Charlotte Jane

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History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
NameCharlotte Jane
Route Gravesend, England to Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand
Builder Pattersons, Bristol [1]
Launched17 April 1848 [1]
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen730 tons bm
Length131 ft 8 in (40.13 m)
Beam32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)
Depth21 ft 8 in (6.60 m)
Sail plan Full-rigged ship

Charlotte Jane was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Contents

Maiden voyage

The Charlotte Jane departed from England in 1848, bound for Sydney. Captain Alexander Lawrence set sail with his wife, Miriam Lawrence, their baby daughter, a teenage nursemaid, a surgeon and 264 emigrants. After Australia, they sailed to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bombay, Whampoa (Canton), before returning via Cape Town to London. [2]

Second voyage: Passage from England to New Zealand

Under the command of Captain Alexander Lawrence, the Charlotte Jane left Plymouth Sound at midnight, Saturday, 7 September 1850. She sighted Stewart Island on Wednesday, 11 December 1850, and dropped her anchor in Port Victoria (Lyttelton Harbour) on Monday, 16 December 1850, at 10 o'clock in the morning. Her passage was 99 days from port to port or 93 days from land to land. She carried 26 chief cabin, 24 intermediate, and 104 steerage passengers including a chaplain and a surgeon. [3] [4] There were one birth, one marriage and three deaths during the voyage. All the deaths were very young children, with one even dying before the ship departed Plymouth and was buried on shore there. [3]

Arrival in Lyttelton

Randolph , Cressy , Sir George Seymour and Charlotte Jane together carried an estimated 790 passengers. In addition, about another 60 worked their passage on the ships or deserted and disembarked. The first of the vessels to arrive was Charlotte Jane in Lyttelton on 16 December 1850 in the morning. [4] [3] Randolph followed that afternoon. Sir George Seymour arrived on 17 December, followed by Cressy on 27 December. [5] Charlotte Jane carried the equipment for the production of the region's first newspaper, the Lyttelton Times , which was first published less than one month after the ship's arrival. [6]

Charlotte Jane departed Port Victoria (Lyttelton) on 7 January 1851 bound for Sydney with two passengers. [7]

The ship is remembered in the name of a road, Charlotte Jane Quay, in the port town of Lyttelton.[ citation needed ]

Passengers

Marble plaques in Cathedral Square Charlotte Jane 003.JPG
Marble plaques in Cathedral Square

Charlotte Jane carried approximately 154 passengers. Exact numbers are not known because the surgeons' lists and the shipping lists do not match, and some young children were not counted. [5]

The passengers aboard these four ships were referred to as "the Pilgrims". Their names are inscribed on marble plaques in Cathedral Square in the centre of Christchurch, where 157 passengers are listed.

Notable passengers

The first passenger who leapt onto the shore was James FitzGerald, [8] who became an important politician in New Zealand. One of Charlotte Jane's most notable passengers was the architect Benjamin Mountfort. [9] Charles Bowen was later Speaker of the New Zealand Legislative Council. [10] James Stuart-Wortley was a member of the 1st New Zealand Parliament before he returned to England in 1855. [11] James Temple Fisher was elected to Parliament in 1876. [12] Edward Bishop was the 6th Mayor of Christchurch. [13] Harriet Ritchie became the first nurse at Lyttelton Hospital. [14] Alfred Barker was the surgeon on the voyage. He was Canterbury's first doctor and is remembered for his photography. [15] Elizabeth Horrell taught on the ship on the voyage out and was appointed schoolteacher in Lyttelton on her arrival there, becoming Canterbury's first female schoolteacher. [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>Randolph</i> (ship)

Randolph was a 664-ton ship-rigged merchant vessel constructed in 1849 in Sunderland. She was one of the First Four Ships that brought settlers to Christchurch, New Zealand.

Lyttelton, New Zealand Place in Canterbury

Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

Bridle Path (New Zealand)

The Bridle Path is a steep shared-use track that traverses the northern rim of the Lyttelton volcano connecting the port of Lyttelton with the city of Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It is a popular walking and mountain biking route. The track ascends from the port itself to a height of 333 metres (1,093 ft) before descending again via Heathcote Valley to Christchurch. At the summit, next to the Summit Road, is a stone shelter with covered seats that is a 1940 New Zealand centennial memorial to the Pioneer Women of Canterbury. There are also seven commemorative stone seats placed along the Bridle Path; most of these were built for the 1950 Canterbury centenary celebrations.

