AUSTRALIAN VOYAGES, 1851-1854
The years between 1849 and 1856 were perhaps the most prosperous that
ship-owners and ship-builders have ever known. The discovery of gold in
Australia in 1851 had much the same effect as that in California in
1848, and people flocked to Melbourne from all parts of the world. There
was this difference, however, that whereas passengers went to
California, after the first rush, by steamers via Panama, and the mails
and gold were always transported by this route, all the Australian
passengers, mails, and gold were for a considerable period carried by
sailing vessels. The extent of this traffic may be judged from the fact
that the yield of the gold fields up to December 30, 1852, a little more
than a year after their discovery, was estimated at £16,000,000
sterling, or $80,000,000. Prior to 1851 the emigration to the Australian
colonies had been about 100,000 persons per annum, while the average
between 1851 and 1854 was 340,000 annually. The transportation of these
passengers alone required an enormous amount of tonnage, so that the
discovery of gold in Australia gave an additional impulse to clipper
ship building.
At this time the proper route to ports on that part of the globe had
only just become known, although British ships had been sailing to and
from Australia and New Zealand for many years, taking out emigrants and
bringing back wool. They usually called at the Cape of Good Hope both
outward and homeward bound, this being the route recommended by the
Admiralty. One of the most important services rendered by Lieutenant
Maury was his careful research in this matter, which resulted in an
entire revolution of both outward and homeward tracks. Instead of
sailing near the Cape of Good Hope outward bound, he discovered that a
ship would find stronger and more favorable winds from 600 to 800 miles
to the westward, then continuing her course southward to 48°, she would
fall in with the prevailing westerly gales and long rolling seas in
which to run her easting down. It was in this region that the Australian
clippers made their largest day’s runs.
The homeward bound Admiralty track was entirely abandoned by Lieutenant
Maury in favor of continuing in the brave west winds, as he called them,
round Cape Horn, so that a voyage to Melbourne out and home encircled
the globe. By the old routes, vessels were usually about 120 days each
way, though sometimes considerably longer. By the tracks which
Lieutenant Maury introduced, the outward and homeward voyages were made
in about the same time that had formerly been consumed in a single
passage, though of course the increased speed of the clipper ships
contributed to this result.
The misery and suffering of passengers on board the old Australian
emigrant ships before the days of the clippers are difficult to realize
at the present time, but there is an account compiled from the report of
the Parliamentary Committee appointed in 1844 to investigate the matter,
which reads as follows:
“It was scarcely possible to induce the passengers to sweep the decks
after their meals, or to be decent in respect to the common wants of
nature; in many cases, in bad weather they would not go on deck, their
health suffered so much that their strength was gone, and they had not
the power to help themselves. Hence the between-decks was like a
loathsome dungeon. When hatchways were opened under which the people
were stowed, the steam rose and the stench was like that from a pen of
pigs. The few beds they had were in a dreadful state, for the straw,
once wet with sea-water, soon rotted, beside which they used the
between-decks for all sorts of filthy purposes. Whenever vessels put
back from distress all these miseries and sufferings were exhibited in
the most aggravated form. In one case it appeared that, the vessel
having experienced rough weather, the people were unable to go on deck
and cook their provisions; the strongest maintained the upper hand over
the weakest, and it was even said that there were women who died of
starvation. At that time the passengers were expected to cook for
themselves, and from their being unable to do this the greatest
suffering arose. It was naturally at the commencement of the voyage that
this system produced its worst effects, for the first days were those in
which the people suffered most from sea-sickness, and under the
prostration of body thereby induced, were wholly incapacitated from
cooking. Thus though provisions might be abundant enough, the passengers
would be half-starved.”
In an interesting book entitled _Reminiscences of Early Australian
Life_, a vivid description is given of maritime affairs in 1853. The
writer, who had arrived at Melbourne in 1840, says that: “Since that
time the town of Melbourne had developed from a few scattered and
straggling wooden buildings, with muddy thoroughfares interspersed with
stumps of gum trees, into a well-built and formed city, with wide, and
well-made streets, symmetrically laid out, good hotels, club houses, and
Government buildings. Port Phillip Bay, in which two or three vessels
used to repose at anchor for months together, was now the anchorage
ground of some of the finest and fastest clippers afloat.”
