After 1833 convict ship refit:[4] 6 × 18-pounder carronades + 2 × 6-pounder long guns
Notes
Water buffalo figurehead
HMS Buffalo was a storeship of the Royal Navy, originally built and launched at Sulkea, opposite Calcutta, in 1813 as the merchant vessel Hindostan. The Admiralty purchased her that year after she arrived in Britain. She later transported convicts and immigrants to Australia, before being wrecked in 1840.
Hindostan was built of teak by James Bonner and James Horsburgh, of Firth, in 1813 at Sulkea, on the Hoogly near Calcutta.[2][3] The Calcutta Gazette, reporting on her launch, described her as a merchantman built to carry grain rice. Her hull was pierced at the upper deck to be able to carry 20 guns, and she measured about 578 tons burthen.[5]
In August 1813, after a six-month maiden voyage, Hindostan arrived in the East India Dock, London to discharge and was offered for sale.[5] She had left Bengal on 18 February, passed the Point de Galle on 13 March, stopped at St Helena on 9 June, and arrived at The Downs on 10 August.[1]
The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty purchased her on 22 October. David Webster, representing the builders, brokered the sale price of £18,000 for Hindostan.[2] The Navy Board renamed her HMS Buffalo, designated her a sixth rate, and employed her as a storeship.
The Navy Board also purchased the similar Severn (550 tons burthen), that it renamed HMSCamel. Horsburgh had part-financed the building of both Severn and Hindostan in the partnership of Horsburgh & Colman.
Royal Navy service
Buffalo was commissioned in November 1813 under Mr. Richard Anderson, Master,[6] and became a ship of many uses and refits. Anderson was still her master between 1814 and 1815 when she was stationed at the Army Depot at Bermuda.[7] Then in January 1816 Mr. W. Hudson became master.
Buffalo was at Deptford in 1822, 1827, and 1831.[7] She was fitted as a timber carrier to carry spars from New Zealand in 1831.[6] However, she apparently was in the Quarantine Service at Stangate in 1832.[7]
Then in January 1833 she was fitted as a convict ship,[6] and F.W.R. Sadler took command.[7]Buffalo sailed to Australia 12 May 1833 and arrived on 5 October 1833.[8] She carried 180 female convicts, one of whom died on the journey.[9]
Only three deaths were ever recorded on Buffalo,[12] a remarkable record considering the medical practices of that period and the number of passengers she transported.
S. Hindmarsh may have been captain in 1837 but James Wood returned to command and would remain her captain until her loss. Wood sailed Buffalo to Quebec with 300 soldiers as reinforcements for the British forces dealing with the Rebellions of 1837 there.[citation needed][citation needed]
Charles Morgan Lewis, who had captained the schooner Isabella on her mission to rescue survivors of Charles Eaton from the Torres Strait Islands, is recorded as having travelled as a passenger on Buffalo with the young orphan William D'Oyly, who had survived the wreck and subsequent massacre, back to London from Sydney Cove, departing on 13 May 1838.[13]
On 28 September 1839 she sailed from Quebec with 82 American patriots and 58 French prisoners from Lower Canada who were convicts and part of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1838.[citation needed] On 12 October a conspiracy to murder the ship's crew was attempted, but was discovered, and the rebels secured. The mutiny was reported in the Morning Chronicle on 22 November, and much later in the Sydney Herald on 22 April 1840.[14] The Americans were transported to Hobart, Tasmania and the French convicts were brought to Sydney, New South Wales.[15]
She was fitted as a timber carrier again in 1839.[citation needed]
Fate
Buffalo was anchored in Mercury Bay off Whitianga and loaded with Kaurispars when a storm on 28 July 1840 wrecked her. The gale parted her from her cables. When it became clear that her crew could not save her, Wood steered her onto the beach. All the crew except two were saved, but she herself was a total loss.[16]
The memorial for HMS Buffalo located at Buffalo Beach, Whitianga.The sign next to HMS Buffalo MemorialThe Wreck of the HMS Buffalo, by G. Jackson
Post-script
The tsunami of 22 May 1960 briefly exposed the wreck as water retreated. People who ran out to see it had to retreat again as the sea level returned to normal.[17]
A team of maritime archaeologists and volunteer divers led by the South Australian Government’s State Heritage Branch relocated the wreck site in April 1986.[18][19][20][21] The team had to excavate through sand to then record the wreck. They completed several trenches and reported bad visibility when trying to record the hull remains.
