| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Vittoria |
| Launched | 1813, Gainsborough |
| Fate | Last listed 1854 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 395, [1] or 400 [2] (bm) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
Vittoria was a sailing ship built in 1813 at Gainsborough. She made one voyage transporting convicts to Australia. She was last listed in 1854.
Lloyd's Register for 1813 shows Vittoria, of Hull, with Woodhouse, master, Smith, owner, and trade Hull—London. [2] (At the time Gainsborough was an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland port in England, being more than 55 miles (90 km) from the North Sea.)
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1815 | C.Brady Gilchrist H.Watson | Todd & Co. | London-Petersburg London–Antigua | LR |
| 1818 | P.Carlisle | Mitchell | London–Havana | LR |
| 1819 | Carlisle Tate Bennington | Mitchell | London–Havana | LR |
| 1821 | Bennington Lacey Elliot | Mitchell | London–Petersburg London–Jamaica | LR |
| 1822 | Elliot Tate | Mitchell | London–Jamaica London–Trinidad | LR |
| 1823 | Tate Birmington | Mitchell | London–Trinidad | LR; small repairs 1821 |
| 1824 | Birmington Tate | Mitchell | London–Elsinor London–Trinidad | LR; small repairs 1821 & 1824 |
| 1826 | Sisk | Hill & Co. | London–Jamaica | LR; small repairs 1821 & 1824 |
| 1827 | Sisk J.Ranking | Hill & Co. | London–Jamaica | LR; small repairs 1821 & 1824 |
| 1828 | J.Ranking J.Smith | Hill & Co. | London transport | LR; small repairs 1821 & 1824 |
Under the command of John Smith, with the surgeon James Dickson, Vittoria sailed from Devonport, England on 1 September 1828, and arrived at Port Jackson on 17 January 1829 [1] Vittoria embarked 160 male convicts and had nine deaths en route. [3] Lieutenant Aubyn and 30 men of the 63rd Regiment of Foot provided the guard.
Vittoria left Port Jackson on 24 February 1829 bound for Batavia. [4]
Vittoria, late Smith, master, put into Mauritius on 25 November 1829. On her way from Manila to London she had an encounter in which Malays had killed her master, second mate, boatswain, carpenter, and part of the crew. She was in want of a foremast and extensive repairs. [5] A letter from Mauritius dated 28 November 1829 reported that the killers were four Manila men, taken on there. After they had killed the captain, second mate, boatswain, and a woman, and wounded several crew members, they took command of the vessel. They were able to maintain control for a week before the Chief Mate, whom they had spared to navigate Vittoria to California, was able to regain control of her, after having killed two of the four Manila men. The remaining two were secured and turned over to the authorities when Vittoria reached Mauritius. [6] Vittoria, Andrews, master, arrived at Cowes on 21 May 1830 from Manila.
Further details emerged when she reached Cowes. The murders had taken place on 7 September 1829 at 9°17′N127°00′E / 9.283°N 127.000°E . The mutineers had killed the master, second mate, boatswain, carpenter, and a crew man. Vittoria was heavily laden and to lighten her the mutineers had jettisoned part of the cargo and the deckraft. Mr. Andrews, the Chief Mate, had started to plan the vessel's recapture on 9 September, together with the rest of the surviving crew, and succeeded in his plans on 12 September. The two surviving mutineers were tried at Mauritius and one was hanged on Vittoria. The other was reprieved on the scaffold and shipped back to Manila. Vittoria left Mauritius on 2 January 1830 and Saint Helena on 20 March. [7]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | J.Smith H.Andrews | Hill & Co. | London–New South Wales | LR |
| 1831 | H.Andrews Foster | Bolcott & Co. | Cowes | LR; small repairs 1821 & 1824 |
In December 1831 it was reported that Vittoria, Foster, master, was dismasted on her way back from Miramichi to Cowes and that 10 crew members had bees swept overboard. She was in Bantry Bay and was expected to put into Beerhaven. [8] When she got to Bearhaven, the gales prevented her from getting into harbour. Foster, the mate, and six crew were taken out, but two men were left behind. Nine men had been killed by falling masts or being swept overboard. When she was finally brought into harbour only the master, mate, and seven seamen had survived. [9] The steamer Superb towed Vittoria from Bearhaven to Cork.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | Foster Mitchell | Rogers & Co. | London–Miramichi | LR; small repairs 1821 & 1824, & thorough repair 1832 |
| 1835 | J.Napier N.Mitchell | Mitchell & Co. | London–Quebec | LR; large repair 1832 |
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1854 | G.Dunning | Rogers & Co. | Plymouth–Sierra Leone | LR; small repairs 1849 & 1853 |
Vittoria was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1854.
Surry, also known as Surrey, was a square-rigged transport ship, which had an especially long career transporting convicts to Australia. In 11 voyages, the most of any convict transport, she brought 2,177 convicts, male and female, and so became one of the best-known of the vessels that visited Australia. In all, she lost 51 men and one woman during her various passages, 46 of the men dying during her first and most notorious voyage in 1814 when she was under the command of James Patterson. The high death toll on her first voyage led to a Board of Enquiry, which blamed neglect by the Master and Surgeon.
