| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | |
| Name | Rapid |
| Owner |
|
| Launched | 1821 or 1826, Yarmouth |
| Fate | Wrecked 1841 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 161, [1] or 200, or 201 [2] (bm) |
Rapid was a brig launched in 1821 or 1826 at Yarmouth. In 1836 she brought William Light's surveying party to the new colony of South Australia. She was wrecked in 1841.
Rapid was built in 1826 at Yarmouth, and featured a carved figurehead in the shape of a greyhound. She first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1826 with William Joy, master, Priest & Co., owner, and trade Yarmouth–Hull. [2] The next year her owner became Brest and her trade became Hull–St Petersburg.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | J. Courtney | Paynter & Co. | Liverpool–Gibraltar | Lloyd's Register |
| 1835 | W. Phillips | J. Paynter & Co. | London–Malta | Lloyd's Register |
The board of commissioners of the South Australian Company purchased her to send out on their first fleet to establish the Colony of South Australia and the city of Adelaide. The company added a deck for passenger exercise, but as the height between decks was 4'1" (1.25 m), it was hardly luxurious. On 1 May 1836, Rapid left Blackwall, and sailed down the English Channel under the command of Col. William Light; she reached Kangaroo Island on 17 August 1836. [3]
Light's crew included Lieut. G. M. Field, R.N. (first officer), Lieut. (later Admiral) William S. Pullen (second officer), Lieut. R. Hill (third officer) and Thomas Woodforde (surgeon). Other members of the party were William Bell, W. Bradley, Robert Buck snr, Robert Buck jnr, William Chatfield, George Childs, William Claughton, John Duncan, William Freemantle, Maria Gandy, Light's common-law wife (referred to as his housekeeper), and her young brothers, Edward and William, Thomas Gepp, Robert Goddard, William Hodges, William Jacob, William Lawes, James Lewis, George Mildred, Hiram Mildred, George Penton, and Robert G. Thomas, John Thorn, John Thorpe, William Tuckey. [3]
Rapid was used for survey work at Port Adelaide, and in 1837 sailed to England under Capt. William George Field with G. S. Kingston on board to report to the Colonisation Commissioners on the needs of the Survey Department. She returned to Adelaide in June 1838. She subsequently made several trips to Launceston, Van Diemen's Land. Lloyd's Register for 1841 (published in 1840), still carried her master as Light and her owner as the Australian Company. [1]
In 1840 Rapid was sold to Capt. Arthur Devlin. She was wrecked on a coral island near Rotuma early in the morning of 14 January 1841 while on a voyage from Port Jackson (Sydney), to China. [4] All on board were rescued [5] by Capt. Joseph Underwood of the whaling barque Avon, but not before their cargo and valuables had been appropriated by the island's traditional owners. [6]
Duke of Roxburgh was launched in 1828 at Newcastle upon Tyne. Initially she traded with India, but later she often sailed between Great Britain and her Australasian colonies carrying emigrants. She was wrecked in 1864.
Duke of York was a three-masted brig launched in 1817 at Bideford as a Falmouth packet, sailing between Falmouth, Cornwall, and Jamaica. In 1836 she brought settlers to South Australia for the South Australia Company. She was wrecked in 1837.
Lady Mary Pelham was a brig launched in 1816 that initially worked as a Falmouth packet. After her modification to a barque she became part of the South Australia Company's fleet of 1836. She later served as a whaler and transport between Van Diemen's Land and Portland, Victoria. She was wrecked in 1849.
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).
Katherine Stewart Forbes was a full-rigged ship built by William & Henry Pitcher at Northfleet dockyard in Kent, England in 1818. She was classified as "A1", a first class vessel made from first quality materials. 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. She was re-rigged as a barque about 1836.
HMS Scourge was the former merchant sloop Herald, launched in 1799, that the Admiralty purchased in 1803 for service as a convoy escort. The Admiralty had her laid up in 1805, and sold in 1816. Subsequent owners returned her to mercantile service and she sailed until 1835 when she was lost.
Lotus was a ship launched at Whitby, England in 1826. She made several voyages to Australia carrying emigrants. She made one voyage transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land. On that voyage, in 1833, she rescued 61 survivors from Hibernia, which a fire had destroyed in the South Atlantic as Hibenia was carrying immigrants to Van Diemen's Land. Lotus herself was lost in May 1844 while sailing between Bristol and Quebec.
Nimrod was launched late in 1821 at Calcutta. One report has her being sold in 1825; she did change her homeport to the United Kingdom. In 1832 her ownership and homeport changed to Sydney, Australia.
Georgiana was built in British India c.1819, probably in late 1818. She traded in the Far East for most of her career, and between India and London. She made one voyage under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She also brought immigrants to Australia. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1844.
Barrosa was launched in 1811 at Cossipore. She sailed to England and then made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC); during this period she also made one voyage carrying immigrants to South Africa. After the EIC gave up its maritime activities in 1833-1834, Barossa became a transport. She made three voyages transporting convicts to Australia. She was lost in 1847, without loss of life, while transporting contract labourers from Madras to Jamaica.
Java was a merchant ship launched at Calcutta, British East India, in 1811. She made one voyage under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She served in the migrant trade between Great Britain and Australia and in Far East trade. She became a coal hulk at Gibraltar circa 1859. She survived until World War II.
Cumberland was launched at Holyhead in 1826 as a steam packet. In 1839 she underwent conversion to a sail barque. In 1846 Cumberland transported Parkhurst apprentices to the Swan River Colony. She foundered on 23 October 1849 while carrying rice from Bally, Netherlands East Indies, to Hong Kong.
Harriet was launched at Yarmouth in 1836. Between 1836 and 1840 she may have made one voyage as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She burnt in 1842.
Vansittart was launched at New York in 1807, under another name. She was captured c.1814 and new owners gave her the name Vansittart. She was initially a West Indiaman. Then between 1817 and 1837 she made seven voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fisheries. Thereafter she was a merchantman sailing out of Shields. She foundered on 2 February 1855.
Enchantress was launched at Plymouth in 1818. Between 1821 and 1823 she made one voyage as a sealer to the South Shetland Islands. There the Enchantress Rocks are named for her. After her return to England she traded widely. In 1826 pirates plundered her in the Mediterranean. She was last listed in 1864.
Africaine was a barque launched in 1831 at Jarrow on the River Tyne in England. In 1836 she carried immigrants as part of the First Fleet of South Australia. She was wrecked on 23 September 1843.
Runnymede was a barque–rigged sailing ship built in London in 1825. She traded between Britain and India, sailing under a license from he British East India Company (EIC). She made one voyage to Tasmania in 1839–1840 transporting convicts. She also carried immigrants to New South Wales. She was wrecked in 1844.
Marquis/Marquess of Lansdown/Lansdowne was launched at Calcutta in 1824. She was initially a "country ship", trading east of the Cape of Good Hope. She then sailed to Port Jackson, but plans to establish a packet service between Australia and Calcutta, including taking tea from India to Australia under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC), did not work out. She then sailed to England and became a whaler, making four voyages to the British southern whale fishery between 1829 and 1845. She was last listed in 1847.
Doncaster was launched on the River Thames in 1825. Early in her career she carried emigrants to Australia. She made other voyages to Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales, but also traded as a West Indiaman. She was wrecked on 17 July 1836 on the coast of South Africa while sailing from Île de France (Mauritius) to London under a license from the British East India Company (EIC).
Emulous was a merchant ship launched at Whitby in 1817. She traded widely, including to Mauritius under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). She foundered in the North Atlantic in May 1841.
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