses to pedigree bulls and rams ; and a nice time some of these animals must have had when the clippers were carrying on running their easting down. Most of the ships raced home again with wool for the London sales, but a few, notably Heap's fine ships, went on from Australia to India and Burma, generally with a load of walers for the army in India. In the Bay of Bengal they either loaded jute home from Calcutta or rice from Rangoon. Messrs. J. Heap & Sons were rice millers, and their ships took the firm's rice home. In the seventies and eighties these beautiful clippers were a never-ending interest in the London River, the Mersey, the Clyde and the great ports of the Anti- podes. In Sydney landsmen made special Sunday excursions to Circular Quay to see the ships, and it was the same with the other ports in the days of masts and yards. Every Australian, whether native-born o» new chum, kept a tender corner in his heart for the tall ships which had had so much to do with the develop- ment of his country. The Sydney-side native, indeed, not only took a pride in the regular traders to the port, but knew them intimately, and could generally b^ 202 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS relied on to name an incoming clipper correctly long before she had reached the anchorage. The New South Dock. A visit to the docks of the London River is only made nowadays from dire necessity. Their charm has entirely departed. Instead of a forest of spars, nothing now shows above the warehouse roofs but the soot- covered, stumpy masts, blunt -nosed derricks, and squat funnels of a few steamers. Trulj"^ the glory of the docks has departed for ever, and only the sentiment remains. Joseph Conrad, in his delightful Mirror of the Sea, thus describes the New South Dock in the days of the iron wool clipper: — To a man who has never seen the extraordinary nobility, strength, and grace that the devoted generations of shipbuilders have evolved from some pure nooks of their simple souls, the sight that could be seen five-and -twenty years ago of a large fleet of clippers moored along the north side of the New South Dock was an inspiring spectacle. Then there was a quarter of a mile of them, from the iron dockyard gates guarded by policemen, in a long, forest-like perspective of masts, moored two and two to manj stout wooden jetties. Their spars dwarfed with their loftiness the corrugated iron sheds, their jibbooms extended far over the shore, their white and gold figure-heads, almost dazzling in their purity, overhung the straight, long quay above the mud and dirt of the wharfside, with the busy figures of groups and single men moving to and fro, restless and grimy under their soarmg immobility. I have a photograph of the South Dock just as it is depicted by Conrad, showing the long row of lean, knife-like cut-waters, surmounted by their spotless figure-heads, and with their bowsprits stabbing the sheds opposite, whilst the masts and yards criss-cross the dull grey of the London sky. The Builders of the Iron Wool Clippers. Before proceeding to the ships themselves, I must not omit to say a few words about the men who built these splendid iron sailing ships. IRON WOOL CLIPPERS 208 The London River, partly owing to an ill-advised strike and partly owing to its distance from the raw material in comparison to the northern ports, entirely lost its shipbuilding business in the latter half of the nineteenth century; and +he builders of the iron wool clipper were pretty evenly distributed over the Clyde, the Mersey and Aberdeen. Once more, as with the tea clippers, there was a keen rivalry between Glasgow and Aberdeen, and it is difficult to say which carried the day, for both cities were represented by countless beautiful ships. Duthie, Hall and Hood had, however, to contend with more than twice their number of Clydeside rivals. If I were asked to give my humble opinion, I should award the palm to Messrs. Barclay, Curie & Co. for producing the most perfect iron ships that ever sailed the seas. They built many of the best "Lochs," such as Loch Maree, and the four- posters Lochs Torridon, Carron and Broom, They were responsible for the whole of Carmichael's splendid fleet, and the two famous ' ' Bens ' ' — Voirlich and Cruachan — emanated from their drawing lofts. Thomson, of Glasgow, built some half-dozen "Lochs," his masterpiece being the Loch Garry. The rest of the Loch Line were divided amongst Lawrie, Inglis, Henderson, and Connell. Duthie's finest ship was the Brilliant. Hall built the well-known Port Jackson, whilst Hood was the originator of all the Aberdeen White Star ships and also built the smart little Cimha. Heap's ships were mostly built by Evans, of Liver- pool ; and Potter, of Liverpool, produced the two well- known London ships, Thomas Stephens and Old Kensington. Of the other London owned ships, Hesperus and Harbinger worthily upheld the name of Steele, 204 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS while Pile, of Sunderland, was represented by Bodiiey. I must now turn to the ships themselves, and, taking them in order of date, will begin with that famous veteran the Darling Downs. The " Darling Downs." She was one of that numerous fleet of ships, the converted from steam to sail, about which one could make a largish book without much trouble. And she was one of the most successful of the lot. She was built as far back as 1852 and sailed under the flag of the General Screw Steamship Company, as the Calcutta, an auxiliary steamer with a 300 horse-power engine. Like nearly all early steamship businesses the General Screw S.S. Co. did not remain solvent very long, their ships were sold and were promptly converted into sailing ships, and in many cases renamed. As a sailing ship, the Darling Downs was a very favourite passenger ship to Sydney. Like all converted steamers she was a very fast sailer, and made very good and regular passages. After a prosperous career as a Sydney trader, she was finally run into and sunk off the Nore in 1887. " City of Agra " and " Sam Mendel." These two early iron ships were both exceedingly fast and made many a good passage to the Colonies. City of Agra once landed her passengers in Melbourne when only 65 days out from the Tuskar ; on another occasion she passed Port Phillip Heads on her way to Queensland, when 63 days out; and she made the run out to Lyttelton, New Zealand, in 71 days. In 1881, when commanded by Captain Young, she left Gravesend on 25th May, took her departure from the DARLING DOWNS." ' ANTIOPE." PlwUi by Captain SehuUe, Sydmy. [To face page 20i, EARLY IRON SHIPS 20S Lizard on the 29th, and crossed the equator on 17th June in 27° W., 19 days from soundings. Between the N.E. and S.E. trades, she had very squally variables and lost her fore topgallant mast. She crossed the meridian of the Cape on 11th July and ran her easting down in 39° and 40° S., making a very steady average, as her best run was only 270 miles, and she crossed the Leeuwin meridian on 30th July, signalled the Otway on 5th August and arrived in Hobson 's Bay the following day, only 69 days out from the Lizard. Sam Mendel is known for her 68 -day run from London to Port Chalmers in 1876. On another occasion, whilst racing one of the " Cities" to New Zealand, she lost her foremast, and I have a photograph of her as she appeared under jury rig. Both ships lived to a ripe old age. The City of Agra was wrecked on Cape Sable on the 31st March, 1907, when on a passage from New York to Bridgewater. The Sam Mendel, after being twice sold and twice renamed, the first time Charlonus and secondly Hannah, was at last condemned and broken up in June, 1909. Thus it will be seen that City of Arga was afloat 47 years and Sam Mendel 48 years, which speaks volumes for the good workmanship of their builders. " Dharwar." The Dharwar, which was one of Harland & Wolff's finest productions, originally belonged to the Indian " Iron Ship Company." Though the company made money in the early sixties, a slump in freights brought it into the hands of the Receiver after a very short existence. The Dharwar sailed for England in 1868, and on her arrival was bought by John Willis, 206 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS who always had an eagle eye for a good ship. He fitted her for emigrants and during the seventies she was usually carrying passengers outward ; later she became a favourite Sydney trader, and when loading at Circular Quay was usually to be seen on the cross berth opposite the old Paragon Hotel. A beautifully built ship, with teakwood decks, the Dharwar was also a very consistent performer, and made a good name for herself under Captain Freebody. Before settling down in the Australian trade, Captain Freebody took her to Calcutta sometimes for a Dundee jute cargo, he also took her across the Pacific, and made a very fine passage from Frisco to Liverpool in 1872-3 of 97 days. As late as 1902 I find the old ship arriving at Fremantle on 24th May, 80 days out from Barry. Willis even- tually sold her to the Swedes, who sent her to the ship- breakers in 1909, after 45 years of service. The Strange Career of " Antiope." The Antiope was one of the earliest of Joseph Heap's ships, and, like all his others, had a name which no sailor could possibly pronounce correctly. Indeed when she came out many an old salt shook his head over such a name. Who ever heard of a ship called the " Ant i -hope" coming to any good? However she upset the predictions of the evil prophets by being one of the luckiest ships ever launched, and at the present day must be one of the oldest ships afloat. She was Heap 's fourth ship, I believe ; her sister ship, the Marpesia, having been launched from Reid's yard four months before her. The first ship of Heap's " Thames and Mersey Line " was the little Hippolyta, of 853 tons, built as far back as 1856. Then came the Eurynome, of 1347 tons, built at Whitehaven in 1862. w o h- ( H 'A < THE ANTIOPE 207 She had an unenviable reputation for small collisions, so was generally known as the " You're into me. " For some years the Thames and Mersey Line was managed by Thompson, May & Co., of Water Street, Liverpool. The ships carried emigrants and general cargo from Liverpool to Melbourne, then crossing to the Bay of Bengal, often with walers to Madras or Calcutta, they came home from Rangoon w ith Heap 's rice . They generally sailed from Liverpool on the 10th of each month. In the eatly eighties the line was bought by Mr. Beazley to start his son, and was henceforth known as the Australian Shipping Company, managed by Gracie, Beazley & Co. The Antiope made her best passage in 1868, running out to Melbourne under Captain Withers in 68 days, and but for being hung up on the line for 10 days would have gone near to breaking the record. After Beazley sold her she was for some years in the South American trade. Then during the Russo- Japanese war she was captured by the Japanese whilst under Russian colours. The Japs sold her to Mr. J. J. R. Matheson, of Ladysmith, British Columbia, and for a short while she was in the timber trade. The world war found her lying in a New Zealand port, doing duty as a coal hulk for the Paparoa Coal Co. Here the Otago Rolling Mills bought her at a stiff price, and like many another old sailing ship, she came out of her retirement with a new set of wings in order to brave the German submarines and keep the old Red Duster flying. In 1916, she got ashore on the coast when making for Bluff Harbour in a gale of wind, and there she lay on her side in the wash of the tide for 96 days. At last, with tonnage pretty near worth its weight in gold, an attempt was made to float her. For this purpose a THE LOCH XINE 209 It was started in 1867 by two young men who had been in the employ of Patrick Henderson & Co. — these were William Aitken and James Lilburn. In the old days it was the custom for owners to make a daily visit to intending shippers; this was Aitken 's part of the work and he continued to make a practice of it long after other owners had given it up. Lilburn super- intended the loading and despatching of their ships, and so great was his practical knowledge and so keen his interest that it is no exaggeration to say that no ships were better kept up than the Loch liners. All over the world the Loch Line clippers were held up by seamen as examples of what well run and comfortable ships should be. A keen yachtsman and a one-time Commodore of the Royal Northern Yacht Club, Mr. Lilburn was a man who not only thoroughly under- stood ships but loved them for their own sake. And it is under such owners that sailors consider themselves lucky to serve. The ships carried first, second and third class pas- sengers outwards, and when steam began to cut in they still held on until they were the last of all the sailing ships to continue carrying passengers. Many an invalid or consumptive has gained fresh vigour and untold benefit -from a voyage to the Antipodes in a Loch liner. The saloon fares charged were : — £40 to Adelaide and Melbourne, £42 to Sydney, £76 for the round trip out and home. The "Clan Ranald," "Ben Nevis" and "Loch Awe. " Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn commenced business by chartering the Clan Ranald, Ben Nevis and Loch 210 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Awe. The Clan Ranald they eventually bought and renamed the Loch Rannoch. Captain Bully Martin, who was afterwards one of the best known skippers in the Loch Line, superintended the building of the Clan Ranald, and took command of her for the first few years of her existence. Bully Martin was a great personality amongst sailing ship skippers. He was a driver of the old type, and stories referring to Bully Forbes are often mixed up with those referring to Bully Martin. He nevertheless was such a consummate seaman that in 45 years' service as master he never cost the underwriters a penny, and only lost a couple of men, one through a fall from aloft and one from being washed overboard. He is said to have hated passengers. He served his time in Allan's beautiful little Transatlantic sailing ships — his first ship being the Caledonia, a full-rigged ship carrying royals and stunsails though only of 390 tons. She was commanded by Captain Wylie, Avho was afterwards marine superintendent of the Allan Line. After passing for mate, he obtained the berth in the 900-ton iron ship Shandon, which was fitted with patent reefing gear for topgallant sails, topsails and courses. She made three voyages a season to Montreal and in the winter ran to the Southern States for cotton. After four j'cars as mate, he obtained command of the Eden- dale, belonging to the same owners, Messrs. W. Kidston & Son, of Glasgow. His next command was the Lord Clyde, which he left for the Clan Ranald. He commanded her for two or three voyages and then went to Watson Bros., commanding the Ben Venue, Ben Voirlich and Ben Cruachan in turn, after which he returned to the Loch Line, and after having the Loch Ness and Loch Long, commanded the Loch Broom until he retired from THE LOCH LINE 211 the sea in 1907, the very year, curiously enough, that Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn sold his first ship in their employ. On 22nd February, 1907, the Loch Rannoch left Melbourne under Captain Morrison with the usual cargo of wool, hides and tallow for Hull, at which port she arrived on 8th June, 106 days out. After discharging she returned to Glasgow, and was then sold to the Norwegians. In November, 1910, she was again sold to the Germans, and has since been broken up. The Ben Nevis after making her maiden voyage under charter to Aitken & Lilburn became one of Watson's passenger ships to Australia. On 14th July, 1897, when bound to Dunedin from Glasgow, she unexpectedly appeared in Hobson's Bay, having put in to repair damages which had taken place 12 days before in the Southern Ocean. It appeared that she had been swept from stem to stern bj' a tremendous wave ; two of the crew had been taken overboard along with everything movable on the main deck; besides which the break of the poop had been burst in and the interior so gutted that her officers had nothing but the clothes they stood up in. The repairs cost £3000. In 1898 the Ben Nevis was sold to the Norwegians and renamed Astoria. On 24th January, 191»2, she was abandoned, dismasted, in the Atlantic, after being set on fire, her crew being taken off by the steamer Dungeness and landed at Penzance. The Loch Awe is known for her rfecbrd passage to Auckland, New Zealand, under Captain Weir. Gravesend to Auckland 73 days. Pilot to pilot 69 days. As far as I know this record still holds good. Captain Weir was a great driver, and the Loch Awe 212 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS came into Auckland with everything washed off her decks, including hen coops, spare spars and all her boats. She was carrying emigrants who had had a terrible time, having been battened down for days on end. On her arrival she was delayed a week, as she had reached Auckland before her papers, the mails in those days coming via Panama to New Zealand. The Famous "Patriarch"— First Iron Ship of the Aberdeen White Star Line. In 1869 the Aberdeen White Star Line gave their first order for an iron clipper ship, the result of which was the famous Patriarch, George Thompson was only con- tented with the very best, and Patriach was no exception to his rule. Built of the best iron plating at a cost of £24,000, she was considered the finest iron ship in the world when she first came out. She had a poop 90 feet long, under which extended a magnificent saloon. In her rigging plan she was a long way in advance of her times. Her topmasts and lower masts were in one, and her topgallant masts were telescopic, fitting into the topmasts ; and in the seventies she was fitted with double topgallant yards on fore and main, whilst she still carried stunsails in the eighties when most ships had discarded them. As a sea boat she proved herself on numberless occasions, notably in the Indian cyclone of 1892, which she weathered out with only the loss of a life- boat, whilst the fine Loch liner, Loch Vennachar, was totally dismasted 70 miles away. She possessed that very rare quality in iron vessels — dryness. And during her life of 29 years under the Red Ensign she never had a serious accident and never made a bad passage. Patriarch's best 24 hours' run was 366 miles, and W^ffi YJ K o I— I H < PATRIARCH 218 her best week's run was 2060 miles, her main royal being set the whole time. Patriarch was no doubt lucky in her captains : Captain Pile took her from the stocks until 1876, Captain Plater had her ten voyages from 1877 to 1887, Captain Allan from 1887 to 1890, and Captain Mark Breach took her until she was sold in 1898, during which time, he says, that she never stranded a ropeyarn. Patriarch's maiden voyage was almost as much of a record as Thermopylae's, each passage being the best ever made by an iron ship at that date. On her outward passage with 40 passengers and a large general cargo, she arrived in Sydney on 10th February, 1870, only 67 days from pilot to pilot, and 74 anchorage to anchor- age. And on the homeward run she went from Sydney Heads to the West India Dock in 69 days. This was an extraordinary performance, as anything under 90 days is very good for an iron ship on the homeward passage. After this the Patriarch was one of the most regular ships in the Sydney trade. She was never much over 80 days going out, and though she never repeated her maiden performance coming home her passages were most consistent and she only twice ran into three figures in over 20 passages from Sydney. In 1897-8 the good old ship sailed her last voyage under the Red Ensign — a round of London, Sydney, Newcastle, N.S.W., Manila and home in 13 months. On his arrival Captain Mark Breach was horrified to fmd that his beloved ship had been sold to the Norwegians for a paltry £3150, and on 1st November, 1898, he hauled down the celebrated house-flag and handed her over to her new owners. For another 14 years she washed about the seas, 214 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS unkempt, bare of paint and forgotten . Of her passages in this condition, I have picked out a couple at random ; — 1908 MonteVideoto Port Victoria (Make) 64 days. 1910 Bantjar (Java) toDelegoaBay 57 days. On Christmas Day, 1911, she left Algoa Bay for a Gulf port, and on 23rd February, 1912, got ashore on Cape Corrientes, south of the River Plate, and becantie a total loss. The •' Thomas Stephens." The Thomas Stephens was one of the best known ships of her day. When she came out she was considered the most up-to-date and perfectly appointed passenger sailing ship ever built on the Mersey. She was in- tended for the old Black Ball Line, but never actually sailed under the famous flag, but sailed as one of the London Line of Australian Packets (Bethell & Co.). She was owned by Thomas Stephens & Sons, of London. Captain Richards, the well-known commander of the Donald Mackay, superintended her building and fitting out and eventually left the Donald Mackay to command her. The Thomas Stephens soon proved herself one of the fastest iron ships afloat, and a very successful ship financially. She was beautifully sparred, crossing three skysail yards, and was a very lofty ship — one of the tallest ships, indeed, that ever sailed either from the Mersey or the Thames ; and she carried all her stunsails well into the eighties. At first she was fitted with single topgallant yards, but followed the fashion for double topgallant yards before she had been afloat many years. She was launched in July, 1869, and left Liverpool on 24th September, with a full passenger list for Mel- bourne, arriving out on 15th December in 82 days. C/3 w K w H m s g Si THOMAS STEPHENS 215 On her -second voyage she left Liverpool on 9th September, 1870, and anchored in Hobson's Bay on 21st November, 73 days, port to port. After this she always sailed from London as one of the London Line of Packets, along with her great rival The Tweed. And for her third voyage, I find the following advertisement in the Times of 5th October, 1871. MELBOURNE— LONDON LINE OF PACKETS. THOMAS STEPHENS. R. Richards (so well and favourably known when in command of the Donald Mackay and Great Victoria), commander. This superb clipper, 1507 tons registered, of the highest class at Lloyd's, and owned by Messrs. Thomas Stephens & Sons, is one of the finest specimens of marine architecture afloat, and made her last passage in 6i days. Constructed specially for the Australian passenger trade. Her spacious full poop saloon is fitted with bathrooms, cabin furniture, bedding, and every convenience. The second and third cabins are most com- fortable. Carries a surgeon. — Bethell & Co., Cowper's Court, Cornhill, E.C. Thomas Stephens left London on 26th October, 1871, for Melbourne, her great antagonist The Tweed sailing for Sydney about the same date. She crossed the line on 20th November in long. 29° 57' W., making 12 knots with the S.E. trade blowing steadily from S.E. by S. Her best run was 315 miles in a 23|-hour day when running down her easting. This was from Saturday, 9th December to Sunday, 10th December, and her log book gives the following details : — Saturday, 0th December, 187L— Lat. 44° 50' S., long, 20° 34' E Courses S.E. by E. J E., S. by E., S.E. by E. J E., S.S.E., S.E. Winds E.N.E., E. by N., variable, west. A.M., strong wind and squally, logging 10 knots. U a.m., heavy squalls, handed topgallant sails, crossjack, spanker and outer jib. P.M.. squally with heavy rain. 4 p.m., set main topgallant sail. .9 p.m., wind veering into westward; set fore topgallant sail and main topgallant staysail. Midnight, logging 16 knots during last four hours Sunday, 10th December, 1871.— Lat. 44° 48' S., long 27° 57' E. Courses S.E. J E., S.E. Winds west, N.W. Distance 315 miles. A.M. 216 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS heavy gale, high cross sea; ship labouring and straining heavily; decks at times completely flooded fore and aft. I a.m., main topgallant staysail stay carried away. 7 a.m., continuation of gale, logging 16 knots Freavy sea struck ship on starboard quarter, washing starboard lifeboat out of davits, completely flooding main deck and washing away main hatch-house. 9.30 a.m., gale moderating, made all plain sail, still logging 16 knots. P.M.. moderate with high cross sea; decks completely flooded ; have logged 16 knots during last 16 hours. On Friday, 29th December, the westerlies were so strong that the Thomas Stephens had to be hove to for 4| hours, the gale being preceded by six hours' calm with fog; the log reads as follows : — Friday, 29th December, 1871.— Lat. by ace. 45° 21' S., long. 129° 7' E. Courses N.E., E.N.E., E. by S., N.N W., N.E. Winds variable, calm, N.W., west. A.M., light variable airs, thick foggy weather. Watch hauling up cable. 10 a.m. strong breeze, dull cloudy weather, logging 12 knots. 3.30 p.m., strong , gale, handed topgallant sails. 4 p.m., gale still increasing, handed upper topsails, courses and jib. Brought ship to the wind under lower topsails. Heavy sea running; decks completely flooded. 8.30 p.m., wind veering into S.W. Wore ship off before the wind. 10 p.m., set foresail and upper fore topsails, logging 10 knots. On Saturday, 30th December, the gale still continued and the log book records : — Lat. by ace. 43° 57' S.. long. 134° 27' E. Courses N.E., N.E ^ N. Winds W.S.W. A.M., strong gale, high sea. Shipping a quantity of water over all, logging 13 knots. 4 a.m., set upper main and mizen topsails. 7 a.m., set topgallant sails, weather moderating, logging 12 knots. 10 a.m., heavy sea. Decks at times completely flooded. P.M., strong gale and heavy sea. Shipping a quantity of water over all, logging 13 knots. 10 p.m., gale increasing. Handed fore and mizen topgallant sails, logging 14 knots. 10.30 p.m., handed main topgallant and mizen topsail. Midnight, strong gale and high sea; have logged 14 knots during last six hours. On Tuesday, 2nd January, 1872, Cape Otway bore north, distant 2 leagues; at 7 a.m. the pilot came on board and took charge, and at 1 p.m. the Thomas Stephens came to anchor in Hobson's Bay, 66 days out from her Channel pilot. From Melbourne she went THOMAS STEPHENS 217 across to Calcutta in 45 days, with waters on board, and loaded jute home, the usual round of first-class ships in the seventies. During her long and successful career she usually loaded outwards to Melbourne or Sydney; but in 1879 on her twelfth voyage she went out to Otago, and on her thirteenth left Liverpool on 29th April and arrived at Rangoon on 21st July, 83 days out. In 1881 she went out to San Francisco in 124 days from Holyhead, and coming home to Falmouth in 98 days. Except for an occasional run to Frisco, Calcutta or Rangoon, she was kept regularly in the Sydney trade during the eighties and nineties. The following is a list of her best sailing records : — • 16 knots for 16 successive hours, 10th December, 1871, in 44° 48' S., 28° 7' E. 1000 miles in 70 hours. 16 days (the record) from Cape Horn to the line, under Captain Robertson. 1870 Liverpool to Hobson's Bay; Sept. 9 to Nov. 21 , , . 73 days 1871-2 London to Hobson's Bay ; Oct. 26 to Jan. 2 , ,. 68 „ 1872 Melbourne to Calcutta; Feb. 1 to March 17 . .. 45 „ 1872-3 Lizard to Hobson's Bay; Dec. 4 to Feb. 11 , ,. 69 „ 1873 Ushant Sept. 3 to Nov. 8 . . 66 „ 1874-5 Lizard Nov. 22 to Jan. 31 . . 70 ., 1876 Lizard Aug. 7 to Oct. 24 . • 78 „ 1877 Tuskar Aug. 12 to Oct. 27 . . 76 „ 1878 Plymouth June 15 to Aug. 31 . . 77 „ 1880 Liverpool to Rangoon ; April 29 to July 21 . . 83 ., 1880-1 Frisco to Queenstown; Nov. 8 to Feb. 18 . • 99 „ 1881 Holyhead to Frisco: Jan. 12 to May 16 . . 124 „ 1882 Frisco to Falmouth ; June 7 to Sept. 13 . ■ 98 „ 1882-3 London to Sydney; Nov. 8 to Jan. 22 . ■ 75 „ 1885 Antwerp to Sydney; July 25 to Oct. 20 . • 87 „ 1886 London to Sydney; May 29 to Aug. 16 . . 79 .. In the later eighties her passages began to slow up for two very good reasons : firstly her sail plan was cut down ; and secondly her captain, owing to a very nervous wife being with him, made no attempt to drive her. 218 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Captain Richards had her through the seventies, except for two voyages in 1874-5 when Captain Bloom- field had her, then Captain Archibald Robertson com- manded her for half a dozen voyages, he was followed by Captain W. Cross, then Captains Cutler, Davis and Eelding took her in turn. The Thomas Stephens was a lucky ship and kept singularly free of trouble ; indeed she had no serious mishap until July, 1893, when she got well battered by a severe gale in 52° S., 130° W., whilst homeward bound from Melbourne with wheat. Her bulwarks were carried away from the fore rigging to abaft the main rigging on the starboard side and her main deck was swept clean. She put into Callao for repairs, but she was not leaking and her cargo was found to be undamaged. On her following voyage she got into more serious trouble in battling to get to the westward of Cape Stiff. She sailed from Barry on 27th December, 1894, and was partially dismasted off the pitch of the Horn. Put back to the Falklands, arriving in Stanley harbour on 28th February, 1895. Captain Belding, however, refused to agree to the extortionate demands of the Stanley ship- wrights, and sailed for Capetown under jury rig, arriving there 14th May, 1895. Here he refitted, and leaving Table Bay on 22nd June arrived at Esquimalt by the eastern route on 24th September. This unfortunate voyage terminated her career under the Red Ensign, for on her arrival home in 1896 the Thomas Stephens was sold to the Portuguese Government. The Portuguese have a singularly shrewd eye for a ship; and in this year they bought at breaking up prices three of the finest and fastest ships ever built, namely tho Thomas Stephens, Cutty Sark and Thermopylae, THOMAS STEPHENS 219 Captain Belding was retained to sail the Thomas Stephens to the Tagus under her new flag. He had a Portuguese crew, and the passage was not without incident, for a fire broke out on board and it was chiefly owing to Captain Belding's personal bravery that it was extinguished. Indeed so pleased were the Portuguese with his behaviour that they presented him with a service of plate and a Portuguese Order, at the same time asking him to continue in command. For many years after this the Thomas Stephens served as a naval training ship in the Tagus in conjunction with the Thermopylae. She survived the famous tea clipper, however, and many a British naval officer has probably been aboard the famous old ship without realising that, disguised under the name of Pero d'Alemguer, floated one of the crack Australian passenger ships of the seventies. The Great War found her lying a hulk in the Tagus. The Portuguese fitted her out when tonnage began to get scarce in 1915, and sent her across to America. On her return passage to Lisbon in January, 1916, she was posted as missing — possibly a Hun torpedo sent her to the bottom — and that terrible word " missing " may be hiding some awful tragedy or glorious heroism. Anyhow her name goes on the " Ships' Roll of Honour in the Great War, ' ' along with more than one of her sisters in the Australian trade. The First Six Ships of the Loch Line. Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn started their venture with six splendid ships, of 1200 tons each, all built during 1869-70. These were the Loch Katrine, Loch Earn, Loch Lomond and Loch Leven, all built by Lawrie, of Glasgow, and the Loch Ness and Loch Tay, built by Barclay, Curie & Co. 220 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS At first it had been intended to name the ships after clans, but the Clan Line registered first, and so at the start the "Lochs " were advertised as the " Clyde Line of Clipper Packets. " The LochKatrine was the first ship away. She arrived in Hobson's Bay under Captain M'Callurn, on 20th December, 1869, 81 days out from Glasgow. The Loch A^css, Captain Me iklejohn, arrived on 13th January, 1870; the Loch Toy, Captain Alex. Scott, on 12th February, 1870; the Loch Earn, Captain W. Robertson, on 31st March, 1870 ; the Loch Lomond, Captain Grey, R.N.R. , on 26th May, 1870; and the Loch Leven, Captain Branscombe, on 19th August, 1870. Of the six clippers, the Loch Tay made the best passage out, being only 73 days, anchorage to anchorage. Running her easting down, her best week's run was over 2000 miles, and she averaged 285 miles a day for nine consecutive days. Stunsails and large crews were carried by the Loch clippers right up to the end of the seventies; and the following passages under these conditions will show their speed capabilities : — TUSKAR TO CAPE OTWAY. Loch Katrine . . 74 days Loch Earn . . 63 days Loch Ness . . 68 ,, Loch Lomond . . 76 „ Loch Tay .. 67 ,, Loch Leven . . 68 ,, Their average, pilot to pilot, 69^ days; port to port, 77 days. Four of these ships lived to a good old age, whilst the other two came to early and tragic ends. When sailing ship freights began to fall, the Lochs Katrine, Tay, Ness and Lomond were converted into barques, but in, spite of losing the yards on the mizen, they continued to make good passages right into the twentieth century. LOCH KATRINE 221 The F^och Katrine made her best passage in 1893, from the Channel to Melbourne in 71 days. In 1907 she was nearly lost running her easting down when bound out to Australia. It was blowing hard from the S.W., and a heavy sea broke aboard, tearing up the standard compass and washing it into the scuppers, besides smashing up a lifeboat and floating the gig out of its chocks. The next roller came right over the stern, crumpling up the wheel and binnacle and breaking in the cabin skylight. The men at the wheel were washed away, and the ship broached to, filling her main deck to the rail. All hands were called to save the ship, and as usual in such cases, it meant risking life and limb to venture along the flooded main deck and man the braces. However Captain Anderson managed to get his ship off before the wind and by the following night a jury wheel of capstan bars had been lashed on to the remains of the old wheel. Three years later, in 1910, the Loch Katrine was dismasted off Cape Howe. After a perilous trip of three days, a boat in charge of her mate was picked up near the land by a Swedish steamer, and a tug was sent out from Sydney, which found the disabled ship and towed her into Port Jackson. The Loch Katrine was then sold in Australia, and for some years earned a living carrying coal round the coast. So far as I know she is still afloat The fastest of these six ships, in my opinion, was the Loch Ness. In 1874-5 she beat the tinfe of her maiden voyage by going out to Melbourne in 67 days. The following voyage she went out in 74 days ; but what is more astonishing is the time of her passages, in her old age when cut down, rigged as a barque and with small and indifferent crews 222 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Under these conditions she made the following five runs home from either Melbourne or Adelaide: — 1893, 85 days; 1894, 87 days; 1895, 85 days; 1899, 90 days; 1900, 91 days ; and she finished her active career by two splendid passages. In 1906 she came home from Melbourne to Hull, laden with wool and wheat, in 79 days; and on 20th May, 1907, she left the Tail of the Bank for Adelaide, crossed the equator 28 days out, passed the Cape meridian on 9th July, and arrived at the Semaphore anchorage on 4th August, 76 days out. On 16th June when in lat. 3° N. she fell in witha9-knot tramp steamer bound to the southward; and the two ships were constantly in com^pany for 2000 miles, and it was not until they were south of lat. 30° S. that the steamer saw the last of the old Lock Ness. Running her easting down the Loch Ness averaged 245 knots for 18 consecutive days, her best day's work being just under 300 miles. Captain M. Heddle, who had previously commanded the Loch Rannoch. was in charge of the Loch Ness and deserved great credit for this fine performance as a wind up to the old clipper's career. The Loch Ness was sold in Adelaide along with her sister ship, the Loch Tay, and the celebrated pair are ending their days together as coal hulks for the N.D.L. Co. at Adelaide. There was probably not much to choose between the two sister ships in point of speed, though Loch Ness had slightly the better record. Loch Tay, however, had many fine runs to her credit. For many years she brought wool home from Geelong, her passages being most consistent and rarely being much over 90 days. The Loch Earn became world -notorious by her fatal collision with the French Transatlantic mail steamer LOCH LINERS 223 Ville du Havre. On 21st November, 1873, on a bright starlight night, the Loch liner struck the steamer right amidships, cutting her down to the water's edge. The Fille du Havre sank in 12 minutes, and Captain Robertson of the Loch Earn was only able to save 26 of her passengers and 61 of the crew, 226 souls in all going down in the Frenchman. The following day the American packet ship Tremountain was fallen in with, and Captain Robertson transferred the survivors to her and they were landed at Cardiff, Two days later the Loch Earn, being fatally injured by the collision, also sank, Captain Robertson and his crew being rescued by a passing ship. The Loch Lomond, which in her palmy days under Commander Grey, R.N.R., was known as the Scotch man-of-war owing to her smart appearance, was a steady going ship without any very special records to her credit. In May, 1908, she was sold to the Union S.S.Co. of New Zealand to be converted into a coal hulk. Loading a cargo of coal at Newcastle, N.S.W., she left there on 16th July, 1908, bound for Lyttelton, N.Z., under Captain J. Thomson. But time went by and she never arrived, and in due course she was posted as missing. The only trace of her that was ever found was a life-buoy which was picked up on the New Hebrides. The Loch Leven came to a sudden end on her second voyage. On 22nd October, 1871, she left Geelong for London with 6523 bales of wool on board, valued at £154,000. Two days later she stranded on King's Island and became a total loss. All her crew got ashore safely, but Captain Branscombe ventured back in a surf boat to rescue the ship's papers. The boat capsized and the captain was drowned. 224 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS King's Island— A Death Trap for Ships. King's Island, lying 80 miles S.S.W. of Port Phillip Heads, has been the cause of many a fine ship's end. Nearly 50 sailing ships, from first to last, have found a grave in the King's Island surf. A Captain Davis, who for many years carried cattle between the island, Melbourne and Tasmania in the coasting steamer Yambacoona, made a list some ten years ago of 86 ships known to have perished on the rocky shores of King's Island. This list, which was included with other interesting data regarding tides, currents and pilotage notes of King's Island, was used by the Hydro- graphic Office, Washington, U.S.A., and contains the following names : — Neva, . . ship wrecked 1835 Cataraque. ■ • ship 1845 City of Melbourne, ship , , 1853 refloated Walerwitch . . barque 1854 Bruthen, , . schooner „ Elizabeth, .. ketch 1855 Whistler. .. schooner „ Maypole, schooner 1856 Katherine, schooner 1861 Brahmin, .. schooner 18G2 Favor, schooner 1864 A rrow. . . schooner 1865 Dart. .. cutter .^ Netherby, . . schooner ,, ■ 1866 Europa. .. brig 1868 Omagh. .. barque ,, Helen Ann . . ketch ^j Loch Leven ship 1871 Ocean Brid gc, .. brig ,, Martha Lot initt, .. schooner ,, A rrow, . . barque 1873 Cape Pigeo n, . . cutter 1874 British Adi niral, . . ship „ Blencathra, . . barque 1875 Dart, .. ketch 1876 'MERMERUS" alongside. ■ MILTIADES." Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydneu [To face page 225, SHIPS LOST ON KING'S ISLAND 225 Flying Squirrel. . , schooner wrecked 1876 A brona. barquentine ,, 1877 Mary Ann, schooner „ 1878 Anna barque „ „ Peerless, ketch „ ,, Kalahone, .. barque „ 1879 Loch Lomond, schooner 1891 Garfield. .. schooner ,, 1897 Landisfame, ship „ 1904 refloated Earl of Linlithgow, ketch ,, ,, Clytie ketch #» 1906 Shannon, . . schooner ,, ^j On many parts of King's Island's rocky shore these wrecks have been piled one on top of the other, one reef of rocks alone tearing the life out of no less than six vessels. No doubt the list is far from being complete ; there was no light on King's Island in the earlier days, and this no doubt was the cause of many an unknown tragedy. "Miltiades." George Thompson's second iron ship was the beautiful Miltiades, for many years a favourite ship in the Melbourne trade. Like the Patriarch, she was built for the emigrant trade, and in the Australian papers was spoken of as " that mammoth clipper, ' ' though to modem eyes she would look quite small and one of the daintiest of ships. Unlike Patriarch she was a very wet ship, especially when running in heavy weather, but she was just as fast as the Patriarch, if not faster — indeed taking her average, both outward and homeward, I do not think that any ship can beat her record for an iron ship except the little Salamis, Captain Perrett took her from the stocks and had her until 1885, when Captain Harry Ayling assumed command. On her first voyage she carried stunsails, but when she got home the booms were sent down and never used again. 1 226 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Her best outward passage was made in 1873, being 70 days dock to dock, 63 days pilot to pilot. She left London on 5th May, dropped her pilot off the Start on 12th May. Had very light winds to the equator, crossed the line on 6th June in 27° 30' W., crossed the meridian of the Cape on 24th June in 44° S. On 24th, 25th and 26th June she ran 305, 310, and 345 miles. Crossed the meridian of Cape Leeuwin on 9th July, and was off the Otway on 14th July, only 20 days from the Cape, finally anchored in Hobson's Bay on the 15th; just 39 days from the equator. On this passage her decks were lumbered up with sheep pens, and one can well imagine what an unpleasant time those sheep must have had when she was running her easting down. In 1874 Miltiades was diverted from Melbourne to Wellington. Emigration to New Zealand was booming and many extra ships had to be taken up ; for instance the La Rogue took 443 emigrants to Wellington, the fine iron Calcutta clipper Ballochmyle took 484 to Canterbury and the Rooparell 361 to Auckland. The change was very near being the end of Miltiades, for she missed stays whilst beating up to Wellington and slid on to a reef. Captain Perrett immediately fired his signal guns and sent up a rocket to attract attention. Luckily for him the inter-colonial steamer had just rounded the North Heads bound in and at once went to his assistance, and after one or two failures managed to get the Miltiades off. It was not until many years later that the Militades was again seen in Maoriland, but in the early nineties she made the following fine runs home: — 1 890 Lyttelton to London, February 8 to April 27 78 days 1891 Wellington to London, January 14 to April 6 82 When the Aberdeen White Star sold their ships the THE MERMERUS 227 Italian owners of the Titania bought the Miltiades. She was finally condemned and broken up in 1905. Garmichaers Superb Wool Clipper "Mermerus." This beautiful ship was one of the finest and most successful of all the iron wool clippers, and as a specimen of an iron sailing ship she could hardly be beaten, either for looks, speed or sea worthiness. Barclay, Curie never turned out a more graceful and handsome ship as looks; and like all Carmichael's, she was most beauti- fully sparred, crossing the main skysail yard, which was so characteristic a feature of their ships. I give her spar plan below. SPAR PLAN OF MERMERUS. Spars Fore Main Mizen Masts — deck to truck . . 