Minstrel was launched at Hull in 1811. She transported convicts to Australia in 1812 and again in 1825. Between these voyages she traded east of the Cape of Good Hope under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). In 1829 she brought immigrants from England to the Swan River Colony. She then traded widely, including across the Atlantic. Minstrel foundered in March 1851.
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.
Wanstead was a two-decker sailing ship built of fir in 1811 in America at Newbury Point, almost surely under another name. She was taken in prize circa 1813. As Wanstead she made one voyage transporting convicts to Australia. She then returned to merchant trade but was wrecked off Brazil in 1816.
Bengal Merchant was a sailing ship built of teak in Bengal and launched there on 26 May 1812. Between 1812 and 1829, Bengal Merchant was in private trade as a licensed ship. She served the East India Company (EIC) in 1813 and from 1830 till 1834. She also twice transported convicts from Britain to Australia before she was hulked in 1856.
Norfolk was built at Littlehampton, England in 1814. She was originally a West Indiaman, and then sailed to India and Quebec. She made four voyages transporting convicts from England to Australia, one voyage from Ireland to Australia and one from Madras and Mauritius to Australia. She was wrecked on 7 July 1837.
Waterloo was a merchant ship built at Bristol, England in 1815. On her first voyage she suffered a short-lived mutiny. She then made one voyage under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She made four voyages transporting convicts from England to Australia, and two voyages from Ireland to Australia. On her seventh convict voyage Waterloo wrecked on 28 August 1842 in Table Bay with great loss of life.
Forth was built in 1826 at Leith, Scotland. She made two voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales. After disembarking the convicts from her second voyage she sailed to Manila. She sailed from Manila in July 1835 and subsequently foundered without a trace.
Eliza was a merchant ship built in British India, probably in 1804. Between 1819 and 1831 she made five voyages transporting convicts from England and Ireland to Australia. In between, she also made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). Her crew abandoned her at sea in 1836 as she was leaking uncontrollably.
Hibernia, of 435 tons, was launched at Cowes in 1810. She operated as a letter of marque West Indiaman and in 1814 engaged in a noteworthy single-ship action with the American privateer Comet during which she repelled her more heavily-armed attacker. In 1819 she transported convicts to Van Diemen's Land. She was last listed in 1840.
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.
Shipley was launched in 1805 at Whitby. A privateer captured Shipley in 1806 on what was probably her maiden voyage, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her. Between 1817 and 1823, she made four voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales. The ship was wrecked in 1826.
Hebe, built in Hull in 1810, made two notable voyages, one voyage as an extra ship for the British East India Company (EIC), and one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales. In between, an American privateer captured Hebe, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her. Hebe was wrecked in 1833.
Portsea was launched at Calcutta in 1807. She was a country ship; that is, she primarily traded east of the Cape of Good Hope. She participated as a transport in the British invasion of Mauritius. She then carried French prisoners of war to France. She also made one voyage to St Helena from Bengal under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). In 1814 a storm dismasted her and she was lengthened, but it is not clear whether before or after the dismasting. She made two voyages as a South Seas whaler between 1828 and 1835. In 1838 she made one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales. She carried coal to Valparaiso in 1840 and there her owners turned her into a coal hulk. Her final fate is not known.
Morley was a merchantman launched in 1811 at Deptford as a West Indiaman. In 1813 she was under contract to the Transport Board when she captured an American vessel, which capture gave rise to an interesting court case. In early 1815 an American letter of marque captured, plundered, and released her. She then made six voyages to Australia transporting convicts. On her fifth voyage she introduced whooping-cough to Australia. After her sixth voyage she sailed to China and then brought a cargo back to England for the British East India Company (EIC). She continued to sail to Australia and elsewhere and is last listed in 1855.
Calder was a brig launched in 1821 at Calcutta. A new owner in 1822 sailed her to Australia and she then traded in the Pacific until in 1825 she sailed to Chile and was wrecked at Valparaiso. There a new owner salvaged her and returned her to sailing under the name Indefatigable. On Indefatigable's first voyage the Chilean members of her crew mutinied, killing her captain. The mutineers sailed to Guam where the authorities took Indefatigable in prize. She was later lost in a typhoon in the China Sea.
Sarah was launched at Rotherhithe in 1819. She made three trips to China and went to Australia four times. In 1829 she transported convicts to New South Wales and in 1837 she delivered convicts to Van Diemen's Land. She was condemned c.1843.
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.
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.
Friendship was launched in France or Spain, possibly in 1780. The British captured her in 1797 and she became a West Indiaman, and from 1798 a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Friendship made two complete voyages carrying captives from West Africa to the West Indies. On her third voyage crew members mutinied, taking her before she had embarked any captives. They sailed for a French port in the Caribbean but the Royal Navy retook her in 1801 and brought her into Barbados. There the Government Agent sold her. The incident resulted in a legal dispute between the owners and the insurers that in 1813 was decided in favour of the owners. New owners in 1803 continued to sail Friendship as West Indiaman. She was last listed in 1810.
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