At this time (1853) upwards of two hundred full-rigged ships from all
parts of the world were lying in the Bay. This writer continues: “After
landing their living freight of thousands that were rushing out to the
gold fields to seek for gold, and fearing that they might be too late to
participate in their reputed wealth, ships now waited for return
cargoes, or more probably for crews to take them home, as in many cases
all the hands had deserted for the gold fields. On ascertaining that
there were two good ships sailing for London, with cargoes of wool and
gold-dust, about the same time, or as soon as they could ship crews--one
the _Madagascar_, of Messrs. Green & Co.’s line, and the other the
_Medway_ of Messrs. Tindall & Co.’s line--I proceeded to the office and
booked a passage by the _Madagascar_--the passage in those days for a
first-class cabin being £80. After paying the usual deposit and leaving
the office, I met a friend, who was also homeward bound, and on my
informing him that I had booked by the _Madagascar_, he persuaded me to
change my ship and go home with himself and others whom I knew in the
_Medway_, and upon returning to the office of Green’s ship, and stating
my reasons for wishing to change to Tindall’s ship, they were very
obliging, and returned my deposit, stating that they could easily fill
up my berth. It was well for me at the time that I changed ships, as the
_Madagascar_ sailed the same day from Port Phillip Head as we did, with
four tons of gold-dust on board; and to this day nothing has ever been
heard of her. She either foundered at sea, or, as was generally
supposed, was seized by the crew and scuttled and the gold taken off in
boats. All must have perished, both passengers and crew, as no tidings
of that ill-fated ship ever reached the owners.
“On board the _Medway_ there were four tons’ weight of gold-dust, packed
in well-secured boxes of two hundred pounds each, five of these boxes
being stowed under each of the berths of the saloon passengers. Each
cabin was provided with cutlasses and pistols, to be kept in order and
ready for use, and a brass carronade gun loaded with grape shot was
fixed in the after part of the ship, in front of the saloon and pointed
to the forecastle--not a man, with the exception of the ship’s officers
and stewards, being allowed to come aft.
“The character of the crew shipped necessitated the precautions; for
the day previous to the ship’s sailing men had to be searched for and
found in the lowest haunts and were brought on board drugged and under
the influence of liquor, and placed below the hatches. We, the
passengers, heaved up the anchor and worked the ship generally until
outside of Port Phillip Head, when the men confined below, who were to
compose the crew, were brought on deck, looking dazed and confused, any
resistance or remonstrance on their part being futile. But those amongst
them that were able-bodied seamen were paid in gold, forty sovereigns
down, on signing the ship’s articles for the homeward voyage.
“Amongst them were useless hands and some of a very indifferent
character. Some, no doubt, were escaped convicts, or men who had
secreted themselves to evade the police and law; others deserters from
ships then laying in the Bay--about forty in all, and in general
appearance a very unprepossessing lot. However, there being no help for
it, we had but to keep guarded and prepared against the worst; the
ship’s passengers together with the officers numbering about twenty
hands. The captain was an old and well-known sailor of high reputation
and long experience; and the ship was well found and provisioned, in
anticipation of a long voyage--which it proved to be, extending over
four months from the time we left Port Phillip Head until she reached
the English coast.”
The first clipper ship constructed for the Australian trade was the
_Marco Polo_, of 1622 tons; length 185 feet, breadth 38 feet, depth 30
feet. She was built in 1851 by Smith & Co., at St. John, N. B., for
James Baines & Co., Liverpool, and was the pioneer clipper of the famous
Australian Black Ball Line. The _Marco Polo_ was constructed with three
decks, and was a very handsome, powerful-looking ship. Above her
water-line, she resembled the New York packet ships, having painted
ports, and a full-length figurehead of the renowned explorer whose name
she bore. Below water she was cut away and had long, sharp, concave
ends. Her accommodations for saloon and steerage passengers were a vast
improvement upon anything before attempted in the Australian trade.