156 feet 161 feet 135 feet Lowermast 64 ,, 68 „ 56 „ Doubling 16J , 16i „ 14 , Topmast 67 ,. 57 „ 48 , Doubling 11 ., Hi „ 10 , Topgallant mast 32 „ 32 „ 26 _ Royal mast 17 „ 17i „ 15 J Skysail mast 13i ,. 13J „ 12i , Lower yard 87 „ 88 „ 73i , Lower topsail yard 74i „ 76 „ 62 , Upper topsail yard 73 ., 73i „ 60 , Lower topgallant yard 57i „ 60 „ 62 , Upper topgallant yard 56 „ 56 „ 45 Royal yard 44 ,, 44 „ 32 „ Skysail yard 32 ., Jibboom 72 ft. Spanker boom 55 ft. Spanker gaft 37 ft. This is her original spar plan. Barclay, Curie planned her spars for three skysails, but the fore and mizen were not sent aloft. Mermerus had a poop 54 feet long, and a foc's'lehead 32 feet long. She carried a cargo of 10,000 bales of wool, representing the fleeces of a million sheep and worth £130,000 more or less as wool varied in price. 228 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS She never made a bad voyage under the Golden Fleece house-flag, and the regularity with which she arrived every year in time for the February wool sales caused her to receive the most out-spoken praise. On one occasion, when as usual she had arrived in time and several notable ships had missed the sales, Mr. Young, of the Australian Mortgage Land and Finance Company, greeted one of the Carmichaels in Cornhill with the heart-felt remark: — "That ship of yours is the most satisfactory ship in the wool trade." Most of those connected with the Mermerus regarded her with great affection and spoke of her as a living thing. Mr. John Sanderson, a well-known Melbourne merchant, was often heard to say : — ' 'The Mermerus is a wonderful ship, I can always depend on the Mermerus." The Melbourne people, indeed, looked upon her as the pride of their port; and Lord Brassey, when Governor of Victoria, heard so much about her that he paid her a special visit and inspected her with the approving eye of a seaman. Captain W. Fife commanded her until 188S, and then Captain T. G. Coles had her until she was sold to the Russians. Except for her third voyage she was always in the Melbourne trade, but in April, 1874, she went out to Sydney. On this passage she took out a dozen South Sea Island missionaries as passengers. Whilst in the North Atlantic she happened to be becalmed for a few hours, and several turtle were noticed lying asleep on the water close to her. Captain Fife, who was a great fisherman, immediately launched a boat and succeeded in capturing six of them. The Mermerus duly arrived in Sydney early one morning in June after a splendid passage of 72 days. The passengers, on the morning of her* arrival, were THE MERMERUS 229 joined at breakfast by a troop of friends, who so enjoyed themselves that they all returned, sky -pilots and friends as well, to the mid -day shipboard dinner, and at its finish declared that they would all return again for supper. This was too much for Captain Fife and he plainly said so. The parsons thereupon began grumb- ling at his meanness, whereat the irate skipper fairly: boiled over : — "You are the greediest lot I ever carried, ' ' he thundered ; "on a 70-day passage you have eaten up 140 days of cabin stores and six turtle besides — and you call me a stingy Scottie. Now clear out and never let me see you again. ' ' This voyage she did not come home with wool, but went up to Newcastle, N.S.W., and loaded coal at 24s. for San Francisco. After making the passage across the Pacific in 56 days, she loaded 2420 tons of wheat at £4 Is. 3d. for Liverpool. She finally arrived in the Mersey on the 25th May, 104 days out from Frisco. This must have been a good voyage for her owners, as the freight on the outward passage to Sydney alone came to £5000. On her next voyage she left Liverpool Docks on 21st July, 1875, and went from the Tuskar to Melbourne in 69 days; this time she loaded wheat home. She made her best passage out in 1876; leaving London on the 25th June, she took in gunpowder at Gravesend, and arrived in Hobson's Bay on 30th August, exactly 66 days from the Gravesend powder buoys to Melbourne. The powder was only just 66 days on board, being landed on the 67th day. She crossed the line on 17th July and the Gape meridian on 6th August. Her best homeward run was made the following year, when she was 71 days to the Lizard, and then was held up by head winds. And in 280 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS 1886-7 she docked in London only 78 days out from Melbourne. And as she grew older, her splendid average in no way deteriorated. In 1896 she went out to Melbourne in 76 days, and in 1897, her last voyage under the British flag, she went out in 77 days. She was then sold to the Russians, but they kept her going. On 4th February, 1902, she arrived at Port Adelaide from Cardiff only 73 days out, whilst in 1904 she made the best passage home from the Antipodes of the year, from Adelaide to the Wight in 69 days. This beautiful ship came to her end at the beginning of December, 1909. She had sailed from Frederickstadt on 29th November, timber laden for Melbourne, and stranded near Christiansand in a heavy fog; she was floated again, but was found to be so damaged that it was not thought worth the money to repair her, so on 28th April, 1910, she was sold to the shipbreakers. Devitt & Moore's ««Collingwood." Collingwood was Devitt & Moore's first venture into the Melbourne wool trade. She was one of the early Aberdeen built iron clippers, and thoroughly looked her part. Though she made no very remarkable passage, her voyages were very regular, and it was not often that she missed the wool sales. You could not wear out these early iron ships, and the Collingwood has the distinction of being on the " Ships' Roll of Honour in the Great War, ' ' being sunk by a German submarine; on 12th March, 1917, whilst under Norwegian colours. The story is of the usual kind. The officers and crew of the U-boat were drunk with champagne and cognac obtained from the French ship Jules Gomme's, which they had sunk two hours previously. The crew of the P Pi W Pk m W K THE COLLINGWOOD 281 Collingwood were given ten minutes only to get clear of the ship, Xhe captain^ being a neutral, naturally wanted his papers examined for contraband, but the German U-boat commander sneeringly told him that there would be time enough to examine them when the submarine got home, and so one more was added to Germany's long list of crimes, and the famous old flyer sank beneath the waves after 45 years of honest service. •' Hesperus " and "Aurora," the First Iron Ships of the Orient Line. In 1873-4 Robert Steele & Co., the celebrated builders and designers of some of the fastest and most beautiful tea clippers, built two magnificent iron clippers for the Orient Line. These were the Hesperus and Aurora, sister ships. The Aurora unfortunately was destroyed by fire on hep first homeward passage, through spontaneous com- bustion of her wool cargo. This occurred on 9th August, 1875, in 40° N., 35° W., and she was finally abandoned in flames with fore and mainmasts gone. The Hesperus, her sister ship, is I, believe, still afloat. Steele put some wonderful workmanship into the building of these ships, everjrthing was of the best; deck fittings were all of picked teak, with enough brass to outshine a steam yacht. Besides being a very comfortable ship for passengers, Hesperus soon proved herself a hard ship to keep with. But like most of the big passenger clippers of the seventies she did not race home, but made a comfortable passage via the Cape. This ship, in fact, was never hard driven, or she would have had many more fine passages to her credit. She was a stiff ship in spite of a tall sail plan, and she 232 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS used to send up skysail yards in the tropics though she did not habitually carry them crossed. Anderson, Anderson kept the Hesperus in the Adelaide trade until 1890, when she was bought by Devitt & Moore for Lord Brassey's training scheme. The Brassey Cadet Training Scheme. In the year 1890 it was felt by the late Lord Brassey, Sir Thomas Devitt and others who were interested in our Mercantile Marine, that it was time some effort was made to train apprentices on the old system of the Blackwall frigates, whereby parents by paying a larger premium could be sure that their sons learnt more seafaring than how to wash out a pig pen or clean brasswork during their four years' apprentice- ship and also could rest assured that they would receive good food and treatment. This was all the more necessary because it had gradually come to be the custom in many sailing ships to use the apprentices merely as drudges to do all the dirty work aboard, the historic ship's boy having been for many years extinct on deep water ships; at the same time very few captains gave their apprentices any instruction in navigation. The result of this was that parents were less inclined than ever to send their sons to sea. With both steamship and sailing ships being run to the closest margin possible for the sake of economy, it was seen by those who studied the question that not only was the Mercantile Marine failing to get as good a class of officer as it should do, but also that if the condition of the apprentice was not improved there would soon be a shortage. A great deal of the glamour of sea life had already departed. Cleaning hen coops on a close-run wind- CADET TRAINING SCHEME 233 jammer had little of the old romance about it, and chipping iron work on a dingy steam tramp had even less. A few firms, of which those in the wool trade were shining examples, still took a pride in their ships and did not look upon them merely as a commercial asset, and these still took trouble to train their appren- tices. Beyond these and a few individual ships with conscientious captains, the apprentice was absolutely neglected, and of course the apathetic Board of Trade did nothing. The history of the Board of Trade has been mostly that of a masterly inactivity, and on the rare occasions on which it has displayed activity, it has not usually been for the benefit of the Mercantile Marine. It was entirely owing to Lord Brassey and Mr. Devitt, as he Ai^as then, that we possess such highly trained officers as those who now command the present day liners. They set the ball rolling which was later taken up by most of the big steamship lines. Luckily for the success of the venture, Messrs. Devitt & Moore possessed two or three captains in their employ who were specially fitted for the arduous task of controlling and teaching a shipload of 30 or 40 high-spirited boys. Of such were Captains Barrett, Corner and Maitland. The first two ships to be specially fitted to carry an extra number of big premium apprentices or cadets, as they should be called, were the famous Orient pair, Hesperus and Harbinger, which were taken over by Devitt & Moore for the purpose. The Hesperus as a cadet ship made some very fine passages. She left London on 11th September, 1891, and arrived Sydney on the 8th December 88 days out. There happened to be a gold rush up country and her crew cleared out, leaving the cadets to do everything during 234 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS the four months the ship was waiting for a wool cargo. The cadets were not idle and played the usual pranks of their kind, and finally the Hesperus left Sydney with the three brass balls of a famous pawnbrokers in Argyle Cut dangling from the end of her jibboom before the envious eyes of the apprentices of all the ships in port. On 11th October, 1892, she left London with Captain Barrett in command, F, W. Comer, chief officer, and Lieut. Hackman, R.N., as naval instructor. She was oft the Lizard on the 13th and crossed the equator in 30° W. on 8th November. The meridian of Greenwich was crossed on 29th November in 42° S. Her best runs in easting weather were 300, 302, 319, 326 and 328 miles, whilst her best week's work were 1880, 1840 and 1898. She arrived at Melbourne on 23rd December, 71 days from the Lizard. In the following year she again left on the 11th October and took her departure from the Lizard on 18th October. On 1st November, at 1.10 a.m., when in 26° 20' N., 17° 56' W., the shock of a submarine volcano made the ship tremble very much, though the surface of the water was not disturbed. The equator was crossed in 25° W. on 8th November. And on 30th November, the day before she crossed the Cape meridian, three icebergs were sighted. On 10th December with a strong north wind and smooth water, the Hesperus ran 363 miles in the 24 hours. This was done without the mainsail which, at 4 a.m., was badlytorn whilst all hands were attempting to reef it and it had to be furled. On 28th December at 6 p.m. the Otway was sighted during a strong southerly gale with heavy squalls ; for some hours the ship was hove to whilst the gale was at its height, but on 29th December the Hesperus anchored in Hobson's Bay, 72 days from the Lizard. X o I— I K M o > w pq < < O- The Tweed - Marpesia > Theophane Jerusalem Strathdon City of Hankow Loch Lomond Start May 12 Usbant Sept. 3 Tuskar Oct. 7 Tuskar Sept. 6 Start Dec. 6 Lizard July 6 Tuskar July 26 Lizard Sept. 6 St. Albans Oct. 17 Tuskar Aug 30 Lizard June 20 Start Aug. 23 Portland Dec. 3 Tuskar June 26 June 6 Sept 24 Nov. 2 Sept. 28 Dec. 30 July 30 July 26 Sept. 30 Oct 17 Sept. 2B July 24 Sept. 21 Jan. 1 '74 July 23 June 24 Oct. 16 Nov. 21 Oct. 22 Jan. 20 '74 Aug. 19 Oct. 26 Oct. 17 Aug. 22 Jan. 21 '74 Aug. 18 Not. 7 Not. 13 Feb.16'74 Not. 9 Sept. 14 Not. 7 &ept. 12 July 15 Nov. 8 Dec. 13 Nov. 14 Feb.16'74 Sept. 16 Oct. 6 Nov. 18 Dec. 29 Not. 12 Sept. 14 Not. 9 Feb. 19 '74 Sept. IS 64 66 67 68 72 72 72 73 73 74 77 78 78 79 The homeward runs I have had to put in the Appendix for want of space, as this part has run to far greater length than I had contemplated at first. The races to catch the wool sales will thus be found in Appendix F, under the heading of ' ' The Wool Fleet. ' ' Notes on Passages to Australia in 1873. The fine passage of Miltiades and the maiden passages of Samuel PlimsoU and Ben Cruachan I have already described. The 66 days of Thomas Stephens was a very fine performance. She left Gravesend on 0; AUSTRALIAN PASSAGES IN 1873 251 30th August, with a very heavy general cargo, which put her down in the water like a sand barge. She crossed the equator in 26° 55' W. and was then forced over on to the South American coast near Pernambuco by very unfavourable S.E. trades. The meridian of Greenwich was crossed on 12th October in 44° 33' S. Her best week's work running down the easting was 2055 miles, and she would have equalled the run of Miltiades but for 48 hours of calm in the neighbourhood of the Otway . She arrived in Melbourne after an absence of only seven months, including nine weeks in London. Loch Tay, which left Glasgow on 4th September under Captain Scott, also lost a day becalmed off the Otway. She crossed the equator in 29° W. and the meridian of Greenwich on 18th October in 39° S. Running the easting down she averaged 276 miles t "^ay for 19 days, her best day's work being 336 miles. Of the others nothing special calls for notice. Ther- mopylae left Gravesend on 2nd December, and had a light weather passage all the way, though she went as far as 47° S. in search of wind. Cutty Sark also was handicapped by very light winds. She ran her easting down in 40° S. with light winds and calms from the S.E. trades to Port Jackson. This was the Tweed's first visit to Melbourne. This magnificent clipper was probably the tallest ship ever seen in Hobson's Bay. And wherever Captain Stuart took her she compelled admiration both for her majestic appearance and wonderful sailing performances. Devitt & Moore's Crack Passenger Ship "Rodney." Messrs. Devitt & Moore always considered the Rodney to be the fastest of their iron ships. She was 252 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS also one of the finest specimens of the passenger sailing ship in its last phase. The following account from an Australian paper of November, 1874, will give a good idea of the Rodney's accommodation for passengers. It is also interesting as showing what was considered luxury in the seventies and comparing it with the present day : — To render voyaging as easy and pleasant as possible has long engaged the attention ol shipowners, but it is only of late years that it has become a special study to make the accommodations for oversea pas- sengers not merely comfortable but absolutely luxurious. The change in this respect since the time when only a certain amount ol cabin space was provided is something akin to a transformation. The worry and bother of attending to the fitting up, as well as the extra expenditure of time and money, are now avoided, and with very little need for previous provision or preparation, the intending voyager nowadays can step on board ship and find his cabin carpeted and cur- tained and fitted up with almost all the accessories and appointments of a bedroom in a hotel. An inspection of the Rodney will convince the most fastidious that the entire question of passenger comfort has been thought out fully and amply. The Rodney is an iron clipper of beautiful model and is what is termed a 1500-ton ship. She has been constructed specially with a view to the conveyance of passengers, and there are few sailing ships coming to the colony which have such a spacious saloon. It measures 80 feet in length and has berthing accommodation for 60 people. No cost has been spared in the decoration and embellishments, and yet these have not been promoted at the expense of solid and material comfort. The cabins are 10 feet square, and a number of the sleeping berths can be drawn out so as to accommodate two people. For each cabin there is a fixed lavatory, supplied with fresh water from a patent tap, and by the removal of a small plug in the centre of the basin, the water runs away right into the sea, so that all slopping is avoided. The lavatory is fixed on top of a cupboard, which answers all the purposes of a little chiffoniere, being fitted up for the reception of bottles, glasses, brushes, etc. There is also a chest of drawers in each cabin — a very great con- venience — in which may be kept clothes, books, linen and many " un- considered trifles," which generally go knocking about in ships' cabins at sea. The windows in the cabins are large, admitting plenty of light and THE RODNEY 253 air, and the passengers have easy eontrol over them. The ventilation, in fact, is all that could be desired. Good-sized looking-glasses and handy little racks for water-bottles, tumblers, combs, brushes, etc., also abound, and in other little matters the comfort of the passengers has been well cared for. The cabins are also so arranged that two or more or even the whole of them on one side of the ship afford communication to each other without going out into the saloon, and where families are together this is very advantageous. The bathroom occupies the space of one of the largest cabins, and hot as well as cold baths are attainable. The saloon is lighted by two large skylights, one of them being 21 feet in length. They are emblazoned with very pretty views of Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Capetown, these bqing the principal ports to which Messrs. Devitt & Moore's vessels trade. There is also a piano in the saloon., by which the tedium of a voyage may be enlivened, and the tables are so constructed that they can be easily unshipped and the saloon cleared for dancing. For gentlemen there is a capital smoking-room at the top of the companion leading from the saloon to the deck. The accommodation in the 'tween decks for second cabin and steerage passengers is everything that could be desired, and there is quite an elaborate system adopted for ventilation. Cooking can be done in the galley for 500 people, and there is a steam condenser, which can distil 500 gallons of water daily. The passengers of all classes who came out in this ship on her maiden voyage here expressed themselves wonderfully well pleased with the ship and her commander. Captain A. Louttit, Who has had great experience in the passenger trade. The Rodney's best passage was to Sydney in 1887, when under Captain Harwood Barrett, with Captain Corner of training ship fame as his mate. On this occasion she ran from the Lizards to Sydney in 67 days, and 68 days from pilot to Sydney. Her best passage home was 77 days from Sydney to London. Her best run to Melbourne was 71 days in 1882, and to Adelaide 74 days in 1880. The Rodney was sold in 1897 to the French and renamed Gipsy. On her previous voyage she had en- countered terrible weather both out and home, and was 254 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS even robbed of her figure-head by the raging sea; it was probably on account of the damage sustained on this voyage that Devitt & Moore sold her. On the 7th December, 1901, the Rodney was wrecked on the Cornish coast, when homeward bound from Iquique with nitrate. The ship became a total loss but the crew were saved. Nicol's "Romanoff." Romanoff was Alexander Nicol's finest iron clipper until the Cimba came out. Nicol's ships were always good lookers, painted Aberdeen green with white masts and yards and scraped jibboom and topmasts, they fully upheld the Aberdeen reputation. Romanoff was a fast ship, but was overmasted with double topgallant yards and skysails, and after a few years she was severely cut down. She was a very regular Melbourne trader. She ended her days under the Norwegian flag. Duthie 's ♦ ♦ Cairnbulg . ' ' The Cairnbulg was another Aberdeen ship, but she was in the Sydney trade. She was of about the same speed as the Romanoff, a fine, fast, wholesome ship without any very special records to her credit. She came to a most unusual end. After being sold to the Russians and renamed Hellas, she was sold by them to the Danes and called Alexandra. On the 26th November, 1907, she sailed from Newcastle, N.S.W., for Panama, coal laden. In April she was taken off the overdue list and posted as missing, being uninsurable at 90 guineas. The following June, one of her boats in charge of the mate, was picked up off the South American Coast. The mate then told the following ' THESSALUS." " THESSALUS." Photo by HaU & Co., Sydney. ITo .face page 25i. THESSALVS 255 extraordinary story: — On 8th May the ship was aban- doned owing to her provisions running out and for no other reason — as in every other way, both in hull and gear, she was perfectly seaworthy. The position of the Cairnbulg when abandoned was given as 500 miles off the South American Coast. A search expedition was at once sent out after her, but in vain. Some time afterwards she was found ashore on the rocks at Iguana Cove, Albemarle Island, with her back broken. Her insurances, hull, freight and cargo amounted to £30,000, and she was abandoned in calm weather through lack of provisions. This story is not to the credit of either her captain or her owners. The Speedy "Thessalus." Thessalus, Carmichael's largest three-master, was one of the finest and fastest sailing ships ever seen in Australasian waters. Though not a regular wool clipper like the Mermerus, she was well known both in Sydney and Melbourne. But she was also as well known in Calcutta and San Francisco,, and wherever she went she always made fine passages. Here are a few of her best : — AUSTRALIAN PASSAGES. 1878 Start to Melbourne 67 days, 1882 London to Sydney . . 79 „ 1884 Downs to Sydney . . 77 ., 1887 Londdn to Sydney . . 79 ., 1893 Cardiff to Sydney {via Capetown) 78 „ 1894 London to Sydney {via Capetown) 78 „ 1896 Sydney to London . . CALCUTTA PASSAGES. 75 „ 1876 Calcutta to London 90 days 1878 Calcutta to Dundee 98 „ 1879 Penarth Roads to Calcutta 98 ,. 256 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS FRISCO AND W.C.N.A. PASSAGES. 1883 Frisco to Lizard . 105 days 1886 Frisco to Hull . 125 „ 1888 Portland, Ore., to Queenstown . 98 „ 1889 Frisco to Queenstown . 104 „ 1890 Swansea to Frisco . . . 113 „ 1890 Frisco to Lizard • 109 „ 1892 Frisco to Queenstown CROSS PASSAGES. • 101 „ 1878 Melbourne to Calcutta . 48 days 1880 Calcutta to Melbourne ■ 49 „ 1882 Sydney to Frisco . 55 „ 1884 Sydney to San Pedro . 66 „ 1884 Frisco to Newcastle, N.S.W. • 45 „ 1886 Newcastle, N.S.W., to Frisco . 50 „ On her third voyage she encountered the cyclone of 81st October, 1876, near the Sandheads, Captain E. C. Bennett, foreseeing the approach of the cyclone, stood over to the east side of the Bay of Bengal, and considered himself lucky to escape with the loss of his topgallant masts. Lashed on top of his main hatch, he had a large kennel containing a pack of foxhounds for the Calcutta Jackal Club. When the cyclone began, the hounds were let out of the kennel, to give them a chance to save themselves ; and shortly afterwards the kennel was washed clean over the lee rail without touching it. The hounds had mean- while disappeared and everyone thought that they must have gone overboard; but when the weather cleared they all came out, safe and sound, from under the lower foc's'le bunks, where they had taken refuge. This cyclone wrought havoc amongst the Calcutta shipping, and cost the underwriters over £100,000. Thessalus was lucky to get off with a repair bill of £380. The Thessalus was lucky with live freight. On her seventh voyage she took horses from Melbourne to THESSALVS 257 Calcutta and landed them all alive and in prime con- dition. Shortly afterwards the Udston arrived with only four horses alive. She had had bad weather in the Bay of Bengal, the horses had broken loose and in their fright kicked each other to death. On this voyage, Thessalus returned to Melbourne with wheat bags, wool packs and camels. The camels also arrived in good condition. At Melbourne she loaded wool for London at a penny per pound. Her best wool passage was in 1896, when she left Sydney on the 17th October and was only 75 days to the Start, where she signalled on Slst December. She had left Melbourne in company with Cimba and Argonaut. Argonaut made a long passage, but Thessalus and Cimba were twice in company, concerning which Captain Holmes of Cimba wrote : — I left Sydney in company with Thessalus and Argonaut. I was twice in company with Thessalus on 3rd October in 54° S., 1>52° W.. to 6th October 54° S., 143° W., and on 25th November in 38° S., 34° W. I came up on him in light winds, but when he got the breeze he just romped away from me as if 1 was at anchor. Thessalus was a wonder- fully fast ship. I think the German five-master Potosi is the only one I have seen to touch her. This is high praise, for Captain Holmes had a great knowledge of ships, especially in the Australian trade, and he had a very fast ship in Cimba, which on this occasion reported at noon at the Lizard when Thessalus was reporting at Start Point. After a long and successful career Thessalus was sold to the Swedes in 1905, when she was still classed 100 Al . Notes on Passages to Australia in 1874. 1874 was Ben Voirlich's great year. It will be noticed, however, that on her record passage she had Lochs Ness and Maree on her heels the whole way. 258 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Both Lochs had just changed their commanders, Captain Meiklejohn going to the Loch Ness and Captain Charles Grey succeeding Captain McCallum in Loch Maree. Loch Ness chased Ben Voirlich very closely all the way to the Australian Coast, her best 24-hour run being 321 miles. But Loch Maree dropped back in the roaring forties through no fault of her own. On 13th and 14th December she experienced a tremendous gale from east working round to S.W. with high confused sea, during which her patent steering gear was com- pletely smashed up; and this prevented her from taking full advantage of the westerlies, as Captain Grey decided it would not be safe to go further than 42° S. PASSAGES UNDER 80 DAYS TO SYDNEY IN 1874. Crossed '■ Crossed Passed Arrived Days Ship Dspailure Equator Cape S.W.Cape Port Out Meridlaa Tasmania Jackson emit Saih ■ Start Nov. 21 Sec. II Jan. 1'7S Jan. 26 '76 Feb. 2 "75 73 Mermeru^ Start Apl. 14 May 8 May 29 June 24 June 27 74 Eallowe'en - Start April B Apl. SO May 22 June 17 June 22 7i Patriarcli Wight JuDe 8 July 2 July 26 Aug. 19 (Otway) Aug. 24 77 Jerusalem - Plymouth Apl. 5 Apl. 29 May 21 June 14 (Otway) June 22 78 PASSAGES UNDER 80 DAYS TO MELBOURNE IN 1874. Crossed Passed Arrived Day Ship Departure Equator Cape Cape Hobson'e Oul Meridian (Otway) Bay Thermopylae - Lizard Dec. 2 Deo. 25 Jan. 14 '76 Feb. 4 -75 64 Ben Voirlich ■ ' • Plymouth Nov. 11 Dec. 1 Dec. 24 Jan. 14-76 64 Loch Ness - Tuakar Nov. 11 Dec. 1 Jan.ie '75 Jan. 18 '76 68 Ben Voirlich ■ Tuskar Jan. 27 Feb. 19 Mar. 15 Apl. 6 Apl. 6 69 Thomas Stephens • Lizard Nov. 22 Dec. 12 Jan. 29'76 Jan. 81 '76 70 Ben Cruachan CapeClearSept. 4 Sept. 29 Oct. 20 Nov. IJ Nov. 14 71 Romanoff Lizard Nov. S Jan. 16 "75 72 Theophane - ' Tuskar Aug. 16 Sept. 12 Oct. 8 Oct. 30 76 City of Hankow • Channel Nov. 19 Feb. 2 "76 76 Loch Lomond Tuskar Nov. 80 Feb. 14 '75 76 Loch Maree - Channel Nor. 6 Dec. 1 Dec. 26 Jan. 22 '76 Jan. 23 '76 78 LOCH GARRY 259 Cutty Sark and Thomas Stephens also had a great race, the famous tea clipper making the best passage of the year to Sydney. Both ships were off the Lizards on 22nd November, and experienced very baffling winds to the equator, which Cutty Sark crossed in 26° W. and Thomas Stephens in 29° W. a day later. Cutty Sark was 65 days from the Lizards to S. W. Cape, Tasmania, whilst Thomas Stephens was 68 ■ days to the Otway, where she was becalmed for 14 hours. Thermopylae, with a 64-day passage from the Lizards, her best run being 848 miles, arrived just in time to defend herself, for Captain McPetrie was declaring to all and sundry that Ben Voirlich had broken Thermo- pylae's record, by making a better run from port to port. The "Loch Garry." Many experts considered the Loch Garry to be the finest sailing ship in the world at the date of her launch. She certainly was an example of the well-known Glasgow type at its best. A new feature was adopted in the placing of her masts. Her mainmast was stepped right amidships, with the fore and mizen masts at equal distances from it. Loch Garry, her sister ship Loch Vennachar, Green's Carlisle Castle, Nicol's Romanoff and the American ship Manuel Laguna were rigged in a manner peculiar to themselves. They had short topgallant masts with fidded royal and skysail masts, on which they crossed royals and skysails above double topgallant yards. When in port their upper topsail and upper topgallant yards would be half mast-headed, and with the seven yards on each mast, all squared to perfection, they presented a magnificent appearance. Loch Garry's first commander was Captain Andrew Black, a very fine seaman indeed. He commanded her from 1875 to 1882. 260 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS He was succeeded by Captain John Erskine, who was followed by Captain Home. With regard toiler merits, the veteran Captain Home, who commanded her for close on 26 years, wrote to me : — The Loch Garry is a front rank ship and always will be so. She is a ship that has got no vices and when properly loaded is as gentle as a lamb. It is quite a pleasure to sail such a ship, which might be des- cribed as a 1500-ton yacht. She is not a, ship of excessive speed, but with a moderately fre^h breeze will maintain a speed of 10 or 11 knots without much exertion. Loch Garry's best run under Captain Home was on 26th December, 1892, when running her easting down in 40° S. With a N.W. wind and smooth sea she covered 334 miles. It is very possible that she exceeded this in her early days when she carried a stronger crew. She was also a good light weather ship. In 1900 she went from the South Tropic to the North Tropic in 14 days 2 hours. The following passages of recent date will show that Captain Home kept the Loch Garry moving in spite of the lack of a good crew of sailormen : — - 1892 Tuskar to Cape Otway 71 dy 1903 Port Philip Heads to 1894 Downs to Melbourne 77 ,, Lizard .. . . 74 dv 1895 Lizard to Melbourne 77,, 1 904 Melbourne to Dover 77 , 1895 Melbourne to Prawle Pt. 80 „ 1905 Tuskar to Cape Borda 73 „ 1900 Melbourne to Prawle Pt. 85 ,, 1905 Equator to Leuwin 36 „ 1901 Adelaide to C. Otway 48 hr. (Average 240 knots) The following account of Captain Home's care of his boats and system for provisioning them should be a lesson for younger masters. It is taken from the Melbourne Herald : — A feature of Look Garry's equipment, in which Captain Home takes a justifiable pride, is the system for provisioning the lifeboats, should it ever be necessary to abandon the vessel. In two minutes the appren • tices can place enough provisions in the boats to last all hands 14 days. The lifeboats are on the after skids and the falls are always kept rove, In each boat are two 15-gallon breakers, which are kept full of fresh water, charged about once a month. Then in a strong wooden box, fitted with beckets, is stowed a good supply of biscuits, in protected fins, whilst in another box a number of tins of meat are packed together with LOCH GARRY 261 the necessary opening knife. A third box contains miscellajjeous articles, such as medical comforts, clothing, tobacco, a hatchet, knives and a compass. The three boxes are always kept handy in the lazarette, the provisions they contain being changed each voyage, so that the biscuits and meat are always fresh. One man can easily lift either of the boxes and the equipment is completed by the lifeboats' sails and all necessary gear being kept in a canvas bag close by. The system is simplicity itself, and Captain Home says that he would like to see some such plan made compulsory by the B.O.T. in all ships. The career of Captain Home, who was the veteran skipper of the Loch Line, is worth recording. He was born in 1834, apprenticed to the sea at 15 years of age, and only retired in 1911, after 62 years at sea and 47 years in command without experiencing shipwreck, fire or collision. The motto of his life, which he always emblazoned on the cabin bulkhead, was: — "Never underrate the strength of the enemy." Like many another old seaman, he was not pleased with the changes brought about by steam and cut-throat competition. Just as Captain Home's apprenticeship finished the Crimean war broke out, and, volunteering for active service, he was appointed to the three-decker H.M.S. Royal Albert, the largest ship afloat. He was rated as A.B., but soon promoted to be second captain of the maintop. Sir George Tryon was a junior lieutenant on this ship. The Royal Albert was in the engagement against the Kinburn Forts on the north shore of the Black Sea. At the close of the war Captain Home received the Crimean and Turkish medals and was paid off on the Victory. He then returned to the Merchant Service and served in 1859 as second mate of the tea clipper Falcon under Captain Maxton. Subsequently he was attached to Lord Elgin 's embassy and placed in charge of a lorcha by Lindsay & Co., of Shanghai. As a member of Lord Elgin's staff, he was present at the taking of the Taku Forts and was on the house -boat S62 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Vvhich was towed to Tientsin by one of the gunboats; g,nd he remained there until the treaty was signed. After this he was 13^ years in the employ of John Allan & Sons. In 1877 he joined the Lpch Line and took command of the Loch Sloy, leaving her to take charge of the Loch Garry in 1885. The Loch Garry only had two severe mishaps in her long life. In August, 1880, when running under top- gallant sails off the Crozets in a heavy beam sea, the weather forebrace carried away, the fore toprhast went above the eyes of the rigging and took main topgallant mast with it — and Lock Garry was a month getting to Melbourne under jury rig. She was rigged in Geelong with Kauri pine topmasts and long topgallant masts, as shewn in the illustration. In August, 1889, she was dis- masted in a furious gale to the south 'ard of the Cape. To save the ship Captain Home was obliged to jettison some 100 tons of cargo in the shape of gunpowder, hardware, whisky, bottled beer, paper, etc. The main and mizen masts carried away close to the deck, but Captain Home succeeded in sailing his vessel 2600 miles to Mauritius, under foresail and fore lower topsail . Here the Loch Garry was delayed some months whilst new spars were sent out from England, and she eventually reached Melbourne on 14th February, 1890, eight months out from Glasgow. After 36 years of good service, she was sold in March, 1911, to the Italians for the scrap iron price of £1800. "Loch Vennachar." One of the finest and fastest of the Lochs, as well as one of the most unfortunate, was the Loch Vennachar, launched from Thomson's yard in August, 1875. She was usually one of the first wool clippers to get away from Melbourne, and for many years, sailing in "LOCH VENNACHAR." 'LOCH VENNACHAR." Photo lent by F. Q. Layton. [To face page 262. LOCH VENNACHAR 263 October, she made very regular passages home, her aver- age under Captain Bennett being 86 days for 12 passages. Her first misfortune was in 1892, when she was dis- masted during a cyclone in the Southern Indian Ocean. The following is an account of the disaster, given in the Melbourne Argus : — The Loch Vennachar left Glasgow bound for Melbourne on 6th April, 1892, with a crew of 33 all told and 12 passengers, four of whom were ladies. All went well with the ship until she reached lat. 39° 55' S., long. 27° 21' E., when at 8 o'clock on the evening of 3rd June the baro- meter began to fall ominously and sail was promptly shortened. Dark- ness lifted soon after 5 o'clock in the morning and the break of day showed the terrific head seas that swept down upon the vessel, lashed by the north-east gale. (At this time both watches were aloft fighting to make the foresail fast.) Captain Bennett, who was on the poop, saw the danger of his crew and at once resolved to sacrifice the sail. He sang out to the mate to send the men aft and the hands, who had been lying out on the pitching foreyard, gained the deck in safety and reached the poop in time. As they did so, two enormous waves bore down upon the ship, which rode slowly over the first, and sank to an interminable depth in the trough at the other side. Whilst in this position the second wave came on towering halfway up the foremast, and broke on board, filling the lower topsail 60 feet above the deck, as it came. Hundreds of tons of water swept over the ship in a solid mass from stem to stern, thundering inboard on the port side of the foc's'le and racing away over the main deck and over the poop, where most of the crew were standing. Every man on the poop was thrown down, and when they regained their feet they perceived that the foremast and mainmast were over the side, and the mizen topmast above their heads had disappeared. Not a man on board actually saw the spars go or even heard the crash of the breal-.ing rigging so violent was the shock and so fierce the howling of the hurricane. The cook was washed out of his galley and swept overboard, the galley being completely gutted of everything it contained. For nine days after her dismasting, Loch Vennachar lay unmanageable, rolling in the trough of the sea, whilst the gale still raged. At last with immense difficulty a jury mast was rigged forward and a sail set on the stump of the mizen mast; in this trim Captain Bennett managed to get his lame duck into Port Louis, Mauritius, after five weeks under jury rig. The ship 264 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS lay in Mauritius for five months whilst new masts and spars were being sent out to her from England. On the arrival of the masts, Captain Bennett and his crew showed their smartness by completely rerigging her in 10 days, the cost of the refit coming to £9071 . On 18th November Loch Vennachar at last proceeded on her voyage, and after a light weather passage arrived in Port Phillip on 22nd December 260 days out from the Clyde. As soon as her anchor was on the ground, her crew assembled at the break of the poop and gave three ringing cheers for Captain Bennett and his officers, who had brought them safely through such a trying time. For saving his ship under such difficulties. Captain Bennett was awarded Lloyd's Medal, the Victoria Cross of the Mercantile Marine. In November, 1901, when anchored off Thameshaven outward bound to Melbourne with general cargo. Loch Vennachar was run down by the steamer Cato. The steamship struck her on the starboard bow, and the Loch liner went down in 40 feet of water. All on board, however, were saved, including a parrot and a cat, the only cat to escape out of seven on the ship. The Loch Vennachar lay at the bottom of the Thames for a month and was then raised. After repairs and alterations to the value of about £17,000 were made on her, she was pronounced by experts to be as good as the day she was launched ; and she once more resumed her place in the Australian trade. About September, 1905, when bound from Glasgow to Adelaide, she came on the overdue list. On, 6th September she was spoken *' all well " by thess. Yon- gala, 160 miles west of Neptune Island. But as the days passed and she did not arrive, grave anxiety began to be felt. On 29th September, the ketch Annie Witt SALAMIS 265 arrived at Adelaide, and her captain reported picking up a reel of blue printing paper 18 miles N.W. of Kangaroo Island. This paper was identified as part of Loch Vennachar's cargo. A search was made on Kangaroo Island and wreckage was discovered which made the disaster only too sure. It was concluded that she had run on the Young Rocks in trying to make the Backstairs Passage. Captain Hawkins, late of the Loch Ness, was in command, having taken her over from Captain Bennett the year before. As if the fatal curse of Jonah had been transmitted from father to son, T. R. Pearce, a son of the twice wrecked Tom Pearce, was one of the apprentices lost in her. ♦'Salamis" — an Iron "Thermopylae." Salamis, one of the most beautiful little ships ever launched and without doubt the fastest of all Thomp- son's iron ships, was really an enlarged Thermopylae in iron, as she was built from Bernard Waymouth's lines with a few minor alterations and improvements. The following comparison of their measurements shows that Salamis was roughly 100 tons larger and 10 feet longer than Thermopylae : — Measurements Salamis Thermopylae of Iron Ship Composite Ship Registered tonnage net 1079 tons. 948 tons. Registered tonnage gross 1130 „ 991 „ „ „ under deck 1021 „ 927 „ Length 221.6 feet. 212 feet. Breadth 36 „ 36 „ Depth 21.7 ,. 