| History | |
|---|---|
 Spain | |
| Launched | 1801 [1] |
| Captured | 1806 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Spring Grove |
| Owner |
|
| Acquired | 1806 by purchase of a prize |
| Fate | Wrecked 23 November 1824 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 256, [1] or 264 [3] |
| Armament |
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Spring Grove was a Spanish vessel, launched in 1801, that had been taken in prize in 1806 and that her new owners had renamed. She made six voyages as a Southern Whale Fishery whaler before she wrecked in 1824 on the outbound leg of what was to have been her seventh voyage.
Spring Grove first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in the 1806 volume. Her master was [Jonathan] Greenwood, her owner W. Wilson, and her trade London–Buenos Ayres. [1]
The voyage took place during the British invasions of the River Plate (1806–1807), and was a commercial venture. In addition to any cargo, Spring Grove was carrying Reverend [David Hill] Creighton, who was travelling under the auspices of the London Missionary Society. [5] She left Montevideo for London on 10 February 1807. [2] [6]
Captain William Mattinson (or Maddison), sailed from London on 2 August 1808, [2] bound for Port Jackson and then the Southern Whale Fishery. She sailed via Rio de Janeiro. [6] She arrived at Port Jackson on 6 February 1809 with merchandise, and left for the fishery on 17 March. [7] She returned to Port Jackson on 4 October with sperm oil. She left again on 19 November. [7] She was reported to have been in the Bay of Islands in the early part of April 1810. [2]
In March 1810, half-a-dozen whalers gathered in Bay of Islands and launched a retributionary attack on the Maori after the Boyd massacre. The whalers killed an estimated 16 to 60 Maori and burnt some structures. One sailor was accidentally killed. The vessels involved in the attack were Atalanta, Inspector, New Zealander, Perseverance, Speke, and Spring Grove. [8] [9]
Spring grove again returned to Port Jackson on 19 July with sperm oil. She sailed for England on 20 October. [7] On 18 August 1811 she was at Rio de Janeiro, having come from "New Holland". [10] Mattinson arrived back in London on 19 November 1811. [2]
Lloyd's Register for 1812 showed Spring Grove with Mattinson, master, changing to Douglas, W. Wilson, owner, and trade London–the Brazils. [4] On 4 July 1812 Captain Douglas sailed from Gravesend for Madeira and on. On 14 July she sailed from Portsmouth for Rio de Janeiro. She arrived there on 6 September.
Spring Grove arrived at Port Jackson on 3 January 1813 with merchandise, having first touched at Hobart Town where she picked up 10 passengers for Sydney. She left for the fishery on 23 February and returned to Port Jackson on 13 August with sperm oil. She left for the fishery again on 16 September, likely calling at Norfolk Island in late September as noted in the Sydney Gazette of 4 September 1813. She then continued on with her whaling voyage into the South Seas. [7]
She was next reported to have left St Helena on 22 December 1814 in company with Guildford. She had come from the south seas and she parted from Guildford at 10°N25°W / 10°N 25°W . [11]
Captain Douglas sailed from England in April 1815. Spring Grove returned from the south seas on 14 May 1816 with 350 casks. [2]
Captain George Rule sailed from England on 22 September 1816, bound for Peru. Spring Grove returned on 23 June 1818. [2]
Captain Rule sailed for the Galapagos Islands on 1 November 1818. Spring Grove returned on 15 June 1821 with 600 casks (1607 barrels) or 1717 in the log or 64 whales. [2]
Captain John Rice (or Price), sailed from England on 30 September 1821, bound for Peru. In June 1822 Spring Grove was off Peru while in the company of L'Aigle. Spring Grove returned to England on 16 March 1824 with 580 casks. [2]
Spring Grove appeared in the 1825 issue of the Register of Shipping (RS) with Hughes, master, Jones, owner, and trade London–South Seas. She had undergone small repairs in 1824. [3] Captain Hughes sailed from England on 16 October 1824.
While Spring Grove was on her way to the South Seas she was wrecked north of Saffee, on the coast of Morocco. [12] A letter from Mogadore, dated 23 December 1823, reported that Spring Grove, Hughes, master, of and from London, had wrecked on 23 November. Only a small part of her tackle, etc. had been saved, and two crewmen had drowned. [13] Margaret, from Mogadore, brought home part of her crew. [14]
Sydney Packet was an American ship launched in 1801, taken in prize c. 1814 while under another name, condemned, and sold to Alexander Birnie & Co. She sailed to New South Wales, and next made three voyages as a whaler. She was lost in 1826.
Albion was a full-rigged whaler built at Deptford, England, and launched in 1798. She made five whaling voyages to the seas around New South Wales and New Zealand. The government chartered her in 1803 to transport stores and cattle, to Risdon Cove on the River Derwent, Tasmania.
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.
Catherine, was a whaler, launched in 1811 at New Bedford, that also made one voyage transporting convicts from England to New South Wales in 1813. She made seven whaling voyages between 1813 and 1831.