She sailed from Liverpool for Melbourne, July 4, 1851, commanded by
Captain James Nicol Forbes, carrying the mails and crowded with
passengers. She made the run out in the then record time of 68 days, and
home in 74 days, which, including her detention at Melbourne, was less
than a six months’ voyage round the globe. Running her easting down to
the southward of the Cape of Good Hope, she made in four successive days
1344 miles, her best day’s run being 364 miles. Her second voyage to
Melbourne was also made in six months out and home, so that she actually
sailed twice around the globe within twelve months. To the _Marco Polo_
and her skilful commander belongs the credit of setting the pace over
this great ocean race-course round the globe.
Her success led to the building of a number of vessels at St. John for
British owners engaged in the Australian trade. Among these the most
famous were the _Hibernia_, 1065 tons, _Ben Nevis_, 1420 tons, and
_Guiding Star_, 2012 tons. In Great Britain also a large number of ships
were built for the Australian trade between the years 1851 and 1854.
Many of these were constructed of iron, the finest being the _Tayleur_,
2500 tons, which was built at Liverpool in 1853 and was at that time the
largest merchant ship that had been built in England. She was a very
handsome iron vessel, with three decks and large accommodation for cabin
and steerage passengers. This vessel was wrecked off the coast of
Ireland on her first voyage to Melbourne when only two days out from
Liverpool, and became a total loss; of her 652 passengers, only 282 were
saved. Among the many other vessels built in Great Britain during this
period were the _Lord of the Isles_, already mentioned in Chapter XII;
_Vimiera_, 1037 tons, built at Sunderland; the _Contest_, 1119 tons,
built at Ardrossan on the Firth of Clyde; and the _Gauntlet_ (iron), 784
tons, and _Kate Carnie_, 547 tons, both built at Greenock. All of these
vessels were a decided improvement upon any ships hitherto built in
Great Britain, and they made some fine passages, among them that of the
_Lord of the Isles_, from the Clyde to Sydney, N. S. W., in 70 days in
1853, but the 68-day record of the _Marco Polo_ from Liverpool to
Melbourne remained unbroken.
The _Marco Polo_ was still a favorite vessel with passengers, which goes
to show what a good ship she must have been, in view of the rivalry of
newer and larger clippers. She sailed from Liverpool in November, 1853,
commanded by Captain Charles McDonnell, who had been her chief officer
under Captain Forbes. The passengers on this voyage, on their arrival
at Melbourne, subscribed for a splendid service of silver, to be
presented to Captain McDonnell upon his return to England, which bore
the following inscription: “Presented to Captain McDonnell, of the ship
_Marco Polo_, as a testimonial of respect from his passengers, six
hundred and sixty-six in number, for his uniform kindness and attention
during his first voyage, when his ship ran from Liverpool to Port
Phillip Head in seventy-two days, twelve hours, and from land to land in
sixty-nine days.” The _Marco Polo_ came home in 78 days, but these were
the last of her famous passages, as she drifted into the hands of
captains who lacked either the ability or the energy, or perhaps both,
to develop her best speed--the unfortunate fate of many a good ship.
There were at that time a number of lines and private firms engaged in
the Australian trade, the best known being the White Star Line, later
managed by Ismay, Imrie & Co., and James Baines & Co.’s Black Ball Line,
both of Liverpool. There was keen rivalry between the two, and the _Ben
Nevis_ and _Guiding Star_ had both been built by the White Star in hopes
of lowering the record of the _Marco Polo_. By degrees, however, it
became apparent that she was an exceptional ship, not likely to be
duplicated at St. John, and also that much of her speed was due to her
able commanders, while the ships built in Great Britain, though fine
vessels, had not come up to the mark in point of speed or passenger
accommodations. It was under these circumstances that British merchants
and ship-owners began to buy and build ships for the Australian trade
in the United States.
The _Sovereign of the Seas_ had attracted much attention upon her
arrival at Liverpool in 1853, and was almost immediately chartered to
load for Australia in the Black Ball Line. It is to be regretted that
for some reason Captain McKay gave up charge of the ship and returned to
the United States, the command being given to Captain Warner, who had no
previous experience in handling American clipper ships, although he
proved an extremely competent commander. The _Sovereign of the Seas_
sailed from Liverpool September 7, 1853, and arrived at Melbourne after
a passage of 77 days. In a letter from Melbourne Captain Warner gives
the following account of this passage:
“I arrived here after a long and tedious passage of 77 days, having
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 twelve 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. Crossed the equator in 26° 30′, and went to 53° 30′
south, but found no strong winds. Think if I had gone to 58° south, 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 of the ships that sailed with us, and
also the famous English clipper _Gauntlet_ ten days on, the passage,
although the _Sovereign of the Seas_ was loaded down to twenty-three and
one half feet.” On the homeward voyage she brought the mails and over
four tons of gold-dust, and made the passage in 68 days. On this voyage
there was a mutiny among the crew, who intended to seize the ship and
capture the treasure. Captain Warner acted with great firmness and tact
in suppressing the mutineers and placing them in irons without loss of
life, for which he received much credit.