20.9 „ Depth moulded . . 23.7 „ 23.2 „ In Salamis, Thompson's were determined to have an out and out racer, and she was not fitted for passengers, 266 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS her raised quarterdeck being only 48 feet long as against Thermopylae'' s 61 feet. She had a tremendous sail plan and of course spread a full suit of stunsails and other flying kites. The following spar measurements show that she set even more canvas than Thermopylae, her mainyard being a foot longer, and the other yards in proportion : — SPAR PLAN OF SALAMIS. Mainmast — deck to truck . . 1 50 feet. Main lower mast • i 66 „ Main topmast . 1 52 „ Main topgallant mast . ' 34 „ Main royal mast . i 23 „ Main masthead . < 2 „ Main lower doublings . . 15 „ Main topmast doublings 12 „ Mainyard 81 „ Main lower topsail yard 72 „ Main upper topsail yard 64 „ Main lower topgallant yard . , 57 „ Main upper topgallant yard . 49 „ Mam royal yard ; j 37 ,. 1 J ibboom . ! 66 „ i Messrs. Thompson, when they gave Hood the order for Salamis, intended her for the same round as Ther- mopylae — out to Melbourne with general cargo, then across to China and home again with tea. But by 1875 the steamers had got a firm hold on the tea trade, and the clippers were either being driven away into other trades or had to content themselves with loading at a cut rate in the N.E. monsoon; and practically only Cutty Sark and Thermopylae were still given a chance to load the new teas . This was not a bright outlook for a newcomer with her reputation all to make, and the only time Salamis loaded a tea cargo home was on her second voyage when she came home from Hong Kong in 110 days. In 1878 she made another attempt to get a tea cargo home, but 3 O J2 a ■a C/3 H H U O SALAMIS 267 freights were specially bad this year, and she was with- drawn from the berth at Shanghai, and finally came home with wool from Port Phillip. As a wool clipper she set up a wonderful record; her average for 13 consecutive passages to Melbourne being 75 days pilot to pilot, and for her outward passages from 1875 to 1895 her average was 77 days. Homeward with wool, like all iron ships, she occasionally got hung up and topped the 100 days, nevertheless here she also had the best average for an iron ship, of 87 days for 18 consecutive wool passages from Melbourne to London. Her best run from London to the equator was made in 18| days. Twice she ran from the equator to the Cape meridian in 21 days, and twice she ran her easting down from the Cape meridian to Cape Otway in 22| days, and no less than four times in 23 days. Captain Phillip left the Harlaw to take the S alarms , and his name is associated with her during the whole of her life under the British flag. On her maiden passage Salamis left London on 6th July, took her departure from the Start on the 10th, then had very buffling winds to the equator, which she crossed on 2nd August in 25° W. ; the S.E. trades were very poor and she had to make a tack off the Abrolhos Rocks. The Cape meridian was crossed on 24th August in 44° S. Running her easting down, the wind was very changeable, being mostly from the south'ard, and without any steady breezes her best run was only 304 knots. She passed the Otway on 16th September and entered Port Phillip Heads the same evening, 68 days from Start Point. On her second voyage she had a very protracted start, losing three anchors and chains in the Downs and also a man overboard during a very severe gale. She had to 268 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS slip her third anchor and get underweigh in a hurry to avoid dragging ashore. After this she had to go into Plymouth to get new anchors and chains. She finally left Plymouth on 24th March, 1876, the " dead horse " being actually up the day she left Plymouth. She took her departure from the liizard on 25th March, crossed the line on 18th April, and had light winds to the meridian of the Cape, which she crossed on 14th May in 43° S. In 69° E. she encountered bad weather, and shipped a heavy sea whilst running under a fore topsail. This sea broke over the quarter, smashed the wheel and broke in the cabin skylight, and she had to be hove to for 14 hours whilst repairs were made. The main upper topsail had also blown away and a new one had to be bent. She eventually made Cape Otway at 10.30 p.m. on 7th June, entering the Heads early morning of the 8th, 75 days from the Lizards. In crossing to China, she went from Sydney to Shanghai in 82 days. Failing to get a tea cargo in Shanghai, she ran down to Hong Kong through the Formosa Channel with a strong N.E. monsoon in two days and some odd hours, but, of course, she was nearly new and in ballast. In 1878 she again tried for a tea cargo, crossing from Sydney in 43 days : after a very tempestuous passage of 83 days from London to Sydney, during which she con- tinually had to be hove to, mdeed, Captain Phillip declared that he had never met with such heavy gales during 30 years' experience, even so she was only 79 days from the Channel to Cape Otway . She found tea freights slumping very badly at Shanghai, and was finally placed on the berth for general cargo only at 80s. per 50 cubic feet. Salamis left Shanghai on 26th November in company with Thermopylae, which was the only sailing ship to get a SALAMIS 269 tea cargo for London. The two ships made the Straits of Sunda on 15th December, but were compelled to anchor off Sumatra owing to the strong N.E. current. Here they found a fleet of 37 sail all vainly trying to get past Thwart -the -way Island. Of this fleet the first to get through was Thermopylae after several ineffectual attempts, but she was closely followed by her iron sister ship ; clearing Java Head on 29th December after a delay of 14 days, the two sisters squared away for the S.E. trades, and left the fleet of 37 ships to wait patiently until the N.E. current slackened. S alamis caxviedi the trades to •32° S., and then made some fine running to the Australian Coast, her best day 's work being 336 miles. On 26th January, 1879, she arrived off Port Phillip Heads and anchored off Queens- cliff to await orders. She was sent up to Sydney and loaded coal alongside the Cutty Sark. On 18th March Cutty Sark sailed for Shanghai with 1150 tons of coal, Salamis followed on the 20th with 1200 tons of coal. Unfortunately I have no details of the race across, except that Salamis made the run in 37 days. Both ships failed to get a tea cargo for the London market, and Ctitty Sark went off to Manila, whilst Salamis went to Foochow, and took a tea cargo from there to Mel- bourne, which she reached in time to load wool home, after a very light weather passage of 64 days. After this unsatisfactory voyage Salamis was kept steadily in the Melbourne trade, with the exception of one passage to Sydney. When the Aberdeen White Star sold their sailing ships, Salamis went to the Norwegians, who stripped the yards off her mizen mast and turned her into a barque. After several weary years of threadbare old 270 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS age, the beautiful little clipper was finally wrecked on Maiden Island in the South Pacific on 20th May, 1905. The Colonial Barque "Woollahra." The pretty little barque, Woollahra, owned by Cowlislaw Bros., of Sydney, had a very fair turn of speed, and on more than f^ne occasion showed up well against some of the crack ships in the trade. In her later years she used to run from Newcastle, N.S.W., to Frisco with coal . She came to her end on Tongue Point, near Cape Teraw^hite, New Zealand, whilst bound in ballast from Wellington to Kaipara, to load Kauri lumber for Australia. . She was wrecked about half a mile from the homestead of a sheep station, the only habitation on the coast for miles. The captain and an ordinary seaman were drowned, the rest of her comple- ment getting safely ashore. She went to pieces very quickly and there was not even an odd spar or deck fitting left a few inonths afterwards. "Cassiope" and " Parthenope. " Cassiope and Parihenope were actually sister ships though by different builders. They were both fine fast clippers of the best Liverpool tj'pe. Cassiope, however, had a short life, being lost with all hands in 1885, when bound to London with Heap's Rangoon rice, under the well-known Captain Rivers. Parihenope was sold in her old age to the Italians and rechristened Pelogrino O. On the 31st July, 1907, she sailed with coals from New- castle, N.S.W. , for Antofagasta and never arrived. "Trafalgar." D. Rose & Co.'s Trafalgar was a very regular Sydney trader. She went to the Norwegians and was still afloat, owned in Christiania, when the war broke out. I of them walked along the coast until they came to the Cape Borda light. One went inland to May's Settlement. The other survivor, David Kilpatrick, the passenger, was so ill that he had to be left behind. When search parties came back for him he had disappeared, and it was not till a week later that a systematic search of the island led to the discovery of his dead body a mile and a half from the spot where the others had left him. ' The Loss of Lochs "Shiel" and "Sunart." Loch Shiel, the sister ship of Loch Sloy, was lost on the Thome Rock, Milford Haven on the 30th January, 1901 , Her master mistook the Great Castle Head lights and got on the rocks at 8.40 p.m., the Loch liner being bound out to Australia from Glasgow. There was no loss of life, however, on this occasion, half the crew being taken out of the mizen rigging by a lifeboat, and the other half climbing ashore on to the rocks by means of her bowsprit. Loch Sunart, the last three-master built for the Loch line, was launched in January, 1878. Her life was a very short one, as on her second passage out to Melbourne she was piled up on the Skulmartin Rock, 11th January, 1879. Notes on Passages to Australia in 1877. Loch Maree left Glasgow on 5th May, but was held up for four days in sight of Tory Island, first by calms and then strong S.W. winds. Between 21° S.— 288 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS the limit of the S.E. trades — and the Cape meridian, she had ten days of strong N.W. winds, during which she logged over 300 miles a day for several days in succession. Ben Crtiachan had such favourable winds in the Channel that she carried the Channel pilot on to Madeira, where she landed him on 25th April. She made very steady running down south, for her best day's work was only 296 miles. Her sister ship, Ben Voirlich, on the contrary, made a run of 350 miles on 26th July in 35° 87' S., 22° 10' W., though she took 83 days from Achill Head to Hobson's Bay. Pericles, with 489 emigrants on board, made a good start in her career, like all Thompson 's ships. Between the 23rd and 24th November in 44° S., she ran 354 miles before what Captain Largie called a hurricane, so it is not surprising that Brilliant failed to catch her in spite of an average of 261 miles a day for 22 days between the Cape and Otway. Brilliant, however, instead of emigrants, had 4000 tons of general cargo on board. Patriarch, who very rarely suffered damage in bad weather, took a very heavy sea over her poop during a W.N.W. gale on the 2nd September in 100° E. , and lost 9 feet of her taffrail and three stanchions over the side. This sea would not have been a pleasant one for Loch Vennachar or Sir Walter Raleigh, both of which had their decks lumbered up with horse boxes full of draught stock. Samuel Plimsoll as usual made some good running down south, her best week's work being 2050 miles. Thermopylae was hard chased by Cutty Sark, in spite of a 17-day run from the Lizard to the equator. It is a pity the two ships did run their easting down on the same parallel, as they must have been neck and neck down PASSAGES IN 1877 289 south, but Cutty Sark kept in 46° S. , whilst Thermopylae did not go higher than 44° 30' S. Both ships by the way were forced by bad weather to put back to the Downs on their first attempts to get down Channel.* PASSAGES TO SYDNEY UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1877. Crossed Passed Ship Departure Grossed Cape S.W.Cape Arrived Days Equator Meridian Tasmania Out CtUty Sark Lizard Dec. 6 Bee. 28 Jan. 18 '78 Feb. 13 '78 Feb. 16 '78 72 Patriarch Start July 3 July 26 Sept. 12 (Otway) Sept. 15 74 Piriclet Plymouth Sept. 20 Oct. 17 Nov. 7 Nov. 30 Dec. 3 74 Brittiant Start Oct. 2 Oct. 31 Nov. 26 Dec. 10 (Otway) Dec. 20 79 Samuel PlimsoU ■ Plymouth June 9 July 7 jDly 28 Aug. 23 (Otway) Aug. 27 79 PASSAGES TO MELBOURNE UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1877. Crossed Passed Ship Departure Crossed Cape Cape Arrived Days Equator Meridian Otway Out Loah Maree Cape Clear May 13 June 3 June 24 July 19. July 19 67 Ben Cruackan Lizard April 17 May IS June 23 87 Thermopylae ■ Lizard Dec. S Deo. 20 Jan. 17 '78 Feb. 14'78 Feb. 15 '78 74 Mermerus Start June 30 July 28 Ang. 19 Sept. 13 75 UiUiades ■ Start June 13 July 10 July 31 Aug. 27 73 Loch Vemtachar Channel April 7 May 2 May 29 June 22 75 Romanoff Lizard April 1 Apl. 25 May 19 June 15 75 Loch Fyne Tuskar Dec. 20 Mar. 5 '78 75 Salamis Start July 7 Aug. 1 Aug. 26 Sept. 21 76 Thomas Stephens - Tuskar Aug. 12 Sept. 9 Sept. 30 Oct. 26 Oct. 27 76 Loch Ryan Tuskar Mar. 8 Mar. 27 Apl. 23 May 21 76 Theophane ■ Holyhead June 30 July 30 Aug. 21 Sept. 15 77 Parlhenope - Holyhead Aug. 17 Sept. 19 Oct. 10 Nov. 1 Nov. 2 77 Sir Walter Raleigh Lizard July 5 July 30 Aug. 22 Sept. 20 77 Loch Qarry Qu'nstown July 11 Aug. 10 Sept. 2 Sept. 25 Sept. 28 77 Maulesdcn - Tuskar Mar. 4 Mar. 26 Apl. 24 May 22 79 * This passage of Cutty Sark has been wrongly given in my China Clippers, She left London for the second time on 2nd December, not the 12th, as there stated. The mistake was made in the shipping reports of the day and never corrected, and I have only lately been able to prove it. L 290 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS " Cimba." In April, 1878, Hood launched the beautiful little Cimba for A. Nicol, and with her green hull, gold scrolls and lion figure-head she was a familiar visitor to Port Jackson for close on 30 years. An out and out wool clipper, she was very heavily rigged, her chief measurements being: — Main lower mast 60 feet. Fore and main yards 82 Fore and main lower topsail yards . . 76 Fore and main upper topsail yards . . 69 Fore and main lower topgallant yard . . 58 Fore and main upper topgallant yards . . 52 Fore and main royal yards- 41 Her lower masts were short compared to some clippers, but her lower yards were very heavy, her fore and main yards weighing over 4 tons each . Her first master was J. Fimister, who had her until 1895, when Captain J. W. Holmes took her over until she was sold abroad in 1906. Under Captain Fimister her best passages were : — 1880 Channel to Sydney 71 days 1882 Channel to Sydney 82 1884 Channel to Sydney 79 1889 Sydney to London 75 1891 Sydney to Channel 84 1892 Channel to Sydney 83 1893 Sydney to Channel 86 1894 Channel to Sydney 80 On her maiden trip she left London 27th June^ — left Channel 2nd July, 5 days out — crossed the line 28th July. 26 days from departure — crossed Cape meridian 20th August, 49" days from departure — arrived Sydney 29th September, 89 days from departure A curious notoriety came upon the new clipper in Sydney owing to Captain Fimister, in his eagerness to get loaded and away in good time for the wool sales, jumping Patriarch's loading berth at Circular Quay. The berth was vacated by Nineveh on a Saturday. CIMBA 291 The port arrangements in those days allowed ships to go alongside in the order in which they had booked the berth. On this occasion Patriarch had booked the berth on 18th August, Smyrna on 20th August, Cairn- bulg on 9th September, St. Lawrence on 13th September, Centurion on 26th September and Cimba on 30th Septem- ber — the day after she arrived. On Nineveh sailing. Patriarch should have hauled alongside, but her captain had been told that as it was Saturday he need not come alongside until Monday. The Patriarch, being in no particular hurry as a good deal of her wool was still up country, therefore remained where she was. Hearing of this, the enterprising Captain Fimister proceeded to hire a tug and move his ship from Smith's Wharf where she was lying to the vacant berth at Circular Quay, all ready to load the wool which was waiting for him. He took the precaution, however, to take his shorefasts through the quay rings and aboard again. This defiance of the harbour authorities- was allowed to go unnoticed until Monday morning. Then Captain Fimister received an order to remove his ship. Of this he took no notice. His action, as may be supposed, was the talk of the port, especially amongst the captains of the wool clippers. One of these skippers threatened to moor his ship in Sydney Cove, ready to be the next to jump the berth. Others complained in person to the Colonial Secretary. On Tuesday morning Captain Bell, the harbour- master, went in person to the Cimha to order her removal, but the undaunted Captain Fimister triced up his gangway ladder and threatened to throw him overboard if he attempted to gain the deck. By this time all the legal lights of Sydney were puzzling their heads over the legal aspects of the case ; Messrs. Dangar, Gedye & Co. , 292 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS the ship's agents, upholding the captain. Finally the Colonial Treasurer sent the President of the Marine Board an order to remove the ship. So at 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Captain Hixson, the assistant harbourmaster, with 20 men and half-a-dozen water police, boarded the ship, only to find that Captain Finister and his whole crew had flown after first removing every means of weighing the anchor. But a harbour- master is not easily balked, and Captain Hixson let go the shorefasts, slipped the chain, and with the aid of a tug took the Cimba out and moored her at the man-of- war buoy off Fort Macquarie. It was now time for Dangar, Gedye & Co. to take action. They immediately enlisted the help of Sir John Robertson, who moved the adjournment of the House in order that an explanation of the harbourmaster's high- handed proceedings might be given. The House was already divided into two factions overCaptain Fimister's action, but the Colonial Secretary firmly upheld the Marine Board, and in the end Captain Fimister was fined 20 shillings and 5s. costs and ordered to pay £28 4s., the cost of removing the Cimba from the berth. All this trouble really arose firstly through the Patriarch's being ahead of her cargo, and secondly owing to Circular Quay being a free berth. This was shortly afterwards rectified, but the Patriarch did not get away until a month after the Cimba for want of cargo. In 1889, the Cimba made her best woolpassage, as follows: — ■ October 22— Left Sydney. November 18 — Passed Cape Horn December 1 1 — Crossed the equator December 25 — Passed the Western Isles January 3 '90 — Signalled in the Channel January 5 — Arrived London . . .. 27 days out .. 50 u »» .. 64 II 11 .. 73 M .. 75 „ CIMBA 298 Captain Holmes, who took the Cimba in 1895, had had a long experience in clipper ships. He had been third mate of the Salamis, chief mate of Hallowe'en and Blackadder, and commander of the Lencadia, a smart ship built for the China trade. The Aberdeen ships were, however, vei-y clannish, and being a stranger and not a Scot, he had his reputation all to make, the standard set being a very high one. However, he knew how to carry sail, and he managed to keep the Cimba moving, though she was always a tender ship requiring a master hand. Under him, her best passages were : — 1895 Lizard to Sydney 82 days. Her best week's work was 1860 miles, and her best 24 ho^- run, made on 6th June in 39° 51' S. , 34° 54' E. , 336 miles in a fresh gale from S.W., during which the second mate was lost overboard. Other good runs on this passage were : — 300, 302, 308 and 312. 1896 Sydney to London 78 days. Cimba left Sydney in company with Thessalus and Argonaut on 17th October. Passed the Horn on 15th November, 29 days out — on 18th November in 51° 31 ' S . , 55° 47' W., ran 316 miles, the wind blowing a strong gale from W.S.W. to W.N.W.— crossed the line on 8th December, 23 days from the Horn — passed Faj-al, Western Isles, on Xmas Day, and signalled the Lizard at 1 p.m. 31st December, 75 days out. This was really a splendid performance, for the Thessalus, which was really a much faster and more powerful ship, signalled the Start on 31st December at noon, whilst Argonaut, which was certainly quite as fast as Cimba, did not arrive until a month later. 1898 Sydney to London 81 days. 294 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Passed the Horn on 2nd November, 25 days out, having run 3422 miles in 14 days — crossed the line on 29th November, 27 days from the Horn — passed the Western Isles on 20th December, Lizard light abeam at 8 a.m. on 26th December, 79 days out. In 1899 Cimba went out to Rockhampton and loaded home from Brisbane. In 1901 she went out to Sydney in 85 days, her best run being 310 miles. By this time sailing ship freights were in a very bad way, and a profitable charter in Sydney grew more and more difficult to obtain, thus in 1905 we find her making the record passage between Callao and Iquique for a sailing ship. As this may be of interest, I give her abstract log below : — ABSTRACT LOG OF CIMBA FROM CALLAO TO IQUIQUE RECORD SAILING SHIP PASSAGE. July 2-7 p.m. got Lat. Illy 3 12° 48'S * 14° 30' 6 16° 47' „ 6 19° 20' ^ 21° 48' „ 8 23° 52' y 25° 32' , 10 23° 57' , 11 2.1° 8' . 12 23° 10' , 13 23° 53' , 14 22° 42' . 15 21° 38' , 16 20° 57' ,-, n 20° 31' under weigh. Long. 79° 24'W 80' 81' 82' 84' 85' 86' 84' 82' 81' 78' 75' 71' 70' 70' 15' 49' 54' 17' 52' 34' 41' 24' 35' 00' 7' 00' 48' 22' Course. S50° W. S46° S34° S22° S28° 835° S21° W. N47° E. N69° S87° 878° N66° N75° N15° Sll° Dist. SOmls 150 „ 16o „ 165 „ 168 „ 152 „ 160 „ 141 „ 135 „ 46 „ 202 ,, 175 „ 246 „ 43 „ 31 „ Wind S.S.E. S.E. by E. S. Easterly S.E. by 8. South, S.W. N.W. Westerly W'ly to S.S.W. S.Easterly (2080 miles in 14 days.) This was Cimba' s last voyage under the British flag ; she came home from Caleta Buena to Falmouth in 85 days, and was then sold (March , 1906) to the Norwegians owing to the death of her owner. Under the Norwegians she made a remarkable passage from Dublin to the St. Lawrence in 14 days; lumber PASSAGES IN 1878 295 was now her chief cargo and she used often to be seen discharging firewood from the Baltic in the Aberdeen Bay, East India Dock, where she had so often loaded general for Sydney. PASSAGES TO SYDNEY UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1878. Sbtp Departure Crossed Equator Crossed . Cape Meridian Passed S.W.Cape Tasmania Arrived Days Out Loch Etivf - Thomat Stephens - Seniles Jan. 17 Plymouth June 15 Feb. S July 18 Mar. 4 Aug. 1 Mar. 28 Aug. 21 Apl. S Aug. 31 7« 77 PASSAGES TO MELBOURNE UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1878. Crossed Passed Ship Departure Crossed Cape Cape Arrived Days Equator Meridian Otway Out Thesmlm I/lzard Mar. 7 Mar. 28 Apl. 20 May 14 es Parthenope - Tuakar July' 7 July 31 Aug. 20 Sept. 16 71 ArMides Start July S July 27 Aug. 18 Sept. 15 74 MiltiadM Start May 31 June 30 July 21 Aug. IS Aug. 14 76 Loch Vennachar Smalls July 10 Aug. i Aug. 29 Sept. 23 75 Old KenHjigten Lizard June 5 July 2 July 24 Aug. 19 Aug. 20 78 AvielAore Start June 29 July 27 Aug. 18 Sept. 15 Sept. 16 79 Notes on Passages to Australia in 1878. Thessalus was the heroine of the year, though on her arrival in Melbourne critics declared that she was too deeply loaded for safety. Miltiades had a bad time running her easting down ; on more than one occasion her decks were badly swept, and once Captain Perrett was washed off the poop on to the main deck and had his h&ad badly cut about. Loch Vennachar, owing to the death of Captain Robertson, had a new skipper in Captain J, S. Ozanne, her late chief officer. He proved that he could carry sail by two 24'hour runs of 325 and 311 miles. Captain Stuart made a very good maiden passage out to Sydney, but Loch Etive never had anything like the speed of his old ship the Tweed. 296 THE COLONIAL CLIPPER Parthenope had the veteran Captain Grey in command this year, and he certainly made her travel. Of the other crack ships Salamis was 83 and Samuel Plimsoll 86 days to Sydney; whilst of the Melbourne clippers Loch Garry was 80, Loch Maree 82, Mermerus, Ben Cruachan and Romanoff 83, Sir Walter Raleigh 84 and Ben Voirlich 87 days. Neither of the two tea clippers. Cutty Sark and Thermopylae, sailed for the Colonies in 1878. "Sophocles." The Sophocles was a pretty little ship, though, following the trend of the times, she was given a fuller body than Thompson's earlier ships, as she was mean to be an economical carrier rather than a record breaker, I believe she is still afloat rigged as a barque under Italian colours. Passages to Australia in 1879. I have had considerable difficulty in finding any good passages to Melbourne or Sydney in 1879. It was a time of depressed freights and ships found themselves seeking cargoes in other than their regular trades. Thus we find the tea clipper Titania on the Melbourne run instead of going out to China. The Thomas Stephens tried a voyage to Otago. Salamis was still in the East seeking a tea cargo. Thessalus went to Calcutta from Penarth, whilst the poor little Cutty Sark had many strange and unpleasant adventures before she resumed her place in the Australian trade, which was not until 1883. Of the other cracks Patriarch with 90 days, Miltiades with 88, Ben Voirlich with 87, Loch Maree with 94, PASSAGES IN 1879 297 ae Old Kensington with 96, Cimba with 91 and ThermopijL with 86 days all made poor passages. The two rivals, Brilliant and Pericles, were the only ships to make Sydney in under 80 days from the Channel, and owing to Pericles getting ashore close to Plymouth and having to come back and dock and discharge her cargo, etc., the two ships eventually left the Lizard together. Ship Departure Crossed Equator Crossed Cape Meridian Passed Cape Otway Arrived Sydney Days Out Pericles Brilliant Lizard Aug. 30 Lizard Aug. 30 Sept. 26 Sept. 27 Oct. 17 Oct. 20 Nov. 10 Nov. 12 Nov. 14 Nov. 16 76 77 The best passages out to Melbourne were the following : — Ship Left On Arrived Oil Days Out Sobraon Plymouth Oct. 3 Melbourne Deo. 18 74 Mermerus • Channel March 26 „ June 11 77 TUailia ,, Feb. 21 ,, May 7 75 Aristides ■ „ July 8 Sept. 23 77 Loch Vennachar ■ Clyde July 4 Sept. 23 81 Sen Oruachan Channel June 5 J, Aug. 25 81 Loch Garry - Clyde June 6 ^^ Aug. 27 82 Sir Walter Raleigh Channel June 9 •• Aug. 30 82 PASSAGES TO SYDNEY UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1880. Ship Departure Crossed Kquator Crossed Cape Meridian Passed Tasmania Arrived Days Out Cimba Samuel PlimspU ■ The Tweed ■ Channel June 11 Plymouth April 29 Lizard May 15 July 7 May 15 June 8 July 27 June 10 June 27 July 5 (Otway) July 21 (S.W.Cape) Aug. 21 July 9 July 29 72 72 76 298 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS PASSAGES TO MELBOURNE UNDER 80 DAYS [N 1880. Ship Departure Crossed Bquator Crossed Cape Meridian Passed Cape Otway Arrived Days Out Ben Voirlich Sir Walter Balcigh Romanoff Ben Cruachan Aristides Miltiades Loch Vennachar Loch Maree - Mermerua Salamis Loch Katrine - Theophane Old Kensington Lizard June 13 Start May 17 J-izard June 11 I;izard April 18 Lizard July 27 Lizard May 6 Tuskar June 1 Greenock May 1 Dungeness May 14 Start May 27 Clyde Doc. 4 Tuskar Aug. 11 Channel April 30 July 8 June 10 July May 10 Aug. 23 May 31 June 27 May 25 June 20 July 25 June 30 July 27 May 30 Sept. 12 June 21 July 18 June 19 July 11 Aug. 17 July 22 Aug. 17 Oct. 4 July 15 Aug. 12 Aug. 19 Ju'y 23 Aug. 18 June 27 Oct. 5 July 16 Aug. 12 July 12 July 20 Aug. 10 Feb.l7 'SI Oct. 27 July 17 67 67 63 70 70 71 72 73 73 75 73 78 Notes on Passages to Australia in 1880. It will be noticed that all the ships going out in under 80 days, with exception oi Aristides, Loch Katrine and Theophane, left the United Kingdom in April, May or June and got a good slant South. It was also a season of hard winds both in the Channel and North Atlantic and from the limits of the S.E. trades right away to the Otway and even inside the Heads. Captain Charles Douglas, from the Blackwaller Malabar, took over the Ben Voirlich this year ; and on 21st July when south of Gough Island he got 323 and 330 miles out of her in 48 hours before a hard W.S.W. gale. On the 17th August, when in sight of Cape Schanck, Ben Voirlich was held up by terrific squalls from N.N. W. aiid N., and had to be brought to under reefed topsails. This cost her a day as she was not able to enter the Heads until the 19th, when the wind shifted to the W.N.W. Sir Walter Raleigh madethe best passage of her career. With a good run down Channel, she took her departure from the Start the day after leaving the Thames, but PASSAGES IN 1880 299 from the Eddystone to the line she only had two runs of over 200. However between 4th and 11th July in 42° 30' S. , she ran 2128 miles, her best day's work being only 804 miles, which meant very steady going. She also was held up off her port by strong head winds after being braced sharp up all the way from the meridian of the Leeuwin. Romanoff h&d to beat down Channel and was six days from the Thames to the Lizard, and strong S.W. winds compelled her to go inside the Canaries and Cape Verdes. She crossed the equator in 21° W. She ran her easting down in 44° S., and though she hac! no big runs was only 21 days between the Cape meridian and the Otway. Ben Cruachan also had tempestuous weather and easterly winds on making the Australian coast, and came into port w ith most of her bulwarks gone . The day after passing the Leeuwin meridian, 19th June, she had a hard gale with a very heavy beam sea. She had her fore and mizen lower topsails blown out of the bolt ropes, and carried away two topmast backstays owing to the heavy rolling. Aristides had to beat out of the Channel against strong S.W. gales and Miltiades had three days of S.W. gales in the Bay of Biscay, whilst Salamis, which was very deeply laden with her PlimsoU mark awash, was forced down into 47° S . by hard easterly gales. Samuel PlimsoU, with 384 emigrants on board, was only 16 days to the equator. Between the Cape and the Leeuwin she made the following fine 24-hour runs : — }une 22 291 „ 23 308 „ 25 314 „ 26 300 The Tweed this year was commanded by Captain fone 11 . . .. 298 „ 15 .. . .. 294 „ 17 .. .. 313 „ 19 .. .. 304 800 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS White, who had had the Blackadder. The old ship averaged 240 miles a day from the equator to the S.W. Cape, Tasmania, her best day's work being from 8th to 9th July, when she covered 362 miles. Loch Maree ran down her easting in 41° S. and ex. perienced no very heavy weather, but managed to average 284 miles a day for 28 days. Rodi/tey went out to Adelaide in 74 days, but her passage was thrown in the shade by the wonderful Torrens, which arrived a few days later, only 65 days out from Plymouth. The Thomas Stephens left Liverpool on 29th April and made the fine run of 83 days to Rangoon. Passages under 80 days to Sydney in 1881. Again only three ships made the run out to Sydney in under 80 days. Cimba dropped her pilot in the Channel on 10th May and arrived Sydney on 24th July, 75 days out. Samuel Plimsoll arrived on 10th June 79 days from the Channel, and Loch Etive on 20th September 79 days from the Clyde. PASSAGES TO MELBOURNE UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1881. Crossed Passed Ship Departure Crossed Cape Cape Arrived Pays Equator Meridian Otway Out City of Agra Lizard May 29 June 17 July 11 Aug. 5 Aug. 6 69 Theopham - Tuskar June 2 June 211 July 20 Aug. 9 Aug. 10 69 Sobtaon Plymouth Sept. 27 Dec. 6 70 Loch Maree ■ S. Johns P. May 8 June 1 June 26 July 18 July 18 71 Salamis Porttand April 20 May 11 June 6 June 30 July 1 72 Ben Volrlich ■ Lizard May 2 May 25 June 21 July 13 July 16 74 Thyalira Start. May 23 June 15 July 10 Aug. « 75 Sir Waller Raleigh Dartmouth May 13 June 10 July 3 July 27 July 27 75 Cassiopt Tuskar July 17 Oct. 3 78 Mermerui Lizard Mar. 31 Apl. 22 May 19 June le Snne 17 78 Mittiades Channel May 4 July 22 79 Aristidea Lizard June 17 July 14 Aug, 8 Sept. 1 79 / — f-*i — J i '* l »ll < < PASSAGES IN 1881 301 Notes on Passages to Australia in 1881. Captain Young once more showed what the old City of Agra could do when she got the chance. Between the N.E. and S.E. trades she lost her fore topgallant mast in a squall, otherwise the passage was without incident. Running the easting down she maintained a splendid average, as her best run was only 270. Captain Young evidentlj did not believe in high latitudes as he kept her in 39° and 40° S. Theophane made a good try to beat the City of Agra's time ; she made no less than three attempts to enter the Heads on the ebb tide, but each time the wind dropped in the rip and she was drifted back and at last was compelled to wait until the next day and come in on the flood . Ben Voirlich again made some big runs, her best day's work being 349 miles and her best week 2100 miles. Loch Maree had to be careful not to ship heavy water, as she had four valuable Clydesdale stallions on her main deck. Thyatira was in company with the little Berean for three days to the south'ard, parting from her eventually in 40° S., 131° E. Berean arrived inLaun- ceston on 9th August, 87 days out from Prawle Point. The Big "Illawarra." In 1881, Devitt & Moore launched out with a real big ship, the Illawarra, and put her into the Sydney trade. She was not so fine lined as the earlier iron clippers, for the competition of steam and reduced freights were making good carrying capacity a necessity for a money-making ship. Nevertheless Illawarra had a very fair turn of speed, and her average of passages both outward and homeward was under 90 days. 802 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS She will be chiefly remembered as a cadet ship under the Brassey scheme ; sbe succeeded the Hesperus, and under Captain Maitland carried premium cadets from 1899 to 1907. In that year Devitt & Moore made a contract to take 100 War spite boys round the world, and as they did not consider the Illawarra large enough, they sold her to the Norwegians and bought the Port Jackson. The Norwegians abandoned the old Illawarra in the North Atlantic during March, 1912, when she was on a passage from Leith to Valparaiso, her crew being taken off by the British steamer Bengore Head. "Orontes." The Orontes, Thompson's new ship, was also more of a deadweight carrier than a clipper. After a plodding life with no very startling adventures, she was run into and sunk on 23rd October, 1903, by the ss. Oceana, when almost in sight of Ostend, whither she was bound from a nitrate port. The "Loch Torridon." When the competition of steam began to cut badly into the Colonial trade, all the Loch three-masters except the Loch Vennachar and Loch Garry, the two finest ships in the fleet, had their yards removed from the mizen mast and were converted into barques, yet they still continued to make fine passages. Until the eighties 1500 tons was considered a good size for a sailing ship, but the time arrived when it became necessary to have ships which possessed both large carrying capacity and speed, and every designer strove to produce a successful compromise between the two , It was soon found that full -rigged ships of 2000 tons and LOCH TORRIDON 808 over were not economical ships to work, and thus it was that the four-mast barque came into being. At first many owners went in for four-mast ships, but it was soon proved that besides being more economical the four-mast barque was just as speedy. Following the trend of the times Messrs, Aitken & Lilburn commissioned Barclay, Curie & Co. in 1881 to build them two four-mast barques of 2000 tons burden. These were the sister ships Loch Moidart and Loch Torridon; Loch Moidart was launched in September and Loch Torridon in November. The Loch Moidart yras only afloat nine years and was a general trader. On the 26th January, 1890, at 4 in the morning, when bound to Hamburg with nitrate from Pisagua, her look-out suddenly reported a bright light on the port bow. Five minutes later she struck on a sand bank, close to the village of Callantsoog in Northern Holland. A violent gale from the westward was blowing at the time, and only two men, one of whom was the cook, succeeded in gaining the shore alive. Her sister ship. Loch Torridon, was one of the best known four-mast barques in the British Mercantile Marine, and one of the fastest. * • Loch Torridon is perhaps one of the most graceful and elegant models ever launched from the Glasgow yards, ' ' wrote Sir G. M. White, the Naval Architect to the Admiralty, in 1892. In 1904 John Arthur Barry, the Australian writer, wrote of her: — " She is exceptionally lofty as to her masts, exceptionally square as to her yards . She carries nothing above a royal, but her royal yards are as long as the topgallant yards of most vessels. Her lower yards are enormous. The vessel is uncommonly well- manned with 20 hands in the foc's'le, with the usual 304 THE COLONfAL CLIPPERS complement of petty oflRcers, together with three mates and four apprentices aft. Looking forward from the break of the poop, one is struck by the immense amount of clear room on her decks, giving a visitor a sense of spaciousness and freedom in marked contrast to the often lumbered up decks of the average sailer. ■ ' SPAR PLAN OF LOCH TORRIDON. Bowsprit ■ .. 25 feet. Jibboom (outside bowsprit) 31 feet. Bowsprit and jibboom (over all) . . 56 feet. Spars Foremast Mainmast Vlizen mast feet ■ feet feet Mast— deck to truck 148 152 152 Lower mast 68 71 71 Doubling 18 18 18 • Topmast . . 57 57 57 Doubling 7 74 74 Topgallant mast 27 30 28 Royal mast 214 224 22 Lower yard 88 88 88 Lower topsail yard 78 78 78 Upper topsail yard 74 74 74 Topgallant yard 56 56 56 Royal yard 424 424 424 Spars of ; iggermast Length in feet Mast— deck to truck 128 Lower mast 70 Doubling .12 Topmast 71 Spanker gaff 38 Spanker boom 46 Jaws of gaff to head of topsail . 72 Her royals were 18 feet deep, measured at the bunt; and the depth of her courses was 38 feet measured at the bunt. She also had a spencer gaff on her mizen, measuring 24i feet. Thus it will be seen that, though she did not carry stunsails, she had plenty of canvas. Loch Torridon had a poop 36 feet long, a half-deck for apprentices 16 feet long, a midship house 25 feet long, and her topgallant foc's'le measured 49 feet in length. o Q O H w o o Q H Q O o o O C/) LOCH TORRIDON 305 Captain Pattman, who commanded her for over 26 years, gave the following testimony to her qualities, when interviewed by the Shipping Gazette : — ' ' Being perfectly sparred, the ship is easy to steer, and even in the Avorst weather the smallest boy on board can keep her on her course." Anyone who has felt how hard-mouthed the average four-mast barque can be will appreciate this quality and envy the lucky quartermasters of such a ship. On Loch Torridon there was certainly no excuse for bad steering, and the most strictly adhered to rule on board was that any man or boy found more than half a point off his course was at once sent away from the wheel in disgrace. There were two other factors in Loch Tor- ridon's success, which she owed to her enterprising commander. Captain Pattman believed in British crews, and took the trouble to train his apprentices. Regarding the first, he once remarked : — ' ' Give me a Britisher everytime, drunken and bad as he is. The best crew I ever had during the past 15 years I shipped in London last summer (1907). They were all Britishers. The view I hold on this question is that the British sailing ship sailor cannot be equalled, let alone beaten. But the difficulty I have experienced is in regard to steamship A.B.'s. I shipped one of these fellows some time ago, and it turned out that he k«ew nothing of sailing ship ways. He could not steer, and he knew a good deal less than one of our second voyage apprentices. A.s compared with such a man, I say, ' Give me a foreigner who has been at sea on sailing ships for two or three years and who knows the way things are done on a sailing ship. ' I find, however, that the foreigner who has been a few years in British ships becomes more insolent, more disobedient and more 306 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS difficult to manage than the British sail-trained seaman." With regard to the training of apprentices, many a good officer owes his present position to the late Captain Pattman. The Loch Torridon apprentices went to the wheel on their first voyage. At first they took the lee wheel, but as soon as they showed their ability they were allowed to stand their regular trick. In other matters Captain Pattman was a strong advocate of the system carried out on board the German training ships, notably the North German Lloyd. Captain Pattman took command of Loch Tprridon on her second voyage. Her maiden voyage was a very tragic one. She went out to Hobson's Bay from Glasgow under Captain Pinder, arriving on 27th April, 1882, 105 days out. This gave no indication of her sailing capabilities, so she was not taken up to load wool but was sent across to Calcutta to load jute. She left Calcutta on 22nd August. On 9th October, when off the Cape, she ran into a heavy gale from W.N.W. Captain Pinder hove her to on the starboard tack under close-reefed main topsail. After a bit Captain Pinder wore her round on to the port tack, but with the squalls increasing she lay down to it, dipping her starboard rail. Thereupon Captain Pinder decided to wear her back on to the starboard tack. The mate besought him not to do this without setting the foresail^ but un- fortunately, having been lucky once, the captain insisted, with the result that when she got off before the wind she had not enough way on her and a tremendous sea came roaring over the stern and carried overboard the master, second mate, man at the wheel, sailmaker and a boy, all being drowned. The mate also was swept awav but was saved by a hitch of the main brace CAPTAIN PATTMAN'S CAREER 807 111 i en S Pk « «^« « to 'o -ra 9 o Q ■ou: ml o a o tj >t CO rj; IS" I'gg'S bn » -^ (^ d O JS <^ B a JS o S .-d S 5 ,.