In 2009 the Deployable Hydrographic Survey Unit of the Royal New Zealand Navy located the wreck using side-scan sonar and dived on the wreck using snorkels. Much of the wreck has been broken up by storms with the remaining timbers of the hull still in solid condition despite over 150 years in the ocean.[22] The wreck has been charted by Land Information New Zealand.[23]
In 2018, materials from the wreck site held in the Mercury Bay Museum underwent archaeological recording and contributed to understanding how the vessel was constructed.[24][25]
Since the 1986 archaeological excavation, the site hadn't been visited by professional maritime archaeologists. Until archaeologists dived it in 2019 and found all the sand naturally protecting the wreck as seen in 1986 had been scoured out. The archaeologists, in discussion with the Mercury Bay Museum, identified the wreck site was at risk of rapid degradation while presenting an opportunity to complete a comprehensive archaeological survey. In response, the volunteer-led HMS Buffalo Re-examination Project was established with the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology’s Scholarship, supported by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZPT) and financial support from Whitianga businesses.[26][27][28] The Project, through education and archaeological survey, promoted maritime archaeology and the vessel’s history, both locally and nationally.
On 12 March 2021 twelve volunteer divers spent two days surveying and recording the wreck structure.[29] Data was combined to produce the first ever complete site plan.[30] Under archaeological authority (2021/395) from HNZPT, ship components were sampled for analysis. Preliminary results revealed the types of resources used in the construction of an early nineteenth century British colonial vessel.[31][32][33] The achievements of the project were recognized in 2022 with receiving the New Zealand Archaeological Association Public Archaeology Award and in 2023 with the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology Award for Best Public Archaeology Initiative[34]
Following the March 2021 underwater archaeological survey, several storms and cyclones have changed the seabed topography. Notably, the wreck was dived again in August 2021 and found to have sand redeposited across the site. Only some planking and frames were visible. The increased storm activity, however, has seen disarticulated remains wash ashore and reported by locals.[35][36] The local community is encouraged to contact the museum whenever they find a piece so the material can be professionally recorded and considered for conservation treatment.[37]
In June 2023, the 3D model of the shipwreck site as surveyed in 2021 was released.[38] It shows the shipwreck exposed from bow to stern. Individual ship components are also visible. The model is available to view on SketchFab (https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/hms-buffalo-shipwreck-4c171a9f2bca4bea906746564a29eeab) and was produced in association with New Zealand Geographic and Live Ocean Foundation.
The HMS Buffalo shipwreck is a recorded archaeological site (T11/562) and is protected under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014.[39]
Replica
The 1980 replica of HMS Buffalo
As a tribute, a static replica of Buffalo was built in 1980 on the shore of the Patawalonga River at Glenelg, a suburb of Adelaide, as a restaurant and museum. It was based on the original Admiralty specifications and plans, with some internal modifications (eg higher clear deck height).[40][41] After a period of financial difficulties, the venture was closed and the vessel deteriorated. Despite large-scale redevelopment plans the City of Holdfast Bay announced in January 2019 that the replica would be demolished.[42]
1 2 "The Ship HINDOSTAN". Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser. No.16533. London: The British Newspaper Archive (subscription required). 25 August 1813. p.4. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
↑ de Lange, Willem; McSaveney, Eileen (13 July 2012). "Tsunamis - 20th-century tsunamis". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
↑ Painter, Alison. "14 June 1837 HMS Buffalo". Discover South Australia's History. Rundle Mall, South Australia: Professional Historians Association (SA). Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
↑ "HMS Buffalo Replica". Glenelg, South Australia: The Buffalo Restaurant. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
HMS Pandora was a 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy launched in May 1779. The vessel is best known for its role in hunting down the Bounty mutineers in 1790, which remains one of the best-known stories in the history of seafaring. Pandora was partially successful by capturing 14 of the mutineers, but wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef on the return voyage in 1791. HMS Pandora is considered to be one of the most significant shipwrecks in the Southern Hemisphere.
Whitianga is a town on the Coromandel Peninsula, in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is located on Mercury Bay, on the northeastern coast of the peninsula. The town has a permanent population of 6,440 as of June 2023, making it the second-largest town on the Coromandel Peninsula behind Thames.
A number of ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Buffalo:
Edwin Fox is one of the world's oldest surviving merchant sailing ships. The Edwin Fox is also the only surviving ship that transported convicts to Australia. She is unique in that she is the "only intact hull of a wooden deep water sailing ship built to British specifications surviving in the world outside the Falkland Islands". Edwin Fox carried settlers to both Australia and New Zealand and carried troops in the Crimean War. The ship is dry-docked at The Edwin Fox Maritime Centre at Picton in New Zealand.
Neva was a three-masted barque launched in 1813. She made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia. On her second voyage carrying convicts she wrecked in Bass Strait on 13 May 1835. Her loss was one of the worst shipwrecks in Australian history; 224 people died.
Active was the French ship Alsace that the Royal Navy captured in 1803. William Bennett purchased her and named her Active, in place of a previous Active that had been lost in January 1803. She then made one whaling voyage for him. Bennett sold her to Robins & Co., and she sailed between London and Buenos Aires. She then sailed on a second sealing voyage. She was lost in 1810.
