Ship Sir George Seymour sailing down the Channel with other shipping with the coast in the background. W.T. Howard, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Namesake | Sir George Francis Seymour [lower-alpha 1] |
Builder | Somes Brothers |
Launched | 1844 |
Fate | Burnt and abandoned 18 December 1867 |
General characteristics | |
Tons burthen | 580 (old), or 872 (new) [1] (bm) |
Length | 141 ft 0 in (43.0 m) [1] |
Beam | 33 ft 0 in (10.1 m) [1] |
Depth | 22 ft 7 in (6.9 m) [1] |
Notes | Yellow Metal sheathing |
Sir George Seymour was built in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in 1844 by Somes Brothers. [2] 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.
On 4 November 1844 Sir George Seymour, John Young Clarke, master, set sail from England, bound for Van Diemen's Land, Australia; she arrived at Hobart on 27 February 1845. [3] She had embarked 345 male convicts and she landed 175 at Port Phillip and 169 at Hobart; one convict died on the voyage. [4] She sailed for Calcutta on 27 June with 132 horses, and other cargo and passengers.
Sir George Seymour sailed from Plymouth on 9 January 1849, bound for Geelong, Victoria. She was carrying 302 assisted immigrants and assorted cargo. (Ten vessels, carrying over 1000 immigrants to Australia, left that week.) She anchored off Port Henry on 14 May; she arrived at Melbourne 1 June. On 3 July she sailed from Sydney, bound for Singapore and Calcutta. [5]
In 1850 Sir George Seymour was one of the First Four Ships to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand on behalf of the Canterbury Association.
Sir George Seymour left Plymouth Sound, England around 11 am on Sunday, 8 September 1850, with about 227 passengers. On 4 October, she sighted Randolph and a Mr. Davy, who had missed that ship at Plymouth, took the opportunity to change vessels and complete the voyage in his assigned ship and cabin, and be reunited with his outfit. One of Randolph's boats executed the passenger exchange and some of that ship's passengers took the opportunity to visit. The two ships sailed in company until 10 October. The ship sailed southward til, on 7 December, nearly 49° S. Then about 4 am on Wednesday, 11 December, she sighted Stewart's Island, apparently earlier than either the Charlotte Jane or the Randolph did on that same day. However, she sailed closer to the coast of the South Island than her sister ships and dropped anchor in Port Victoria (off Lyttelton) at 10 am on Tuesday, 17 December 1850, a day later than Charlotte Jane. Her passage was 100 days and 2 young children died during the journey. [6]
The passengers aboard the first four ships were referred to as "The Pilgrims". Their names are inscribed on marble plaques in Cathedral Square in the centre of Christchurch. [7] [ additional citation(s) needed ]
The ship is remembered in the name of a road, George Seymour Quay, in the port town of Lyttelton.
In 1865 Sir George Seymour underwent repairs for damages. At the time her master was M'Ewen, her owner Higgins & Co., her homeport London, and her trade "Brs". [1]
A fire destroyed Sir George Seymour in 1867. She was carrying a cargo of coal from Liverpool to Bombay when on 18 December 1867, at 25°S25°W / 25°S 25°W , the cargo suffered spontaneous combustion. Her crew abandoned her. Leda, which was on her way to Calcutta, rescued 15 crew members. [14]
Her entry in Lloyd's Register for 1867 carried the annotation "[B]URNT". The listing gave her master as M'Ewen, but her homeport now was Glasgow, and her owner D. Law. [15]
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Linwood House was built as the homestead for Joseph Brittan, who, as surgeon, newspaper editor and provincial councillor, was one of the dominant figures in early Christchurch, New Zealand. The suburb of Linwood was named after Brittan's farm and homestead. Brittan's daughter Mary married William Rolleston, and they lived at Linwood House following Joseph Brittan's death. During that time, Rolleston was the 4th Superintendent of the Canterbury Province, and Linwood House served for many important political and public functions.
Joseph Brittan was a New Zealand surgeon, newspaper editor, and provincial councillor, was one of the dominant figures in early Christchurch. Born into a middle-class family in southern England, he followed his younger brother Guise Brittan to Christchurch, where he and his wife arrived in February 1852 with four children. Joseph Brittan soon got involved in the usual activities of early settlers and gained prominence in doing so. He had bought 100 acres on 10 July 1851 and took up 50 of this to the east of Christchurch that he converted to farmland. There, he built the family residence, and the suburb of Linwood was subsequently named after Brittan's farm and homestead of Linwood House.
Charlotte Godley was a New Zealand letter-writer and community leader.
William Guise Brittan, mostly known as Guise Brittan and commonly referred to as W. G. Brittan, was the first Commissioner of Crown Lands for Canterbury in New Zealand.
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Gilmore, was a merchant ship built at Sulkea, opposite Calcutta, British India, in 1824. In 1829-30 she made a voyage delivering settlers to the Swan River Colony in Western Australia. She then made two voyages transporting convicts from England to Tasmania. She was wrecked in 1866.
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.
The New Zealand Company was a 19th-century English company that played a key role in the colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principles of systematic colonisation devised by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of a new-model English society in the southern hemisphere. Under Wakefield's model, the colony would attract capitalists who would then have a ready supply of labour—migrant labourers who could not initially afford to be property owners, but who would have the expectation of one day buying land with their savings.
Lord William Bentink was launched in 1828 at Yarmouth. She made one voyage transporting convicts to Tasmania, and three carrying settlers to New Zealand for the New Zealand Company. She was wrecked between 1858 and 1859.
Lady Nugent was built at Bombay in 1813. She made four voyages under contract to the British East India Company (EIC). She then made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, one to New South Wales and one to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). She also made several voyages with emigrants to New Zealand under charter to the New Zealand Company or the Canterbury Association. She foundered in May 1854 with the loss of some 400 persons, most of them soldiers that she was carrying from Madras to Rangoon.
Hashemy, was a teak-built vessel launched at Calcutta in 1817. She was originally a country ship, trading east of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1829 she made one voyage as a whaler in the Southern Whale Fishery. From 1846 on she made several voyages transporting people, notably coolies from India to British Guiana, and convicts to Australia. She was probably hulked in Bengal c.1867.
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.
London was launched in 1832 by Wigrams for Money and H. L. Wigram to carry passengers to India. From 1840 she made two voyages from England carrying immigrants to New Zealand for the New Zealand Company. She also made two voyages transporting convicts from the United Kingdom to Tasmania. She then became a transport for several years before returning to trading between Newcastle and Spain. She ran into a barque in 1866 with the result that the barque's crew had to abandon their vessel. London was last listed in 1869.
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