§••§ lib .rt-g a 6 S,g Sg a ^■g 3^ S a g 9^ I-. .5 £ i oi' SiiH,3<'tSB 02 11 . o a 0(3 " Jil S-" a 1 « a d ^ t- ff-o g ^ ^■g b H o O Q jn ^ fl K « rn g HO DO M^ 60 60,5 M-S iS " Sj ot333 35 3(J(j3 I i p3p54fmo oo-< o» 3<5" S CD t- ^Oi 0<0 ^ IS 05 OS 10 05 "O «D 00 CO - « t* 00 mSmSm 3 3 5 3 3 3 SS'C a 33 Sa 3::: ft IS ^a ft ft 2 ft s Ba^a ■* w •* ■S w » <5 •5 ■« 's -a ^ » s O O te -I a It fi i 000 r^ 00 00 w - fh m eo ^ CO 00 00 t* .00 00 00 "QQOO 808 THE COLONIAL CLIPPER getting round his leg. On the following day the weather moderated, and the mate brought the ship home to Plymouth, from whence she was towed up to London. Captain Pattman took charge of Loch Torridon in December, 1882, giving up the command of the four- mast ship County of Selkirk in order to take the Loch liner. As a sailing ship commander of the first rank, it may perhaps be of interest to give a short outline of Captain Pattman's previous career. From this record it will be seen that Captain Pattman had won his way to command by the time-honoured means of the hawse-hole. In the barque Advice he had an experience which would have sickened most boys of the sea, and he bore the scars to his dying day. The officers of the ship were actually prosecuted by his father for their brutality, the result being that Pattman's indentures were can- celled, the captain had his certificate cancelled and was sentenced to 18 months' hard labour, whilst the mate was given three years' hard labour. Both were hard drinkers and uneducated men. The brig Hubertus, which Pattman joined as an ordinary seaman, was a real old-fashioned Geordie collier brig. Her skipper could neither read nor write, and Pattman acted as his clerk and did all his corres- pondence. But the old man knew his way about the North Sea by smell: he only had to sniff the arming of the lead and was never wrong in naming the ship's position. These old collier skippers always wore sleeved vests and stove-pipe hats at sea, and in the summer the Thames was often a wonderful sight when these colliers sailed up to London before a fair wind. There were often a hundred and more, brigs, schooners and barques. »11 crowding up the river so closely LOCH TORRIDON 809 that these old Geordie skippers, all smoking long church- wardens, would be leaning over their respective taffrails exchanging greetings and gossip. Truly 60 years have changed the London River. Yet many a man living to-day can remember the year 1866, when Pattman sailed up to London in his Geordie brig. It was the year in which the three famous tea clippers Ariel, Taeping, and Serica arrived in the river on the same tide. Seafaring then was far more like that of the days of Drake and the Elizabethans than it is like the seafaring of the present day. Lauderdale was a well-known ship in the China trade, and the Christiana Thompson was, of course, the Aber- deen White Star liner. On her first three voyages under Captain Pattman, Loch Torridon took first, second, and third class pas- sengers out to Melbourne from Glasgow. She left Glasgow on 2nd March, 1883, with? saloon, S3 steerage passengers and 12 prize stallions for Port Phillip. Passed Rothesay Bay on the 5th and the Tuskar on the 8th. Running down the easting she made 1911 miles in one week, and was only 22 days between the Cape meridian and Hobson's Bay, passing through the Heads 74 days out from the Tuskar. At Melbourne she took on board 320 horses, 2 cows, 8 dogs, 12 sheep and 27 Chinese grooms for Calcutta. The trade in walers between Australia and Calcutta was a very lucrative one in those days. On the Loch Torridon a new system was adopted for taking the horses on board. They were walked from the railway trucks up gangways on to the main deck, then down other specially laid gangways through the hatchways and so into their stalls. This method proved an unqualified success and saved four days' time on the old method 810 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS of slinging them aboard. The hatch gangways were left in position, and while at sea the horses were exercised on deck in batches, every horse getting 24 hours a week on deck. This would have been impossible on a ship with an incumbered deck, but here the fine clean sweep of Loch Torridon's main deck came in useful as a sort of training ground. Sailing from Melbourne on 20th June, 1883, the Loch Torridon was unfortunate in encountering very bad weather between Cape Otway and the Leeuwin, in which she lost 27 horses and 2 Chinese grooms. She arrived in Calcutta on 1st August, 42 days out, and cleared £1250 on the trip after paying all expenses such as fittings, grooms and horse food. From Calcutta she took 103 days to London. On the 26th May, 1884, Loch Torridon again left Glasgow for Melbourne with 8 saloon, 8 second class and 34 steerage passengers, and the usual Clyde cargo of pig iron, pipes, bar iron, heavy hardware, bricks, boards, ale and whisky. She put into Rothesay Bay for shelter from the weather on 30th May, and passed the Tuskar on 2nd June. Crossed the line on 1st July in 27° W. The S.E. trades were southerly and she had to beat along the Brazilian coast to 17° S. Passed the Cape meridian on 30th July in 44° S . On 10th and 11th August she logged 642 miles, was 23 days from the Cape meridian to Port Phillip, and arrived in Melbourne 28rd August, 82 days from the Tuskar. She then took coal from Newcastle, N.S.W., to Frisco, making the run across the Pacific in 58 days : and loaded a grain cargo home. In 1885 she ran out to Melbourne from Glasgow with 58 passengers in 89 days, crossed to Frisco with New- castle coal in 58 days, and took 49,317 bags of wheat from Frisco to Hull. LOCH TORRIDON 811 In 1886 she went out to Bombay from Cardiff with 2928 tons of coal, arriving Bombay on 14th January, 1887, 97 days out, having raced and beaten the County of Edinburgh. After lying three months in Bombay, she got a freight home to Dunkirk. In 1887 Loch Torridon went to Calcutta from Liverpool and then took a Calcutta cargo to New York, arriving there on 10th June, 1888, 102 days out. From New York she took case oil back to Calcutta, but at 8.15 a.m. on 1st November she stranded on Bangaduni Sand and Captain Pattman had to jettison cargo to get her off. It was proved at the inquiry that an abnormal nor'- westerly current caused by cyclonic disturbances at the south end of the Bay of Bengal had set the Loch Torridon in on the land. The weather had been thick for some days and Captain Pattman had no blame attached to him. Temporary repairs were made in Calcutta, and on her arrival home permanent repairs were made at Jarrow -on -Tyne . In 1889 Loch Torridon again went to Calcutta, taking a brutal cargo of 'railway iron from Middlesboro, and came home to London. In 1890 she went out to Calcutta from Liverpool in 87 days port to port, and took jute back to Dundee. In 1891 Loch Torridon at last returned to the Australian trade, arriving in Sydney from Glasgow 94 days out. Then after lying in Sydney for five months, she loaded her first wool cargo. Amongst the magnificent fleet of 77 sailing ships, which were screwing wool into their holds for the London market. Loch Torridon was considered an outsider, a dark horse with her name all to make ; and she thus had to wait for the last sales, and did not get away until the 27th March, 812 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS 1892. Nevertheless the Loch Torridon made the best" passage of the season and had the honour of beating all the cracks. The following is Captain Pattman's account of his passage : — My passage home was the smartest of the wool season, 1891-2, either from Melbourne or Sydney, being 81 days to the Lizard and 83 to dock. After 1 left Sydney, I got down as far as Jervis Bay and there met an S.S.E. gale, which was in force for 36 hours. I went away for the north of New Zealand, which I passed on the 14th day out. I fell in with the Liverpool there. I was in 150° W. on 29th April, before I got a wind without any easting in it. Nothing but N.E.E. and S.E. winds prevailed up to that time. On 14th May I rounded the Horn, 40 days out, I was nearly grey-headed at that time. On 21st May I fell in with the Strathdon. We were both dodging icebergs, the Strathdon had been in amongst them since 18th May, but I only had 12 hours of it, which was quite enough. I left her astern in a short time. On 3rd June I was in 0° 27' S. lat., 60 days from Sydney, 20 from the Horn. On 24th June I signalled at the Lizards, 21 days from the equator. I think it is a record passage from the Horn. I can hardly believe my good fortune, for I threw up the sponge when I got to the Horn, 40 days out, and made sure that the passage would run into three figures. Loch Torridon passed everything we saw, in fact she never sailed better with me. I saw in the evening papers that the Hesperus was reported in 14° N. on 1st June. I was in 0° 27' S. on 3rd June. The Hesperus docked yesterday. She was the only one I thought had a chance with me, and I am of opinion that if I had gone south of New Zealand I should have done much better. It would have been hard lines if I could not have rounded the Snares in 14 days and been in a better position for winds as well, but I am content. I have shown that an outsider, as they looked upon the Loch Torridon, can show the road to their regular traders. Ice to the South'ard. It will be noticed from Captain Pattman's letter on his run home in 1892 that Strathdon and Loch Torridon encountered ice- to the south'ard. And thfcy were not the only ships to do so. In the years 1892 and 1893 a tremendous drift of field ice and huge bergs, many of them over 1000 feet in CBOMDALE 318 height, blocked the way of ships in the Southern Ocean, as the following reports will show : — 1892. April Cromdale encountered ice 1000 feet high in 46° S. 36° W. May Strathdon „ „ 1000 „ 45 S. 25 W. June County of Edinbro,, „ 900 „ 45 S. 37 W. Sept. Loch Eck 1000 „ 44 S. 2 W. Oct. Curzon „ „ 1000 „ 44 S. 31 W. Oct. Liverpool „ „ 800 „ 56 S 94 W. 1893. Jan. Loch Torndon encountered ice 1500 feet high in 51° S. 46° W. Feb. Cutty Sark „ „ 1000 „ „ 50 S. 43 W. Mar. Turakina „ „ 1200 „ „ 51 S. 47 W. April Brier Holme „ „ 1000 „ „ 49 S. 51 W. May Charles Racine „ „ 1000 „ „ 50 S. 52 W. The Cromdale had a very exciting experience, and Captain E. H. Andrew wrote the following account to the secretary of the London Shipmasters ' Society : — We left Sydney on 1st March^ and having run our easting down on the parallel of 49° to 50° S., rounded the Horn on 30th March without having seen ice, the average temperature of the water being 43° during the whole run across. At midnight on 1st April in 56° S., 58° 32' W., the temperature fell to 37 J°, this being the lowest for the voyage, but no ice was seen though there was a suspicions glare to the southward . At 4 a.m. on 6th April in 46° S., 36° W., a large berg was reported right ahead, just giving us time to clear it. At 4.30 with the first signs of daybreak, several could be distinctly seen to windward, the wind being N.W. and the ship steering N.E. about 9 knots. At dayhght, 6.20 a.m., the whole horizon to windward was a complete mass of bergs of enormous size, with an unbroken wall at the back ; there were also many to leeward. I now called all hands, and after reducing speed to 7 knots sent the hands to their stations and stood on. At 7 a.m. there was a wall extending from a point on the lee bow to about 4 points on the lee quarter, and at 7.30 both walls joined ahead. I sent the chief mate aloft with a pair of glasses to find a passage out, but he reported from the topgallant yard that the ice was unbroken ahead. Finding myself embayed and closely beset with innumerable bergs of all shapes, I decided to tack and try and get out the way I had come into the bay. The cliffs were now truly grand, rising up 300 feet on either side of 814 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS us, and as square and true at the edge as if just out of a joiner's shop, with the sea breaking right over the southern cliff and whirling away in a cloud of spray. Tacked ship at 7.30 finding the utmost difficulty in keeping clear of the huge pieces strewn so thickly in the water and having on several occasions to scrape her along one to keep clear of the next. We stood on in this way until 11 a.m., when, to my horror, the wind started to veer with every squall till I drew quite close to the southern barrier, having the extreme point a little on my lee bow. I felt sure we must go ashore without a chance of saving ourselves. Just about 11.30 the wind shifted to S.W. with a strong squall, so we squared away to the N.W. and came past the same bergs as we had seen at daybreak, the largest being about 1000 feet high, anvil shaped. At 2 p.m. we got on the N.W. side of the northern arm of the horseshoe shaped mass. It then reached from 4 points on my lee bow to as far as could be seen astern in one unbroken line. A fact worthy of note was that at least 50 of the bergs in the bay were perfectly black,. which was to be accounted for by the temperature of the water, being 51°, which had turned many over. I also think that had there been even the smallest outlet at the eastern side of this mass, the water between the barriers would not have been so thickly strewn with bergs, aS the prevailing westerly gales would have driven them through and separated them. I have frequently seen ice down south, but never anything like even the smaller bergs in this group. I also had precisely the same experience with regard to the tempera- ture of water on our homeward passage in the Derwent three years ago, as we dipped up a bucket of water %\dthin half a mile of a huge berg and found no change in the temperature. Cromdale, Strathdon, County of Edinburgh and Curzon, all sighted this stupendous ice barrier, and Loch Torridon when she spoke the Strathdon was on the extreme eastern end in about 25° W . , whilst the Cromdale cleared it at the extreme western end, giving the length of the barrier from east to west about 12 degrees of longitude. In the following year Loch Torridon, Cutty Sark, Turakina, Brier Holme and Charles Racine fell in with an equally huge field of ice, about 6 degrees of latitude further south and stretching from 52 ° W. to 43° W . That the two fields were the same lot of ice it is very difficult LOCH TORRIDON 816 to say for certain, but it is more likely that they were quite separate from each other. Here is Loch Torridon's account of the 1893 ice as given to the Shipping Gazette : — Loch Torridon reports that on 17th January, 1893, In lat. 82° 60' S., long. 46° W., she sighted two large icebergs- to the eastward. On the 19th in 60° 60' S., 46° W., she passed between numerous immense bergs, ranging in size from ^ to 3 miles in length, and from 500 to 1000 feet high. At 3.30 p.m. on same date she saw an immense continent of ice ahead with apparently no open water. Passing to the eastward she had the south end abeam at 4 p.m. and the north end at 9.30 a.m. As the ship had been sailing 9 knots an hour during this time, steering a N. 11° E. course, this would give the length, north and south, of this mass to be about 50 miles. How far it extended to the westward was not known, but from aloft, as as far as the eye could see, nothing but ice was visible. Numerous large bergs were to the eastward of the barrier, through which Loch Torridon threaded her way, besides vast quantities of detached pieces of ice and small bergs. Numerous bays and indentations were noticed in the continent. of ice, with bergs and detached ice in the bays cracking against each other and turning over. Loch Torridon had sleet and fine snow all night and intense cold. Numberless bergs were passed until 8 a.m. on the 20th, when an iceberg was abeam to the eastward at least 3 miles long and PoOO feet high. The following was the famous Cutty Sark's experience. I have taken it from Captain Woodget's private journal : — Wednesday, 8th February.— Lat. 50° 08' S., long. 46° 41' W., course N. 50° E., distance 150 miles. Gentle S.W. breeze and fine. 6"0 a.m., foggy; 6.30, fog lifted and we found ourselves surrounded by icebergs; 8 a.m., foggy again; ice ahead, in fact there was ice all round. As soon as we cleared one berg another would be reported. You could hear the sea roaring on them and through them, the ice cracking sometimes like thunder, at other times like cannon, and often like a sharp rifle report, and yet could not see them. At 1 p.m. the top of an iceberg was seen which one could hardly believe was ice, it looked like a streak of dark cloud. Then we could see the ice a few feet down, but we could not see the bottom. It was up at an angle of 45 degrees, we were only about 1000 feet off, so it would be 1000 feet high, it had a circular top but we could not see the ends. 8lb THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS A few minutes later another was under the bows, we only cleared it by a few feet. It was about 100 feet high and flat-topped. Just as we were passing the corner there was a sharp report that made you jump, as if it was breaking in two. Found another on the other side quite close, and a few minutes later, saw the long ridge of ice almost ahead. Kept off, and then another came in sight on the other bow. We were too near it to keep away, but I felt sure that it was no part of the big one — as we were passing this the ■ point of the big one came in sight, the fog cleared and we passed in between them, there being not more than 400 feet between them. When we had cleared thfe big one, I saw its north end and took bearings. After sailing 8 miles I took' other bearings and found that the east side was 19 miles long; and we could not see the end of the side we sailed along. We sailed about 6 miles alongside of it, water now quite smooth. Before noon the water was quite lumpy from all ways. After we had cleared the passage by about 3 or 4 miles, it cleared up astern and what a sight it was! Nothing but icebergs through the passage and on thesouth side of the passage (for the south berg was only about J mile long north and south, same height as the big berg. I expect it had not long broken off.) There was nothing but a sea of ice astern, and another large flat- topped iceberg, which as far as you could see extended like land, it must have been 20 miles long or more. After we were through, there was nothing but small ice from small pieces to bergs 100 feet long. Also there was one about a mile long_ covered with what looked like pumice stone or lumps of tallow. '•Loch Torridon's" Voyages, 1892-1908. Notwithstanding her fine wool passage in 1892, Loch Torridon could not find a cargo in London and was obliged to leave the Thames in ballast. With only 350 tons of flints and a quantity of ' ' London rubbish ' ' as stiffening, she sailed in magnificent style. She left Gravesend on 30th July, 1892— was off Start Point, 31st July— crossed the equator. 19th August. 20 days out— lost S.E. trades in 22° S.. 29th August— crossed the Cape meridian. 14th September. 46 days out— made Moonlight Island, 7th October, 69 days out. Loch Torridon's best week's work was 2119 knots; she ran down her easting in 43° S. and made the following consecutive runs in the 24 hours-303, 290, 288, 272. 285, 270, 327 and 341 miles. LOCH TORRIDON 817 Her passage worked out at 69 days pilot to pilot, 73 days port to port. This would have been still better if she had not had to battle against a ' ' dead muzzier ' ' for the last week of the passage. She cleared for London on 30th November, 1892, and after her en- counter with the ice arrived in the Thames 96 days out. Again she left London in ballast. This time she was sent up to Frederickstadt, where she loaded 940 pieces of timber and 400 tons of pig iron for Melbourne. Again she made a fine run out. She sailed on 14th June, 1893, from Frederickstadt. Had strong head winds in the North Sea : — Passed Dover, 20th June— passed Ushant 24:th June — passed Cape Finisterre, 29th June — crossed the line, 23rd July — ^crossed Cape meridian in 42° S., 17th August. In lat. 46° S., long. 86° E., Loch Torridonv/as caught in an unusually heavy gale with a tremendous cross sea, the barometer touching 28.83°. However, she came through it without damage. Captain Pattman using oil with good effect. Loch Torridon passed through Port Phillip Jleads at 11.30 p.m. on 9th September, 87 days from Frederickstadt and 77 days from Ushant. At the time this was a record passage from Norway to Melbourne. Loch Torridon cleared for London on 20th November, 1893, with a cargo consisting of 8498 bales of wool, 329 bales of sheepskins, 1250 old rails, 2 casks arsenic. 657 packages of tallow, 11 packages of books, 2000 bags of wheat, 11 bales of fur skins, 12 bales of hair, 1942 bags of peas, 118 hides, 351 pigs, horns, etc., 100 bales of scrolls. .She dropped her pilot on the 30th and reached London on 6th March, 96 days out. In 1894 she loaded coke and railway iron at Barry for Port Pirrie and made the run out in 72 days, her best 818 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS week's work being 1914 miles and her ijest 24 hours 327 miles. She left Barry at 6 p.m. on 18th May— crossed the equator, 23 days out— crossed the Cape meridian on 30th June— crossed the meridian of Cape Leeuwin on 20th July— sighted Cape Borda 10 p.m., 27th July- passed Wedge Island at 1 a m.,.28th July, in a strong westerly gale and anchored at 1 p.m. on 30th July. From Port Pirrie she went up to Melbourne and loaded another cargo of wool, wheat and hides; and leaving Melbourne on 20th December arrived in the Thames on 21st March, 1895. In 1895, owing to the falling off in the export trade to Victoria, which sailing ships were, of course, the first to feel, Loch Torridon was compelled to accept a charter for Cape Town. Leaving London 6th July, she reached Table Bay on 30th August, 55 days out. Here she was visited and greatly admired by Lord Brassey. From Africa she went to Australia, but owing to the severe drought, like many another clipper that year, she failed to get a wool cargo and so was compelled to go across to the coast of South America for ^ homeward freight. It was on this occasion that she had the famous race to Valparaiso with the well-known four- mast ship Wendur. The vessels left Newcastle, N.S.W., in company on 1st January, 1896, and though neither sighted the other during the passage, they made a magnificent race of it. Wendur picked up her pilot off Cape Coronilla at 6 p.m. on 29th January, and reached the anchorage at 8 p.m., after a record passage of 29 days. Loch Torridon was held up by fog and calm at the entrance to the Bay and did not arrive until six hours later. The previous best passage was 32 days, which had been made two years before. Many bets had been o a I— I « Pi O H K o o 1-1 I 5 a, LOCH TOBRIDON 819 made on this race, as both ships were noted in the Colonies for their sailing qualities. Wendur, indeed, was one of the finest ships in the British Mercantile Marine, and under Captain Frank Whiston had made many a splendid passage and, curiously enough, had once before shown Loch Torridon the road by running from Frederickstadt to Melbourne in 81 days, before which Loch Torridon's run had been considered the record. In the run to Valparaiso Wendur 's best day's work was 330 miles with a moderate N.W. wind and heavy southerly swell in 54° S. , 128° W. The next day she ran 810 miles, and three days later 820 miles, the wind strong at N.W. with heavy sea; her log remarks that she lost her boats, pigstye, goats, etc., on this day, so Captain Whiston was driving her. Loch Torridon loaded at Tocopilla for Hamburg, and was 93 days coming home, a poor passage, her bottom was probably foul. On 6th July her decks were badly swept off the Horn and she had a big repair bill when she arrived in Glasgow from Hamburg. In 1896-7 she went out to Adelaide from Glasgow in 71 days and then crossed from Newcastle, N.S.W., to Frisco in 46 days. She left Newcastle on 15th April in company with the four-mast ship Thistle and the Norwegian ship Hiawatha. Both these vessels were dropped hull down to leeward on the first day out. Going through the Islands continuous bad weather was met with ; Captain Pattman never had his yards off the backstays until 35° N. and had difficulty in weather- ing Fiji ; nevertheless on 31st May Loch Torridon came flying through the Golden Gate in front of a N.Wly. gale, and anchored in the Bay at 10 p.m. Hiawatha took 62 days, Thistle 79 days, and two 320 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS other ships, the American barque Topgallant 100 days and the Cressington 106 days. Besides beating these, Loch Torridon passed no less than ten vessels which had sailed from Newcastle before her. lioading grain at Port Costa, Loch Torridon sailed on 23rd July, and arrived at Falmouth on 13th November, 1897, 113 days out. Captain Pattman stated that owing to the foul- ness of her bottom his ship was not sailing her best and he was disappointed with his passage. Other passages home from Frisco that year were : — Musselcrag arrived Queenstown Lord Templeton „ „ Sterra Cadena „ „ Andelana „ „ Dominion „ „ Gifford . . arrived Liverpool Cfown oj Denmark ,, Queenstown Caradoc 110 days out. Ul 114 „ 114 117 118 128 134 All these vessels sailed about July and were considered crack ships. In 1898 Loch Torridon went out to Adelaide in 79 days. Whilst running her easting down she was swept by a heavy sea, one man being lost overboard, the half -deck burst in like a pack of cards, the donkeyhouse stove, and three of the boats flattened out and left like skeletons in the chocks, whilst their davits were snapped off close to the deck. She came home from Melbourne to London in 90 days. In 1898-9 she made the splendid run of 72 days 15 hours to Sydney. She left London 5 a.m., 10th November, 1898 — on 11th November she ran 300 miles in the 24 hours — on 12th November she ran 315 miles in the 24 hours — crossed the line in 28° W., 22 days out — ran her easting down in 45° S., best 24 hours 320 miles and was 23 days from the Cape Meridian to Tasmania. Loch Torridon had between 4000 and 5000 tons of LOCH TORRIDON 321 heavy general cargo in her hold and was very deep. Between 1875-1887 the clippers loaded nothing like such a heavy general cargo outwards, and yet this performance of Loch Torridon's is equal to any of that day. She arrived in Port Jackson on 31st January, 1899. This year for a change she came home from Lyttelton, N.Z., in 86 days. The next three years she did nothing remarkable. 1899 London to Adelaide . . . . 85 days Melbourne to London . . . . 105 „ 1900 London to Adelaide . . . . 88 „ Melbourne to London . . . . 88 „ 1901 London to Adelaide . . . . 86 „ Adelaide to London . . . . 112 „ In 1902 she went out to Adelaide in 79 days, then loaded coals at Newcastle, N.S.W., for Frisco. Again she made a remarkable run across the Pacific. She left Newcastle on 27th April — crossed the line on 17th May in 169° 42' W. — arrived at Frisco on 11th June, 45 days out. At San Francisco Captain Pattman loaded wheat for Liverpool. But when he was ready to sail he found himself 10 men short, so applied to the usual sources. And here is a good instance of the methods of Frisco boarding-house masters at that date. He was informed that each man would cost him $30 blood money, $25 advance, $5 shipping fee, $1 boat hire — total $61 per man. This was more than a resolute man like Captain Pattman could put up with, especially with wheat freights to U . K . at 1 1 s . 3d . Though the boarding-house masters were a law unto themselves in San Francisco and boasted of their power, he determined to brave them and after some trouble managed to get men at $31 inclusive per man. His success broke the ring for a time, and they were soon offering men at $21 a head, less 822 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS $2.50 commission of the captains. No doubt many a present day officer will remember the episode, which caused quite a stir in windjammer circles at Frisco, and even produced a long poem in one of the leading papers. This poem was entitled "The Lay of the Loch Torridon, " and the patriotic Frisco newspaper man takes care that the British captain is bested in his efforts. The Loch Torridon sailed on 8th November, in company with the four-mast barque Crocodile. Loch Torridon arrived Liverpool on 14th March, 1904, and the Crocodile on 31st March, over two weeks behind. From 1904 to 1909, when Captain Pattman resigned his command. Loch Torridon was kept on the Australian run, her passages being: — 1904 Glasgow to Sydney ,. .. 77 days. Sydney to London . . . . 97 , 1905 London to Adelaide .. . . 85 „ Melbourne to London . . . . 106 „ 1906 London to Adelaide . . . . 83 „ Melbourne to London .. .,117 „ 1907 London to Adelaide . . . . 83 „ Melbourne to London . . , , 86 „ 1908 London to Adelaide , . , , 94 ., Melbourne to London , , . . 87 „ On her arrival home in 1908, Captain Pattman reluctantly decided to give up his command and go into steam, his reason that vexed one, the lack of real sailormen to man her. Besides which, owing to the ' unwillingness of good men to remain in sail, he had to put up with an aged " has been " as mate and an apprentice just out of his time for second mate. In 1912 Loch Torridon was sold to the Russians. About the same time Captain Pattman had his leg broken by a sea whilst on the bridge of his new command. He was landed at Falmouth and died there in hospital. The old Loch Torridon survived until 1915, when she PORT JACKSON 323 foundered near the entrance to the Channel in the last days of January, and it is possible that a German sub- marine caused her end. Her Russian crew were rescued by the British steamer Orduna, and the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society awarded medals and certificates of thanks to Captain Taylor of the Orduna and her chief and second officers. "Port Jackson." Port Jackson has always been considered one of the most beautiful iron ships ever built. She was designed by Mr. Alexander Duthie, and built by Hall under the supervision of the Duthie brothers; cost £29,000 to build or at the rate of £13 a ton; was unusually strong and in every way made as perfect as possible. She was one of the most sightly four-mast barques ever launched. Captain Crombie was her first commander, and under him she did some very fine performances, notably a run of 39 days from Sydney to San Francisco, when she was only three days behind the time of the mail steamer. Her best run in the 24 hours was 345 miles. Unfortunately, when Captain Crombie left her, for some years no one attempted to bring out Port Jackson's sailing qualities, and for two years before she was bought by Devitt & Moore for their cadet training scheme she lay idle in the Thames. After long years of cadet carrying Port Jackson fell a victim to the war, being torpedoed by a German submarine in the Channel in 1916. PASSAGES TO SYDNEY UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1882. Ship From Left To Arrived Days Out Thomas SUphent - Port Jackson Channel Nov. 9 Oct. 28 Sydney Jan. 22, '83 Jan. 13. >83 74 77 324 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS PASSAGES TO MELBOURNE UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1882. Crossed Passed Sblp Departure Crossed Cape Cape Arrived Days Out Equator Meridian Otway Rodney Plymouth Oct. 15 Nov. 7 Nov. 29 Dec. 22 Dec. 23 69 Ben Voirlkh Lizard May 3 May as June 18 July 11 July 12 70 Salamis Lizard Mar. 7 Mar. 31 April 24 May 17 71 Mittiades - Lizard April 19 May 15 June 6 July 1 73 ArUlides • Start July 14 Aug. 13 Sept. 4 Sept. 25 Sept. 25 73 Simla Penzance Sept. 3 Nov. 16 74 Marpesia - Tu3kar July 9 Aug. 11 Aug. 30 Sept. 25 78 TfiessatuB Chanoel May 10 July 23 79 Notes on Passages to Australia in 1882. Port. Jackson holds the record of being the first four-poster to go out to Sydney in under 80 days. Her best run was 345 miles in the 24 hours. The Rodney's best run was 312 miles, made the day before she sighted the Otway. Ben Voirlich averaged 300 miles a day from Gough Island to Kerguelen. Salamis crossed the Cape meridian the same day as the steamship Aberdeen, and the steamer only managed to get inside the Heads on 14th May, a bare 70 hours ahead of the gallant little green clipper. The Simla was a fine Liverpool ship with a good reputation for speed. She registered 1260 tons and was built by Royden in 1874. For a change there were no Lochs out to the Colonies in under 80 days this year, and Messrs. Aitken & Lilburn had sent their new four-masters to Calcutta. Notes on Passages to Australia in 1883. The Maulesden, which figured in these tables in 1877, was a 1500-ton ship, built by Stephen, of Dundee, for David Bruce. She and her sister ship, the Duntrune, were very well known clippers with some very fine PASSAGES TO AUSTRALIA IN 1883 325 records to their credit. But this passage of Maulesden's to Maryborough, Queensland, made a record which has never been approached. It will be noticed that she crossed the line 17 days out, doubled the Cape 39 days out, and passed Tasmania 61 days out, a truly pheno- menal passage. Running the easting down, she made 24-hour runs of 302, 303, 304, 311, 317, 322 and 335 miles, whilst her best weeks were 1698, 1798, 1908 and 1929 miles. From Maryborough she went across to Frisco, and from there to U.K., calling at Queenstown; and the whole voyage, including detention in port, was only 9 months 13 days. I have a photograph of her, and she is a typical iron clipper very like the Ben Voirlich, PASSAGES TO AUSTRALIA UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1883. Crossed Passed Ship Departure Crossed Cape Otway or Destination Date Days Equator Meridian S.W.Cape Arrived Out Maulesden Greenock Mar. 2 Mar. 19 April 10 May 2 Maryboro. May lo 69 Samuel PlimsoU Flymoutli Apl. 6 April 27 May 19 June 10 Sydney June 17 72 Patriarch Start May 16 June 6 June 27 July 24 „ July 28 73 Salamis Dartm'th Feb.24 Mar. 23 April 23 May 6 „ May 9 74 Loch Tarridon Tuskar Mar. 8 April 29 Melbourne May 21 74 Dharwar Plym'thJiUy 16 Aug. 7 Sept. 1 Sept. 26 Sydney Sept. 30 77 Cutty Saric ■ CbannelJnly 21 N'c'tleN.S.W. Oct. 10 78 Penclas Channel Sept. 27 Sydney Dec. 14 78 Candida Uahant June IS July 10 Aug. 3 Aug. 27 „ Sept. 1 78 MiUiades Start May 8 June 24 June 27 Melbourne July 25 78 Mermerus Lizard April 29 May 22 June 22 July 16 „ July 17 79 Aristidet Start May 28 June 30 July 28 Aug. 14 " Aug. 15 79 I have put all the passages together this year ; of the ships bound to Sydney, only the Candida rounded Tasmania, the skippers generally preferring the shorter route through Bass Straits. A notable return this year to the Australian trade is the wonderful little Cutty Sark, commanded by Captain Moore, this was her first passage to Newcastle, and 326 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS I believe she was one of the first ships to load wool at Newcastle, In future we shall see her somewhere near the top of every table. The Samuel Plimsoll did well to the south 'ard again, averaging 278 miles for 13 consecutive days, her best day's work being 337 miles. The little Salamis made her second appearance in Port Jackson. She arrived on the same day as her composite sister, Thermopylae. Thermopylae, however, had a terrible passage, the worst of her career, being actually 107 days from the Start. Held up by con- tinual gales, she did not cross the equator until her 45th day out, 8th March, the day Salamis passed the Cape Verd. She crossed the Cape meridian on 7th April, six days before Salamis, and passed the Otway on 5th May, only one day ahead of Salamis, so Salamis had been closing steadily on her the whole passage. Dharwar arrived with 414 emigrants, and had measles and fever on board so had to go into quarantine. The Candida hailed from Liverpool, a 1200-ton iron clipper. She brought out 35 passengers and a general cargo from London. Mermerus had now made 12 consecutive passages to Melbourne, averaging 78 days. Her best runs this passage were 311 and 314 miles. Ben Cruachan and Ben Voirlich made passages of 85 and 87 days respectively. Ben Cruachan certainly must have been severely handicaped by a foul bottom, as I find this was the third voyage since she had been docked ! The "Derwent." The Derwent was a very up-to-date ship, with numerous innovations. She was built to the speci- cation of Captain Andrew, her first commander, and ' DERWENT," ofi Gravesend. "MOUNT STEWART." Photo by Captain Sclvuize, Sydney. [To face page 327. DERWENT 827 he overlooked her construction with an eagle eye. Derteent was one of the first ships to cross steel topgallant yards, substitute rigging screws for deadeyes, to have a donkey with winch barrels, etc. She sailed on her first voyage on Xmas Eve, 1884, her crew consisting of captain, 3 certificated officers, 8 midshipmen, 12 apprentices, bosun, sailnaaker, carpenter, donkeyman and 12 hands in the fo'cs'le. The start was not very propitious. She sailed from Glasgow, dragged her anchors off the Tail of the Bank, and then her crew refused duty. The weather was so bad that she sought shelter at Queenstown, 11 days out from Greenock. Here advantage was taken to prosecute her insubordinate crew, who received sentences of from one to three months' imprisonment. The Derwent was never considered a fast ship, but a good sea boat and excellent cargo carrier ; nevertheless she made some very good runs, notably : — Sydney to Lizard . . Sydney to Penzance 77 days. 74 ., In 1904 Devitt & Moore sold her to the Norwegians, and she was still afloat when the war broke out, being owned in Larvik. PASSAGES TO AUSTRALIA UNDER 80 DAYS IN 1884. Crossed Ship Departure Crossed Meridian Passed Destination Date Days Equator Cape Otway Arrived Out MiUiadea Ushant June 8 June 28 July 18 . Melbourne Aug. 13 71 Sobraon Plym'th Sept 29 ^^ Dec. 13 75 Loch Long Clyde June 1 ,, Aug. 15 75 Thesaalas Downs Apl. U Sydney June 27 77 Windsor CasUe Dartm'th Mar.26 * >. June 12 78 (D.Rose&Co.) Star of Italy - Gr'v'a'nd Nov.27 Melbourne Feb.13,85 78 Ctitly Surk - Channel June IS Newcastle Sept. 5 79 Cimha Channel May 30 June 23 July 18 Sydney Aug. 17 78 328 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Notes on Passages to Australia in 1884. A good many ships this year were just into the 80 days; for instance Dharwar, 80 davs to Sydney; Samuel Plimsoll, 80 to Sydney; Trafalgar, 81 to Sydney ; Loch Vennachar, 80 to Melbourne ; Romanoff, 80 to Melbourne ; Salamis, 82 to Melbourne ; Patriarch, 82 to Sydney. Miltiades, Cimha and Loch Long had a good race out. The Star of Italy was Corrie's crack jute clipper; this was her tenth voyage, and her first trip to Melbourne. She was nearly lost when about to sail through a fire in her sail -room. Cutty Sark had a fine weather passage to the Cape, but she scared her crew running the easting down. On one occasion she was pooped by a big sea which jammed the helmsmen in the wheel, and she came up in the wind and swept her decks clean, taking the boats off the after skids, breaking in one side of the monkey poop and gutting the cabin. At the change of the watch at midnight that night, the apprentice keeping the time, in order to call his mates, had to go up the mizen rigging and come down the stay to get to the apprentices' house her decks were so full of water ; for three or four days after this she ran like a scared hare before a moun- tainous sea, which rose up so high astern that it took the wind out of her topsails when she was in the trotigh. Captains Bully Martin and Douglas of the two Bens changed ships this year, and Douglas in the Ben Cruachan arrived Melbourne on 5th June, 90 days out, whilst Martin in the Ben Voirlich arrived Melbourne on 10th August, 88 days out. " Torridon " and " Yallaroi." The last of Nicol's clippers were the Torridon and Yallaroi. They were skysail-yarders, and lying in o o « o ■S TORRIDON AND YALLAROi 329 dock alongside the modern four-poster, looked the real thing, a pair of dainty little thoroughbreds. Compared to most ships of their size, they had narrow sail plans, and with greater carrying power, they were not as fast as Cimba or Romanoff. For some reason Nicol gave up the green and gold colours of Aberdeen and gave them the conventional painted ports. No doubt the days were passed when crowds of landsmen thronged Circular Quay of a Sunday and gaped in awe, reverence and admiration at the tall green clippers. Captain Shepherd left Romanoff to take the Torridon, but he could only manage to get her out to Sydney in 90 days from Deal on her maiden trip, and Yallaroi took 99 from Grangemouth. However, both ships held on in the Sydney trade until 1906, when they were sold to the Italians, Torridon for £4250 and Yallaroi for £4400. Torridon was sunk by a German submarine on 27th August, 1916, but Yallaroi disguised as Santa Catarina is still sailing the seas. *'Loch Carron" and "Locb Broom." The last ships to be built for the famous Loch Line were the two fine four-mast barques Loch Carron and Loch Broom. The Loch Carron was taken from the stocks by Captain Stainton Clarke, one of the best known skippers in the Australian trade and the bosom friend of Captain Pattman, the pair being known in the ports they fre- quented as the " Corsican Brothers." Captain Clarke was brought up in those beautiful little tea clippers, Skinner's "Castles." At the age of 28 he became master of the Douglas Castle, which he used to say was ' ' one of the prettiest models that ever sailed. ' ' When she was sold he was given the Lennox Castle, and he left her to take the Loch Carron, Melbourne to London . 73 days Adelaide to Glasgow . 75 „ Glasgow to Adelaide . 78 „ London to Adelaide . 75 ,. The Semaphore, Adelaide, to Cape Otway - 48 ., Cape Town to Clyde in ballast . 40 ,. Melbourne to the Horn . 27 .. Cape meridian to the Leeuwin . 19 „ Cape Horn to the line . 