Loch Vennachar was an iron-hulled, three-masted clipper ship that was built in Scotland in 1875 and lost with all hands off the coast of South Australia in 1905. She spent her entire career with the Glasgow Shipping Company, trading between Britain and Australia. The company was familiarly called the "Loch Line", as all of its ships were named after Scottish lochs. The ship was named after Loch Venachar, in what was then Perthshire.
HMS Howe was originally the teak-built Indian mercantile vessel Kaikusroo that Admiral Edward Pellew bought in 1805 to serve as a 40-gun frigate. In 1806 the Admiralty fitted her out as a 24-gun storeship and renamed her HMS Dromedary. She made numerous trips, including one notable one to Australia when she brought out Lachlan Macquarie and his family to replace William Bligh as governor of New South Wales. Later, she became a prison hulk in Bermuda. Her most recent contribution, however, is as the source of a rich archaeological site.
HMS Swallow was a brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Richard Symons, Little Falmouth as the packet ship Marquis of Salisbury for Captain Sutton, launched in 1819 and acquired by the Royal Navy in July 1824.
Francis was a 41 tons (bm) colonial schooner that was partially constructed at the Deptford Dockyard, England, and sent in frame aboard the Pitt to Australia to be put together for the purposes of exploration. The vessel had originally been designed for George Vancouver’s discovery voyage of the west coast of North America.
Indispensable was a sailing ship built in France and launched in 1791. She was captured in 1793 at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars and thus came into British hands, keeping her name. She performed two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1793 and 1797. During this period and later she made two voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales. Amongst her notable events were the discovery of Indispensable Strait (1794), the capture of a Spanish vessel (1798), and the rescue of some castaways (1814). She later went on serve as a whaler in the South Seas until autumn 1827. She ceased trading after this last voyage and was broken up by April 1830.
The Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) was an amateur maritime archaeology organisation operating in South Australia (SA). It was formed in 1974 by recreational scuba divers and other persons to pursue an interest in maritime archaeology and maritime history. The SUHR was renamed as the South Australian Archaeology Society in March 2012 as part of a plan to expand its activities beyond maritime archaeology to include other archaeological disciplines.
The Nautical Archaeological Association of South Australia (NAASA) was an amateur maritime archaeology organisation which was founded in 1982 by individuals who resigned from the Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) in April 1982 following a dispute. The association is believed to have ceased operation in the early 1990s.
Three East Indiamen of the East India Company (EIC), have borne the name Hindostan, after the old name for the Indian subcontinent:
Numerous vessels have borne the name Coromandel, named for the Coromandel Coast.
HMS Porpoise was the former mercantile quarter-decked sloop Lord Melville, which the Royal Navy purchased in 1804 to use as a store-ship.
Hive was built in 1820 at Deptford, England. She made two voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales. She was wrecked on 10 December 1835 during the second of these voyages.
A number of ships have been named Hindostan or Hindustan, after the old name for the Indian subcontinent:
The Hive Shipwreck is a heritage-listed shipwreck site of the Hive, a former convict transportation ship located approximately 40 metres (130 ft) off Bherwerre Beach, Jervis Bay Territory, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 1 April 2010.
Tam O'Shanter was a sailing ship built in 1829 in North Hylton. In 1830 she sailed to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). Next, she was a West Indiaman, sailing to Bermuda and Jamaica. She then played a role in the founding of Adelaide in 1836. Tam O'Shanter ran aground in 1837 off Tasmania and was considered a write-off.
References
Bateson, Charles (1959). The Convict Ships. Brown, Son & Ferguson. OCLC3778075.
Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN0-948864-30-3.
Sexton, Robert (1984), H.M.S. Buffalo: An Account of His Majesty's Ship Buffalo, Naval Storeship and Timber Carrier, Quarantine Ship, Transport, and Emigrant Ship Bringing the First Governor to South Australia, Magill: Australasian Maritime Historical Society, ISBN0-9591317-0-1
Stringer, Myra (1980), Family history of John William and Susanna Adams, Adelaide: M. Stringer, ISBN0-9594363-0-8
Stringer, Myra (1986), Adams Family History 1774–1986, Adelaide: M. Stringer, ISBN0-9594363-1-6
Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-86176-246-7.
(Adelaide), Advertiser (9 April 1986), SA team seek Buffalo wreck
(Adelaide), Advertiser (17 April 1986), Divers find parts of the Buffalo
Jeffery, W. (1989), Report on survey of HMS Buffalo wrecksite (1813-1840): Bulletin of the Australian Institute for Maritime Archaeology, Australian Institute for Maritime Archaeology
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