| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Builder | Lyme Regis, [1] or Bridport [2] |
| Launched | 27 April 1818 [1] |
| Captured | 1825 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 128, [2] or 12880⁄94, [1] or 130 [3] (bm) |
| Length | 67 ft 0 in (20.4 m) [1] |
| Beam | 22 ft 7 in (6.9 m) [1] |
| Sail plan | Schooner |
Stedcombe was a ship launched at Lyme Regis in 1818. She traded between London and the Cape of Good Hope (CGH; the Cape), and the Cape and the Dutch East Indies. Local pirates at Timor Laut murdered her crew in 1825.
Stedcombe appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1819 with Rocher, master, ownership at the Cape of Good Hope (CGH; the Cape), and trade London–CGH. [2] "Shadcombe", Rocher, master, sailed from Falmouth for the Cape on 28 December 1818. [4]
A letter dated Cape of Good Hope, 5 July 1821, reported that Stedcombe, Cornell, master, had taken the cargo of African for Batavia. [5] African, of the Texel, Scholl, master, had put into the Cape on 8 May in a leaky condition and had had to discharge. [6] Stedcombe arrived back at the Cape from Batavia on 12 December. [7]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1823 | J.Carnal G.Griffin | J.Carnal Birnie & Co. | London–CGH | LR |
| 1824 | G.Griffin Barnes | Birnie & Co. | Cork London–South Seas | LR |
| 1825 | W.Barns | Palmer & Co. | London–South Seas | LR |
Stedcomb, G. Barnes, master, left England on 17 June 1824, bound for New South Wales. [3]
An early report had Stedcombe foundering on passage from London for Tasmania, after leaving part of her cargo at Melville Island. [8]
It turned out that the local inhabitants at Timor Laut had attacked Stedcombe in 1825, killing all but two boys that they then kept as slaves. One of the survivors died c.1836. [9] Stedcombe was on a voyage from Melville Island to Van Diemen's Land. [10] The schooner Essington rescued the last survivor in 1839. [11]
In December 1824 Stedcombe had been at Kupang on her way to the new settlement at Melville Island. She had sailed from Melville island under charter to procure buffaloes from Timor.
At Kupang she encountered HMS Lady Nelson, which too had arrived there from Melville Island to purchase food supplies for the settlement. Lady Nelson departed on the 19th and Stedcombe on 23 February 1825. [12] In a letter dated 19 May 1825, Barlow[ clarification needed ] wrote 'his schooner [Stedcombe] left this port four days after Johns' departure [in Lady Nelson], in charge of his Chief Mate, neither have returned since. I fear they either have been wrecked or fallen into the hands of the Malay Pirates'. [13]
Coromandel was the French prize Modeste, captured in 1793 and refitted at Chittagong, British India. She made two voyages transporting convicts to Port Jackson, the first for the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1805, but she had returned to British hands before 1809. An American privateer captured her in 1814, but this time the British Royal Navy recaptured her within days. She foundered in Indian waters on 6 February 1821.
Ocean was built in 1808 at Whitby, England, that once carried settlers to South Africa and twice transported convicts to Australia.
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).
Hindostan was launched at Whitby in 1819. She made one voyage, in 1821, transporting convicts to New South Wales. Later, she made two voyages transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land, one with female convicts (1839), and one with male convicts (1840–1841). When not transporting convicts Hindostan was a general trader, sailing across the Atlantic, to India, and perhaps elsewhere as well. She was lost in 1841.
Prince Blucher was launched at Chittagong in 1815. She made one voyage for the British East India Company. She participated in two and possibly three rescues, one particularly notable, and was wrecked in 1821. Condemned, she was laid up and later broken up in 1824.
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.
Aguilar was launched in 1801 at Stockwith. She spent almost all of her career as a West Indiaman. In 1823 she made one voyage to Van Diemen's Land. On her return voyage she suffered storm damage and was condemned in 1825 at the Cape of Good Hope. Her loss gave rise to a court case that revealed interesting information about her last voyage.
Skelton was launched in 1818 at Whitby. She made one notable voyage in 1820 to Australia, notable because her captain later published a detailed account with extensive economic, commercial, and other observational information about the Cape of Good Hope, Hobart Town, Port Jackson, and Rio de Janeiro. She later became a West Indiaman and was wrecked in 1828.
Thames was launched in 1818 as an East Indiaman, trading with India and Ceylon under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made one voyage transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land. She became leaky and was condemned at Swan River in 1830 as she was sailing to Île de France from having delivered her convicts at Hobart.
Hugh Crawford was launched in 1810 in the United States as Orbit. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1813. She was sold as a prize and her purchasers renamed her Hugh Crawford. She traded with India and Australia and twice carried immigrants to Australia. She was last listed in 1833, but with data stale since 1827
Adrian was launched in 1819 at Newcastle upon Tyne. She initially sailed between London and Canada but then in 1822 she started sailing east of the Cape of Good Hope under a license from the British East India Company. She made voyages to Bengal and Batavia. In between, she transported convicts to New South Wales. She foundered in 1833.
Woodlark was launched at Rotherhithe in 1819. She initially traded with the Mediterranean but then switched to trading with Australia, the Dutch East Indies, and Singapore. She was wrecked in April 1828 while sailing from Australia to the Cape of Good Hope on her way to England.
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.
Security was launched at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1824. She sailed to England and then traded with Australia and India. She was wrecked in December 1827.
Venus was built in Mauritius in 1807. She spent most of her career sailing between London and the Cape of Good Hope (CGH). She also sailed to Mauritius, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). She wrecked in July 1826 while sailing from Sydney to Singapore.
Medina was launched in 1811 and quickly became a West Indiaman. Ten years later she started sailing to the East Indies under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, first to Sydney and then to Hobart. She also brought immigrants to the Swan River Colony. On that voyage she sustained damage that caused her to be condemned in July 1831.
Lady Ridley was launched in 1813 at Blyth as a West Indiaman. She transported convicts in 1821 to Van Diemen's Land. She also sailed to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She was wrecked on 11 November 1831.
Caroline was launched at Philadelphia in 1800. She was taken in prize. New owners retained her name and she appeared in British records from 1813. From 1820 on she was based at Hobart in Van Diemen's Land. From there she sailed to and from Port Jackson and on seal hunting voyages to Macquarie Island. She departed on a sealing voyage in November 1824 and wrecked at Macquarie Island on 17 March 1825; her crew were rescued some five months later.
Sir George Osborne was acquired in 1814 by British owners purchasing a prize. They initially sailed her as a West Indiaman. Then in 1820 she carried immigrants to South Africa under the auspices of a settler scheme. She then made one voyage as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. Under new owners she then made a highly unusual voyage to the Pacific. Her new owners were the founders of the Pacific Pearl Fishery Company, and they sailed her on a voyage that was part commercial venture and part scientific exploration, complete with a resident scientist. After her return new owners sent her whaling to the Seychelles, where she was wrecked and abandoned in April 1829.