20 „ 330 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Loch Carron, though a very fast ship, was also a ticklish ship to handle, being rather tender, and Captain Clarke always sent down royal yards when in port. The following are some of her best performances : — (twice) (twice) On one occasion when abreast of the Crozets, running her easting down in 45° S., she made three consecutive 24-hour runs of 310, 320 and 332 miles. On her maiden trip she went to Sydney, and then for two or three years left the Australian for the Calcutta trade. In 1887 she took case oil from New York to Calcutta in 112 days. In 1889 Loch Carron had a very nasty experience when rounding the Cape homeward bound from India. It is thus told by Captain Clarke : — We were bound for London from Calcutta with a cargo of jute and about 500 tons of rice for stifiening purposes. It was new rice and had not been properly dried. When the jute was loaded on top of it, the rice began to get heated and we had to take it out and stow it in the main hatch by itself, boring holes in order to allow the air to enter. This arrangement of the cargo caused the ship to be top-heavy, but it was unavoidable. When we got to the Cape of Good Hope we en- countered violent gales, and the vessel could not stand up to them. She was carried right over on her side, although there was very little canvas on her. Her lee side was 5 or 6 feet under water and the crew became so frightened that many of them climbed up the rigging. I let the sails go and sacrificed them in order to save her. She righted herself and we ran before the wind aU night, going miles out of our course. Next day we jury-rigged her and 1 tried hard to make way on the other tack. We tacked for eight days and then the gale again seized her and she LOCH CARBON 881 turned over once more. We quickly stripped iier of sails, but she was so top-heavy and crank that I decided to send the topgallant masts down. This was ticklish work, and I shall never forget the scene, as the men struggled against the seas with the topgallants. The fight against the gales lasted for 30 days and then we got round the Cape, but I had five men down with broken limbs and other injuries. The voyage from Calcutta to London occupied no fewer than 156 days, and was the most exciting in my experience. The Bolan, Glen Padarn and Trevetyan, also bound from Calcutta and Rangoon to London, foundered during the storms and we were lucky to get through with the ship so crank. In 1904 Loch Carron had a great race home from Frisco round the Horn with the French ship Jules Gomtnes, Loch Carron hove up her anchor in Frisco Bay on the morning of Christmas Eve, the Jules Gommes leaving in the afternoon. After being six days in company the two ships lost sight of each other. They met again on the equator in the Atlantic; finally the Loch Carron arrived at Queenstown one morning 112 days out, the Frenchman arriving eight hours later at the same port. On her next passage the Loch Carron had the most disastrous event in her career, in her collision with the Inverkip. The two ships were both outward bound, the Loch Carron from Glasgow to Sydney with general cargo. At 11.20 on 13th August, 1904, the Loch Carron was about 60 miles to the S. and E. of the Fastnet light, going 6 or 7 knots close-hauled on the port tack, with a moderate gale blowing from the S.W., when the red light of the Inverkip was suddenly seen ahead. But it was too late to avoid a collision, and the Loch Carron struck the Inverkip abreast of the foremast, stem on. The latter ship went down in a few minutes, only two men, the carpenter and the steward, being saved out of her ship's company. These two managed to jump aboard the Loch Carron. ^ Captain Jones of the Inverkip had his wife aboard, and as the ship went down she was seen praying on her knees aft. They were both 882 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS great personal friends of Captain Clarke, and he was so distressed by the sad accident that his health broke down and he gave up his command for a voyage. The Loch Canon, with a large hole in her bows, her fore topgallant mast and all head gear carried away, besides other damages, managed to make Queenstown. Her repairs came to £1500, and as she was on the port tack and the Inverkip on the starboard, the Loch Line had to pay over £30,000 damages. When Loch Carron was again ready for sea. Captain Henderson, of Thermopylae and Samuel Plimsoll fame, took her out, Captain Clarke returning to his command on her return home. As late as 1908 Loch Carron made the run from Melbourne to London in 80 days. Loch Broom was commanded for the greater part of her career by the well-known veteran. Bully Martin. Though they were absolute sister ships according to the tape-measure. Loch Broom was always a stiffer ship than the Loch Carron, and her sailing records were not quite as numerous, nevertheless she was a very fast ship. In 1904 Captain Martin brought her home from Melbourne in 82 days. He left Port Phillip on 12th January, and was only 24 days to the Horn, most of the run being made under six topsails and foresail. On her following passage out Loch Broom took case oil from New York to Melbourne in 96 days. It was a nasty trip for her officers, as the hands before the mast were all hobos, Bowery toughs and hard cases, and had to be driven to their work in the old-fashioned belaying pin style. In 1907 Captain Bully Martin gave up his command and retired from the sea, being succeeded by Captain Kelynack, who had been mate under him for some years. LOCH BROOM 838 I have the abstract log of Loch Broom's last voyage under the British flag : — On 4th September at 7 a.m. she took her departure from the Lizard, had light breezes and calms to the 19th when she took the N.E. trades, crossed the line on 6th October, crossed the meridian of Greenwich on 26th October, ran down her easting on the 40th parallel, her best 24-hour run being 272 miles on 12th November before a moderate gale from W.S.W. in 40° 37' S., 60° 00' E. , and she anchored off Port Adelaide at 2 p.m. on 4th December, 91 days from the Lizard. She left Melbourne homeward bound on 23rd February 1912. On 15th March in 50° 58' S., 135° 26' W., she ran 278 miles with a fresh S.W. gale, passed Cape Horn on 27th March. On 29th March Captain Kelynack remarks. " Fresh W.S.W, wind, thick misty rain, four-masted barque in company on lee quarter but falling astern > (nothing passes the Loch Broom but birds.)" And on 2nd April I find the following testimony to her qualities :—" Lat. 46° 50' S., long. 40° 04' W., distance 213, course N. 51° E. Fresh N.W. gale veering to W.N.W., high sea running, ship going 12 knots, dry as a bone." The line was crossed on 29th April. On 24th May in 46° N., 20° 55' W., Loch Broom ran 301 miles in the 24 hours before a fresh southerly wind and moderate sea ; and on the following day 282 miles. " Fresh S.S.E. wind. Barque in company at 6 a.m. on starboard bow, out of sight astern at noon. " On 31st May at 7 p.m. Loch Broom anchored off Gravesend, 98 days out. The Loch Carron and Loch Broom were both sold to the foreigners in 1912 for about £5000 a piece, and now, I believe, belong to Christianssand, Norway, being disguised under the names of Seileren and Songdal. 334 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS PASSAGES TO AUSTRALIA UNDER 80 DAYS IN 188S. Sblp Departure Passed Equator Crossed Cape Meridian Passed Otway Destination Date Arrived Days Out Satamis Start Mar. 20 April 6 May 9 June 2 Melbourne June 3 75 Patriarch Start Mar. 9 Mar. 25 May 21 Sydney May 23 76 Cutly Sarh - Start April 3 April 23 May 19 June 15 (SWCape) " June 19 77 Siren Start Mar. 23 April 12 May 11 June 8 *r June 8 77 Samuel Plimsoll Start April 4 April 28 May 21 June 18 ft June 21 78 Argonaut Start June 14 July 10 Aug. 1 Aug. 27 „ Aug. 31 78 Bai/ of Cadiz - Start Mar. 6 Mar. 28 April 20 May 19 „ May 23 78 Thermopylae - Start Jan. 20 Feb. 17 Mar. 9 April 7 Melbourne April 8 78 Harbing'-r Lizard June 4 June 30 July 27 Aug. 21 „ Aug. 21 78 SirWalterRaleigh Start April 4 April 28 May 22 June 20 Sydney June 22 79 Milton Park luskar June 21 July 18 Aug. 12 Sept. 5 " Sept. 8 79 Notes on Passages to Australia in 1885. The race of the year was that between Cutty Sark, Samuel Plimsoll, Sir Walter Raleigh and still a fourth ship, the City of York, which was oft the Start on 2nd April — crossed the line 23rd April — crossed Cape meridian 26th May — passed the Otway on 18th June — and arrived Sydney on 21st June, 80 days out. It was Captain Woodget's first voyage in Cutty Sark. He went as high as 48° S. in search of good winds, but had a lot of thick misty weather with light northerly winds, and no steady westerlies. He only had two chances. In 70 hours from 21st to 23rd May, the Cutty ran 931 miles, braced sharp up against a strong N.E. to E.N.E. wind; and on 4th June, with the wind fresh from N.E. to N.N.E. she ran 330 miles in 47° S., 99° E. None of the other ships made any specially big runs. Miltiades this year was taken over by Captain Harry Ay ling, and arrived in Hobson's Bay on 29th October, 85 days out from Torbay. Mermerus arrived Melbourne on 24th July, 88 days 'MOUNT STEWART/' Photo by Captain Schutze, Sydney. 3 1 - 1 -' : 'I ^ ^ - " - . ■'/, "*- -^ , : ^■■.l -.--« - ' CROMDALE." [To face page S3&. PASSAGES TO AUSTRALIA 1886-94 835 from the Lizard, and Thomas Stephens was 87 days from Antwerp to Sydney, arriving on 20th October. The Milton Park was an iron ship of 1500 tons, built by McMillan, of Dumbarton in 1882, a typical Clyde- built ship. The Bay of Cadiz was one of the Cardiff *' Bays." Siren, was one of Carmichael's, a 1482-ton ship, built in 1881. She had a number of fine passages to her credit, and came to a curious end, being rammed and sunk by H.M.S. Landrail off Portland in July, 1896. We have now had 12 years of outward tables, and space and, no doubt, the patience of the reader are both growing exhausted. However, as these beautiful ships kept up their wonderful averages until well into the nineties, fighting all they knew against the ever-growing competition of steam, I give here a table of times from the Channel to port from the year 1886 to 1894 for the seven most regular ships in the trade. PASSAGES TO AUSTRALIA 1886-1894. Ship DlsUnatlon 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 Newcastle Cutty Sark (18S7 and 1892) Brisbane 1894 Sest to Sydney To Shang- hai 88 Dis- masted 76 77 75 79 88 81 79 : 1 SalamU - Melbourne 78 86 70 84 86 79 77 87 80 ; PalHareh Sydney 97 79 79 77 87 82 80 eg 77 1 Mermems Melbourne 84 96 82 88 89 86 86 85 1 MiUiades 'Melbourne 83 78 83 82 90 91 86 92 { Cimba ■ Sydney 97 84 88 85 89 93 83 93 88 1 Samuel PUmsoU Sydney 1886 & 1887 Sest to Melbourne 93 76 81 84 78 87 79 "1 "Mount Stewart" and "Gromdale, " the last of the Wool Clippers. The last two ships to be built specially for the Australian wool trade were the magnificent steel skysail- 336 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS • yard ships Mount Stewart and Cromdale. The former was launched in May, 1891, and the latter in June, both from Barclay, Curie's yard. They were identical sister ships, and were the very latest development of the full- rig ship. They were of course good carriers, with the modern short poop and long sweep of main deck. Yet, in spite of their carrying powers, they both made some excellent passages out and home. The Cromdale was specially lucky in having Captain E. H. Andrew as her first master, a very experienced and up-to-date sailing ship captain, who had been mate under his father in the Derwent. The Cromdale came to grief in 1913 when commanded by Captain Arthur. She was 126 days out, bound home from Taltal with nitrate and was heading for Falmouth. There had been a dense fog for some days, when, most unfortunately, a steamer was passed which advised Captain Arthur to alter his course. Not long after a light was suddenly seen through the fog ahead, but before the ship could be put about she struck on the rocks right at the foot of a cliff. This proved to be Bass Point, close to the Lizard light. The ship was so badly holed that the captain ordered the boats out at once. Luckily it was calm weather, and some rockets brought the Cadgwith and Lizard lifeboats upon the scene, but the Cromdale settled down so quickly that there was only just time to save the ship's papers and the crew's personal belongings. Lying on the rocks in such an exposed position, it was of course hopeless to think of salving the ship, and the Cromdale became a total loss. The Mount Stewart is, I believe, still afloat, and still has Aberdeen on her stern. PERFORATED SAILS 837 Perforated Sails. At first glance a sail with a hole in it would hardly be considered superior to a sail without one, yet sails with holes in them, or perforated sails, as they were called, became quite popular with the most ex- perienced of our sailing ship skippers in tHeearlynineties- Perforated sails were said to be the idea of an Italian shipmaster in the eighties. This Italian captain's theory was that a cushion of air or dead wind, as he called it, was collected in the belly of every sail, and acted as a buffer, thus preventing the sail from receiving the whole strength of the wind. He advocated making a hole in the centre of the belly in order to allow this cushion of air to escape, and allow the true wind to blow against the surface of the sail. An important point was the proper placing of these holes ; in fore and aft sails they were cut about the centre of the belly made by the clew; the holes in square sails were also cut near the clews, but they were also cut higher up in the sail on a line from the clews to the bunt : topsails and courses generally had the four holes and topgallant sails and royals only two, one in the lower part of the sail towards the clew on each side. These holes were from 5| to 6 inches in diameter and roped with grammets. It is easy to understand that this system was more advantageous when one was close-hauled than when running free. But even when running free many ship- masters claimed that it had its merits and held that, though wind certainly did escape through the holes, it was mostly dead wind and even then was caught up again — the mizen by the main, and the main by the fore, so that in the end there was very little real wind that did not do its work in sending the ship along. A further advantage of perforated sails was their 338 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS aid in sphling the wind out of a sail when the sail had to come in in heavy weather. The advocates of the holes claimed that they prevented a sail from ballooning up over the yard, and made it very much easier to muzzle and put the gaskets oh. The perforated sails were also considered very useful in light airs and calms, because on the calmest day there always seemed to be a draught through the holes, and this kept the sails "asleep " and stopped that irritating flogging of canvas against the masts which is so trying to a skipper's temper and also constantly necessitates the hauling up of courses in the doldrums. Captain Holmes, who always used them in the Cimba and Inverurie, wrote to me that he considered them specially valuable in light winds, and he did not adopt perforated sails without testing their efficiency in every way he could. He even had sand bags made to fit the holes, and thus was able to test his sailing when in company with another ship, first by seeing how he did with holes, and then filling up the holes with sandbags, by seeing how he altered his bearing when without holes. By this means he proved the benefit of the holes very clearly once when going down Channel. The Cimba was in company with another outward bound ship of nearly the same speed ; and it was found that as soon as the sand bags were put in the holes the Cimba began to drop astern, whereas, with the holes open, she went ahead. Captain Holmes also tied a rag on the end of a stick, and held it up to the holes, and even in very light airs the rag was sucked through the perforations. In this way with a handkerchief on the end of a long rod, he tried to find out the result of the holes on the crossjack, by walking it all over the after HINE'S CLIPPER BARQUES 839 part of the sail. And he told me that the handkerchief flopped stupidly about in the dead wind until it was abreast of the holes, when it at once blew out straight. Captain Pattman, of Loch Torridon, adopted per- forated holes in 1 892 : Captain Poppy used them on the Aristides, and Captain Cutler, when he took over Port Jackson, had her sails cut for holes, and his successor continued to keep them in the sails. All these four captains were noted passage -makers, and unless the perforated sails had had very certain advantages, it is hardly likely that they would have adopted them. Hine's Clipper Barques. Before turning to the New Zealand trade I must not forget to mention the fine little fleet of barques belonging to Hine Brothers, of Maryport, which brought home wool from Adelaide, Brisbane and the two Tasmanian ports. The following will still be remembered by the older inhabitants of these ports. Aline, wood barque 474 tons, built by Hardy, . Sunderland 1867 Abbey Holme, iron 516 ,. „ . Blumer, Sunderland 1869 Hazel Holme wood , 405 „ at Barnstaple 1890 A ikshaw iron , 573 „ Doxford, Sunderland 1875 Eden Holme , 794 „ „ Bartram „ Myrtle Holme „ , 902 ,. »» f» » *. Castle Holme „ , , 996 „ „ „ „ ,, Brier Holme 894 „ Thompson „ 1876 They were rarely much over 80 days going out, and generally under 90 days coming home. The Myrtle Holme, under Captain Cobb, and the Eden Holme, under Captain Wyrill (late of Berean) had perhaps the best records, and maintained their fine average right into the twentieth century. 840 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS For instance, in 1899 Captain Wyrill brought the Eden Holme from Launceston to the London River in 88 days after experiencing 17 days of cahns and variables to the north of the line. This was her fourth passage out of six, in which she had come home in less than 90 days from Tasmania. In 1895, the Myrtle Holme went from Beachy Head to Adelaide in 77 days, and in 1901 went from Dover to Adelaide in 81 days; whilst in 1902 the Eden Holme went from the Start to Launceston in 83 days. The Eden Holme, Brier Holme and Castle Holme were all transferred to the Tasmanian trade from that of Adelaide on the death of Mr. Walker and the dis- persal of his fleet. The Eden Holme was wrecked on Hebe Reef in 1907. The Myrtle Holme was sold to Arendal, Norway, and renamed Glimt, a few years before the war. She was torpedoed in the North Sea in 1915. The Brier Holme came to a tragic end in 1904. She sailed from London for Hobart in September of that year, commanded by Captain Rich, an experienced and skilful seaman who was making his last voyage. She was three months overdue and much anxiety was being felt, when some fishermen landed on a bleak and unfrequented part of the West Coast of Tasmania. They found some jetsom on the shore in the shape of packages of cargo, marked and numbered so that they could be identified. Footprints and the remains of a rude hut also pointed to a wreck on the coast; a close search was made but no signs of the wreck or of life could be found. The fishermen then took the packages back to Hobart and they proved to be part of the cargo of the Brier Holme. Thereupon the Govern- ment sent out a steamer with a search party. The " BRIERHOLME. VltQio by Be Maus, Port Chaljners. [To face page 340. BRIER HOLME 841 remains of the wreck were found under water, but though the bush was scoured, fires lighted and guns fired to attract attention, no survivor was discovered, and the search party returned to Hobart. Some weeks later the fishermen who had found the packages landed again on the coast and found a man, who proved to be the sole survivor out of the Brier Holme's crew. He had been wandering about in the bush trying to find his way to the nearest habitation, first loading himself with provisions washed up from the wreck, he had tried to construct a raft across a river but without success, and he was continually compelled to return to the shore and replenish his stores. He reported that the Brier Holme arrived off the S.W. Cape of Tasmania at night during thick stormy weather and was hove to to wait for daylight. But being to the north of the Fairway having overrun her distance, she crashed on to the rocks and soon went to pieces. The Castle Holme is now owned in Frederickstadt, Norway, and sails under the name of Estar. Iron Barques of Walker and Trinder, Anderson. Hine Bros, were not the only owners of iron clipper barques in the Australian trade. Mr. T. B. Walker had four very well-known ships — the barques Westbury, Decapolis and Lanoma and the ship Barossai whilst Trinder, Anderson & Co. had the Barunga, Oriana, Mineru, Morialta and Kooringa. Of the above. Walker's Lanoma was probably the fastest. She has been credited with a run from Tas- mania to the Horn in 21 days, another of 21 days from the Horn to the line, and again a third of 21 days from the line to soundings, which if they had all been on the same passage would have given her the record from 842 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Tasmania home. The Westbury and Decapolis were both good for an outward passage round about 80 days. A year or two ago a correspondent in the ' * Nautical ' ' claimed that the Decapolis went out to Launceston in 56 days on her maiden trip, at the same time he claimed a 57-day trip to Melbourne for my old ship the Common- wealth. He had, of course, got his dates wrong somewhere, as the Decapolis ran regularly to Brisbane until that trade was captured by steamers, she was then diverted to Launceston. After the death of Mr. Walker, Decapolis was sold to the Italians and renamed Nostra Madre. Her name is on the Sailing Ship Roll of Honour, as she was tor- pedoed in the Mediterranean during the war. Barossa, a fine little full-rigged ship, ran for many years as a passenger ship to Adelaide. She eventually turned turtle in docli and was sold to be broken up. The Loss of **Lanoma." Lanoma was lost in March, 1888, on what promised to be her best passage home. She was coming up Channel, only 76 days out, in thick, blowing south- westerly weather, under a very experienced commander, Captain G. Whittingham. Berean was also coming up Channel, it was the time when she had the narrow squeak of piling up on the Wight owing to the wrong notice about St. Catherine's light. In the case of Lanoma, Captain Whittingham had had no observations for several days, and so an extra smart look-out was being kept. Just before midnight • it must have cleared a bit for the land suddenly loomed up close to on the starboard bow. The helm was at once put down and the shin brought to the wind, and LANOMA 343 Captain Whittingham tried to stay her. Unfortun- ately she missed stays and fell off again, there was no time to wear her, and she stranded broadside on to Chesil Beach, inside the Bill of Portland. Like many another catastrophe of the same sort, the ship and her crew were hurtled from fancied security to destruction in a few minutes of time. And even so, the crew would probably have all been saved, if she had not fallen over to seaward, so that she at once began to break up in the heavy surf. The rocket apparatus was manned from the shore, but it was only in time to save a few, and Captain Whittingham and 11 of his crew were drowned. Trinder, Anderson's ships were all well known in the London River at one time, specially the little Mineru, a 478-ton barque, built by Stephen, of Glasgow, in 1866. Fremantle, the Ashburton River and Sharks Bay were her wool ports. Morialta was an iron ship of 1267 tons, built in 1866 by Royden, of Liverpool, for Beazley, her first name being British Consul. Barunga was the old Apelles built in 1863, whilst Kooringa, a 1175-ton barque, built at South Shields in 1874, had been the Bavenstondale. Messrs, Trinder, Anderson bought several other well-known ships in their time, notably the Kingdom of Saxony, a 538-ton wooden barque, ex-Deerhound. Anderson's Darra, and Thompson's Ascalon also ended their days under the Red Ensign with Trinder, Anderson. It is a curious coincidence, but in looking through the list of their ships I cannot find two by the same builder, though I find the following all represented > Dudgeon, of London; Moore, of Sunderland ; Denton & Gray, of Hartlepool; Scott, of Greenock; Hall, of Aberdeen; Stephen, of Glasgow; Royden, of Liverpool; Hood, of 344 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Aberdeen ; Softley, of South Shields; and R. Thompson, Jun. , of Sunderland. At the beginning of the twentieth century, just before going into steam, Trinder, Anderson & Co. bought the fine ships Wasdale and Hornby Castle, but the century was not ten years old before steamers only were flying the blue with yellow cross and black swan, as the house-flag of the combined firm of Trinder, Anderson and Bethel 1, Gwyn. Occasional Visitors in Australian Waters. Though this part has run to greater length than I had at first intended, nevertheless I fear that many of my readers will complain because old favourites have not been mentioned. I have tried not to leave out any regular Colonial trader, and space only admits of the bare mention of many beautiful and fast ships which occasionally visited Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide in the course of their general round. Of these perhaps the finest were: — Carmichael's Golden Fleece, one of the handsomest ships ever launched, with a run from London to Sydney of 72 days to her credit. Williamson & Milligan's Cedric the Saxon, whose 72-day run from Liverpool to Calcutta is the iron ship record. This magnificent clipper once went from Calcutta to the Adelaide Semaphore in 28 days during the S.W. monsoon. D. Bruce 's Dundee clippers Maulesden and Duntrune; the first famous for her wonderful passage of 69 days from Glasgow to Maryborough, Queensland, in 1882. The beautiful Belfast ship Star of Italy, one of Corry's OCCASIONAL VISITORS 845 Irish " Stars," which in 1884-5 went out to Sydney in 78 days and came home in 79 . Beazley's British Merchant, which in 1881 arrived in Melbourne, 78 days out. The Sierra Blanca, one of those yacht-like white " Sierras," which in 1883-4 went out to Sydney in 77 days. Carmichael's Argus and Argo, the foriner with a 76-day run to Melbourne and the latter with a 78-day run to Sydney. Cuthbert's Ballochmyle, Skinner's Brodick Castle, Beazley's John o' Gaunt, Patton's Hesperides, Alex- ander's Glengarry, Bowring's Othello and Desdemona, and my old ship the Commonwealth. Then coming to the later days of the four-poster, there were McMillan's Swanhilda, which in 1894 made the wonderful run of 66 days from Wallaroo to Queens- town ; Mahon's Oweenee, which as late as 1913 made the run from Dublin to Newcastle, N.S.W., in 73 days ; Troop's Howard D. Troop, which in 1906 brought 3500 tons of wheat from Sydney to Falmouth in 82 days ; that extraordinary four-mast ship, the Lancing, which in 1908 ran fronni Christiania to Melbourne in 75 days ; Mackay 's Wendur, the rival of Loch Torridon ; the beautiful skysail yarder Queen Margaret; Car- michael's Glaucus; and the Lord Brassey, which went missing on her first voyage, after having made a fine outward passage of 77 days to Melbourne in 1892. PART IV.— THE NEW ZEALAND TRADE. The age of dear tradition has gone by And steam has killed romance upon the sea, The newer age requires the newer men, And dying hard in corners of the world. The old hands pass forgotten to their graves. The old Colonial clipper is no more. Denied the wool freights homeward, she must seek For nitre on the South Pacific slope, She need not go to China ports for tea. She need not haunt the Hooghly for the jute. Nor beat the Gulf of Martaban for rice. Her time has come and she must pass away; Yet still she holds the passage of the Horn, And when the waterway of Panama Makes islands of the two Americas. She'll hold the bleak old headland for her own, And round its pitch she'll fade away and die. — John Anderson, in Nautical Magazine. The "Mayflowers" of New Zealand. THE Mayflower is a name which every school-child in the United States is taught to reverence. In this part of Colonial Clippers I shall deal with the Mayflowers of New Zealand — the beautiful sailing ships which brought the settlers from the Old Country to the wonderful New Country. The memory of these ships and their swift passages round the Cape and through the roaring forties is still green in the hearts of many a man and woman who travelled out to an unknown land with a stout heart and nothing much else, and is now a prosperous and happy member of a great nation. Only lately there 346 CHARIOT OF FAME S47 was a reunion of all those who had travelled out in one of these ships, that the anniversary of their great adventure might be suitably kept. The name of this ship has already been mentioned in these pages, The Chariot of Fame; a name of comfort and good omen it must have been to those who heard the whistle and scream of the mighty westerlies in her rigging on many a dark and sobbing night when the heart of the exile is low and the spirit of the brave pioneer begins to quiver. Truly running down the easting in a little 1000-ton clipper with a hard driving skipper and big fisted, stony-hearted mates was a fine bracer for the emigrant, who had perhaps never seen salt water up to the date of sailing and who was bound to a country which could only be wooed and won by a clear brain, stout heart and strong arm. At first the ships in the New Zealand trade were not even 1000 tons in burthen, being mainly little 400 and 500-ton ships and barques, which mostly flew the flag of Shaw, Savill & Co. The "Edwin Fox." Of such was the Edwin Fox, a country-built Indiaman from Calcutta, built as far back as 1853, with teak decks, quarter galleries, coir running gear and all the quaint characteristics of the East. The hull of this " old timer " is still to be seen, being now used as a landing stage for the freezing works at Picton. ♦•Wild Duck." Another favourite passenger ship in the early days was the Wild Duck, commanded by Captain 348 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Bishop. She was a main skysail yarder with Cunning- ham's patent reef single topsails. Though rather short for her beam she had fine ends and made very regular passages. Shaw, Savill & Go. The well-known firm of Shaw, Savill & Co. started sending ships to New Zealand about 65 years ago, making 15 sailings a year. At first the outward passage took four or five months, and it was not until the sixties that there was any marked improvement in the time between England and New Zealand, but by the end of the sixties Shaw, Savill had several fast little iron ships, the best known of which were the Crusader, Helen Denny and Margaret Galbraith. The following is a rather incomplete list of their earlier ships : — wood barque . . 836 tons, iron barque . . 788 ,. wood barque . . 1003 „ iron barque . . 815 .. iron barque . . 924 „ wood ship .. 1332 ,, wood barque . . 470 „ iron ship . . 1 197 „ iron barque . . 1008 , iron ship . . 1042 ., wood ship . . 1418 „ iron ship . . 1304 „ iron ship . . 1054 „ iron barque . . 764 „ composite barque 468 „ iron ship . . 1059 „ iron barque . . 728 „ composite ship 1238 „ iron ship . . 841 „ composite barque 598 „ iron barque . . 705 „ iron ship . . 74a „ 1863 Edwin Fox 1856 Chile 1858 Dover Castle 1858 Adamant .. 1859 Bebington . , 1862 Bulwark . . 1863 Chaudiere . . ,, Euterpe ,, Himalaya . . ,, Trevelyan . . 1864 Golden Sea ,, Soukar „ Saint Leonards . „ Glenlora 1865 Anazi „ Crusader . . 1866 Helen Denny 1867 Forfarshire 1868 Margaret Galbraith 1869 Elizabeth Graham „ Hudson ,, Lattgstone .. CRUSADER 1869 Pleiades .. . . iron ship . 997 „ Schiehallion . . iron barque . 602 „ Zealandia . . . iron ship . 1116 „ Halcione . , . . iron ship . 843 1870 Metope . . . . iron ship . 1064 349 Space forbids more than a few odd notes on the best known of these ships. The "Crusader." The Crusader was a very handsome little ship, as is well shown in her photograph, and she was considered by many to be the fastest ship in Shaw, Savill's fleet. She was built by Connell, of Glasgow, and launched in March, 1865, her registered measurements being: — Net tonnage 1058 ; gross tonnage 1058 ; length 210.7 ft. ; breadth 35.1 ft., depth 21.4 ft. In 1877, when commanded by Captain Renaut, she ran from Lyttelton, N.Z., to the Lizard in 69 days, and on her next outward passage in 1878 she went from London to Port Chalmers in 65 days, a performance which has never been beaten. She was eventually sold to the Norwegians for £2950 and was still washing about the seas, rigged as a barque, at the outbreak of the Great War. "Helen Denny" and "Margaret Galbraith." The little Helen Denny was the last of the fleet to remain under the British flag. She once ran from the longitude of the Cape to New Zealand in 23 days, a really remarkable feat for a small iron barque. She was built by the great Robert Duncan, of Port Glasgow, and was eventually sold by Shaw, Savill, to Christie, of Lyttelton, N.Z., who resold her to Captain F. Holm, of Wellington, N.Z. ; she ran regularly in the inter- colonial trade until the end of 1913, being latterly commanded and owned by Captain S. Holm, a son of 350 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Captain F. Holm. She was finally converted into a coal hulk. Margaret Galbraith was another little Duncan beauty, and for many years a regular passenger ship to Otago. It is surprising to think of these little ships carrying passengers right up to the eighties. Their measurements were : — Helen Denny, 128 ixms; 187.5 feet length; 31.2 feet beam; 19.1 feet depth. Margaret Galbraith, Sil toas; 198.5 feet length; 32.2 feet beam; 19.9 feet depth. The Margaret Galbraith was sold to the Manica Trading Co., of London. She left Colonia on 26th March, 1905, for Buenos Ayres with a cargo of grain and crew of 13 all told ; and whilst in charge of a pilot grounded on Farollon reef, and as she was badly holed her captain abandoned her. End of Some of Shaw, Savill's Earlier Ships. Zealandia was a Connell built ship. After being sold to the Swedes, she was resold to the Russians, and her name changed to Kaleva. She was stranded in March, 1911, but refloated and again sold to Charles Brister & Son, of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Pleiades was built by McMillan, of Dumbarton. As late as 1893 she made a good run from New Zealand to the Lizard. She was wrecked at Akiteo, when bound round in ballast from Napier to Dunedin to load wool home. The Halcione was specially built for the New Zealand trade with | iron plates backed with 3 feet of cement, her saloon was insulated with charcoal, and she had 200 tons of cement stiffening. She was built by Steele, of Greenock, and was lost in 1895 in Fitzroy Bay near Pincarrow Heads, outside Wellington. SHAW, SAVILL'S SHIPS 851 The Euterpe was sold to the Chileans, and for some years was to be seen in the South Pacific rigged as a barque. Then the Alaska Packers bought her and renamed her Star of India. I believe she is still afloat. The Himalaya was also sold to the Alaska Packers Co., and renamed Star of Peru. The Soukar was sold to the Spaniards and registered at Barcelona under the name of Humberto. She has been broken up. The Glenlora went to the Scandinavians and was still afioat at the outbreak of the Great War. The Hudson is also a Scandinavian barque at the present time. The Merope was burnt whilst homeward bound, being off the Plate at the time. Another well-known early- Shaw, Savill emigrant ship to be burnt at sea was the Caribou, of 1160 tons; she was a wood ship and her cargo of coal caught fire in the year 1869. The Shaw, Savill ships were rather unlucky with fires and collisions, their worst disaster being, of course, the loss of the Cospatrick, Dunbar's old frigate-built ship, which they bought in 1873 for £10,000. The tragedy happened on her second voyage under Shaw, Savill's house-flag. The Loss of the "Cospatrick-. " The Cospatrick sailed from London for Auckland on the 11th September, 1874, with general cargo, 429 passengers and a crew of 44 men under Captain Elmslie. Tuesday, 17th November, found the ship to the south 'ard of the Cape, the wind being very light from the nor 'west. And here is the tragedy as it was given by Henry Macdonald, the second mate, one of the three survivors. He stated that after keeping the first watch, he had not been long below when he was aroused 852 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS by the cry of " Fire !" Without stopping to dress, he rushed on deck and found that dense clouds of smoke were pouring up from the fore peak, a fire having broken out in the bosun's locker, which was full of oakum, rope, varnish and paint. The first thing to do was to get the ship's head before the wind, at the same time the fire engine was rigged, and soon the fore part of the ship was being deluged with water. But somehow or other the ship was allowed to come head to wind, which drove the smoke aft in suffocating clouds. From this moment all discipline seems to have been lost; flames began to burst forth in the 'tween decks and out through every scuttle and air vent, and they were soon roaring up the tarred shrouds, so that within an hour and a half of the dis- covery of the fire the flames had got such a hold that the ship was doomed. The emigrants now took panic, and, shouting and screaming, made a rush for the boats. The starboard quarter boat was lowered down, but immediately she touched the water such a crowd of demented emigrants swarmed down the ship's side into her that she was capsized. Whilst the longboat was being swung out of her chocks, her bow caught fire, and in the end only the port and starboard lifeboats got safely away from the ship's side, the one with 42 and the other with 39 people. The two boats stayed by the ship until the afternoon of the 19th, when she sank beneath the waves, a black- ened, charred and smoking hull. One can scarcely imagine the horror of the scene during this weary waiting for the end of the ship. The people in the boats watched the main and mizen mast fall, and heard shrieks from the crowded after part of the ship, as many ' CRUSADER." ' COSPATRICK PJioto by De Maus. [To face, vage S52. LOSS OF COSPATRICK 858 luckless wretches were crushed in their fall. Then the stern with its old Blackwall quarter galleries was blown out by the flames and smoke. Lastly the captain was seen to throw his wife overboard and spring after her himself. But the tragedy was far from finished with the sinking of the ship. Owing to the panic and confusion the 81 survivors in the boats had only their night clothes and were without food or water, mast or sail, and the starboard lifeboat of which the second mate took com- mand had only one oar. The rest of the horrible story is best told in Henry Macdonald's own words, and the following is his statement, given at the inquiry after- wards : — The two boats kept company the 20th and 21st, when it commenced to blow, and we got separated during the night. I whistled and shouted, but when daylight came we could see nothing of the other boat. Thirst began to tell severely on all of us. A man named Bentley fell overboard while steering the boat and was drowned. Three men became mad that day and died. We then threw the bodies overboard. On the 23rd, the wind was blowing hard and a high sea running. We were continually bailing the water out. We rigged a sea anchor and rode to it; but it was only made fast to the end of the boat's painter, and we lost it. Four men died, and we were so hungry and thirsty that we drank the blood and ate the livers of two of them. We lost our only oar then. On the 24th, there was a strong gale, and we rigged another sea anchor, making it fast with anything we could get. There were six "more deaths that day. She shipped water till she was nearly iull. On the 25th there was a light breeze and it was awful hot. We were reduced that day to eight, and three of them out of their minds. We all felt very bad that day. Early on the morning of the 26th, not being daylight, a boat passed close to us running. We haiied but got no answer. She was not more than 50 yards off. She was a foreigner. I think she must have heard us. One more died that day. We kept on sucking the blood of those who died. The 27th wassqually all round, but we never caught a drop of water, although we tried to do it. Two more died that day. We threw one overboard, but were too weak to lift the other. There were then five left— two able seamen, one ordinary, myself and one passenger. The passenger was out of his mind. All had drunk sea water. We were all dozing, when the madman bit my foot, and I 854 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS woke up. We then saw a ship bearing down upon us. She proved to be the British Sceptre, from Calcutta to Dundee. We were taken on board and treated very kindly. I got very bad on board of her. I was very nigh at death's door. We were not recovered when we got to St. Helena. So ends the second mate's statement. The passenger and ordinary seaman both died a day or two after they were rescued, thus, out of 473 souls on the Cospatrick, only three men were saved, the second mate and the two able seamen. The Loss of the "Avalanche." The Avalanche was another Shaw, Savill ship which took down all but three of its company. She was outward bound to Wellington with 60 passengers, under Captain Williams, in September, 1877. At 8.45 p.m. when off Portland, she was on the port tack, the wind blowing strong from the S.W., when a red light was sighted on the starboard bow. The officer of the watch gave the order ' ' hard up ' ' and ' ' brail in the spanker," but the other ship, which was evidently running up Channel, came straight on, and as the Avalanche fell off struck her right amidships on the port side. Three of the crew of the Avalanche managed to clamber aboard the other ship, which was the Forest of Windsor, Nova Scotia, and these three, the third mate named Sherrington and two A.B.'s, were the only ones saved. The Forest also sank, but managed to launch four boats in safety. These were picked up by fishermen the following morning and landed at Portland. Patrick Henderson's Albion Shipping Company. The chief rival of the Shaw, Savill before the advent of the New Zealand Shipping Company was Patrick Henderson, who owned the Albion Shipping " WILD DEER." Photo by De Maus, Port Chalmers. " WILD DEER. Lent by Captain T. S. Angus. [To face page S55. WILD DEER 355 Company. But in the early days he was also in the China and Rangoon trades. His first ships in the New Zealand emigrant trade were fine, comfortable wooden vessels without any special turn of speed, such as the Agnes Muir, Pladda, Lady Douglass, Jane Henderson, Vicksburgh and Helenslee. But he had some very fast \Yood and composite clippers, which during the sixties were mostly in the Shang'iai trade, and later took their turn at carrying emigrants to New Zealand. The "Wild Deer." The fastest of these China ships was the Wild Deer. She was launched from Council 's yard in December, 1863, beifig his thirteenth ship; and was composite built with iron topsides, teak planking to turn of bilge and elm bottom. She had a beautiful figure-head of the goddess "Diana," and was alto- gether a fine example of an out and out tea clipper. Her measurements taken from Lloyd's Register were as follows : — Tonnage net Tonnage under deck Length Breadth Depth Her poop was 42 feet long, and her foc's'le-head 31 feet. She came out in 1863 with Cunningham's patent single topsails, but owing to her dismasting was one of the earliest ships to send aloft double topsail yards. The following are the original spar measurements of her mainmast: — 1016 tons 955 „ 211 feet. 33.2 „ 20.7 „ Mainmast — deck to truck 130.6 feet Royal mast . 17 feet Lower mrst —deck to cap 64 „ Mainyard . . . 75 „ Doubling . . .. 13.6 „ Topsail yard 61 „ Topmast . . 46 „ Topgallant yard 46 „ Doubling . . 8 „ Royal yard . 