Katherine Stewart Forbes (1818 ship)

Last updated

History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameKatherine Stewart Forbes
OwnerA. Chapman & Co. [1]
BuilderWilliam & Henry Pitcher, Northfleet [1]
Launched5 November 1818 [1]
FateLast listed 1860
General characteristics [1]
TypeCargo-passenger
Tons burthen457, or 45724⁄94 (bm)
Length117 ft 3 in (35.7 m)
Beam29 ft 5 in (9.0 m)
Draughtnot recorded
Sail planShip rig, later a barque

Katherine Stewart Forbes was a full-rigged ship built by William & Henry Pitcher at Northfleet dockyard in Kent, England in 1818. [2] She was classified as "A1", a first class vessel made from first quality materials. [3] The ship was launched for A. Chapman and Company and named by Katherine Stewart, the daughter of Charles Forbes MP in 1818, on 31 October or 5 November. [1] [4] She was re-rigged as a barque about 1836. [5]

Contents

She initially sailed between Britain and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She next transported convicts to Australia in 1830 and 1832. [6] She also carried early settlers to South Australia in 1837, [7] and New Zealand in 1841 and 1851, and mapped part of the coast of Borneo.

She made several trips from England to Australia and between Australian settlements. She also was variously employed in the seagoing transport trade. [8]

Early career

In 1813 the EIC lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a license from the EIC. [9]

Katherine Stewart Forbes first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1819 with J.Lamb, master, Chapman, owner, and trade London–Bombay. [10] Lamb sailed from London on 3 January 1819 for Bombay. [11] She then proceeded to sail between England and India for a number of years.

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1820J.LambChapmanPlymouth–BombayRegister of Shipping (RS)
1825ChapmanChapmanLondon–BombayRS
1829Chapman
Cannay		A. ChapmanLondon–BombayRS

1829: Transporting convicts to Port Jackson

Captain Thomas Canney sailed from Plymouth on 18 October 1829 and arrived at Port Jackson on 18 February 1830. [12] She embarked 200 male convicts and landed 199, having suffered one convict death en route. [13]

1832: Transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land

The voyage began with a cholera outbreak on board the day she sailed from Woolwich. She anchored in Plymouth Sound but was ordered to put to sea again after receiving medical supplies and the services of an assistant surgeon from the Royal Navy. She returned to the Thames Estuary and was laid up in Stangate Creek until the end of March before being allowed to resume her voyage.

Of the 222 convicts aboard, 30 men developed cholera and 13 died before Captain John Anderson finally set sail from Plymouth on 23 March 1832 bound for Van Dieman's Land, where she arrived on 16 July. [14] She suffered no deaths among her convicts after she left Plymouth. [15] [16]

1836: Transport

On 31 May 1836 Katherine Stewart Forbes arrived at Portsmouth from Jersey. She carried the depot of the 1st Battalion, the Rifle Brigade, numbering 13 officers and 218 other ranks. She then went into dock for refitting. [17]

1837: Gravesend to Adelaide

She sailed from Gravesend on 27 July 1837 under the command of Captain Alfred Fell and arrived at Holdfast Bay, South Australia, on 17 October 1837. She carried 177 passengers, who came from England and Ireland. There were six aged over thirty, of whom five paid their own way. There were 129 aged between fifteen and thirty, of whom only four were required to pay, and there were forty-two aged under fifteen, all of whom were granted free passage. [18]

The voyage left England one month after King William IV died and Princess Victoria was ascended to the throne. On Katherine Stewart Forbes's arrival at Adelaide a public proclamation was made regarding the death of King William IV and the accession of Queen Victoria. [19]

1838: Launceston to Port Adelaide

Katherine Stewart Forbes departed Launceston, and arrived Port Adelaide on 17 June 1838. The only recorded passenger was Mr John Brown.

1839: London to Adelaide

She departed London on 20 October 1838 and after a stop at the Cape of Good Hope, she arrived in Adelaide on 21 March 1839.

1840: Adelaide to London

Katherine Stewart Forbes departed Port Adelaide on 11 April 1840, carrying with her the former Governor of South Australia, George Gawler, his aide-de-camp, James Collins Hawker and his gardener and Derbyshire botanist, Joseph Whittaker. The vessel was delayed for five days at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island in order to fill with wood and water for the journey. She then called in at Mauritius and St Helena and then stopped at Corvo in the Azores for just two hours to obtain provisions. The vessel reached England on 23 September 1840. The journey back to England was described in some detail in Hawker's 1899 book, Early Experiences in South Australia. Pressed plant specimens collected by Joseph Whittaker from the island stops that Katherine Steward Forbes made en route were subsequently supplied to Kew Gardens. [20] [21]

1841: London to Wellington

Under Captain John Hobbs, Katherine Stewart Forbes left Gravesend on 5 February 1841 and arrived at Port Nicholson on 24 June with 176 emigrants. [22] [23]

1842?: Sarawak

Between 1841 and 1843, J.S.Hobbs, hydrographer, of Katharine Stewart Forbes, master John Hobbs, made a 'Sketch of part of the N.W.Coast of Borneo showing the approaches to and entrances of the Sarawak River'. This map was then drawn up in London and sent by Henry Wise to the Admiralty in November 1843. [24] The map notes two anchorages, at one of which 'Katharine S.Forbes anchored and loaded Cargo'.