Canterbury Association

The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch. Organised emigration started in 1850 and the colony was established in the South Island, with the First Four Ships bringing out settlers steeped in the region's history. The Association was not a financial success for the founding members and the organisation was wound up in 1855.

Isaac Luck

Isaac Luck was a New Zealand architect. A professional builder, he arrived in Lyttelton on the Steadfast in 1851. He was the third chairman of the Christchurch Town Council. He was the brother-in-law of and in partnership with Benjamin Mountfort, and was the less well-known architectural partner for the design of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings.

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Benjamin Mountfort English architect, emigrant to New Zealand (1825–1898)

Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort was an English emigrant to New Zealand, where he became one of the country's most prominent 19th-century architects. He was instrumental in shaping the city of Christchurch's unique architectural identity and culture, and was appointed the first official Provincial Architect of the developing province of Canterbury. Heavily influenced by the Anglo-Catholic philosophy behind early Victorian architecture, he is credited with importing the Gothic revival style to New Zealand. His Gothic designs constructed in both wood and stone in the province are considered unique to New Zealand. Today, he is considered the founding architect of the province of Canterbury.

<i>Cressy</i> (ship)

Cressy was one of the "First Four Ships" in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand. Cressy was the last to arrive on 27 December. The other ships were Charlotte Jane, Sir George Seymour, and Randolph.

First Four Ships

The First Four Ships refers to the four sailing vessels chartered by the Canterbury Association which left Plymouth, England, in September 1850 to transport the first English settlers to new homes in Canterbury, New Zealand. The colonists or settlers who arrived on the first four ships are known as the Canterbury Pilgrims.

<i>Sir George Seymour</i> (1844 ship)

Sir George Seymour was built in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in 1844 by Somes Brothers. She made one voyage transporting convicts to Australia and at least one carrying emigrants to Australia and one to New Zealand. A fire at sea in her cargo in December 1867 forced her crew to abandon her.

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<i>Lyttelton Times</i>

The Lyttelton Times was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a liberal, at the time sometimes seen as radical, newspaper. A successor paper, The Star, is published as a free bi-weekly newspaper.

Thomas Jackson (Bishop-designate of Lyttelton) English clergyman

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Captain Charles Simeon was one of the members of the Canterbury Association who emigrated to Canterbury in New Zealand in 1851. The family spent four years in the colony and during this time, he held various important posts and positions. He returned to England in 1855. He was devoted to the Anglican church and three of his sons became priests, while two of his daughters married priests.

Mary Townsend

Mary Townsend was an artist and an early English settler in Canterbury, New Zealand.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Charlotte Jane". Canterbury Pilgrims and Early Settlers Association Inc. 2012. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  2. Lawrence, Miriam (28 October 2021). Moggridge, Cass; Moggridge, Hal (eds.). The Maiden Voyage of the Charlotte Jane 1848-1850. Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd. p. 176. ISBN   978-1-83975-495-1.
  3. 1 2 3 "THE "CHARLOTTE JANE."". Lyttelton Times. 1 (1). 11 January 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. 1 2 "SHIPPING NEWS". Lyttelton Times. 1 (1). 11 January 1851. p. 5. ARRIVED. ... Dec. 16. ship Charlotte Jane, 720 tons, Lawrence, master, from Plymouth Sep. 7, with 26 cabin, 24 intermediate, and 104 steerage passengers.
  5. 1 2 "The First Four Ships". Christchurch City Libraries . 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  6. "About the Lyttelton Times – January 11, 1851". Christchurch City Libraries . 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  7. "SHIPPING NEWS". Lyttelton Times. 1 (1). 11 January 1851. p. 5. SAILED ... Jan. 7, ship Charlotte Jane, 720 tons; Lawrence, master, for Sydney, Passengers, Messrs. Welsh and Rankin.
  8. "James Edward Fitzgerald". Christchurch City Libraries . 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  9. Lochhead, Ian J. (2012). "Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  10. Lineham, Peter J. "Bowen, Charles Christopher – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  11. "The Charlotte Jane". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  12. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 196. OCLC   154283103.
  13. "Mr. Edward Brenchley Bishop". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Canterbury Provincial District). Christchurch: Cyclopedia Company Limited. 1903. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  14. Macdonald, Charlotte (1991). The Book of New Zealand Women. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books. pp. 609–611. ISBN   0 908912 04 8.
  15. Turner, John B. "Alfred Charles Barker". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  16. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. "Horrell, Elizabeth". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 June 2021.