34 .. Topgallant mast 25 „ 35b THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Wild Deer was taken from the stocks by Captain George Cobb, a well-known racing skipper in the China tea trade who had previously commanded the Robin Hood. Her complement consisted of 3 mates, 3 appren- tices, carpenter, sailmaker and bosun, 16 A.B.'s and 3 ordinary seamen, it being intended to ship 4 more A.B. 's in China in the event of her getting into the race home with the cracks. On her maiden passage she lost her foremast in the North Atlantic, owing to the want of angle irons, as Titania did a few years later, and this lost Wild Deer her chance of loading the first teas of the season. She had to put into Lisbon to refit, and came out of the Tagus with a very mixed sail plan ; on the foremast she had an old-fashioned single topsail with three rows of reef points, on the main double topsails and on the mizen her original Cunningham's patent single topsail. Her lirst two tea passages from Shanghai were good average runs, but nothing remarkable, her best work being 72 days from Anjer in 1865. In 1866 she left London on 16th April and arrived at Shanghai on 29th July, 104 days out. Again she did not succeed in getting away with the first ships, but leaving Shanghai on 10th September she made Portland on Christmas Day. A fine S.S.W. breeze was blowing and Wild Deer was romping along under all plain sail and starboard fore topmast stunsail, when the American schooner yacht, Henrietta, the winner of the first ocean yacht race, hauled out from the land and, closing on the clipper, hoisted her colours and asked her name. The late Gordon Bennett, her owner, was on board the yacht, and evidently wished to try her paces against the tea ship, as the Henrietta held on in company with Wild Deer for an hour or two, then bore away for the Needles. WILD DEER 857 On this passage whilst crossing the Indian Ocean in the S.E, trades, Wild Deer made three consecutive 24-hour runs of 312, 312 and 827 miles. On the outward passage in 1867, Captain Cobb had to be landed ill at Anjer and died shortly afterwards.' His place was taken by a Hollander skipper. The Dutchman took Wild Deer on to Shanghai and loaded tea, then leaving Shanghai in August he took the Eastern Passage, but when he had cleared Dampier Straits took it into his head to alter his course for Anjer. This absolutely spoilt Wild Deer's chance of a quick passage, as she had to thread her way up the Java Sea through a succession of light airs and calms, and actually took 84 days to Anjer. This was a great pity for she made a splendid run home from the Straits of Sunda, arriving in the Thames in January, only 68 days from Anjer, but 152 from Shanghai. In 1868 her wings were cut, 3 feet being taken off her lower masts. She was then handed over to a Captain Smith; unfortunately Smith was a regular old woman, but she was fortunate in getting Duncan as mate. This man had served in Ariel and Titania as chief officer, and was one of the best mates in the China trade, being specially noted for his skilful handling of sails in bad weather. Wild Deer got away from London at the end of March, and left Shanghai with a tea cargo towards the end of July, a week behind one of Skinner's beautiful little ships, the Douglas Castle. In spite of Duncan's re- monstrances, Captain Smith, who was frightened of the Gaspar Straits, determined to go east about; but the Wild Deer had so good a start south through the Formosa Channel that old Smith plucked up his courage and held on for Gaspar. 358 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The very first day after he had changed his mind. Wild Deer ran into the S.W. monsoon and had to be braced sharp up. The following morning about day- break a ship crossed her bows on the other tack. This "proved to be the Douglas Castle, and the two ships were in company all the way to Caspar, except whilst passing Tamberlan Islands, which fVild Deer went east 9f, and the Douglas west. The ships were evidently very well matched in light winds, but the Wild Deer was handicapped by the want of courage in her skipper. The night before the Straits were made it was clear moonlight, the sea dead smooth and there was a nice little breeze blowing; both ships were close-hauled on the port tack, with Wild Deer about a quarter of a mile to windward, neither ship gaining an inch. Then at the change of the watch at midnight, old Smith backed his mainyard, clewed up his light sails and waited for morning, but young Captain McRitchie of the Douglas Castle, a far smarter man and the real sort of skipper for a tea clipper, held on, with the result that when the Wild Deer filled away again at daylight the Douglas Castle had a lead of several miles. Soon after sun up another ship was observed getting under weigh close to Billiton, where she had evidently anchored for the night; this proved to be the Peter Denny from Foochow — another of Patrick Henderson's ships. All three ships now had a fine trial of strength in the beat through Caspar Straits. In this windward work the Peter Denny showed up, best, being by far the quickest ship at going about, but she was commanded by a very smart sailorman. Captain Ceorge Adams, who had everything arranged for quick working, whilst old Smith was specially slow at getting the Wild Deer WILD DEER 859 round — he was generally late with his commands and always hauled his mainsail up, though Captain Cobb always used to work his mainsail in tacking. At 10 a.m. the Douglas Castle kept away for the Macclesfield Channel, and about noon Wild Deer made for Clements Channel, whilst the Peter Denny held on for the Stolze ; this would save her tacking again once she was clear of the Straits, as the S.E. monsoon was blowing steadily in the Java Sea. Thus the ships were parted for a time. That night was another clear moonlight night with a nice little breeze. During the first watch the Brothers were sighted on the Wild Deer, and Duncan reported them to Captain Smith, who was lying asleep on the skylight. Smith, however, had none of the alertness of a crack China trader alid went oft into a heavy sleep again, then during the middle watch he woke up like a bear with a sore head and asked the big Highland second mate if he had seen the Brothers yet. Of course the second mate said he had not seen them, as they had been passed whilst his watch was below. At this old Smith got in a panic ; the mainyard was backed, the courses hauled up and the royal yards lowered down. On coming on deck at 4 a.m. Duncan found to his amazement that the ship was hove to, and to his disgust that one of the others had passed her during the night whilst she lay with her head under her wing. Oh finding out the reason from the second mate, he roused out the " Old Man " and reminded him that he had reported the Brothers during the first watch. And you may be sure that it was ' ' jump and go ' ' for the crew until the Wild Deer was off again. The wind fell light as the ship approached Sunda Straits, and as Wild Deer crawled towards Anjer the other two ships were sighted ahead, almost becalmed. 360 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Wild Deer managed to avoid the calm patch by going to the norrard of Thwarttheway Island and Krakatoa, and thus stole a march on her rivals; however, they finally came out of the Straits, neck and neck. Just before dark the S.E. trade came away. Wild Deer was still leading, but the Douglas Castle was so close astern that each crew could hear the other singing out as they trimmed sail for the run across the trades. The next morning found Wild Deer still in the lead with the other two ships one on each quarter, and the following day the three ships separated until they were off the Cape. Then, on a day of baffling and squally winds the Wild Deer and Douglas Castle passed each other on opposite tacks, the Douglas signalling that she had spoken the Denny that morning. The Wild Deer found a head wind in the mouth of the Channel, but eventually after two days' beating a fine slashing breeze came out of the south-west. At Dunge- ness the pilot had no news of the other two ships ; but just as the Wild Deer was making fast to her buoy at Gravesend the Douglas Castle came up, and, as she passed, hailed to say that the Peter Denny was close astern. Unfortunately for Wild Deer she remained under the command of Captain Smith for several more voyages, during which she was not allowed to show her paces and usually arrived home in such a condition that Captain Sellers, the ship's-husband (a good old name for the present day shore superintendent) used to declare that she was a disgrace to the Albion fleet. However, on Captain Smith's death Captain Cowan had her for two voyages, carrying emigrants to New Zealand ; on Cowan leaving her to take the Wellington from the stocks, Captain Kilgour, who had been mate WILD DEER 361 in her, was given command, and in 1881-2 she came home from Otago in 82 days, arriving on 30th January. Then Captain Kerr had her; this man had been carpenter of the Peter Denny years before, and mate of the Christian McCausland, one of Henderson's first iron ships. He was a very steady man, but no sailor. On 12th January, 1883, when outward bound with emigrants, he piled the poor old Wild Deer up on North Rock, Cloghy, County Down, and she became a total loss. Duncan's Method of Taking in Sail. It may be of interest, perhaps, to describe the method used by Duncan, the crack racing mate of Ariel, Titania, and Wild Deer, when taking in sail. For a topgallant sail he sent as many men as were available to the lee buntline and leachline; one hand, generally an apprentice, stood by the clewline, and another attended to the weather brace. Duncan himself would ease away a few feet of the halliards, then sing out : — ' ' Let go your lee sheet ! ' ' Away would fly the sheet, followed by Duncan letting go the halliards ; the hands on the buntline and leachline hauling away for all they were worth, the yard would run down and round itself in so that the boy on the weather brace only had to take in the slack. With smart hands on bunt and leach- lines, the lee side of the sail would be spilt and up on the yard before it was well down and the apprentice on the clewline had only to get in the slack and make it fast. The lee side of the sail being well up, there was no trouble with the weather side. A hand in the top was almost unnecessary as the lee sheet needed no lighting up — it did that itself quick enough. The success of this method, of course, depended on the 36^ THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS smartness of the hands on the bunt and leachline, but there were not many indifferent sailormen in a tea clipper's foc's'le. In taking in a course Duncan used to man the lee bunt and leachlines well, with two hands only on the clew garnet ; on the sheet being eased away bunt and leach- lines were hauled smartly in, the sail was at once spilt and hauled up to the yard without a flap, the slack of the clew garnet being rounded up; then there was no trouble with the weather side. This is also the method advocated by Captain Basil Hall in his Fragments of Voyages. Everything de- pended, of course, on having the necessary beef on the bunt and leachlines. "Peter Denny." The Peter Z)en«?/ was built by Duthie, of Aberdeen, of teak and greenheart with iron knees in the 'tween decks, and measured 998 tons. She was not a very fast ship, her best run in the westerlies being 285 miles, but she was a very handy- easy working ship and, still better, a very comfortable happy ship. She was also well run and beautifully kept under Captain Adams. The Albion Shipping Company, 1869 Ships. In 1869 Duncan, of Glasgow, built the two fine little composite ships, James Nicol Fleming (afterwards renamed the Napier) and the Otago, for Patrick Hender- son. They were sister ships of 993 tons register. Their top strake and bulwarks were of iron, but their bottoms were of wood with pure copper sheathing. The Otago, by the way, must not be confused with a little iron barque of 346 tons, which was owned in Adelaide and at one time commanded by Joseph Conrad. ALBION SHIPPING CO. 863 Patrick Henderson's Otago was eventually sold to the Portuguese and renamed Ermilla. She was tor- pedoed and sunk by the Germans early in the war. It was in 1869 that Patrick Henderson made his first venture in iron ships, Scott, of Greenock, building him the two sister ships Jessie Readman and Christian McCausland, of 962 tons register. These were fine handy little ships, good for 11 knots on a taut bowline, and equally good off the wind. They made very good outward passages with their 'tween decks full of emi- grants, and loaded wool home. In those early days all the New Zealand wool was pressed on board before being stowed; this was generally done by a temporary crew of beachcombers, as it was the regular thing for a crew to run on arrival in the Colonies, however comfortable the ship was. The crew picked up for the run home was usually a fine one, of real sailornien, who had tired of the land after a short spell of working ashore. The " Christian McCausland" Loses her Wheel. In 1873, on the run to the Horn, when homeward bound loaded deep with wool and tallow (it was just before the days of PlimsoU) the Christian McCausland had her wheel washed away, and the incident, as showing what a beautiful steering ship she was, is worth recording. Being very deep, she was making a wet passage of it running before the high westerly seas, and taking a good deal of heavy water aboard, especially in the waist. About eight days after leaving port she was running before a fresh gale on the starboard quarter, under reefed foresail, reefed upper topsails, and fore top- mast staysail, the only sail set on the mizen being the lower topsail. 864 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Soon after the change of the watch at 4 a.m., two heavy seas broke over the poop in quick succession, and washed away the wheel, which with the helmsman clinging to it was only brought up by the rail at the break of the poop. The mate, whose watch it was, ran forward, singing out for all hands, and as he went, let go the topsail halliards. The ship, however, made no attempt to broach to, and ran along as steadily as if someone was at the helm. As soon as possible the relieving tackles were rigged, and it was found that with five men on each tackle the ship could be steered without any difficulty. So the topsails were hoisted again and away she went. The gear connecting the wheel to the rudder head was the usual right and left handed screws, which were luckily undamaged. These no doubt acted as a brake on the spindle and had a good deal to do with stopping the ship from coming up in the wind when the wheel went. The wheel and helmsman were found at the break of the poop, the man unhurt, but the wheel with every spoke broken through close to the nave as if cut by a saw. During the morning watch the weather moderated and the carpenter was able to unship the nave of the wheel, and it was found that one of the main winch handles fitted the spindle as if made for it. This was put on the spindle, and the ship was actually steered by turning the winch handle, the helmsman facing the ship's side and looking over his shoulder at the compass. Later on, the captain improved this curious method of steering, by lashing a small handspike to the vertical arm of the winch handle, which gave the helmsman much more command and also allowed him to stand upright. And in three days the carpenter fitted the " CHRISTIAN McCAUSLAND." Photo by De Maus, Port Chalmers. [To face page 364. CHRISTIAN McCAUSLAND 365 rim of the wheel and nave with a new set of stout elm spokes, and made such a good job of it that it was not found necessary to replace them on arrival in London, The rest of the passage was uneventful, the Horn was rounded in fine weather, and the Christian McCausland finally brought up at Gravesend close astern of the Russian royal yacht, which had just brought over the Czar Alexander on a visit to England. After having four ships on the stocks in 1869, Patrick Henderson remained content with his fleet until 1874. His ships were always painted black with gold stripe and gingerbread work, whilst Shaw, Savill's were painted green. When the two firms amalgamated in 1882, all their ships came out with painted ports and lead colour under the ports. The Origin of the Albion House-flag. The Albion house-flag, a French flag with a small Union Jack in the centre, is supposed to have originated during the Crimean War. It is said that one of their early vessels carried both French and British troops at the same time, and for this reason flew a Union Jack and a French tricolour side by side on separate flagstaffs on the stern — this being later im- proved upon by the well-known Henderson house-flag. The New Zealand Shipping Company. During the early years of the Colony Shaw, Savill and P. Henderson had practically all the carrying trade in their hands. Occasionally an outsider took a load of emigrants out to New Zealand, such as the White Star liner Chariot of Fame, but the big Liverpool emigrant ships were really too big for the small volume of trade at that time. However, as both emigration 366 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS to and trade with New Zealand increased, it was felt that the service of ships could well be- improved, and at last in 1873, with this object in view, a number of merchants and run holders in the Colony decided to go in for shipowning and managing, and formed them- selves into a company under the style of the New Zealand Shipping Company. Full of enthusiasm, push and go, the promoters of the N.Z.S. Co. were determined from the first to have a line worthy to class with the Blackwall frigates of Green & Wigram. They had, of course, a great deal to learn, and mistakes were made but never repeated; and so great was their energy that in the first three years of their existence they chartered and despatched no less than 150 ships, carrying 28,675 passengers to the Colony. And before the company was ten years old it owned 16 up-to-date iron clippers, most of which had been built specially for them. From the start the N.Z.S. Co. proceeded on generous lines, their ships being always well found, well manned and most liberally kept up. Their officers, also, considered themselves the aristocrats of the trade and rather looked down on the more economical Shaw, Savill and Albion clippers, whom they nicknamed the " Starvation Stars," in allusion to the stars in their house-flag, which by the way is the proper New Zealand flag which Queen Victoria presented to the Maoris. The ships built for the N.Z.S. Co. were none of them specially fast; they aimed chiefly at safety and comfort for their passengers. All these ships were built of iron, the finest and fastest of the fleet being the beautiful little Turakina, which originally belonged to George Smith of the well-known City Line, being then called the City NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING CO. 367 of Perth. I shall deal with her in more detail presently. LIST OF THE NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING COMPANY'S SAILING FLEET. Date Ship Ton3 Length Breadth Depth Builders Built Feet Feet Feet 1835 Pareora ie% -White Eagle) 879 2033 32-8 20-9 At Glasgow 1863 Waitara 833 182-4 31-4 20-9 Kcld, Glasgow „ RansUiki (ex-Cimitar) .. 1188 2100 35-0 22-7 Samuelson. Hull 1868 Turakina (ex-CUy o/ Perth) 1189 232-5 35-4 22-2 Connell, Glasgow „ Waimea (.ex-Dorette) 848 194-3 31-7 19-0 Goddefrog, Hamburg „ Mataiira (ex-Dunfiltan) 853 199-4 33-3 20-3 Aitken, Glasgow 1873 Raknia 1022 210-2 34-0 19-2 Blumer, Sunderland 1874 WaiJcato 1021 210-5 34-1 19-2 t. •) „ Waimate (ex-Ht« „ Olaki 1014 204-1 34-2 20-0 »> M „ Waipa 1017 204-1 34-2 20-0 „ „ ,j Wairoa 1015 204-1 32-2 20-0 „ „ 1876 Opawa 1076 215-2 34-0 20-4 Stephen, Glasgow „ Piako 1075 215-3 34-0 20-5 ,. 1877 Wanganui 1077 215-3 34-0 20-4 „ The Pareora was broken up in 1889. The Waitara came to her end by colliding with the Hurunui in the English Channel on 22nd June, 1883. The Rangitiki was sold to the Norwegians and re- named Dalston. She was resold in 1909 for £1500 and went to New Caledonia as a hulk. The Waimea was sold to the Norwegians and wrecked on the South African Coast in 1902. The Mataura brought the first cargo of frozen meat from New Zealand, arriving on 26th September, 1882, being fitted with Haslam's patent dry air refrigerator. She was then rigged as a barque. She was eventually sold to the Norwegians and renamed Alida, On 24th August, 1900, she was dismasted in the Pacific and abandoned. The Raikaia also went to the Norwegians and was 368 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS renamed Marie. She was again sold, to Boston ship- owners, for 4850 dollars, and is once more sailing the seas under her old name. The Waikato was sold to the Germans and her name changed to J. C. Pfluger. They sold her in 1900 to Californian owners, who sailed her out of Frisco rigged as a barquentine. She is now a hulk disguised under the name of Coronado. The Waimate, from noon on 26th November to noon 27th November, in 1881, covered 354 miles in the 23|-hour day running the easting down in lat. 47° S. In the p.m. the sea was smooth and the wind gradually freshening, Captain Mosey who was making his first voyage in the ship, hung on to his main royal until the first watch, the wind being on the port quarter. By daybreak the wind was dead aft with bright sunshine and a clear sky, but with a very big sea running. Her best week's run was from the 27th November to 3rd December, being 1807 miles. Waimate was a skysail yarder, and with the wind abaft the beam could be made to travel, but she was nothing extraordinary with the yards on the backstays. She was once in company with Shaw, Savill's Marl- borough off the Snares. With the wind free she had the best of it, but as soon as they hauled up to stand along the New Zealand Coast the Marlborough passed her without any trouble. Two years later Waimate, with Captain Mosey still in command, ran from Lyttelton to the Scillies in 71 days. She was sold by the N.Z.S.Co. to the Russians and renamed Valkyrian. She went missing in 1899. Waitangi is still afloat flying Norwegian colours under the name of Agda. OTAKI 369 Hurunui is also, I believe, still afloat under the Russian flag, her name being Hermes. Orari was sold to the Italians in 1906 and converted into a hulk in 1909. "Otaki's" Record Passage Home. Otaki is famous for her wonderful run home in 1877. She left Port Chalmers with Captain J. F. Millman in command at 4 p.m. on 11th March; was becalmed for four days off the New Zealand Coast; was then 22 days to the Horn; reached the Lizard 63 days out from her departure, and docked in London 69 days out. During this passage she only had eight hours of head winds. Otaki was nothing special in the way of sailing and never made more than 10 knots, so her passage must really be put down to amazing good luck. She was bought by the Germans and renamed Dr. Siegert, being wrecked in 1896. Waipa went to the Norwegians in her old age, and I believe she is still afloat under the name of Munter. Wairoa was bought by the Russians and renamed Winnipeg. She went missing in 1907 whilst bound from Pensacola to Buenos Ay res. Opawa and Piako were two beautiful little ships. In 1877 Opawa went from the London Docks to New Zealand and home again with wool in 6 months 9 days. And in 1893 she made the passage New Zealand to Liver- pool in 83 days. She was still afloat in quite recent years under the name of Aquila and Norwegian colours. The sister ship Piako went missing in 1900 on a passage from Melbourne to the Cape, being then German owned. The Wanganui, last ship built for the firm, was still afloat when the war started as the Norwegian barque Blenheim. 370 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS "Turakina" ex" City of Perth." I have left the Turakina to the last, as she deserves a longer notice, being one of the most beautiful little iron ships that ever left the ways. She was built of extra thick plates and launched in May, 1868, for Smith's famous City Line to Calcutta. The following interesting account of her in her early days appeared in the Nautical Magazine in 1917 :^- I sailed in this vessel when she was three years old, under Captain Beckett, a native of Saltcoats, Firth of Clyde. Captain Beckett would have no foreigners or negroes sail with him, either as officers or sailors, and he was one of the most upright and good-living men I ever sailed under, and I went to sea first in 1858. His policy was the same for the men as for the cabin, with plenty of good food, no allowance, sufficient without waste, and plenty of work to keep the scurvy out of the bones, as the sailors said. We left the Clyde at latter end of September, 1871, with a general cargo for Calcutta. We soon got out of the St. George's Channel, and got all the studding sail gear rigged ready for the first favourable wind, and that occurred in lat. 43° N., long. 14° 15' W. We then set top- gallant, royal, topmast, and square lower stunsails, watersails, ringtail and ringtail watersail, Jamie Green and save-alls every place where a sail could be set; wind N.W. but gradually increasing to a gale. However we kept everything on her. On the second day after everything had been set, about 11 a.m., we sighted a, ship ahead of us; by 2 p.m. we were up alongside of her. She was a New York fuU-rigged ship from the Tyne for California. The American captain asked us where we were bound from and where bound to. The whole of his crew came and looked at us, and her master cried to our captain that we were the prettiest sight he had ever seen. Our ship was going fully 17 knots when we passed her, and in three hours we had left her completely out of sight. I have been in many ships in my time, but never one to equal her for speed. She was built by Connell, on the Clyde, and she was certainly that firm's masterpiece. She was iron, and one of the most beautiful models you could look at in the water. The Thermopylae was the largest of the China clippers. She was 948 tons, but the City was 1189 tons. She was a far more powerful ship. I have been in many cracks, but I never saw anything that could look at her in a strong breeze, and as for running in a heavy gale she would run before the heaviest gale that ever blew. " TURAKINA " ex " CITY OF PERTH." PhiAo by De Maus, Port Chalmers. ' OTAKI " becalmed. Lent by F. G. Laylon. [To face page 370. TURAKINA 371 And he goes on to give the following week's work from the N.E. trades to Sandy Hook, Left Calcutta, 16th January, 1872, for New York. Arrived at New York on 5th April, 1872. Below are the position and runs in nautical miles. 29th March, 1872, position at noon, lat 28° 01' N., long. 30° 00' W. 30th March, 1872, position at noon, lat 30° 40' N., long. 35° 56' W. distance 298. 31st March, 1872, position at noon lat. 32° 14' N., long. 41° 44' W. distance 300. 1st April, 1872, position at noon, lat. 33° 55' N., long. 48° 35' W. distance 363. 2nd April, 1872, position at noon, lat. 35° 30' N., long. 56° 39' W. distance 350. 3rd April, 1872, position at noon, lat. 36° 51' N., long. 62° 36' W. distance 350. 4th April, 1872, position at noon, lat. 38° 40' N., long. 69° 10' W. distance 345. 5th April, 1872, position at noon. lat. 40° 29' N., long. 73° 58' W. distance 342. Time 170 hours. Nautical miles 2348. I do not agree with all his distances, but anyhow it is a wonderful week's work and probably the quickest run into New York from 28° N. , 30° W. , ever made by a sailing ship. During the seventies Messrs. George Smith & Sons generally sent one or two of their fastest ships out to Australia for a wool cargo home; and in 1873, 1874 and 1875 City of Perth went out to Melbourne and loaded wool home. Her outward passages ran to over 80 days, but in 1874 Captain Beoketfc made the fine run of 81 days to the Thames. Owing to the exporters of wool insisting that her bottom was foul, she was docked, with her cargo on board, in the Alfred Graving Dock the day before she sailed. Her bottom was found to be clean, but Captain Beckett took the opportunity to give her a coat of tallow, and leaving on the following day, 15th November, he 872 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS caught the February wool sales without any difficulty and eased the minds of the anxious wool exporters. It was his last passage in her, however, for in 1875 Captain Warden took her out to Melbourne in 88 days from the Lizard, but he ran his easting down in 38° S. and did not give her a chance. Again she loaded wool and this time was given a coating of Peacock & Buchan's patent before sailing. After this she went back to the Calcutta trade until 1881, when she left London under Captain McDonald for Canterbury, N.Z., and went on to Timaru and loaded wheat. She completed her loading, and on 13th May, 1882, was lying at anchor in the inner anchorage close to the Ben Venue, when it came on to blow with a big sea making. 8.30 a.m. on the 14th found the Ben Venue with two anchors and the City of Perth with three, riding out a furious gale. But the outlook was very bad especially for the little Ben Venue which had a heavy list to starboard, being almost on her beam ends. Four hours later one of Ben Venue '* cables parted and she began to drag, and about 1 o'clock stranded in Caroline Bay. About the same time City of Perth was also seen to be dragging her anchors and soon afterwards drifted ashore to the north of Ben Venue, but further seaward. Captain McDonald tried to send a boat ashore, but she capsized and the ship's second mate and carpenter were both drowned and the mate had his leg broken. Meanwhile great rescue efforts were made from the shore, the lifeboat was launched, but she also capsized and six of her crew were drowned, including the harbour- master of Timaru. The gale had moderated sufficiently by the 19th to attempt towing the City of Perth off, but without success. Her partner in misfortune, the beauti- CITY OF PERTH AND BEN VENUE 878 ful little Ben Venue, had by this time become a total wreck, and the only gear salved, including some of her spars, was sold for £150. After the failure to get the City of Perth aflodt her cargo was got out of her, and with an empty hold she was at last towed off successfully. She was then surveyed and sold, her hull and gear only fetching £900. She was next towed round to Port Chalmers and docked there on 1st July, when it was found that the rudder was carried away, with about 20 feet of the keelson and keel, besides five bottom plates very much damaged. It speaks well for the ship, considering the pounding she must have undergone, that the damage was not worse. Again she was sold privately for £500, I am not certain whether the N.Z.S.Co. bought her on this occasion or after her arrival in London after being patched up. If they did, they got a wonderful bargain, though they might have had a still better, for whilst she was lying stranded she was offered for sale by auction and only a few pounds bid for her. After being repaired and refitted, she was sent to Invercargill to load for London ; and she left Invercar- gill on 13th April, 1883, in charge of Captain McFarlane, arriving safely in the Thames on 8th July after a good passage of 86 days. Here she had a thorough refit, and finally left London on 24th October, 1883, under a new captain, with the name of Turakina on her stern and flying the N.Z.S.Co. house-flag. She arrived at Auckland on 19th January, 1884, 86 days out. During the next few years we find her in charge of a Captain Power, who was evidently not a sail carrier, for she did nothing remarkable whilst he had her. In 1885, on her passage home from Otago, she sur- 374 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS vivecl another bad dusting. She left Port Chalmers on 9th March, had strong S.W. gales and heavy weather to the Horn, which was rounded at 6 a.m. on the 5th April, 27 days out. On 11th April, when in 44° 46' S., 40° W. , she ran into a perfect hurricane, the squalls being at their worst between noon and 5 p.m. At 2 p.m. the lower main topsail blew away, at 2.30 the foresail was whipped out of her and at 3 the lee quarter boat was washed away. All this time the ship was swept fore and aft by the terrific sea running, and at 5 p.m. the weight of water on her main deck burst the lee topgallant bulwarks. Luckily the wind then began to veer to the S.W. and the squalls began to take off and come up at longer intervals. The equator was crossed on 3rd May, 28 days from the Horn. She had light trades followed by moderate southerly winds to the Western Isles, then light southerly and easterly winds, with thick fog to the Wight, where she picked up her tug, arriving in the Thames on 11th June, 94 days out. Like most of the New Zealand clippers Turakina was fitted with refrigerating machinery in the late eighties, and it was as a frozen meat ship under Captain Hamon that she made her name as a passage maker in the New Zealand trade. In 1892 she left Gisborne and arrived home on 81st May, 78 days out. In 1893 she left Timaru for Liverpool on 2nd February, but carried away her mainyard on the first night out and had to put back to Lyttelton to repair damages. This spoilt her passage. In 1894 she signalled oft the Lizard on 27th May, only 69 days out from Wellington, and docked in the London River, 71 days out. TURAKINA 375 In 1895 she made the Wight on 1st July, 73 days out from Port Chalmers. On her previous outward passage she had distinguished herself by sailing past the company's steamer Ruapehu. The following account of this incident was given me by one of the officers of the steamship : — On the 14th February, 1895, in lat. 46° 15' S., long. 68° 16' E., the N.Z.S. Co.'s mail steamer Ruapehu was running her easting down under whole topsails and courses, the weather dirty and a strong wind from the norrard, force 7 Beaufort scale. At 9 a.m. a sailing ship was reported astern, topgallant sails up. Shortly after she sheeted home her royals. Orders were given on the Ruapehu to the engineer to drive the ship and topgallant sails were set, the patent log showing a good 14. At noon exactly the N.Z.S. Co.'s sailing ship Turakina passed along our lee side. She was then carrying all square sail except mizen royal and topgallant sail (probably griping a good deal) . She was right along- side and you could distinguish the features of the oflBcers, and see the seas breaking over her — I have a very good photo. She then hauled her wind and crossed, our bow, at the same time shortening sail to topsails, reef in mainsail and furled crossjack; even then she held her own with us during a long summer evening light, till 9.30 there she was just ahead on the port bow. Next day at noon we had run 315 miles. At midnight the wind came aft and she was therefore not in sight from masthead at daylight. It was a wonderful performance and made a man feel glad to be alive to see it. And the Turakina held her own for 14 days. She covered the 5000 miles between the meridians of the Cape and the Leeuwin, in 16 days, her best runs being 328, 316 and 308. I am glad to say that the gallant little ship is still afloat under the name of Elida, owned in Tordesstrand. In 1912 she was in Rio at the same time as the Portu- guese Ferreira ex.-Cutty Sark. I wonder how many of the shipping people there realized that two of the fastest and most beautiful sailing ships ever built were lying at anchor in their wonderful harbour. 376 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Before leaving the Turakina, I must not omit to give her official measurements from Lloyd's Register : — Tonnage (net) .. 1189 tons Tonnage (gross) . . .. 1247 ., Tonnage (under deck) . .. 1160 .. Length .. 232.5 feet Breadth .. 35.4 „ Depth .. 22.2 „ Depth moulded . . .. 23.5 „ Freeboard amidships (summer) 4.5J „ Raised quarterdeck 32 „ Robert Duncan's Six Beautiful Sister Ships. In 1874 Patrick Henderson launched out by ordering six iron passenger clippers from Robert Duncan and two from Scott, of Greenock, and of the big fleet of splendid iron ships built in the seventies there were few more perfect specimens of the shipbuilders' art than these eight ships. The following are the measure- ments of the Duncan ships : — Ship Date Launched Tonnage Length Beam Depth Length of Pooy Length of Foc'a'le Dunedin Canterbury invercargill . . Auckland NeUon Wellington March 1874 May 1874 June 1874 July 1874 Aug. 1874 Sept. 1874 1250 . 1245 1246 1246 1247 1247 241 239.7 239.7 239.8 239.3 239.8 36.1 36 36 36 36 36 20.9 20.8 20.7 20.7 20.7 20.7 70 70 70 70 70 70 35 35 35 35 35 35 All these ships, with the exception of Dunedin, which went missing when homeward bound with frozen meat in 1889, were sailing the seas in the twentieth century, and until Shaw, Savill sold them in 1904-5 were still making good passages. Even after they had ceased to carry emigrants, their outward passages were constantly under 80 days; and the frozen mutton did not affect their homeward runs as much as one would expect, for I — I o Pi < o w * > 4 S ^ o <; < DUNCAN'S SHIPS 377 I find the Nelson running from Wellington to the Lizard in 1889-90 in 83 days; the Auckland from Wellington to the Lizard in 1899 in 84 days ; Invercargill from Timaru to the Wight in 1895, in 85 days, and Wellington from Timaru to the Lizard in 1900 in 79 days. The Canterbury was credited with a run out of 64 days, She was at her best off the wind in a strong breeze. She was still afloat at the outbreak of the war, owned in Tordesstrand, Norway. Invercargill, under Captain Bowling, had many excellent passages to her credit. Captain Bowling was a native of Kingstown, in Ireland, and started his sea life in the China trade. He commanded the Invercargill for 18 years, at the end of which time he had been 50 years at sea and 30 years in command of sailing ships. He was one of Shaw, Savill's most trusted commanders and was noted for the way in which he handled his beautiful ship. Not many years ago a writer to the " Nautical " described one of Captain Bowling's skilful bits of seamanship. He wrote as follows : — The Invercargill, fully laden from London, arrived ofif Wellington fieads one afternoon. A fine southerly breeze was blowing. Very impatient to get anchored, Captain Bowling decided to sail right in without the assistance of a tug. But just as he got well up the entrance, the wind suddenly veered right round to the northward and blew hard, and as his ship was well up inside Barrett's Reef by this time, things began to look rather serious. Notwithstanding his many difficulties — for the slightest error or hesitation in timing the order of the different manoeuvres meant disaster — old Bowling managed everything like clockwork, and the Invercargill dropped her anchor ofi Kaiwarra, just as darkness fell. The Invercargill' s last passage under the British flag in 1904 was her worst; in it she weathered out the biggest gale of Captain Bowling's experience. She sailed from Sydney, N.S.W,, on the 27th August, 1904, 378 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS loaded with wheat, being bound to Queenstown for orders. On the 30th September she was caught in a Cape Horn snorter, her cargo shifted to port, her port bulwarks were carried away and for some time she lay on her beam ends. At last by hard work the cargo was man-handled to the windward side, she righted and continued her passage. But once again she ran into heavy weather, this time in the Atlantic in 45° N., 20° W., and the mornmg of the 8th December found her battling with a heavy gale from N.W., the weather being clear. The entry in the log at 4 p.m. said: — Hard squalls and high confused sea vessel labouring heaviiy and shipping greaV quantities of water lore and aft. At 7 p.m. both wind and sea increased, and a huge mountain of water broke over the port quarter and swept the decks, the whole length of her. The cabin skylight was burst in and the water flooded below, breaking into the saloon and cabins, the sail locker, the lazarette and even into the 'tween decks; the companion hatch on the poop was carried away, and along with it went both compasses, stands and binnacles, side lights and screens, the patent log from the taffrail; in fact, pretty near everything on the decks except the wheel. Mr. Le Sueur, the mate, lost no time in getting a sail over the gaping skylight and all hands were turned to bailing out the water from below, which was up to one's waist in the cabin. 