In 1846 she underwent a large repair.[ citation needed ]

1850: Adelaide to Port Jackson

Under Captain William Wright, she made a coastal voyage with passengers. [25]

1851: London to Auckland

Under Captain William Wright, Katharine Stewart Forbes left St Katherine's Dock on 22 October 1851 and arrived at Auckland on 9 March with 65 emigrants. [26]

Fate

Katherine Stewart Forbes was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1860 with Dougal, master, and Chapman, owner, but without a home port or trade. [27]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hackman (2001), p. 289.
  2. ↑ Register of Shipping for the Year 1819 - Supplement "K". London: Society for the Registry of Shipping (Lloyd's Register). 1819. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Register of Shipping for the Year 1819 - Key. London: Society for the Registry of Shipping (Lloyd's Register). 1819. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "East India House". Bombay Gazette . Vol. 30, no. 1511. 19 May 1819. p. 2. Retrieved 8 January 2022– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1836. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  6. ↑ State Library of Queensland Convict Records. "Katherine Stewart Forbes Voyages to Australia" . Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  7. ↑ State Records of South Australia. "Pioneers and Settlers Bound for South Australia; Katherine Steward Forbes 1837" . Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  8. ↑ State Library of South Australia. "Katherine Steward Forbes" . Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  9. ↑ Hackman (2001), p. 247.
  10. ↑ LR (1819), Supple. pages "K", Sea.№K1.
  11. ↑ LR (1819), "Licensed India Ships", "Season 1819".
  12. ↑ Bateson (1959), pp. 298–299.
  13. ↑ Bateson (1959), p. 332.
  14. ↑ Bateson (1959), pp. 310–311.
  15. ↑ Bateson (1959), p. 333.
  16. ↑ University of Melbourne Research Data Registry "FAS Convict Ship 360.41 Katherine Stewart Forbes arrived 1832 at VDL Prosopography Index"
  17. ↑ "PORTSMOUTH, Saturday." Times[London, England] 31 May 1836: 5. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 1 May 2018.
  18. ↑ "The Pioneers Association of South Australia: "Ship departure log"". Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  19. ↑ Cummings, Diane. "Katherine Stewart Forbes Passenger Lists". Bound for South Australia. State Library of South Australia . Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  20. ↑ Hawker, J. C. (1899). Early Experiences in South Australia. Adelaide. Retrieved 12 October 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  21. ↑ Kraehenbuehl, DN; Moyes, N (1999). "Joseph Whittaker: early English botanical visitor to South Australia". South Australian Naturalist. 73 (3–4): 44–60. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  22. ↑ Brett (1928), p. 28.
  23. ↑ Geni "New Zealand Settler Ships"
  24. ↑ A Selection from Papers Relating to Borneo and the Proceedings at Sarāwak... (1846), p.25
  25. ↑ State Records Authority of NSW 'Mariners and Ships in Australian Waters' Archived 2014-06-22 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ↑ Katherine Stewart Forbes - Diaries – Diaries transcribed from original diary entries
  27. ↑ Lloyd's Register (1865), seq.№K39.

Related Research Articles

Guildford was a two-decker merchant ship launched in 1810. She transported convicts to New South Wales. Of her eight voyages delivering convicts, for three she was under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She underwent major repairs in 1819, her hull was sheathed in copper in 1822; in 1825 she received new wales, top sides and deck, the copper was repaired and other repairs. Guildford was lost without a trace in 1831.

Asia was a merchant ship built by A. Hall & Company at Aberdeen in 1818. She made eight voyages between 1820 and 1836 transporting convicts from Britain to Australia. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1826 and 1827. At the same time she served in private trade to India as a licensed ship. She also carried assisted emigrants to Australia. She was last listed in 1845.

Albion was a sailing ship of two decks and three masts, built at Bristol, England, and launched in 1813. She made three voyages transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales. She also traded with Jamaica, India, and Quebec. For two of the voyages to India she was an "extra" ship to the British East India Company (EIC).

<i>Almorah</i> (1817) Sailing ship built at Selby, England in 1817

Almorah was built at Selby, England in 1817. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC), and three transporting convicts to Australia. She foundered in 1832 in the North Atlantic.

Brothers was built in Whitby, England in 1815. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC), and two transporting convicts to Australia. Afterwards she traded across the Atlantic, primarily to Quebec, and was last listed in 1837.

Henry Porcher was launched in 1817 at Bristol, England. Between 1818 and 1831 she made three voyages to India for the British East India Company (EIC). On the second she first transported convicts to Sydney, New South Wales. Between these voyages for the EIC Henry Porcher traded privately to India as a licensed ship. She made two further voyages as a convict transport, one to Sydney in 1834–35, and one to Hobart in 1836. She grounded in 1858 and was broken up in 1860.