The White Star Line, not to be outdone by rivals, followed the example
of the Black Ball and in 1854 chartered the _Chariot of Fame_, _Red
Jacket_, and _Blue Jacket_. These ships, of which the first was a medium
clipper and the other two extreme clippers, were built in New England.
The _Chariot of Fame_ was a sister ship to the _Star of Empire_, 2050
tons, built by Donald McKay in 1853, for Enoch Train’s Boston and
Liverpool packet line. The _Chariot of Fame_ made a number of fast
voyages between England and Australia, her best passage being 66 days
from Liverpool to Melbourne. The _Blue Jacket_ was a handsome ship of
1790 tons, built by R. E. Jackson at East Boston in 1854, and was owned
by Charles R. Green, of New York. Her best passages were 67 days from
Liverpool to Melbourne and home in 69 days.
The _Red Jacket_, the most famous of this trio, was built by George
Thomas at Rockland, Maine, in 1853-1854, and was owned by Seacomb &
Taylor, of Boston. She registered 2006 tons; length 260 feet, breadth 44
feet, depth 26 feet; and was designed by Samuel A. Pook, of Boston, who
had designed a number of other clipper ships, including the
_Challenger_--not the English ship of that name,--the _Game-Cock_,
_Surprise_, _Northern Light_, _Ocean Chief_, _Fearless_, _Ocean
Telegraph_, and _Herald of the Morning_. He also designed several
freighting vessels and yachts. It was the custom at that period for
vessels to be designed in the yards where they were constructed, and Mr.
Pook was the first naval architect in the United States who was not
connected with a ship-building yard. On her first voyage the _Red
Jacket_ sailed from New York for Liverpool, February 19, 1854, commanded
by Captain Asa Eldridge, and made the passage in 13 days 1 hour from
Sandy Hook to the Rock Light, Liverpool, with the wind strong from
southeast to west-southwest, and either rain, snow, or hail during the
entire run. During the first seven days she averaged only 182 miles per
twenty-four hours, but during the last six days she made 219, 413, 374,
343, 300, and 371 miles, an average of a fraction over 353 miles per
twenty-four hours.
Captain Eldridge was well known in Liverpool, having, together with his
brothers, John and Oliver, commanded some of the finest New York and
Liverpool packet ships of their day; he had also commanded Commodore
Vanderbilt’s steam yacht _North Star_ during her cruise in European
waters in 1853. He was afterwards lost in command of the steamship
_Pacific_ of the Collins Line.
The _Red Jacket_ attracted a great deal of attention at Liverpool, being
an extremely handsome ship--quite as good-looking as any of the clippers
built at New York or Boston. For a figurehead she carried a full-length
representation of the Indian chief for whom she was named. She made her
first voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne in 1854 under command of
Captain Samuel Reed in 69 days, and as she received very quick despatch,
being in port only 12 days, and made the passage to Liverpool in 73
days, the voyage round the globe, including detention in port, was made
in five months and four days. On the homeward passage, bringing home
45,000 ounces of gold, she beat the celebrated _Guiding Star_ by 9 days,
though she lost considerable time through being among the bergs and
field ice off Cape Horn. Upon her arrival at Liverpool the _Red Jacket_
was sold to Pilklington & Wilson, of that port, then agents of the White
Star Line, for £30,000, and continued in the Australian trade for
several years, becoming one of the most famous of the American-built
clippers.
The competition of the Black Ball and White Star lines proved of great
benefit to both cabin and steerage passengers, as their comfort and
convenience became subjects of consideration in a manner unthought of in
the old days before the discovery of gold at Bendigo and Ballarat.
[Illustration: The “Red Jacket”]