8 p.m. found the gale still blowing with undiminished force, and the ship was rolling heavily as she ran before it. By midnight the seas were mountainous and the squalls became fiercer and more frequent. About 4 a.m. a big sea washed out the carpenter's quarters, and " Chips," under the impression that the ship was sinking by the head, made the best of his way aft. But Captain Bowling and his INVERCARGILL 879 officers were all below clearing up the wrecked cabin, etc. The carpenter, thereupon, informed the man at the wheel of his fears, with the result that the latter had an attack of nerves, thought he was running the ship under, and allowed her to come to. As the ship broached to, the cargo shifted for the second time and the Invercargill went over on her beam ends. The foresail, fore upper topsail, jib, fore topmast staysail and main royal all blew adrift out of the gaskets and were soon in tatters. The lifeboat to leeward was lifted out of her davits and swept away. Then, whilst the ship lay down with her lee foreyard arm dipped 6 feet into the broken water to leeward, the seas worked havoc on the flooded main deck. Daylight disclosed the extent of the damage; the galley was gutted, the carpenter's shop was bare, all his tools gone and the doors smashed in ; the contents of the bosun's locker, paint locker, and the mate's and second mate's cabins were washed clean out of them, and gone overboard. The topgallant bulwarks to leeward were all gone, and the running gear being dragged backwards and forwards through the swinging ports was cut to pieces, two of these ports had been torn off their hinges; the foc's'le-head and poop ladders were gone and all the poop stanchions ; whilst the racks for handspikes and capstan bars were empty. All that day and the next night the Invercargill lay like a log with her lee rail buried deep and her main deck full of water. At last, early on 10th December, the wind dropped very light and went into the S.W. with thick weather. Cargo was jettisoned to bring the ship on an even keel, and at last she was got away on her course. The next difficulty was making a landfall without a reliable 880 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS compass, as only an old compass which had not been adjusted was available, both the steering and standard compasses having gone overboard. In spite of a large allowance made for his defective compass, Captain Bowling found himself nearly ashore amongst the Scilly Isles. Again his fine seamanship saved the vessel, and on the 18th December he brought her safely into Queenstown, 113 days out from Sydney. Orders were received here to proceed to Glasgow, but the crew came aft and refused to proceed in the crippled ship; upon which she was towed round to the Clyde and was docked in Princes Dock, Govan, on Christmas Eve. After she had been repaired and refitted at a cost of £1000, Shaw, Savill sold the splendid old ship to the Norwegians, who renamed her the Varg. She sailed for Christiania in 1905, with coal ballast, and was never seen again after clearing the Tail of the Bank. The Auckland, after a long and successful career with many fine passages to her credit, was sold to S. O. Stray, of Norway, in 1904, but soon disappeared from the Register. The Nelson's finest sailing feat was in 1875, when she ran from Otago Heads to the Horn in 19 days. She was still afloat in 1914 at the outbreak of the war, sailing as a barque under the Chilean flag, and must often have had a chance of trying her sailing powers against the old tea clipper, Lothair, which was also still afloat on the West Coast of South America. "Wellington" and Captain Cowan. I cannot pronounce an opinion as to which was the fastest of these six beautiful Duncan sisters, but the Wellington probably has the best average. She was WELLINGTON AND CAPTAIN COWAN 381 taken from the stocks by Captain D. Cowan, of Peter- head, and under his able guidance was a most consistent passage -maker. Captain Cowan, like Captain Bowling, of Invercargill, was a magnificent seaman of the old sailing ship type, the survivors of which grow fewer, alas, every day. He served his time in the Peterhead whale fishery. Then about 1862 he joined Patrick Henderson'sas third officer of the Pladda,a slow but com- fortable old wooden packet, which carried 400 emigrants to Port Chalmers. His next vessel was the Vicksburgh. Again after one New Zealand voyage he was transferred, this time with promotion to mate, to the Jane Henderson, in which he made three voyages to Rangoon, on the last of which, about 1867, he went in command. His second voyage as a skipper was in the Helenslee with passengers to Port Chalmers. This ship was sold in New Zealand, and Captain Cowan travelled home as a passenger. He next had Margaret Galbraith for two voyages, then the composite clipper Wild Deer, which he left in order to take over the Wellington. Captain Cowan had the Wellington for 18 years. He told me that the Wellington was such a fast ship with the wind abaft the beam that he never remembers her being passed under such conditions, but that she was nothing out of the way when braced sharp up. This indeed may be said to have been the general case with Duncan's ships. From 1877 to 1884 Wellington ran from Glasgow to Otago with first class passengers and emigrants. Under these favourable conditions her average outward passage was about 80 days, her four best being 73, 75, 76 and 78 days. Soon after the amalgamation with Shaw, Savill, Wellington had freezing machinery put on board, and henceforth came home with 18,000 carcases a trip. The 382 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Wellington had her freezing naachinery on board for four voyages, after which the mutton was sent on board frozen. "Wellington" Collides with an Iceberg. Early in the nineties she nearly finished her career by colliding with an iceberg to the eastward of the* Falkland Islands. Her bows were stove in, two men being killed in the foc's'le by the deck being driven down on top of them, broken down by a mass of ice falling aboard. The bowsprit and jibboom were, of course, carried away, and also the fore topmast; only the collision bulkhead saved the ship from sinking. Captain Cowan shored up his bulkhead and squared away for Rio de Janeiro. He was a month getting there and repairs were hardly under weigh before the Civil War broke out, and all work was stopped for six months. Meanwhile in order to keep the mutton frozen, the engine had to be kept going at full speed night and day ; owing to the heat not even a rest for an hour to overhaul it could be thought of, and it says a good deal for Captain Cowan and his engineer that they managed to keep the engine running without a breakdown for so many months. Orders came out from home that the mutton was to be sold ; whereupon Captain Cowan rashly sold some of it to the rebels — the Government at once issued a warrant for his arrest— and he had to be smuggled aboard the New Zealand Shipping Co. *s steamer Norangi, the mate being left in charge. After this very trying experience Captain Cowan, feeling that he needed a rest, retired from the sea. In 1904 the Wellington was sold to S. O. Stray, of w^sx^j^n^.v^/tiz-^^r.'-^Hi'iitasa&Zi-: :'i;r/:^^yv Photo by Be Maus, Port Chalmers. ' TIMARU. " WELLINGTON." At Picton, Queen Charlotte Sound. Lent Civ F. 6. Layton. [To face page 3S2. 0AM A RV AND TIMARU 883 Norway, for £3150. In December, 1906, she was abandoned on her beam ends and foundered when bound from a Gulf port to Rosario. "Oamaru" and "T^imaru." Not content with Duncan's six beautiful ships, Patrick Henderson ordered two from Scott, of Greenock, in 1874. These were the Oamaru and Timaru, which measured 1306 tons, 239.1 feet length, 36.1 feet beam, 21 feet depth. The Oamaru was launched in October and the Timaru in December. These fine little ships were well worthy of ranking with Duncan's beauties. The Timaru especially, under Captain Taylor, made some fine passages,, when she was carrying emigrants. In March, 1879, she reported off the Scillies, only 68 days out from New Zealand. On the following outward passage, she went out to Port Chalmers in 78 days. Whilst running her easting down she averaged 270 miles a day for 17 days. She had 499 souls on board this passage. Captain Taylor was rather fond of sending bottles adrift, a common practice in the old days, and he was lucky enough to have two picked up in five years. One which he threw over in 12° N. in the Atlantic was picked up in the Gulf of Guinea, and the other, thrown over just east of the Cape meridian, was washed up on the beach in Western Australia. These little New Zealand emigrant clippers, like the larger and earlier Australian clippers, constantly carried very rich cargoes of bullion. On one occasion the Timaru had £57,000 in bar gold on board. Oamaru was finally sold to Norway and renamed Fox. She was broken up in 1912. 384 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Timaru was sold in South Africa as a cold storage ship during the Boer War, and is now, I believe, a freezing hulk at Durban. "Marlborough," ♦'Hermione" and "Pleione." In 1876 three very fine little ships were built for Shaw, Savill ; these were : — Marlborough, 1124 tons, 228 feet length, 35 feet beam, 21 feet depth, launched in June from Duncan's yard. Pelione, 1092 tons, 209.7 feet, length, 34.6 feet beam, 20.3 feet depth, launched in September by Stephen, of Glasgow. Hermione, 1120 tons, 219.4 feet length, 35 feet beam, 21 feet depth, launched in October by Hall, of Aberdeen. The longest of the three was also the fastest, as is the general rule where beam and depth are about the same. Marlborough was certainly a very fast ship and in 1880, under Captain Anderson, ran from Ljrttelton to the Lizard in 71 days. In 1889 she sailed from New Zealand homeward bound with frozen mutton about six weeks behind the Dunedin, and a great stir was raised in New Zealand when neither ship reached her destination. No trace of them was ever found, though the Wellington which sailed in between the two arrived safely. Pleione, like so many ships in the New Zealand trade was eventually sold to the Scandinavians, whilst Hermione was bought by the Italians and renamed Mantova. She was broken up at Genoa in 1913. ♦'Taranaki," • « Lyttelton , " and "Westland." These three were the last sailing ships built for the Shaw, Savill & Albion Companies. Taranaki was James Galbraith's last ship and Westland Patrick Henderson's. All three were built by Duncan and were very fast " TARANAKI. Lent by Captain T. S. Angus. I To face page 884. SHAW, SAVILL & ALBION 885 snips, and continued making fine passages right into the twentieth century. They were over 100 tons smaller than Duncan's 1874 ships, their measurements being : — Taranaki, 1126 tons, 228.2 feet length, 35.2 feet beam, 20.9 feet depth. Lyttelton, 1111 tons, 223.8 feet length, 35.0 feet beam, 21.0 feet depth. Westland, 1116 tons. 222.8 feet length, 35.1 feet beam, 21 feet depth. Of the three, Westland was the fastest ; in fact, many people considered her to be the fastest of the Shaw, Savill & Albion fleet. One of her best performances was a run of 72 days from Bluff Harbour to the Lizard, where she reported on 31st March, 1895. Taranaki was sold to the Italians, when Shaw, Savill parted" with their sailers, and, owned in Genoa, was still afloat when the Great War burst on Europe. The Lyttelton struck on an uncharted rock outside Timaru, when leaving homeward bound. Westland went to the Norwegians, she put into Moss, leaking, and was condemned there. "Lutterworth" and "Lady Jocelyn." Besides the ships specially built for them, Shaw, Savill occasionally bought a ship; of these probably the best known were the Lutterworth and Lad%j Jocelyn. The Lutterworth was a fast little iron barque of 883 tons, built by Denton, of Hartlepool, in 1868. Shaw, Savill & Co. sold her eventually to TurnbuU & Co., of Lyttelton, N.Z. Whilst on a passage from Timaru to Kaipara in ballast, she was dismasted and abandoned in Cook Straits. She was, however, picked up as a derelict and towed into Wellington, where she was converted into a coal hulk. The Lady Jocelyn was one of those early auxiliary steamers, which always seem to have had long and adventurous careers. She was originally the Brazil, 386 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS owned by the General Screw Steamship Company, and was built as far back as 1852 by Mare, of London, her measurements being — 2138 tons; 254 feet length, 39 feet beam, 24.9 feet depth. Of iron construction, she had a spar deck above her two decks, and no expense was spared in her construction. As an auxiliary steamer, like most of her kind, she proved to be a money-eater, and when after a few years the company went into liquidation she was bought by Shaw, Savill and put into their emigrant trade as a sailing ship. Then as passengers began to desert the clipper for steam, freezing machinery was put aboard her. Finally Shaw, Savill laid her up in the. West India Docks, and used her as a frozen meat store ship, for which owing to her size and the freezing machinery aboard she was well adapted. Years passed and still she remained the most familiar object in the West India Dock, right up to the present date, during which time she has served a variety of purposes, such as store ship for the Shipping Federation and a home for strike breakers. Outsiders in the New Zealand Trade. Though the New Zealand trade was held pretty tightly in the hands of Shaw, Savill, the Albion Shipping Company and the New Zealand Shipping Company ,. many a distinguished ship paid an occasional visit to Maoriland, notably the beautiful tea clipper Sir Lancelot in 1879; the majestic Blackwall frigate The Tweed in 1874, when she went out to Otago in 78 days; The Tweed's great rival Thomas Stephens, which took passengers to Otago in 1879; Miltiades, which in 1889-90 came home from Lyttelton in 78 days and the following season came home from Wellington in 'BEN VENUE.' LADY JOCELYN.' [To face page 386. BEN VENUE AND HINEMOA 387 82 days; and Thessalus, which in 1900 ran from Lyttelton to the Lizards in 87 days, beating the famous coolie ship Sheila by a week. Loch Awe's record passage to Auckland I have already mentioned in these pages, also Sam Mendel's 68 days to Port Chalmers. Some years later, in an attempt to beat this performance and incidentally a fast little City liner, Sam Mendel was dismasted and came into port without her foremast, bowsprit and jibbooms, which had all gone by the board. The Pretty Little "Ben Venue." A regular trader to New Zealand in the seventies was Watson's pretty little Ben Venue, an iron main skysail-yarder of 999 tons, launched by Barclay, Curie in 1867. Under Captain McGowan, she made the very ■fine average of 77 days for her outward passages, her best homeward being 72 days to the Lizards from Lytteiton in 1879. I have already described her loss in May, 1882. "Hinetnoa." The distinction of being the only sailing ship specially built for the New Zealand frozen meat trade belongs to the splendid steel four-mast barque, Hinemoa, built by Russell, of Greenock, in 1890. She measured 2283 tons, 278.1 feet length, 41.9 feet breadth, 24.2 feet depth. Like many of Russell's carriers she possessed a very fair turn of speed, especially off the wind, and has the following fine passages to her credit. 1894 Downs to Melbourne 77 days 1901 Newcastle, N.S.W., to Frisco . . . . 60 ,, 1902 Frisco to Old Head of Kinsale . . . . 101 ,, Hinemoa was built at a time when " sail " was making a final effort to hold its markets against the steam tramp. That effort was a truly gallant one, and 388 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS but for the fact that the windjammer possesses a charm and fascination totally lacking in steam, and has ever been enthroned in the hearts of all lovers of the sea, masts and yards would not have lasted longer in the Mercantile Marine than they did in the Royal Navy. That there were still sailing ships used commercially in 1914 goes to prove that the most stony-hearted, matter-of-fact business man was ready to sacrifice his pocket for a sentiment, a sentiment indeed which many may find hard to define, yet which has forged the links in the chain of nations which represent the present British Empire. To sail and the sail-trained seaman more than to any other cause do we owe our nation's greatness. By sail were our homesteads kept safe from the enemy ; by sail were our new coasts charted ; sail took the adventurous pioneers to the new land, and sail brought home the products of these new lands to the Old Country and made her the Market of the World. This book is an attempt to preserve in written form what the fading memory is fast forgetting — the Glorious History of the Sailing Ship. As o'er the moon, fast fly the amber veils. For one dear hour let's fling the knots behind. And hear again, thro' cordage and thro' sails. The vigour of the voices of the wind. They're gone, the Clyde-built darlings, like a dream. Regrets are vain, and sighs shall not avail. Yet, mid the clatter and the rush of steam. How strangely memory veers again to sail I APPENDIX APPENDIX A. Extracts from "Lightning Gazette," 1855-1857. Second Voyage. — Liverpool to Melbourne. Saturday, 6th January, 1855. — At 8 a.m. the anchor was weighed and the Lightning with two steamers ahead proceeded down the Mersey. The morning was cold with a small drizzling rain, the wind being contrary. The steam tender, on leaving with passengers for the shore, came in contact with our main brace and carried away her funnel. The start was anything but a cheerful one; nevertheless, with the aid of two powerful tugs, we progressed at the rate of 7 to 8 knots and at 6 p.m. passed the Skerries Lighthouse. Sunday, 7th January. — During the night we were nearly run into by a large American clipper, the Dreadnought, of New York; she being on the port tack, it was her duty to give way, but true to her name or with the independence of her nation, she held her course disdaining to turn aside; our captain with praiseworthy prudence put his ship about and thus avoided a collision. Monday, 8th January.— Lat. 52° 14' N., long. 6° 12' W. Wind S.W. The night being very dark, we came in contact with a ship on the opposite tack. We saw and hailed, but the stranger evidently did not keep a good look-out and came straight upon us, striking our ship on the starboard bow. All was hubbub and confusion in a moment. The ships were speedily parted and fortunately without doing any damage to us worth mentioning. The stranger did not escape so well, having her jibboom carried away and her bowsprit sprung, as appeared to us in the dark. 12th January.— Lat. 46° 55' N., long. 10° 41' W. Wind S.E. Dis- tance 269 miles. About 8 p.m. an alarm of fire was given and great excitement prevailed throughout the ship. This danger was caused by a drunken woman in the second cabin, who set fire to her bonnet ; it was soon extinguished and the" woman put in irons and confined in the " black hole " for the night as a warning. 13th January.— Lat. 42° 58' N., long. 14° 24' W. Wind S.E. Dis- tance 286 miles. It is a week to-day since we left Liverpool and con sidering that we had two days of contrary winds, two days of calms we have made a very favourable run from the land. 391 392 THE COLONIAL CLTPPERS 15th January.— Lat. 39° 42' N„ long. 19° 25' W. Wind S.S.E. Distance 202 miles. Ship going 13 knots close-hauled; in the morning we passed a ship outward bound with topgallant sails in, while we were carrying three royals and main skysail. 20th January.— Lat. 30° 37' N., long. 19° 24' W. Wind variable. Distance 130 miles. At 10 a.m. we sighted a steamer on weather bow, homeward bound. In a moment the tables were covered with writing desks. At 11 o'clock we neared her and found she was the General Screw Co.'s Steamship Calcutta from Australia bound to Southampton, 69 days out from Melbourne. We sent a boat to her with a bag of letters. 21st January.— Lat. 29° 51' N., long. 19° 56' W. Wind S.S.W. At 5 p.m. passed a large ship of war with two tiers of guns supposed to be H.M.S. Monarch, bound for the Pacihc with Admiral Bruce, to replace the unfortunate Admiral Price, who shot himself before the attack on Petropaulovski. 24th January.— Lat. 24° 24' N., long. 19° 37' W. Took the N.E. trades, very light. 26th January.— Lat. 22° 07' N., long. 20° 45' W. Wind N.E.. ship running 7 knots with smooth sea. A swing was put up on the poop to-day for the amusement of the ladies. 31st January.— Lat. 8° 48' N., long 22° T W. Wind N.N.E. Dis- tance 130 miles. At 8 p.m. the ship was thrown into instant confusion by the cry of " man overboard." The ship was quickly rounded to, the two quarter boats lowered away and after 10 minutes of intense anxiety a hearty cheer announced that they had found him. The man, who was a second intermediate passenger, could not swim but was kept up by a life-buoy. 1st February.— Lat. 5° 45' N., long. 21° 50' W. Wind N.E. Dis- tance 180 miles. Ship running 12 knots before a fresh gale with light sails in. At noon the ship was again thrown into a state of alarm by the cry of " man overboard." A sailor named John Benson, a Swede, had fallen from the jibboom. Lifebuoys were thrown to him and the two boats quickly lowered, but the wind blew strong, the sea ran high with rain and mist so that it was impossible to see any distance and after pulling for nearly an hour they returned with the sad report that they could see nothing of him. 8ld February. — Crossed the equator at 10 p.m. in 23° 9' W., 28 days out from Liverpool and 23 from Land's End. Took the S.E. trade and lost the favourable north wind this morning. 9th February.— Lat. 18° 15' S., long. 34° 46' W. Wind S.E. Dis- tance 308 miles. This is the best day's work since we left; indeed it is the only chance our noble ship has had of displaying her sailing qualities. APPENDIX 893 14 knots upon a bowline with the yards braced sharp up is certainly wonderful work and scarcely to be believed if it were not satisfactorily proved by the observation of the sun at noon, from which it appears we have sailed 308 miles in last 24 hours with a current against us, which is always supposed on this coast to run about a knot an hour with the wind, making an average of 13 knots an hour, and while going at this extraordinary rate she is as dry as possible, seldom shipping a spoonful of water. During the greater part of yesterday the carpenter was employed on a stage belcw the fore chains, where he worked as easily as if it had been calm. 14th February.— Lat. 31° 47' S., long. 34° 54' W. Wind N.E. Distance 93 miles. Began to run down our easting on a composite circle. 19th February.— Lat. 41° 41' S.. long. 18° 45' W. Wind N.W. Distance 310 miles. Ship running 13 and occasionally 15 knots. 20th February. — Lat. 41° 5' S., long. 16° 34' W. Distance 155 miles. At midnight the wind suddenly flew round from N.E. to S.W. and blew a heavy gale. The change was so sudden that we were obliged to run before the wind for six hours to get the sails in, which was not done without some danger. After taking a reef in the fore and mizen topsails we hauled up again to E.S.E. The ship went very easy under the reduced sail and as dry as possible, though there was a heavy cross sea runiung. 10 a.m., more moderate, set mainsail and topgallant sails. Noon going IS knots with royals set, yards slightly checked, going by the wind. 2l8t Pebtaary.- Lat. 42° 34' S., long. 9° 10' W. Wind South. Distance 342 miles. Ship going 15 and occasionally 16 knots with main skysail and fore topmist studdmg sail set, the yards slightly checked. 37th February.— Lat. 46° 22' S., long. 26° 15' E. Wind west. Distance 390 miles. All night it blew a fresh gale with heavy squalls and occasional showers of hail and snow, the sea running high, ship running 16 and occasionally 18 knots. During six hours in the morning the ship logged 18 knots with royals, main skysail and topgallant studding sails set, the wind blowing a fresh gale from the westward. 28th February.— Lat. 47° 24' S., long. 33° 32' E. Wind N.E. Dis- tance 308 miles. At 2 o'clock it blew a hard gale with heavy showers of rain and hail. Obliged to keep the ship before the wind while short- ening sail. By 7 p.m. sail was taken in and ship laid to under trysail and topmast staysail, to prevent her running too far south for fear of coming in contact with ice. 7th March.— Lat. 50° S., long. 68° 44' E. Wind S.W. Distance 280 miles. 10 a.m., sighted Kerguelen or Desolation Island, passing between Fortune Island and Round Island, small rocks about 20 miles ofi the mainland. 2 o'clock, abreast Cape St. George. 394 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS SthMarch— Lat. 49°61' S., long. 76°24'E. Wind N.W. Distance 296 miles. Sliip running with stunsails both sides, high sea. 9th March.— Lat. 49° 50' S., long. 83° 47' E. Wind N.W. Distance 284 miles. 10th March.— Lat. 49° 28' S.. long. 89° 29' E. Wind N.W. Distance 221 miles. 11th March.— Lat. 49' 11' S., long. 94° 44' E. Wind N.N.E. Dis- tance 326 miles. Midnight, fresh gale. Ship going 17 knots with single reefed topsails, foresail, trysail and fore topmast staysail, wind abeam. 12th March —Lat. 49° 11' S., long. 106° 38' E. Wind north. Dis- tance 366 miles. Thick weather and small rain. I3th March.- Lat. 48° 27' S.. long. 114° 16' E. W-ind N.E. Dis- tance 318 miles. 19th March.— Lat. 40° 25' S.. long. 143° 23' E. Wind E.S.E. Distance 308 miles. 4 p.m,, rounded King's Island. 8 p.m., sighted Cape Otway light bearing W. 18 miles. Stood ofi the land till midnight. 20th March. — During the night strong gale from East. 1 p.m., pilot came aboard. 1.30 p.m., entered Port Phillip Heads. Passage of 73 days — Liverpool to Melbourne. Passage of 67 days— Land to land. The Lightning beat the Red Jacket. Ralph Waller, Eagle, and George Waller, which sailed either previous to her or on the same date. Second Voyage — Melbourne to Liverpool. 1855. 11th April. — Early this morning the anchor was weighed and we were taken in tow by two steam tugs. Two guns were fired as a signal of departure, weather delightful but wind light and right ahead. When near the Heads spoke Frederick, of Liverpool, 95 days out. In passing she saluted us with two guns, her passengers and crew cheering, a courtesy which we returned. Calm for two days, ship only 1 1 miles off Port Phillip Heads. 13th April. — Passed through Bass Straits, Gipsy Bride and other vessels in company. 17th April. — Lat. 46° 12' S., long. 156° 28' E. Lightning sweeping along at 17 and sometimes 18 knots. 18th April.— Lat. 49° 5' S., long. 162° 50' E. Wind S.W. Distance 314 miles. Sailing 16 knots an hour, wind steady with heavy cross sea. All starboard stunsails set. 21st April.— Lat. 54° 21' S., long. 175° 45' W. Wind S.S.W. Dis- tance 327 miles. 24th April.— Lat. 58° S., long. 168° 35' W. Wind N.N.E. Distance APPENDIX 895 285 miles. Sailing 14 knots close-hauled. P.M., heavy head gale, royals, skysails, jib and spanker in. ship pitching heavily. 26th April.— Lat. 58° 7' S., long. 150° 49' W. Calm. Distance 79 miles. During night heavy snow squalls. 1st May.— Lat. 58° 53' S., long. 112° 25' W. Wind E.N.E. SaHing 8 knots an hour by the wind. Sighted an iceberg 100 ft. high, 8 miles distant. 5th May.— Lat. 54° 48' S., long. 100° 44' W. Wind E.N.E. to E.S.E., strong gale. Took in foresail and single reefed the topsails. (This was the only occasion during the passage on which the topsails were reefed.) 8th May.— Lat. 55° 56' S., long. 85° 48' W. Wind north. Distance 294 miles. Skysails and staysails in and slab-reefed courses. 10th May.— Lat. 58° 12' S.. long. 69° 49' W. Wind N.N.W. Dis- tance 316 miles. 10 p.m., Cape Horn north 100 miles. 17th May.— Lat. 44° 37' S., long. 64° 31' W. Going at the rate of 12 to 14 knots and wind right aft which caused the ship to roll very much. About 3 p.m. a. heavy shower of snow was hailed with delight by the passengers. Our captain transferred his command from the Black Ball to the White Ball Line and first commenced snow-balling. Fierce and fast grew the conflict, the ship helping many a valiant snow- baller to a seat on her slippery decks. At 4 we saw an American clipper standing eastward under close-reefed topsails. 1st Jane. — Crossed the equator at midnight in 30° W. Visit of Neptune in the evening. Neptune made his appearance accompanied by his wife Amphitrite. Their Majesties were received with the usual honours, all the company standing up and the band playing " Rule Britannia." Neptune was dressed in the uniform of a Line regiment, sea-green turned up with cerulean blue. His wife's hair plaited in the most tasteful manner nearly touched her feet, swabbing the decks as she walked along. Neptune put the usual questions to our gallant commander and having received satisfactory replies, his Majesty, leaning upon his three-pronged toaster, made a circuit of the deck, while the fair Amphitrite in passing made a most condescending bow to the Queen of Beauty, who was supported on the arm of Aesculapius, and at this piece of condescension dropped her large blue eyes and looked :onfused. The salt of the briny element seemed to have excited the thirst of Amphitrite and her attendants, which the Chief Justice en deavoured to quench by draughts from the cup that cheers but inebriates. Neptune having taken the pledge when he visited certain other parts of his dominions would not put the hideous beverage to his lips. The Gods and Goddesses then delighted the company by their vocal melodies and finally descended to their chariot, which went off with tire and smoke. 896 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS 4th June.— Lat. 6° 30' N., long. 30° 11' W. Took the N.E. trades. 28th June. — Four passengers and a number of letters landed ofi Kinsale. 29th Jane. — 11 a.m., taken in tow by steam tug Dreadnought- Anchored in Liverpool at 11 p.m. 79 days out. Since passing the Horn it had been a light weather passage, the moonsail only being lowered on two occasions and the lower deck ports only shut once. Third Voyage. The Lightning's third voyage was an unfortunate one. On her arrival home in June, 1855, Messrs. James Baines & Co., whether at Captain Enright's suggestion or not, I do not know, had her hollow bow filled in with deadwood, an action which caused her designer to refer to them as the '' wood-butchers of Liverpool," though in the light of modern knowledge in ship designing they were undoubtedly right, as hollow lines for sailing ships have long been proved a mistake. Unfortunately, however, the blocking in of the bows was not strongly enough done, and one day when she was close-hauled on the starboard tack in the South Atlantic, this false bow, as it was called, was washed away, leaving its frame and ribs bare. This, though in no way affecting the seaworthiness of the Lightning, spoilt her sailing, and what promised to be an excellent passage ran to 81 days. In Australia the bow was repaired, but the accident frightened would-be passengers, as the Government surveyors in Melbourne refused to give her a certificate and she also lost a lot of freight. Liverpool to Melbourne, 1855. Wednesday, Sth September. — About 3 o'clock this afternoon, amid the booming of cannon, the sad and solemn strains of the band and the cheers of the passengers, our gallant ship was taken in tow by the tug Rattler. The commencement of our voyage is marked with a fair wind, so that the captain is determined to proceed without the aid of a tug. Accordingly at 7.30 the pilot left us and we bade him a cheering farewell. In the evening several songs were sung for " Each sail was set,, and each heart was gay.'' Thursday, 6th September. — At 2 a.m. we passed Holyhead, going from 7 to 7i knots, and Bardsey at 9. At 3 p.m. we were abreast of Tuskar. The ship is gliding along under an astonishing cloud of canvas, with stunsails alow and aloft. In the evening the band played several tunes i many of the passengers ventured on a polka and other dances with spirit. Friday, 7th September. — The light breeze of past two days died away at 4 this morning, leaving us becalmed. Happily the weather is de- lightful with dear sky and brilliant sun. The sea has the appearance APPENDIX 897 o* an immense sheet of glass. All parties are on deck so that the promenades are inconveniently crowded. Tuesday, 11th September.— About 11 a.m. we passed on the port side close to a Neapolitan brig, which put us in mind of Noah's Ark. She was going ahead about one knot and drifting two, with a fine breeze that would have enabled a ship of any other nation to carry all sail, while these sea-lubbers rolled along under double-reefed topsails and furled mainsail. Lat. 44° 9' N., long. 12° 5' W. Distance run 205 miles. Thursday, 13th September. — About 7 this morning we exchanged colours with a ship steering our course. At 12 she was but a white speck on the horizon and at 3 she was lost to sight. Thursday, 80th September. — About 8 a.m. we sighted a vessel right ahead about 10 miles distant and at 2 p.m. we were almost within speaking distance. She proved to be the barque A raquita, from England bound to Rio Janeiro. At 6, such was our speed, she was lost to sight. At 3.30 entered Tropic of Cancer. Monday, 24th September.— Lat. 14° 10' N., long. 28° 14' W. Dis- tance 78 miles. Early this afternoon we sighted the schooner Gleam, from Accra, on the Guinea Coast, bound to London. At 5 p.m. a boat was lowered and in command of Mr. Bartlett, the chief ofBcer, accom- panied by a few of the saloon passengers, proceeded to the Gleam, convejring a large number of letters and Lightning Gazettes for home. A small present of fresh meat and potatoes was also put on board and gratefully received. On the return of the boat we learned she was 47 days out and crossed the line 19 days ago. Tuesday, 25th September.— Lat. 12° 14' N., long. 28° 1' W. Dis- tance 117 miles. In the forenoon we exchanged colours with the brig Favorite, from Buenos Ayres to Liverpool. Shortly afterwards we passed a Danish brigantine and a Hamburg vessel. Friday, 28th September.— Lat. 9° 53' N., long. 28° 5' W. Distance 33 miles. At 6 a.m. a boat visited us from the Evening Star, of Portland, from the Chincha Islands bound to Cork for orders. Friday, 5th October. — Crossed the equator. Monday, 15th October.— Lat. 24° 7' S., long. 29° 59'- W. Distance 255 miles. Ship sweeping along at the rate of 14^ knots. Tuesday, 16th October.— Lat. 24° 5' S., long. 25° 50' W. Distance 225 miles. About 9 a.m. a considerable portion of the false bow on the larboard side was suddenly carried away. Sunday, 21st October.— Lat. 36° 4' S., long. 24° 52' W. Distance 238 miles. At 5 p.m. sighted a large ship on our weather quarter, sailing under double-reefed topsails, and we apprehend they must have 398 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS taken us for the Flying Dutchman seen occasionally in these latitudes, for notwithstanding the strong breeze we would be observed carrying our skysails with studding sails 'low and aloft. Monday, 23nd October.— Lat. 38° 24' S., long. 19° 21' W. Distance 300 miles. Tuesday. 23rd October.— Lat. 39° 22' S., long. 12° 32' W. Distance 325 miles. At 9 a.m. during a sudden squall, carried away our starboard fore topmast stunsail boom — a splendid Oregon spar, which was carried right over the larboard bow. Saturday, 17th November.— Lat. 48° 00' S., long. 121° 15' E. Dis- tance 324 miles. The wind changed during the night to W.N.W., still blowing a fresh breeze with every sail set. Sunday, 25th November. — Sail was shortened at midnight and Bowman Head Lighthouse sighted at 3 a.m. Shortly afterwards hove to for a pilot and as his boat came near, at 4.30, every glass in her was levelled in astonishment at the bare ribs of our false bow. After getting inside the Heads, we again hove to and landed the Geelong mail. At 10 a.m. met the James Baines homeward bound and hove to to communi- cate with her. Captain McDonald came on board and we had the pleasure of sending letters and papers home. At 1 p.m. we were at anchor with sails furled and the Melbourne mail landed. We had the misfortune to come into port with a broken bow which impeded our progress not less on the average than 3 knots an hour for upwards of 9000 miles. On the last voyage we were going 17 knots, on the present with the same wind only 14 — owing to the accident. Third' Voyage — Melbourne to Liverpool. Friday, 28th December. — At 8 a.m. we got outside the bar at Port Phillip Heads, when the agents and a few friends left in the pilot boat. From the captain of the latter we learned the sad intelligence of the loss of the Schomberg, ofi Cape Otway. The clipper ship Blackwall was sighted right ahead of us at the same moment, and at 10.30 we had the satisfaction of overhauling her. At 7 p.m. she was barely visible on the horizon. (The Blackwall was one of Green's frigate-built Indiamen.) Friday, 4th January, 1856.— Lat. 56° 34' S., long. 177° 14' W. Distance 334 miles. Wind S.W. Run for the week 1908 miles. Wednesday, 9th January. — Lat. 58° 32' S., long. 136° 06' W. Dis- tance 311 miles. Wind S.W. During the middle watch 7 icebergs were seen, some very large. During morning several more sighted. Snow fell during the day. Monday. 14th January.— Lat. 57° 48' S., long. 93° 08' W. Distance 330 miles. Wind S.S.E., cold, with showers of snow and hail. Sighted two larae icebergs on starboard bow. APPENDIX 399 (28th December-15th January Lightning ran 6244 knots in 18 days, an average ol 12 knots on a direct course from Melbourne to Cape Horn.) Sunday, 20th January. — At 6 a.m. Cape Horn in sight, 25 miles distant. Tuesday, 29th January.— Lat. 35° 00' S., long. 33° 15' W. Distance 300 miles. Wind east. Heavy cross sea and rattling breeze all night. Ship pitching very heavily and going at rate of 15 or 1 6 knots. At 1 p.m. spoke Aberdeen clipper ship Centurion, from Sydney bound to London, 46 days out. She passed during the night the White Star ship Emma, of Liverpool, with Melbourne mail of 10th December. We have beaten the Centurion 16 days and the Emma 18. Friday, 1st Febiuaiy. — Spoke the mail ship Emma. Sunday, 17th February. — Crossed the equator at 8.30 a.m. Tuesday, 26th February. — In the forenoon carpenter fell from the stage on which he was working on the starboard side and immediately the appalling cry of " man overboard " I echoed through the ship. On rising to the surface of the water, he passed his hatchet over the fore sheet and held on until assistance was tendered. Wednesday, 5th March.— Lat. 42° 30' N., long. 25° 33' W. Distance 181 miles. In forenoon sighted large vessel on lee bow under reefed topsails, whilst we carried royals with ease. Friday, 14th March.— Lat. 50° 43' N., long. 14° 36' W. Distance 174 miles. Wind S.S.E. At 6 a.m. sighted two vessels on starboard, another on port bow. Ship put about at 8 a.m. Shortly after a schooner to windward of us. At 10.30 a.m. passed close to ship Henry Fulton, of New York, under close-reefed topsails and on opposite tack. During the day the wind blew with great violence from S.S.E. Towards • evening it increased to a perfect gale. Every stitch of canvas that could be carried with safety was kept on until Captain Enright thought it full time to stow the topgallant sails and single reef the topsails and mainsail, which was done at 8 p.m. At midnight the foresail was also single-reefed. Saturday, 15th March.— Lat. 51° 52' N., long. 12° 23' W. Distance 107 miles. Gale continued from S.S.E. during the night, splitting the fore topsail in two. At 9 a.m. hove to under a double-reefed fore sail and close-reefed main topsail. Sunday, 16th March.— Passed a longboat keel up. Tuesday, 18th March. — Wind S.S.E. Course full and by. Made the Skellig Kocks. V/ednesday, 19th March. — Becalmed; nine vessels surrounding us. A couple of schooners close to and bur starboard boat was lowered under 400 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Mr. Bartlett. On its return we learned one was the Fashion, 35 days from Antigua, the other the Breeze, of Wexford, from Athens, 73 days out and short of provisions, her crew subsisting on wheat which they ground. Kinsale Head light plainly discernible all night. Thursday, 20th March. — Still becalmed, a large number of vessels in all directions. Visited by Cork pilot boat which landed a number of passengers and portion of the mail at Castlehaven. Learnt that 60 or 80 sail started from Crookhaven on previous day, all of which had been detained by same head winds. Saturday, 22nd March.— 10.30 p.m., tug made fast. Sunday, 23rd March. — Arrived after a passage of 86 days against head winds and calms. THE RUN. From Melbourne to Cape Horn . . 22 days. „ Cape Horn to Equator . . 29 ., „ Equator to Fayal - .. 14 „ „ Western Isles to Liverpool . . 21 „ A TABLE OF WINDS. Fair Winds Light Winds Calms Head Winds. 26 days 19 days 17 days 24 days. Fourth Voyage — Liverpool to Melbourne, 1856. Tuesday, 6th May. — At noon the signal gun was fired, our anchor weighed and we proceeded in tow of our old friend, the Rattler. At 3 p.m pilot left. At 4.30 cast o£f steamer and set all sail. At 5.20 p.m. passed Point Lynas, the Skerries at 8, Holyhead at 9, and Bardsey at midnight. Thursday, 8th May.— Lat. 47° 08' N,, long. 10° 44' W. Distance 274 miles. At noon passed ship Dauntless, sailing similar course to our own. Wednesday. 14th May.— Lat. 33° 39' N.. long. 20° 30' W. Distance 310 miles. Monday, 26th May.— Crossed the line in long. 31° 40' W. Saturday, 21st June— Lat. 38° 53' S., long. 5° 7' E. Distance 253 miles. Sunday, 22nd June.— Lat. 40° 07' S., long 13° 1' E. Distance 346 miles. Saturday, 28th June.— Lat. 44° 25' S., long 42° 58' E. Distance 232 miles. Wind increasing; whilst taking in lighter canvas, mizen royal and mizen topmast staysail were torn to pieces. P.M., reefs were taken in topsails. Ship running under foresail and reefed topsails. APPENDIX 401 Sunday, a9th June.— Lat. 43° 36' S., long. 50" 07' E. Distance 312 miles. Monday. 30th June.— Lat. 44° 02' S., long. 56° 35' E. Distance 281 miles. Tuesday, 1st July.— Lat. 44° 39' S., long. 63° 27' E. Distance 298 miles. Wednesday. 2nd July.— Lat. 45° 07' S., long. 70° 55' E. Distance 319 miles. Thursday, 3rd July.— Lat. 45° 07' S., long. 79° 55' E. Distance 382 miles. Her rjm to-day has been only once surpassed since she floated. Friday, 4th July.— Lat. 45° 07' S., long. 88° 30' E. Distance 364 miles. Our week's work of 2188 miles has been the best the Lightning has ever accomplished. Friday, 11th July.— Lat. 45° 47' S., long. 128° 25' E. Distance 326 miles. During the night our speed averaged 16 knots an hour. At 4 p.m., split our mainsail and carried away two jibs. Monday, 14th July. — This morning at 7 a.m. our ears were saluted with the welcome sounds of " Land Ho 1 " At 8 a.m. we had a fine view of Cape Otway Lighthouse. As the depth of water on the bar was not sufficient to enable us to proceed up the Bay, we came to anchor under the lee of the land. We found the Champion of the Seas anchored at some little distance from us, waiting for a favourable wind to proceed to sea. Sailing time from port to port, 68 days 10 hours. Melbourne to Liverpool. Wednesday, 27th August. — By 10 a.m. we were fairly underweigh. On approaching the mouth of the Bay a farewell salute of six guns was fired. The wind dropped and we were obliged to anchor inside Port Phillip Heads at 6 p.m. Thursday, 28th August. — Cleared the Heads at 10.30 a.m. and af 11 a.m. the pilot left us. We passed Lake Liptrap about 9 p.m. and shortly afterwards carried away our port fore topmast studding sail boom, by which accident two men stationed at the look-out had a narrow escape of losing their lives. Sunday, 31st August.— Lat. 46° 30' S., long. 158° 46' E. Distance 313 miles. Wind strong from N.W. We have been going 15 and 16 knots, astonishing all on board, particularly those passengers who have hitherto sailed in London clippers. Monday. 1st September.— Lat. 49° 39' S., long. 166° 35' E. Distance 366 miles. Thick weather and drizzling rain, sun obscured. At 5 p.m. breakers on the lee (starboard) bow were unexpectedly observed, which by some at first were supposed to be icebergs ; they soon, however, appeared to be rocks and high land loomed darkly in the background. 402 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The ship was immediately hauled to the wind, when a bold bluff appeared through the fog on the weather bow. The helm was then put down and, contrary to the expectations of all on board, our ship came round; when all sails were trimmed she headed to clear the rocks. But the wind having fallen light and a heavy sea rolling towards the shore, a fearful period of suspense ensued. Thanks to the wonderful powers of our noble ship, she gathered headway and gradually passed the weathermost rocks. The prompt and cool conduct of our worthy captain, his officers and men cannot be too highly praised, as the smallest error or delay in the issue and execution of the order would have involved the certain destruction of the ship. On getting clear of the danger, the captain informed us that the rocks were the Bristows, off Enderby's Island, near the Aucklands. (Captain Enright allowed 40 miles for the usual southerly set, but, as the occasion proved, this was not enough.) Tuesday, 9th September.— Lat 55° 08' S., long. 148° 56' W. Dis- tance 208 miles. Wind increasing, ship scudding at 16 and 17 knots with all studding sails alow and aloft set. Wednesday, 10th September.