Asia was a merchant ship launched at Calcutta in 1815 for Charles Hackett. She made four voyages transporting convicts from Great Britain to Australia, and between 1826 and 1830, two voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She was hulked or broken up c.1860.

Caroline was built at Cochin, British India, in 1825. She sailed to the United Kingdom and took up British registry. She then sailed between England and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made one voyage transporting convicts from Ireland to Australia. Later, she carried immigrants to Australia. She was wrecked in March 1850.

Castle Forbes was a merchant ship built by Robert Gibbon & Sons at Aberdeen, Scotland in 1818. She was the first vessel built at Aberdeen for the trade with India. She then made several voyages to India, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made two voyages transporting convicts from Ireland to Australia. She sustained damage in 1826 on a voyage to India and was condemned at the Cape of Good Hope. However, she was repaired. She was last listed in 1832, and in 1838 in Lloyd's Register (LR).

Hooghly was a full-rigged merchant ship built on the Thames, England, and launched in 1819. She made two voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC), four voyages transporting convicts from England and Ireland to Australia, as well as voyages transporting emigrants to South Australia between 1839 and 1856. Around 1858 she was re-rigged as a barque. She sank off Algiers in 1863.

York was a sailing ship built in 1819 at Southwick. She made one voyage to Bombay for the British East India Company (EIC) in 1820. She made three voyages transporting convicts to Australia between 1829 and 1832. She was condemned and sold for breaking up in 1833 at Mauritius.

Malabar was launched at Shields in 1804. She sailed primarily as a London-based transport. After the British East India Company (EIC) in 1814 lost its monopoly on the trade with India, Malabar made several voyages to India under a licence from the EIC. Then in 1819 she made a voyage transporting convicts to Port Jackson, Australia, followed by one in 1821 where she transported convicts to Van Diemen's Land. She is last listed in 1824.

Boyne was launched at Calcutta in 1807. In 1809 she sailed to England. She was sold to the Danes, but by 1811 was under English ownership under the name Moffat. She then made seven voyages as a "regular ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). After the EIC exited its maritime activities in 1833–34, Moffat made four voyages transporting convicts to Australia: one voyage to Port Jackson and three to Van Diemen's Land. She also made at least one voyage carrying immigrants to South Australia, and later regularly traded between Liverpool and Bombay. She was last listed in 1856.

<i>Fairlie</i> (1810 ship)

Fairlie was launched at Calcutta in 1810 and sailed to England. There she became a regular ship for the British East India Company (EIC). Including her voyage to England, she made four voyages for the EIC. From around 1821 on she became a Free Trader, continuing to trade with India under a license from the EIC. She also made two voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales (1834), and Tasmania (1852). She made several voyages carrying immigrants to South Australia, New South Wales, and British Guiana. She foundered in November 1865.

Lord Wellington was launched in 1810 at Rochester, or equally, Chatham, as a West Indiaman. She made at least one voyage to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then made a voyage to New South Wales transporting female convicts from England and Ireland. She was lost in December 1822 off Denmark while sailing from Saint Petersburg to London.

Regalia was launched at Sunderland in 1811. In 1819 she made a voyage to Calcutta, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She also sailed to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. From Sydney she engaged in several sealing hunting voyages to the waters around Macquarie Island. In 1826 she transported convicts from Dublin to New South Wales. From 1831 until 1852, when she was wrecked at Davis Strait, Regalia was a whaler in the northern whale fishery.

Stakesby was launched at Whitby in 1814. She carried immigrants to Quebec, traded with Batavia and Bombay, transported convicts to Van Diemen's Land, and made a voyage to Calcutta for the British East India Company (EIC). She disappeared in 1846 on a voyage from London to Quebec.

Princess Charlotte was a ship launched in Sunderland in 1813. She immediately started trading with the Indian Ocean and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made one voyage for the EIC, and she made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, one to Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land, and one to Port Jackson, New South Wales. She foundered in 1828 in the Bay of Bengal.

Lady Kennaway was launched in Calcutta in 1816. In 1819 and thereafter she sailed between England and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). In 1823 she was sold in London. She made three voyages under charter to the EIC. In 1835 and again in 1851 she made voyages transporting convicts to Tasmania. On one voyage some of the convicts were young men for the Pankhurst apprentice scheme. In between, in 1836, she transported convicts to New South Wales. She made five voyages carrying immigrants to Australia, including young Irish women for the Earl Grey Irish Famine Orphan scheme. In 1847 her crew abandoned her in the Bay of Biscay although she seemed to have sustained little damage; she was salvaged and returned to service. She was finally wrecked on 25 November 1857 at South Africa.

Prince of Orange was launched in Sunderland in 1814. She originally sailed as a West Indiaman but then became an East Indiaman, sailing to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, the first in 1820–1821 to New South Wales, and the second in 1822 to Van Diemen's Land. Between 1830 and 1840 she made nine voyages as a whaler to Davis Strait. She was lengthened and rebuilt in 1846. In December 1852 she grounded and it took some months to get her off. She then need major repairs. She also suffered damages in 1854. She foundered in 1858.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.