Henry Wellesley was a barque built in 1804 by Bacon, Harvey & Company at Calcutta, British India. In 1808 a French privateer captured her, but she returned to British ownership. Between 1820 and 1824 she was a whaler that made three voyages to the British southern whale fishery. Later, she twice transported women convicts from England to Port Jackson, New South Wales. She was wrecked near Calais in 1841.
Britannia was a ship launched at Sunderland in 1783. In 1791 she received a three-year license from the British East India Company to engage in whaling in the South Pacific and off New South Wales. Britannia engaged in a small amount of sealing and whaling during her absence from Britain. She was also employed shuttling between Port Jackson and other ports bringing supplies to the new colonists. Shortly after her return to Britain in 1797 she temporarily disappeared from Lloyd's Register. From 1800 to 1822 she was a Greenland whaler, and then from 1822 to 1837 she was a Southern Whale fishery whaler. Between 1840 and 1844 she was a London-based collier. After a 61-year career, she was no longer listed in 1845.
Alexander was a 301-ton merchant vessel launched at Shields in 1801. She became a whaler and made a voyage to New Zealand and the South Seas whale fisheries for Hurry & Co. She was wrecked while outbound from Liverpool in October 1808.
Perseverance was launched on the Thames in 1801. She then spent her entire career of 16 voyages as a whaler. Early in her career a French privateer captured her, but the British Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. Perseverance would herself later capture a vessel too. She was broken up in 1841.
Cumberland was launched in 1800 and sailed as a West Indiaman until 1807 or 1808 when she was sold to Enderbys. She then made five voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. Enderbys sold Cumberland and she proceeded to sail between England and Australia. In 1827 she sailed from Hobart and was never seen again. It later transpired that pirates had captured her off the Falkland Islands and killed her crew and passengers.
Rambler was launched in America in 1812. The British captured her in 1813 as she was returning to America from Manila. She then briefly became a West Indiaman. In 1815 she became a whaler in the Southern Fishery. She made four complete whaling voyages and was wrecked on her fifth.
Mary was launched at Liverpool in 1806. She made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During this voyage she engaged in a notable combat action at night with two British warships. After the British slave trade ended, she traded with Haiti and Brazil, and possibly made one voyage to India under license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a whaler and was lost in 1825 in the Pacific on the second of two whaling voyages.
Renown was launched in 1794 at New Bedford, Massachusetts. She made four voyages from Nantucket as a whaler. In 1813, while she was on her fifth American whaling voyage, she became the first American whaler that British whalers captured in the South Seas. She was sold in London and under the name Adam became first a London-based transport and then a British Southern Whale Fishery whaler. She made four whaling voyages and was wrecked in 1825 at the outset of her fifth British whaling voyage.
Concord was launched at Dartmouth in 1807. From then until 1809 she traded widely. Between 1809 and 1812 two different histories emerged. The registers carried her as trading with North America. Other sources, however, have her sailing to the British Southern Whale Fishery as a sealer or whaler. She made three voyages between 1809 and 1816 in this capacity and then returned to trading. She was wrecked at the Cape of Good Hope in November 1816.
Venus was launched at Deptford in 1788 and made 15 voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. Of 812 whalers in the British southern whale fishery database for which there was data, she had the fifth highest number of whaling voyages. She was last listed in 1823.
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.
L'Aigle was launched in France in 1801, 1802, or 1803. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1809. From 1810 to 1817, she was a West Indiaman. From 1817 L'Aigle made four complete voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale fishery. On her third whaling voyage, she carried King Kamehameha II of Hawaii and Queen Kamāmalu with a number of their retainers and Hawaiian notables to England. She was lost on 6 March 1830 on her fifth whaling voyage.
Sir Charles Price was launched in America in 1812 under another name. The British captured her c.1814 and Daniel Bennett purchased her and added her to his fleet of whalers. She made six complete whaling voyages and was lost in 1833 on her seventh whaling voyage.
Mediterranean was launched in 1810 in Lowestoft or Great Yarmouth. Initially she sailed to the Mediterranean. Between 1819 and 1823 she made two voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She then traded with India, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). She may have shifted to India, before returning to British registry in 1835–1837 while performing a third whaling voyage. She then disappeared from online records.
Harriet was launched in Massachusetts in 1809. The British captured her and on 13 January 1813 a prize court condemned her. New owners retained her name. She became a West Indiaman, and made one voyage to New South Wales. Between 1818 and 1832 she made four complete voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She was lost in October 1833 in the Seychelles on her fifth whaling voyage.
Susanna Ann. was a smack launched at Bridport or Cowes in 1814, almost surely under another name. Between 1823 and 1833 she made six voyages as a whaler and sealer in the British southern whale fishery. From around 1834 on she traded with Africa, and then in 1838 she sailed to New South Wales (NSW). She moved her registry to NSW and traded between east coast Australian ports and with New Zealand until she was wrecked on 20 March 1847.
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