— Lat. 55° 33' S., long. 138° 33' W. Distance 355 miles. During the night our fore and main topgallant stunsails were split and also the main skysail, which was immediately unbent and replaced by a new one. Wind veering from W. to W.S.W., very cold with sleet showers. At 9 a.m. an iceberg was sighted right ahead. It was measured by Mr. Bartlett and found to be 420 feet high. Wednesday, 17th September.— Lat. 57° 18' S., long. 83° 28' W. Distance 328 miles. The ship rolled much as she scudded under her top- sails and courses with, at times only, the fore and main topgallant sails. We all know it must blow hard before our main royal and mizen topgallant sail are furled. Thursday, 18th September.— Lat. 57° 35' S., long. 74' 48' W. Dis- tance 377 miles. Friday, 19th September. — At 11.15 a.m. on the meridian of Cape Horn. Distant 69 miles. Saw three ships beating to windward. Exchanged signals with the Patriot King. Wednesday, 24th September.— Lat. 47° 21' S., long. 47° 05' W. Distance 227 miles. Squally with rain, but all sail carried bravely — even little " bull-dog " up on the main skysail mast. Ship going 14 knots and sometimes 15 in the squalls. Thursday, 25th September.— Lat. 44° 40' S., long. 41° 43' W. Dis- tance 278 miles. All sail set including topmast, topgallant and royal studding sails, in all 29 sails. Afternoon, the moonsail was sent up and. set as the 30th. Thursday, 9th October.— Crossed the line in 28° 20' W. {Lightning's average 238 miles daily.) APPENDIX 408 Tuesday. 14th Octobei.— Lat. 8° 12' N., long. 28° 00' W. Distance 52 miles. At daylight two vessels in sight on the other tack, one a large ship with three skysails set. the other a brig. At 7 a.m. tacked ship to N.E. Signalised the ship, which proved to be an American, the Tornado: the brig was thought to be a Spaniard. About 11, the clouds and mist enveloped our neighbours, who presently emerged with a fair southerly wind, although only distant about 5 miles, while we retained our northerly wind. For a time all was uncertainty and doubt which wind would gain the day, but when the vessels came close up to us, bringing with them heavy rain and puffs of vfind, we trimmed yards and soon were rushing through the water at the rate of 10 knots: anon all was calm and the sails flapped. Again we saw our American com- panion staggering under a heavy squall, which split his fore topgallant sail and main topmast staysail, and caused his masts to buckle hke fishing rods: we had plenty more rain but did not catch the strength of the squall. There was great shortening sail and making sail, for the Yankee was going by us, distant about 2 miles on our starboard side; meanwhile the little brig, with a more steady and strong breeze of his own, came close up on our port quarter. Then again all was lulled. The interval presented an opportunity of further signalling, and the following questions and answers were made. Lightning — " Where are you from and bound to ? " Tornado — " Callao and Cape Hatteras." Lightning — " We are from Melbourne." Tornado — " How many days are you out? " Lightning — " Forty-seven." At which answer Tornado seemed surprised and although we had previously shown our number, again asked: — " What ship is that ? " We answered: — Lightning — " How many days are you out? " Tornado — " Fifty-six." We then exchanged the courtesy of hoisting and dipping ensigns. It was then about i o'clock, and for nearly an hour there was nothing but " box-hauling " the yards, when suddenly Jonathan caught a breeze and crept up alongside, and seemed very much inclined to pass us. All possible sail was set and trimmed most carefully but still Tornado gained, and all was anxiety and excitement. At last the strength of the breeze came to us, and for a few minutes there was a most exciting race, some even feared that we were going to be beaten; but the Lightning showed her wonted superiority, our antagonist dropped astern, and a hearty cheer from us announced our victory. The wind then fell light again, and twice freshened and caused the same capital match; but the Tornado, though evidently a first-rate sailer — being one of the early Califomian clippers — could not manage us; and, as the 404 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS night closed in, and the breeze became more steady, we gradually bid him good-bye. Wedneiday, 15th October.— Lat. 9° 27' N., long. 27° 45' W. Distance 77 miles. Our American friend kept in sight until sunset. 16th-19th October.— N.E. trades. 20th-28th October. — Doldrums. The Lightning only averaged 65 miles a day for nine days. Wednesday, 29th October.- Lat. 28° 31' N., long. 35° 39' W. Dis- tance 108 miles. At 4 a.m. a light breeze sprang up from the norrard. 5.30 a.m., spoke a large American ship, the Clarendon, from Malta to New Orleans. 8 a.m., going 7 knots, almost a " dead on end " wind, but any wind at all is a change. Passed a brig to leeward and are overhauling three ships, which are ahead standing on the same tack. About 3 p.m., passed the Cid, of Hambro, a very pretty little clipper barque. Thursday, 30th October. — 7 a.m., tacked ship to N.N.W. A large ship in sight went about at the same time, ahead of us. During forenoon Captain Enright expressed himself confident that she was the James Baines. Great excitement and numerous conjectures, bets, etc. One thing certain that she sailed almost as fast as ourselves, and her rigging and sails were similar to those of the Baines. By sunset we had both weathered and.gained on our companion. (The ship was the James Baines and I have already described the encounter between the two Black Bailers.) Wednesday, 5th November.- Lat. 36° 30' N., long. 35° 11' W. Dis- tance 165 miles. (Distance made since 9th October 2219 miles or 76§ miles daily.) During the night the wind suddenly shifted, catching the ship all aback; in the first pufi the fore topmast stunsail boom was carried away. Passed a three-masted schooner steering to the west- ward, she showed an English Ensign, but from her rig appeared more like an American. She had no foresail or mainsail, but large main and mizen staysails, and a host of other staysails, square-rigged forward; was about 300 tons. Friday, 7th November. — The islands of Pico, Fayal, etc., in sight. Tuesday, 18th November.— Lat. 51° 04' N., long. 6° 43' W. Distance 202 miles. Wednesday, 19th November. — 1.30 a.m., Smalls Rocks light bore E.N.E. Thursday, 80th November. — At 4.30 p.m., Mr. W. Harris, pilot, came on board and took charge off Cape Lynas. APPENDIX 405 SUMMARY OF PASSAGE. Melbourne to Cape Horn .. 24 days 16 hours Cape Horn to Equator . . 19 ,, 8 „ Equator to Pico, Azores . . 29 ,, ,, Western Isles to Liverpool .. 11 „ ,, WINDS. Fair Winds Light Winds Calms Head Winds 32 days 23 days 4 days 24 days Fifth Voyage — Liverpool to Melbourne, 1857. Thnisday, 5th February. — After a little delay the tender brought all off safely to the Lightning, and the passengers were mustered and answered to their names to the Government inspector. A minister from the shore gave a parting address and about 4 p.m. the Lightning began her voyage to Australia in tow of the steam tug Rattler, for unfortunately the wind was dead ahead. Saturday, 14th February.— Lat. 38° 38' N., long. 15° 59' W. Distance 127 miles. Fresh stores were being brought up from the mainhold when a barrel of vinegar fell from a considerable height upon Abraham Le Seur and injured him severely on the back. He was second mate to Captain Enright 18 years ago. Tuesday, 24th February.— Lat. 12° 01' N., long. 23° 27' W. Distance 268 mites In the evening our friend Mr. Taylor paid a visit to the mizen royal yard — much to the consternation of the ladies. He relieved, what we suppose he felt was the monotony of the descent, by descending by the preventer brace. If Mr. Taylor will allow us to advise, we would say " Very well done, but don't do it again for it is a thing which the ladies cannot abide." Tuesday, 3rd March.— Lat. 0° 30' N., long. 26° 39' w. Distance 63 miles. In the evening received a visit from Neptune. He evidently keeps himself well acquainted with what goes on on Terra Firma, for his fifer played him the well-known tunes of " Villikens and his Dinah " and " Jim along Josey," as a triumphal march. It struck us his marine chargers were a little out of condition and one of them had put on the outward resemblance of a donkey. After being regaled with our poor creature comforts, the old fellow very shabbily took himself off without our letters. Saturday, 7th March. — Last night we passed within 26 miles of Pernambuco. Wednesday, 11th March.— Lat. 24° 03' S., long. 35° 40' W. Distance 213 miles. In a squall this evening we made 14 or 16 knots, and that on a wind. 406 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS Sunday, 15th March.— Lat. 38° 47' S., long. 30° 58' W. Distance 311 miles. We have been making 16 knots often during the night. Monday, 16th March.— Lat. 41° 08' S., long. 24° 23' W. DisUnce 334 miles. Wind fell light in the afternoon. Wednesday, 18th March.— Lat. 42° 34' S., long. 17° 04' W. Distance 200 miles. The wind increases towards evening and we make from 15 to 17 knots an hour, yet the ship is so steady that we danced on the poop with the greatest ease. Thursday, 19th March.- Lat. 43° 0' S., long. 7° 17' W. Distance 430 miles. It is very wet and there is a heavy sea on. In the middle of the day the wind lulled a bit, then turned over to the starboard quarter and set to work snoring again as hard as ever. Friday, 80th March.- Lat. 43° 0' S., long. 0° 55' E. Distance 360 miles. This weather is most inspiriting, we have made during the last 47 hours the greatest run that perhaps ship ever made; yet all the time we have carried our main skysail and all sorts and conditions of stunsails. Saturday, 21st March.- Lat. 43° 03' S., long. 7° 67' E. Distance 308 miles. The sea to-day has been really magnificent, the waves were grand and swept along in majestic lines. In the afternoon our weekly concert took place in the after saloon. Sunday, 22nd March.— Lat, 43° 51' S., long. 15° 51' E. Distance 348 miles. (1446 miles in four days, an average of 361^ miles per day.) Friday, 87th March.- Lat. 44° 38' S., long. 35° 36' E. Distance 152 miles. About 2 p.m. a sail was just visible on the port bow. We very soon overhauled her, made her out to be a fine American clipper barque, passed her as if she was at anchor, although she was going 10 knots at least and by 4 o'clock she was almost out of sight astern. Thursday, 2nd Apiil.— Lat. 46° 11' S., long. 70° 40' E. Distance 328 miles. To-night the wind freshened considerably and the sea got up with it. Our main royal sheet and sundry stunsail tacks parted. Friday, 3rd April.— Lat. 47° 14' S., long. 79° 22' E. Distance 364 miles. Wind blew strongly from the north, sea high; during the night main topsail, main topgallant stunsail and main royal sheets carried away. Sunday, 5th April.— Lat. 45° 54' S., long. 93° 31' E. Distance 328 miles. Yesterday afternoon the fore topmast stunsail boom snapped like a carrot, the sail shook itself to pieces, then its yard dashed through the main topgallant sail, tore it, then tore a large hole in the main topsail. Monday, 6th April.— Lat. 45° 34' S., long. 99° 40' E, Distance 260 miles. A fine day with the wind still dead aft. The sea is not so high as was yesterday, but the rolling of the ship brings it often very near our ports. The Lightning is, however, a very dry ship, and it is extraordin- APPENDIX 407 ary how few seas we have shipped. She rolled tremendously last night, her feelings appeared to be hurt, for she creaked piteously. Thursday, 9th AprU.— Lat. 45° 34' S., long. 118° 03' E. Distance 302 miles. The spanker boom broke adrift and tore a large piece out of the starboard rail to the eminent peril of every person on deck, but also of the printing of&ce of the Lightning Gazette. Wednesday, 15th April. — 7 a.m.. Cape Otway bore N. 4i° E., 30 miles. About 10 we signalised the William Miles on the other tack. We have run from the line to Cape Otway in 35 days 15 hours — 9449 miles. Thursday, 16th April. — Entered Port Phillip Heads at 8 a.m., having completed the passage in 69 days 6 hours. Melbourne to Liverpool, 1857. Saturday, 9th May. — We came on board the good ship Lightning and find her busily preparing for her journey, with steamers and lighters alongside, discharging their contents on to her decks. Passengers, their friends and luggage all pouring on board, amidst the noises of the sailors, the-cackling and crowing of poultry innumerable, the squeaking of pigs and the occasional altercations of watermen; while, at the after end of the vessel, may be observed sundry small sealed boxes, many of them seemingly of ponderous weight, being lowered into their place of safety and containing the precious metal that has made Australia so famous. Sunday, 10th May. — Got underweigh at 7 o'clock with the assistance of two steam tugs and slowly moved from Hobson's Bay. Wind light and calm. At dusk we anchored off the Lightship. Monday, 11th May. — Got away from our anchorage at daybreak and proceeded for the Heads, saluting with a gun the Morning Glory in quarantine, as we passed her. Got clear of Port Phillip Heads at 8 o'clock, with wind barely sufficient to move the ship. Several barra- coutas were caught in the evening. Tuesday, 12th May. — Head winds and very light. Cape Otway visible on our starboard bow. In the evening quite becalmed with the Otway light on starboard quarter. Thursday, 14th May.— Lat. 44° 9' S., long. 145° 57' E. Distance 270 miles. Dashing along at 14 to 16 knots with a fine fair wind. S.W. coast of Tasmania visible through the gloom on our port beam. Friday, 15th May.— Lat. 46° 55' S., long. 154° 10' E. Distance 384 miles. Strong breezes and heavy seas with rain squalls and occasional glimpses of. sunshine. During one of the squalls our fore topsail was split and for some time after dark the crew were busy bending a new one. Saturday, 30th May.— Lat. 51° 56' S., long. 126° 34' W. Distance 408 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS 250 miles. We are now 18 days from Port Phillip Heads, and have experienced two days calm, two days westerly winds and for 14 days the winds have been from E.S.E. and S. The last 10 days we have sailed close to the wind. She makes no more water in a storm than she does in a calm. Thursday, 11th June.— Lat. 56° 40' S., long. 67° 12' W. Distance 170 miles. About midday we were about 50 miles to south of Cape Horn. In the evening the wind changed round to N.E. and blew with great fury, and we had to lay to under single-reefed fore and main topsail. I believe it may with truth be said that few vessels have had a more trying passage to the Horn than our good ship Lightning. On our clearing Port Phillip Heads, the winds were light and ba£9ing from the east, compelling us to take the western passage xound Van Dieman's Land. Shortly after we encountered a heavy gale from the south, during which we were at one time reduced to close-reefed main topsail and main trysail, the ship behaving nobly. After this the wind headed us and continued to blow from S. by E. to S.E. by E. for space of 23 days, during which time we ran 4237 miles from long. 160° E. to 84° W., rendering it quite impossible to get further to the south than 54°, keeping us between the parallels of 51° and 54°, blowing very heavy — reducing our canvas at times to close-reefed topsails and courses. During all this, our noble ship behaved admirably, making, as our parallel of sailing will prove, very little leeway. This is the fifth trip the writer has made round the Horn in less than four years, in various ships, and it is not saying too much when he states that he does not believe any one of them would have made the distance in the same time, having the same difftculties to contend with. It has been done in the short space of 31 days, in the face of unprecedented difficulties as the following short summary will show. Calms and Light Winds, 3 days; Variable, 3 days; From S.W. toN.W., 2 days; From S. by E. to S.E. by E., 23 days. Total 31 days. On the 2nd May, 1855, the writer sailed from Port Phillip in the Red Jacket and reached Cape Horn in 34 days, but without one day's check from head winds. Sunday, 14th June. — Staten Island in sight to eastward. A sail visible on lee bow, steering same course as ourselves. At 11 o'clock came up to her and spoke the American ship Aspasia, of Mystic, from California for New York. Wednesday, 1st July.— Lat. 12° 44' S., long. 37° 30' W. Distance 192 miles. At 9 a.m. we were opposite Bahia and later in the day the land was just visible. Monday, 6th July.— Lat. 0° 45' N., long. 32° 23' W. Distance 258 miles. At 7 a.m. crossed the line. APPENDIX 409 Wednesday, 15th July.— Lat. 24° 59' N., long. 45° 22' W. Distance 300 miles. The wind keeps steady and strong. Tuesday. 21st July.— Lat. 40° 57' N., long. 38° 25' W. Distance 254 miles. Wind S.W., a strong breeze, running before it with stunsails set on both sides at rate of 10 to 12 knots. The 'tween deck passengers presented the baker (Mr. W. Grainger) with an address to-day, thanking him for his attention to their comfort. Friday. 31st July. — At 9.30 a.m.. Land Ho I Ould Ireland is in sight. At 6 p.m. passed the Tuskar. Wind right aft. From Melbourne to Cape Horn „ Cape Horn to Equator „ Equator to Azores . . „ Azores to Liverpool 75 days on the starboard tack. Longest run in 24 hours . . Shortest run in 24 hours . . Best week's run, 11th to 17th July 31 days 2fi „ 15 ., 11 ., 82 days. 384 miles 26 „ 410 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS CO 1 Black Ball Line White'star Line Black Ball Line White Star Line Black 'Ball Line Tyson"& Co. Black Ball Line Fernie Bros. Black Ball Line Brocklebank Black Ball Line White'star Line Wright & Co. Black 'Ball Line White Star Line Cannon & S. J. Smith Black Ball Line c a u 1849 1851 1852 1853 1851 1854 1855 1856 1858 1859 1861 1863 1863 1865 4J '3 1 New York Williamsburg,N.Y. Boston New York Boston Portsmouth, Va. United States St. John's Medford, Mass. Quebec New York St. John Medford. U.S. Portsmouth, U.S. New Brunswick St. John Boston St. John New Brunswick ' Quebec New Brunswick Miramichi to •a 1 Williams Don. Mackay W. H. Webb Hall Don. Mackay •> J. O. Curtis Webb Don. Mackay McLachlan Nevins Gass Hilyard McDonald Baldwin Smith Desmond Cud aba « o H ^ 4 < oo.-HeQt^coot^csoeo^nt*^-<^io:ocqo:oco«iaoeo03e4ecto Soffi£^§5 — mS-*oS® men-- 50M-H^Hi— l,-l 3| °5 Jacob A. Westerveli Wizard Comet Ocean Telegraph Sierra Nevada Tarn o' Shanter 3 m 'o i z IN ■ . . . N , . . Southern Empire Tornado Flying Cloud Invincible Queen of the Colonies Chariot of Fame . . Empress of the Seas, No. Neptune's Car Young Australia . . Landsborough Golden Age Whirlwind . . Saldanha . . Fiery Star Morning Star Light Brigade Royal Dane Florence Nightingale Elizabeth Ann Bright Sovereign of the Seas, No. Blue Jacket, No. 2. Prince of the Seas Dawn of Hope Mistress of the Seas Empress of the Seas, No. Legion of Honour . . Southern Empire, No. 2 Palm Tree Sunda APPENDIX 411 .1 s P-H Q Ah pq pq S« S § rt -^ CD o o § * 2^ o n o rm . S " c iS a. a o H o o (3. u i Hi S F -CO v o 8,3 o o bo o SI'S :S ^^'^^ o S o j3 rt O PPQW .«-^ < Cd M h rt o o o rt pp o ft* J pa o 60 o : „- 1 i-I qC5h s,0 O - ; "si's -3 1 dipqSuin J3 o «0 CD « OS t^ r^ I> CO r- ^ lO «0 CO U5 M3 « t- W t- OO ^h 1^ W^rJJOl-^IOCO^lO^CqoOCOIOOOObCOWQOt* ^ ^ CO CO eo « CO CO CO eo eo CO eo ** « eo CO CO eo w CO eo w CO CO CO CO CD CO N i-H(>cDi>'0(M^.-HWC HwHHPqhPl«S^^HP:<-^(nPai-^PI5^(i<(Hh3^&« en I QPQ o e400*-H(Ne4COOC094o6 cDiouso^'.^oiouOT^ose^ 00'*0094 CO >-i in CO 00 CO O CDOOOO w 94 CO CO to •.# CO •a 2 a a g a -w 2 o ti-S ■M 2 M 3 "B, S 3 g.-Sao-aajs < 6 hA"< &' m w" (S t/j ° 5 _ ., , O m O ■Spcgupja'aS-c-S aON.a3ri-^r'o3ciJrt s S= Ml 5 -as te s S J o. o 3 S a ID 4) +> 41 . . a g § « o S 5^ § Hi ■ S CS « -5 O "-J M to hn S O fti to -^ t-l O U H ^ S S O *» K ^ ^ ** m APPENDIX 413 s Thompson & Co. General Shipping Co. J. Smith " A. Nicol & Co. Glasgow Shipping Co G. Thomson & Sons Devitt & Moore G Thompson & Co. General Shipping Co. (Aitken, LUburn & Co.) General Shipping Co. Devitt & Moore A. Nicol & Co. General Shipping Co. G. Thompson & Co. 6 o Q •g 9 a 1 Hood, Aberdeen Thomson, Glasgow Inglis, Glasgow Henderson, Glasgow Dobie, Glasgow Hood, Aberdeen Inglis, Glasgow Hood, Aberdeen Dobie, Glasgow Hood, Aberdeen Barclay, Curie, Gl'gow Hall, Aberdeen McMillan, Dumbarton Hall, Aberdeen Barclay, Curie. Gl'gow Harland'& Wolf 3 3 1 E I J) & Q m M «0 IN pH -H t- t- f. lO e<5 ^' ^ fH ^ ^ )-H f-H 1-4 rfl (N -^ M f. -H rt to (MMe^ ei CO CO CO CO CO 00 CO CO CO ^ CO ^ to -- (N rt rt lO «5 lO M i-J O 00 00 M N O 1— 1 (-H J3 . <01010MM<» tIItJIfHQOtI; O»00COldw3cd«C0O5OJ^I> 10NIMMIN-*(Neq(NtDD5a) IM(N(MIMe4IMd f^ t^ M oooot-m-^oooooo CqC^04C4ff4(N0104 «(0 C4 c^ 1 d 1 U3(N(M«NeO^Mi-tOOCQO OMO-*>010>0« OMOStOtOh-t-O 0--IQOU510000 CO CO o o OS OS < II IS Largie Black Stuart Home Erskine Coleman J. W. Holmes G. Weir Smith Corvasso Bain R. Pattman A. S. Cutler Andrew Shepherd J. Brown S. Clarke W.Martin J. Paterson g2 1 1 Pericles . . Loch Ryan Loch Etive Loch Sloy Loch Shiel Nebo Cimba Loch Sunart Sophocles Illawarra Orontes . . Loch Moidart Loch Torridon Port Jackson Derwent . . Torridon . . Yallarot . . Loch Carron Loch Broom Strathdon 11 r. 00 0> fh t, t- I- 00 00 00 00 oo « •* MS 00 00 00 00 00 00 GO 41* THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS APPENDIX D. Log of Ship " Theophane," 1868— Maiden Passage. Lat. Long. Miles. Winds, Oct. 19 Left. Liverpool in tow. 20 Tug left ship off Tusk. 6 p.m. 21 49°20'N. 8°30'W. 215 N.W. 22 45° 54' 10° 46' 224 W.N.W. 23 42° 42' 10° 53' 199 W.N.W. 24 39° 32' 11° 11' 202 N. 25 37° 35' 13° 11' 160 N.N.E. 26 35° 15' 15° 31' 182 E.N.E. 27 33° 00' 17° 12' 162 Variable. 28 30° 38' 19° 50' 200 N.E. 29 26° 44' 21° 20' 243 E. 30 23° 29' 23° 55' 254 E.N.E. 31 20° 7' 25° 52' 230 E.N.E. Nov. 1 16° 17' 26° 30' 234 E.S.E. 2 13° 47' 25° 45' 158 S.E. 3 11° 4' 25° 6' 172 E. 4 9° 26' 24° 20' 110 E. 5 8° 47^ 25° 10' 40 Variable 6 8° 10' 25° 29' 44 Variable 7 7° 6' 24° 19' 91 S.S.E. 8 5° 60' 24° 6' 7'J S.S.E. 9 4° 55' 23° 43' 63 S. 10 4° 13' 23° 19' 60 S. 11 2° 37' 24° 50' 133 Variable 12 00° 19' 26° 30' 180 S.S.E. 13 2° 60' S. 28° 50' 203 S.S.E. 14 6° 29' 30° 39' 235 S.E. 15 9° 15' 31° 49' 242 S.E. 16 12° 51' 31° 48' 220 S.E. 17 16° 27' 31° 58' 269 E.S.E. 18 18° 15' 31° 34' 113 E.S.E. 19 19° 44' 31° 38' 108 E.S.E. 20 21° 50' 29° 2' 150 S.E. 21 24° 2' 27° 4' 176 N.E. 22 26° 24' 24° 34' 185 N.E. 23 28° 24' 22° 42' 174 N.E. ' 24 30° 6' 21° 2S' 125 N.W. APPENDIX 415 Log of Ship " Theophane," 1868— Cent Nov. Dec Lat. Long. V. 25 32= 10- 19° 50' 26 34= 24' 15° 48' 27 37° 6' 12° 11' 28 39° 14' 8° 5' 29 39° 88' 2° 6' 30 42° 00' 2° 18' E, : 1 43° 36' 8° 26' 2 44° 22' 15° 20' 3 44° 40' 21° 6' 4 44° 4' 27° 9' S 44° 32' 33° 24' 6 44° 53' 40° 3' 7 44° 41' 45° 00' 8 44° 30' 51° 40' 9 45° 00' 38° 00' 10 45° 9' 65° 37' U 44° 57' 71° 39' 12 44° 59' 79° 10' 13 45° 28' 86° 00' E. H 45° 29' 93° 40' 15 46° 19- 100° 10' Ifl 46° 45' 105° 53' 17 47° 25' 110° 40' 18 47° 50' 115° 40' 19 48° 50' 122° 26' 20 47° 28- 127° W 21 44° 53' 134° 11' 22 41° 45' 138° 11' 23 39° 67' 140° 13' 24 Passed Cape Otway Liverpool to Melbourne 66 days Miles. Winds. 160 W. 240 N.N.W. 246 N.N.W. 241 N.N.W. 306 W. 252 w. 254 N. 296 N. 286 N.W. 270 N.W. 276 W.N.W. 280 W. 214 W. 218 W. 277 N. 294 N. 295 N. 320 N.N.E. 304 N.N.E. 328 N. 260 N.N.E. 250 N.N.E. 212 E.N.E. 230 E.N.E. 210 E.N.E. 208 N.E. 316 N.N.E. 276 N.N.E. 115 N.E. by N, 100 N.E. 416 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS APPENDIX E. List of Clipper Ships still Afloat and Trading at the Outbreak of War, August, 1914. Present Date Built Original Name Present Name if changed Nationality of Owners Yrs Old 1864 Glenlora Norwegian 50 1866 Antiope Australian 48 1868 Turakina . . Elida Norwegian 46 1868 Decapolis . . Nostra Madre Italian 46 1868 Ivanhoe Chilean 46 1869 Cutty Sark .. Ferreira Portuguese 45 1869 Thomas Stephens . . Pero d'Alemguer Portuguese 46 1869 Otago Emilia Portuguese 45 1869 Loch Awe . . Madura Norwegian 45 1869 Hudson Norwegian 45 1870 Lothair Peruvian 44 1870 Aviemore Norwegian 44 1872 CoUingwood Norwegian 42 1873 Hesperus Grand Duchess Marie Nikolaevna Russian 41 1873 Rakaia Barbadian 41 1874 Nelson Chilean 40 1874 Waikato Coronada American 40 1874 Canterbury . . Norwegian 40 1874 Romanoff . . Norwegian 40 1874 Charlotte Padbury . . Norwegian 40 1875 Trafalgar . . Norwegian 39 1876 Maulesden .. Ostend Italian 39 1876 Hurunui Hermes Finnish 39 1875 Myrtle Holme Glimt Norwegian 39 1876 Castle Holme Ester Norwegian 39 1876 Argonaut Argo Portuguese 38 1876 Phione Norwegian 38 1876 Opawa Aquila Norwegian 38 1877 Taranahi . . Italian 37 1877 Pericles Norwegian 37 1877 Wanganui . . Blenheim Norwegian 37 1877 Loch Ryan . . John Murray Australian 37 1878 Cimba Norwegian 36 1879 Sophocles Italian 35 1881 Loch Torridon Finnish 33 1882 Port Jackson British 32 1884 Derwent Norwegian 30 1886 Torridon Italian 29 1885 Loch Broom Songdal Norwegian 27 1886 Loch Carron Seileren Norwegian 27 1885 Strathdon .. Gers French 27 1890 Hinemoa British 24 1891 Mount Stewart British 23 APPENDIX 417 APPENDIX F. The Wool Fleet, 1874-1890. Four Best Wool Passages, 1874-1890 — Port to Port. Ship Best Four Passages Total Number of Days Average Number of Days Total Number of Passages Cutty Sark Thermopylae Mermerus Salatnis 72, 73, 72, 76 75, 79, 79, 79 78, 80, 81, 84 77, 83, 84, 85 293 312 323 329 73J 78 80} 82i 7 10 15 13 Cutty Sark's passages are far superior to those of any other ship; in fact, it we take the average of all her wool passages between 1874 and 1890, it only comes to 77 days from port to port. The Wool Fleet, 1873-4. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Patriarch . . Sydney Oct. 25 London Jan. 27 94 Miltiades . . Melbourne Nov. 12 „ Feb. 16 96 Mermerus ,, „ 15 ,, „ 16 93 Jerusalem ,, „ 18 „ „ 12 86 Sam Mendel ,, Dec. 17 ,, Mar. 12 85 ColUngwood ,, ., 24 II „ 23 89 Loch Tay ,, „ 30 „ ,. 23 83 The Tweed Feb. 3 ,, Apl. 27 83 Star of Peace ,, „ 10 ,, May 29 108 Ben Cruachan . . ,, Mar. 6 ,, June 13 100 Samuel Plimsoll Sydney April 14 ,, July 5 82 Loch Maree Melbourne June 14 ,, Sept. 7 85 BenVoirlich ■• „ 14 Lizard „ 30 108 418 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The Wool Fleet, 1874-5. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Loch Tay Melbourne Oct. 23 London Jan. 31'75 100 Ethiopian Sydney „ 24 1, „ 23 91 Macduff . . Melbourne „ 30 .. 26 88 Collingwood Nov. 1 Feb. 4 9S Miltiades . . ^, 4 Jan. 20 77 Loch Ard . . 10 ^_ Feb. 11 93 Patriarch . . Sydney \[ 14 j^ 6 84 , Oberon Melbourne ,, 15 jj Jan. 31 77 Holmsdale ,, 15 ^j Feb. 6 83 City of Perth ,, 15 J, 4 81 Sam Mendel ,, 18 „ Mar. 1 103 Ben Nevis _, 18 _, Feb. 3 77 Moravian _, 25 ^^ Mar. 4 99 John o' Gaunt „ 25 ,, „ 27 122 City of Agra ,, 30 ,, „ 29 119 The Tweed Sydney Jan. 11'75 Lizard April 7 86 Ben Cruachan Melbourne , 19 London „ 27 98 Samuel Plimsoll . . Sydney Mar. 3 ,, June 14 103 Romanoff Melbourne ,, 11 ,, „ IS 96 Ben Voirlich ,, 16 ,, 17 93 Loch Maree ,, 21 Wight ., 17 88 Thomas Stephens Apri 30 Lizard Aug. 4 96 Loch Lomond May 1 London 2 93 Cairnbulg Sydney 6 ■■ ., 27 113 APPENDIX 419 The Wool Fleet, 1875-6. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ya Out Queen of Nations Sydney Oct. 16 London Feb. 18 '78 125 Hawkesbury „ ,. 25 jj „ 15 113 Salamis . . Melbourne „ 23 „ Jan. 25 94 Thessalus „ 30 i_ „ 31 93 Oberon __ Nov. 5 Deal Feb. 17 104 Lincolnshire „ 7 London ,. 17 102 City of Agra ^, „ 10 J, ., 17 99 La Hague Sydney ,. 11 ,, .. 17 98 Ben Cruachan Melbourne „ 11 Dover „ 16 97 Miltiades .. „ 14 London 17 95 Ben Ledi .. „ 16 Dungen's 16 92 Loch Ard . , ,, .. 17 ,. 18 91 Moravian ^^ .. 20 , „ 18 90 Ahergeldie Sydney ,. 21 , ,. 20 91 Holmsdale Melbourne ,. 21 ^ „ 19 90 Patriarch . . Sydney „ 26 „ 18 84 The Tweed ,, Dec. 10 , .. 17 69 Romanoff Melbourne „ 10 , Mar. U 94 Centurion Sydney „ 21 , April 11 111 Loch Maree Melbourne „ 29 , Mar. 29 90 John Duthie Sydney Jan. 1'76 , April 12 101 Rodney Melbourne 6 Deal .. 13 97 ThomasinaMcLellan ^, „ 10 London „ 20 100 Samuel Plimsoll . -. Sydney 2 , 5 83 Loch Vennachar . . Melbourne .. 13 , ., 11 88 Mermerus „ ., 17 , ., 20 93 Parramatta Sydney Feb. 1 , .. 21 79 Nineveh .. „ 5 , May 26 110 Loch Ness Melbourne 22 , „' 24 91 Loch Garry ,, .. 22 , Thomas Stephens Sydney Mar. 8 . June 8 92 Cairnbulg ,, 9 . 7 90 107 Darling Dovons . . •• 9 ■ 24 420 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The Wool Fleet, 1876-7. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Sir Walter Raleigh Melbourne Oct. 6 London Jan. 10 97 Macduff .. Geelong ,. 25 J, 18 82 George Thompson ,, „ 25 Feb. S 103 Miltiades .. Melbourne ,. 27 Jan. 24 89 City of Agra Geelong Nov. 3 Feb. 9 98 Loch Katrine Melbourne 6 ^, 8 94 Ben Lomond ,, 6 „ 9 95 Loch Vennachar . . ,, 8 ,, 9 93 Centurion ^, 9 ,, 7 90 Romanoff ,, ., 11 ,, 6 87 Ben Cruachan . . Sydney ,. 12 ,, 8 88 Samuel PlimsoU J, ,. 19 l> 19 92 Loch Maree Melbourne ., 27 ,, Mar. 6 99 CoUingwood ,1 .. 27 „ „ 6 99 Aristides . . ,, „ 28 „ Feb. 17 81 Patriarch .. Sydney Dec 1 ,, Mar. 6 92 Sam Mendel Melbourne „ 11 26 105 Ben Voirlich ,, „ 18 „ „ 26 98 Loch Garry ^, Jan. 25 Deal May 10" 106 Darling Downs . . Sydney Feb. 1 London ,, 22 110 Cairnbulg 6 1, „ 10 94 Loch Lomond J, 17 ,, t, 10 82 Parramatta •• „ 17 „ 10 82 APPENDIX 421 The Wool Fleet, 1877-8. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Ben Cruachan Melbourne Oct. 24 London Jan. 22 '78 90 Romanoff ,^ .. 27 Feb. 12'78 108 John D'Uthie Sydney Nov. 1 ,, 15 107 Ben Voirlich Melbourne 6 ,, 15 101 Samuel Plimsoll . . Sydney 8 ,, 12 96 George Thompson Melbourne 9 ,, 12 95 Loch Maree ^j ,. 11 ,, 13 94 Macduff . . fi ,. 12 „ 15 96 Miltiades ,, „ 16 ,, 21 97 Patriarch . . Sydney „ 21 ,, 28 99 Sir Walter Raleigh Melbourne „ 23 Mar. 1 98 Salamis .. . , ^^ „ 24 Feb. 19 87 Mermerus „ ,. 24 ,, 12 80 Cairnbulg Sydney Dec. 3 Mar. 2 89 City of Agra Melbourne 4 ., 7 93 Old Kensington . . „ 7 • • 7 90 Aristides . . Adelaide 14 „ 21 97 Loch Garry Melbourne ,. 20 April 4 105 True Briton >f ,. 21 ,, 4 104 Thyatira .. ,, Jan. 12 „ 16 94 La Hague Sydney „ 16 * ,, 16 90 Thomas Stephens Melbourne 17 " 18 91 422 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The Wool Fleet, 1878-9. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Loch Katrine Melbourne Sept. 23 London Jan. 15'79 114 Ascalon . . Sydney Oct. 14 _, 16 94 Romanoff Melbourne „ 26 27 93 Nineveh . . Sydney „ 29 _[ Feb. 7 101 Ann Duihie Nov. 2 3 93 Slieve More Melbourne 4 8 96 Ben Cruachan Geelong 5 8 95 Loch Maree Melbourne 8 „ Jan. 30 83 Milliades .. _, „ 11 ,^ Feb. 8 89 Mermerus „ 13 6 84 Merope ,, „ 16 ,, _, 20 96 Cimba Sydney „ 16 „ 17 93 Jerusalem Geelong „ 16 i» „ 8 84 Ben Voirlich Melbourne ,. 17 Mar. 6 109 Melbourne ^_ ., 18 PrawleP Feb. 16 90 Samuel Plimsoll . . Sydney „ 19 London 7 80 Aristides . . Melbourne „ 23 ,_ 18 87 Cynisca . . Sydney „ 26 ,] Mar. 14 108 Macduff .. Geelong Dec. 1 ,^ „ 4 93 'Loch Lomond Melbourne 3 1, 6 93 Hawkesbury Sydney 5 [[ 6 91 Old Kensington . . Melbourne 7 ,, , J 7 90 Thomas Stephens Sydney 7 ,, ,^ 6 89 Loch Garry Geelong „ 13 „ ,, 13 90 Thyatira .. Melbourne ., 14 J, ,. 6 82 Patriarch . . Sydney ,. 16 Lizard _, 15 89 Cairnbulg ,j „ 20 ,, April 8 109 Superb Melbourne ., 21 Dover ^, 1 101 La Hague Sydney Jan. 18'79 Lizard ,, 18 90 Parramatta „ Feb. '5 Plym'th „ 26 80 Windsor Castle _, Mar. U PrawleP June 13 94 (D. Rose & Co.) APPENDIX 428 The Wool Fleet, 1879-80. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Sam Mendel Melbourne Nov. 3 London Feb. 6 95 Cimba Sydney 6 Channel Mar. i. 119 Ben Cruachan Geelong 9 London Feb. 6 89 Romanoff Geelong „ 16 Mrt. 10 114 Thermopylae Sydney „ 18 Feb. 7 81 Salamis .. Melbourne ,. 19 Mar. 8 109 Samuel Plimsoll . . Sydney „ 22 jj 9 107 Macduff . . Melbourne „ 23 ,, 9 106 Thyatira . . ,^ „ 26 ,, 8 102 Old Kensington . . ,, „ 29 ,, 9 100 Sir Walter Raleigh ,, ., 29 ,, 9 100 Mermerus ^, Dec. 4 ,, 1 90 Cynisca . . Sydney 5 April 6 122 Dunbar Castle ,, 11 ,, 3 113 Superb Melbourne ,. 13 3 Ul Nineveh . . Sydney ,. 18 ,, 2 105 Darling Downs . . j^ ,. 30 „ 2 94 Ben Voirlich ,, Jan. 1 " 17 106 Aristides . . Melbourne 1 3 92 Loch Tay ,, 3 ,, 19 106 Loch Vennachar Geelong „ 16 ,, 19 93 Patriarch . . Sydney ,. 17 ,, 19 92 Loch Garry Melbourne ., 22 19 87 424 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The Wool Fleet, 1880-1. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Woollahra Sydney Sept. 3 London Dec. 1 88 Hawkesbury ,, „ 30 ,, ,, 27 88 The Tweed _, Oct. 1 ,^ ,, 28 88 Samuel Plimsoll . . 12 Feb. 2 113 Thermopylae ,. 14 J, Jan. 12 90 Miltiades . . Melbourne „ 20 Motherb'nk Feb. 3 106 Cimba Sydney „ 23 London „ 2 102 Sir Walter Raleigh Melbourne „ 26 ,, ,, 13 110 Loch Vennachar . . ,. 27 tt Jan: 31 96 Loch Maree „ 28 Feb. 3 98 Melbourne „ 29 1^ Jan. 31 94 Romanoff ,^ „ 29 ,^ Feb. 2 96 Patriarch .. Sydney „ 29 „ ,, 3 97 Ben Voirlich Melbourne; Nov. 6 ^j ^, 7 94 Mermerus .. 5 ,, „ 4 91 Salamis . . Geelong 9 ,, 1, S 88 Sam Mendel Melbourne ,. 10 ,, Mar. 8 118 Windsor Castle . . „ .. 11 ,_ Feb. 5 86 (Green's) Windsor Castle . . Sydney „ 13 „ Jan. 31 79 (D. Rose) Aristides .. Melbourne „ 17 Feb. 4 79 Thyatira .. Geelong „ 20 ^, Mar. 5 105 Loch Garry Melbourne ., 29 „ Feb. 24 87 Darling Downs . . Sydney Dec. 5 ,, April 13 129 Colhngwood Melbourne 8 Mar. 20 105 Thessalus ,, Jan. 14 i> April 28 104 Parramatta Sydney .. 24 „ 30 96 Brilliant .. ,, Feb. 2 ^, May 1 88 Loch Tay Melbourne ., 25 Falm'th June 8 103 Argonaut . . ■• April 7 London " 30 84 APPENDIX 425 The Wool Fleet, lS«-2. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Windsor Castle . . Sydney Oct. 15 London Jan. 30 107 (D. Rose) . . Salamis . . Geelong ,. 29 ,, Feb. 7 101 Romanoff Melbourne Nov. 7 ,, J, 18 103 Holmsdale „ 10 ^, jj 17 99 Loch Garry 11 Wight ,j 16 97 Ben Cruachan ., 12 London ,, 18 98 Sir Walter Raleigh „ 12 „ Mar. 6 114 Parihenope ^^ „ 13 ,, Feb. 15 94 Theophane Geelong ., 14 Dover ,, 16 94 Miltiades . . Melbourne 14 Downs ,, 16 94 Patriarch Sydney .. 15 London Mar. 6 111 City of Agra Melbourne .. 17 ^^ Feb. 20 95 Mermerus „ ■ „ 17 Lizard ft 14 89 Samuel Plimsoll . . Sydney „ 17 Downs 16 91 Ben Voirlich Geelong 18 London Mar. 22 124 Loch Rannoch „ „ 29 ,, J, 29 120 Thyatira .. Melbourne Dec. 3 ,, „ 18 105 Loch Vennachar . . ,, 9 ,, ,, 3 84 Thissalus Sydney „ 19 ,, ,, 28 99 Aristides . . Melbourne Feb. 6'82 " May 11 94 426 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The Wool Fleet, 1882-3. Ship From Left To Arrived Dys Out Windsor Castle Sydney Oct. 13 Falm'th Jan. 20 99 (D. Rose & Co.) Thermopylae ,, ,. 14 London ' Dec. 28 75 Salamis .. Melbourne „ 17 Jan. 19 94 Loch Garry ,, Nov. 3 Feb. 14 103 Samuel Plimsoll . . Sydney 4 4 92 Oronies ^^ 6 15 101 Loch Vennachar . . Melbourne 8 . 15 99 Macduff .. 8 • . 11 95 Ben Voirlich ,, y . 9 92 Holmsdale 9 _ . 15 98 Ben Cruachan ,_ ,. 13 12 91 Hallowe'en Sydney ., 14 . 13 91 Miltiades .. Melbourne .. '4 14 92 Romanoff ,, .. 16 . 14 90 Loch Slay ,. .. 23 , 23 92 Mermerus ,, ,. 25 14 81 John Duthie Sydney .. 29 Mar. 25 116 Collingwood Melbourne 6 Mar. 26 110 Melbourne „ „ 14 ., 27 103 Patriarch . . Sydney „ 26 April 10 105 Woollahra ^ Jan. 6 7 91 Cimba _, 7 Channel ,. 22 105 Smyrna . . 7 London „ 30 113 Anglo-Norman .. ., ,. 10 .. 23 103 ChristianaThompson ,, „ 19 May 12 113 Darling Downs . . ,. 23 April 30 97 Loch Eiive „ ,. 24 May 16 112 La Hogue Sydney Jan. 25 April 30 95 Dharwar . . ,, Feb. 8 June 4 116 Hawhesbury ,, 8 May 12 93 Trafalgar ,, 8 .. 12 93 Gladstone . . ,j ,. 26 ,. 13 76 Rodney Melbourne Mar. 4 Prawle June 11 99 Parramatia Sydney 6 London July 7 123 Abergeldie ^ , April 15 ,, Aug. 1 108 Brilliant .. .. 19 ,, 4 107 William Duthte . . ,, ,. 20 ,, .. 15 117 Port Jackson •• .. 28 July 30 93 APPENDIX 427 The Wool Fleet, 1883-4. Ship From Left To Arnved D'ys Out John Duthie Sydney Oct. 12 London Jan. 10 90 Salamts . . Melbourne .. 19 27 100 Sir Walter Raleigh Sydney ,. 20 ,, 19 91 Woollahra ,j .. 26 Feb. 103 Thermopylae „ .. 31 Jan. 26 87 Loch Vennachar . . Melbourne Nov. 3 Feb. 25 114 Ben Cruackan 3 " Jan. 27 85 Holmsdale __ 3 Feb. 10 99 Loch Garry Geelong 3 2 91 Patriarch . . Sydney 3 2 91 Windsor Caitle „ 3 ,, 6 94 (D. Rose) A nglo-Norman . . ,, 4 f. 1 89 Samuel Phmsoll . . ,, 6 Jan. 28 84 Ethiopian Geelong 1 Feb. 12 97 Ben Voirlich ^^ 11 ,, 10 91 South Australian Melbourne •4 ,, 20 98 Romanoff ,, ., 17 „ 12 87 Mermerus ,^ „ 21 ,, 24 93 Loch Tay ,, ,. 24 Mar. 3 99 Thyatira . . ,, ,. 28 ti 10 102 Hawkesbury Sydney Dec. 7 „ 10 93 Loch Long Melbourne 8 „ ]i 96 Melbourne ,^ 12 »* 18 96 Cutty Sark Newcastle „ 28 „ 20 82 Dharwar . . Sydney .. 29 April 21 113 Ctmba ., .. 29 ,, 22 114 ChristianaThompson ,, .. 29 ,, 21 113 Miltiades . . Geelong Jan. 4 ,, 22 108 Smyrna . . Sydney .. 14 ,, 30 106 Rodney Melbourne „ 19 ,. 28 99 Jerusalem Sydney Feb. 6 May 3 87 428 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The Wool Fleet, 1884-5. Ship From Left To Arrived D"ys Out Loch Long Melbourne Oct. 5 London Jan. 9 96 Thermopylae „ 6 ,^ Dec. 24 79 Patriarch . . Sydney 12 Channel Jan. 10 90 Sir Walter Raleigh „ „ 14 London 27 105 Samuel Plimsoll . . „ 15 Plym'th ^^ 22 99 Salamis . . Melbourne ,. 19 London „ 11 84 Thyatira „ „ 31 ^, Feb. 14 106 The Tweed Sydney Nov. 4 ,, ,, 14 102 Hawhesbury ,, .. 26 j^ ,^ 28 94 Ben Cruachan Melbourne „ 28 ,^ ^, 27 91 Gladstone . . Newcastle Dec. 2 „ Mar. 20 108 Mermerus Melbourne 5 „ Feb. 27 84 Loch Garry Geelong s j^ Mar. 30 115 Orontes Sydney 5 ,, ,, 31 116 ChristianaThompson „ 6 f* ,, 27 111 Woollahra ^^ 7 ,^ ,, 27 110 Cutty Sark Newcastle 9 .. Feb. 27 80 Cimba Sydney „ 12 ,, Mar. 27 105 Dharwar . , ^^ „ 12 ,. II 27 105 Harbinger Melbourne ■■ 24 „ April 2 99 Loch Vennachar . . n „ 27 •« Mar. 29 92 Miltiades . . .. 28 j^ ,1 30 92 Trafalgar Sydney Jan. 19 April 29 100 Cairnbulg ,, ., 20 J. „ 23 93 Rodney . . Melbourne Feb. 2 ,, ,, 26 83 Port Jackson Sydney .. 12 ,, May 17 94 Centurion " Mar. 21 " June 20 91 APPENDIX 429 The Wool Fleet, 1885-6. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Patriarch . . Newcastle Oct 6 London Jan 7 94 Sir Walter Raleigh Sydney .. 12 ,, 5 85 Loch Vennachar . . Melbourne ,. 14 „ ,, 7 85 Cutty Sark Sydney ,. 16 ,, Dec. 27 72 Salamis . . Melbourne „ 17 ,^ Jan. 2 77 WooUahra Sydney ., 17 __ „ 7 82 Thermopylae ,, ., 18 J, ,, S 79 Samuel PlimsoU . . ,_ ,. 24 „ ,, 23 91 Cimba ,. 24 ,_ 28 97 Harbinger Melbourne Nov. 7 „ Feb. 5 90 Ben Cruachau „ ., 13 ,, ,, 2 81 Mermerus . . _, ., 30 Lizard Mar. 19 109 lllawarra . . Sydney Dec. 7 London ,, 21 104 The Tweed ,, 7 ,, ,, 25 108 Thomas Stephens „ .. 11 ,, 21 100 Ben Voirlich Melbourne ,. 22 ,, 21 89 Rodney ,, .. 22 ,, 19 87 Loch Ness J, Jan. 4 May 3 119 Loch Ryan ,^ 8 ,, 8 120 Mount Stewart . . ,, .. 10 ,, 3 113 Darling Downs . . ,, „ 16 ,, 11 115 Dharwar . . J, .. 19 ,, U 112 Trafalgar Sydney ., 23 ,, 10 107 Loch Sloy Melbourne .. 30 „ 27 117 Brilliant .. Sydney Feb. 3 ,, 7 93 Port Jackson >• 8 ,, 27 108 Miltiades' . . Melbourne Mar. 22 June 24 94 430 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The Wool Fleet, 1886-7. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Loch Vennachar . , Melbourne Oct. 31 London Jan, 20 91 Salamis , . »a „ 24 ... 17 85 Patriarch . , Sydney ... 24 ^^ 21 89 Thermopylas ^, ,^ 24 01. 10 87 Blackadder Newcastle „ 27 Feb. 23 119 Derwent , , Sydney Nov. 6 , ^ 22 108 Citnba ^^ ^j 27 B. 24 90 WooUahra j^ 01 30 ,^ »* 26 88 Aristides , . Melbourne Dec 7 Mar. 10 93 Mermerus , . t. 6. 10 Feb 26 78 Sir Walter Raleigh _^ _l 11 Mar, 1 80 Harbinger jj , 13 ,, 25 102 Samuel PlimsoU , . Sydney „ 14 J 25 101 Rodney Melbourne _^ 17 April 17 121 Loch Garry Geelong ,, 18 ,, 13 116 City of Agra Melbourne Jan. 1 00 23 112 South Australian ,, ,. 1 23 112 Cairnbulg Sydney J, 8 00 22 104 Illawarra . . »" 13 01 22 97 Fori Jackson ,, 16 00 24 99 Orontes ., 16 ,, 23 97 Smyrna . . J, 18 ,, 24 96 Trafalgar Feb. 16 May 21 95 Dharwar , ■ , 15 21 95 Cutty Sark Mar. 26 June 6 72 APPENDIX 431 The Wool Fleet, 1887-8. Ship From Left To irrived D'ys Out Si* Walter Raleigh Sydney Sept. U London Jan. 2 110 Thermopylae ,, Oct. 16 , M 3 79 Patriarch .. J, „ 16 „ 20 96 Loch Vennachar . r Melbourne .. 17 , ,, 6 80 Woollahra Sydney „ 23 , ,, 23 92 Cimba ,_ .. 24 J „ 22 90 Samuel Plimsoll . ■ __ „ 25 , .» 27 94 Salamis . , Melbourne „ 26 , „ 17 83 Romanoff ^^ Nov. 2 , Mar. 11 130 Smyrna ., Sydney .. 12 , .,1 13 122 Derwent .. ^^ „ 17 , Feb, 20 95 Thyatira . . Newcastle „ 21 Dungen's Mar, 8 108 Dharwar , . Melbourne „ 23 London ,j & 103 Loch Ryan Geelong „ 23 , ,, 12 110 Harbinger Melbourne „ 28 , ,, 10 103 Mermerus ,^ „ 29 ,, 9 101 Oronies Sydney Dec. 1 1 ,1 13 103 Illawarra . , ^^ 5 , ,, 8 94 Aristides ^ . Melbourne 5 , 6 91 Yallaroi .. Sydney „ 10 , 10 91 Trafalgar i> -, 12 , „ 11 90 Collingwood Melbourne ,. 12 , ,, 11 90 City of Agra ■* 17 , ,. 10 83 Loch Garry „ „ 21 , „ 15 85 Cutty Sarh Newcastle ., 28 Dungen's „ 8 71 Gladstone .. Sydney Jan. 7 London April 5 89 Miltiades . . Melbourne „ 11 ,, ,, 11 91 Brilliant .. Sydney „ 26 „ „ 18 83 Thomas Stephens '■ Feb. 4 May 17 103 432 THE COLONIAL CLIPPERS The Wool Fleet, 1888-9. Ship From Left To Arrived D'ys Out Derwent . . Sydney Oct. 10 London Jan. 17 99 Cimba ,, ., 18 ,_ „ 15 89 Orontes ,. 20 __ „ 22 94 Star of Italy i» „ 20 1, 14 86 Woollahra ., 24 It 18 86 Salamis . . Melbourne ,. 24 __ 17 85 Cutty Sark Sydney „ 26 Start ,, 18 84 Loch Vennackar . . Melbourne ., 27 London ^^ 19 84 Gladstone . , Sydney „ 30 ,, Feb. 15 108 Centurion ,, ,. 31 ,j M 21 113 Mermerus Melbourne Nov. 3 ^j Jan 31 89 Blackadder Newcastle „ 17 ,, Feb. 15 90 Loch Ryan Geelong „ 23 ,, Mar. 9 106 Harbinger Melbourne „ 26 ,, ,, 8 102 Nebo Sydney „ 28 Feb. 16 82- Thomas Stephens ^j „ 29 ,, Mar. 20 HI Dharwar , . Melbourne Dec. 1 ,, ,, 7 96 Trafalgar Sydney 6 ,, Mar. 18 102 Yallaroi .. J, „ 10 ,, ,, 20 100 Collingwood Melbourne „ 15 J, ,, 20 95 Loch Garry ,, ., 21 ,, ,, 20 89 Sophocles Sydney .. 22 ,, April 15 114 Samuel Plimsoll Melbourne „ 23 ,, ,, 2 100 Rodney . . Sydney „ 24 ^ Mar. 27 93 Romanoff Geelong ,. 31 April 23 113 Torridon . . Sydney Jan. 12 ,, ,, 29 107 Thermopylae ■■ Mar. 26 June 29 95 APPENDIX 433 The Wool Fleet, 1889-90. Ship From Leit To Arrived D'ys Out Derwent . . Sydney Oct. 14 London Jan. 2 - 80 Cairnbulg ^, „ 18 ,, ,. 24 101 Of antes . . „ „ 17 ., 24 99 Loch V'ennachar . . Melbourne ,. 21 15 86 Salamis . . ., 22 ., 15 85 Cimba Sydney „ 22 s 75 Woollahra ^^ „ 22 .. 15 85 Rodney „ „ 31 Lizard „ 16 77 Cutty Sark ,, Nov. 3 Start 16 74 Loch Ryan Melbourne 3 London Mar. 11 128 Mermerus „ Dec. 7 _, „ 10 93 Thomas Stephens __ „ 10 „ 28 108 Loch Tay Geelong ,. 12 , „ 15 96 Samuel Plimsoll . . Melbourne ., 14 , „ 26 102 Yallaroi . . Sydney „ 20 , April 8 109 Trafalgar ,, „ 21 ^ 8 108 Harbinger Melbourne ,. 22 , „ 10 109 Collingwood ,, ,. 23 ^ Mar. 28 95 Loch Rannoch ,, „ 23 ^ April 10 108 Illawarra . . Sydney „ 23 , 6 103 Romanoff Melbourne Jan. 1 ^ 6 95 Thermopylae Sydney 9 Deal 8 89 Loch Long Geelong „ 18 London . 27 99 Loch Sloy Melbourne „ 18 . 28 100 Brilliant .. Sydney „ 26 11 , 22 87 Torridon .. ,, „ 25 , 26 91 Patriarch . . ,^ „ 27 jj . 26 89 Hesperus . . Melbourne „ 31 ^^ May 14 103 Port Jackson Sydney Feb. 8 " 8 89 «ojaifl.j«a^ TL. ^■.A.&'erm ^ , \x ,\V^^ I 1 I i .,^\W^,^»^^\^\\^^^«,^^^\^^\,^\\^\^\\\,^^^V\^^,S,,^W^«*^^^