DALHOUSIE

Owner, Allen’s, Leadenhall St., London, chartered to the White Horse Line for their Australian passenger service.  Built Moulmein, Burma,1848, Captain Butterworth. Crew, 48 men and officers and twelve passengers.On the 18th October,1853, the ship sailed from the Downs at 07:00 in a fresh breeze. At 22:00 the wind had increased and all hands were turned-to to take in the topgallant sails and reef the topsails. The sea began to get up. At04:00 on 19th October, the fore and main topsails were double-reefed and the mizentop-sail stowed. The ship began to lurch deeply and seemed to have difficulty in recovering herself from the rolls. About 04:30, the starboard-quarter boat was carried away and by 05:00 the crew began jettisoning water-casks, sheep-pens and other lumber. Whilst they were doing this,  the ship gave a violent lurch to starboard and, a heavy sea washing over her at the time, washed overboard the longboat.  The weather had by then got much worse and she was kept hauled to the wind on the port tack. She continued to lurch violently and, at 05:30, rolled right over onto her starboard beam-ends, remaining in that position with her mast-head in the water and the sea breaking right over her The port-quarter boat was washed away. Many of the crew took refuge in the maintop, it being impossible to stand on deck.Captain Butterworth, the 1st Mate, the 2nd Mate, the carpenter, the cook and some of the crew got onto the weather-quarter gallery and dragged through the gallery window four passengers, a gentleman, his wife and two children. A young lady appeared out of one of the poop cabins and she was lashed to a spar and placed with the others on the gallery. Immediately afterwards, a large wave washed away the family unit. The young lady was then released from the spar to give her a chance of survival and, as the spar went adrift, the Captain, the 2nd Mate and two seamen clung to it. Ten minutes later, the ‘Dalhousie’ sank by the head.A schooner was nearby, about 100 yards to leeward, and she was shouted at to go to windward and drift down upon the wreck to pick up survivors. The only response was a voice from the schooner shouting for the survivors to swim towards it. She was drifting to leeward faster than anyone could swim, however, and she shortly afterwards stood away to the south-west and disappeared after two hours.The sole survivor, Joseph Reed, was eventually spotted and picked up by the brig ‘Mitchel Grove’ at 16:00. He was taken to Dover Roads and landed there by the ship’s boat the following day, October 20th. Mr Reed reported that the ‘Dalhousie’ had sunk in a position where the light on Beachy Head bore from NExE, 16 miles.The schooner which had been close to the wreck was the ‘Exeter’, Captain Hamlyn. He wrote to the press, from Cowes,  to justify his actions in not rendering assistance to the ‘Dalhousie’. His ship was small, he wrote, (120 tons and laden with coal), and almost unmanageable in the wind and heavy seas. At one point, they were making 6 knots going astern and the vessel would not answer the helm. Furthermore, they were drifting onto a lee shore and, for their own preservation, were forced to continue their course down-Channel. He challenged  Mr Reed’s statement that a voice from the schooner shouted for them to “Swim for it”. He wrote if they were 200 yards to leeward of him, and blowing a gale, how could such a voice be heard?
 
 

The following information is from a newspaper clipping dated January 18th,
1851.
 

DANIEL WEBSTER

Train & Co, for the Liverpool-Boston service. Built by Donald Meckey, East Boston. 1,500 tons. Loa 186’`. Beam 40’. Depth of hold 24’ from the main deck. Draught 16’. The figurehead was of Daniel Webster, himself, holding in his right hand a scroll comprising the Articles of Constitution. The vessel had an ice-house, two hospitals and a surgeon’s room. There were state rooms for 8 persons, a saloon for 140 ‘superior second class’ passengers whilst the lower deck had iron berths divided into two compartments for about 450 second- and steerage class. Below this deck there was timbering for another deck, should the need ever have arisen. Her pumps were constructed so that that they could be worked under any circumstances and, it was claimed, would never become choked. The builders boasted that the ship could be kept afloat in almost any conceivable case of difficulty.
 
 

Newspaper report was dated June 27th, 1896.

DRUMMOND CASTLE

Castle Line. Captain Pierce.  Built by Elder & Co., Glasgow, 1881. Shortly before midnight on June 16th, 1896, homeward bound from Delagoa Bay and Capetown, she struck a group of rocks called the ‘Pierres Vertes’  near Molene, off Ushant, and sank in three minutes with the loss of all her passengers and crew save three persons. Details were provided by the survivors, Charles Wood, Quartermaster, J. Godbolt, seaman and Mr. Marquardt, passenger.Sailed from Capetown on May 28th, 1896 with 104 officers and crew and 143 passengers. After a stop of a few hours at Las Palmas on June 12th, she continued her voyage at full speed until, on June 16th, in a dense fog and a smooth sea, she struck rocks at 23:00. Captain Pierce immediately ordered all boats to be lowered but the sea swept in so fast that the boats were swamped before they could be got out. Quartermaster Wood was in the act of loosing the cutter when he was dragged down by the sinking ship but resurfaced  to cling onto some floating debris where he found Godbolt. They were picked up the next morning, June 17th, by some fishermen and landed on the island of Molene. Marquardt was rescued by another fishing boat. Many corpses were washed up on the island and they were laid out in the houses of the village. The following day the corpses were buried, without coffins, in a number of graves. Wood was scarce on the island. Other bodies were washed up over the surrounding area. It was surmised that Captain Pierce steered for a safe distance off Ushant light so that the keepers could report his passage. With this object in view, she was carried out of her proper course by tidal currents. The survivors attested that no lights had been sighted when the vessel struck.Subscriptions were
opened in London and Capetown for the relief of the families who would suffer financial distress, the Fund being headed by handsome contributions from the Castle Line and Sir Donald Currie.

Cutting dated December 2nd, 1865.

DUNCAN DUNBAR

Built by James Laing, Sunderland. Launched November 30th, 1853. Length 201’ 9”, Beam 35’, Depth of hold 22’ 7”, 1320 grt. At the time, was the largest ship to be built at Sunderland.

The ship left London, under Captain Swanson, on 28th August 1865 and Plymouth on 2nd September 1865, with passengers and cargo for Sydney.  On the 7th October, 1865 she was wrecked on the reef Las Roccas 33.45 W., 3.52 S., on the coast of Brazil. She struck about 20:30. The Captain went in one of the boats to take soundings around her but she had gone aground at high tide. There were not enough boats to accommodate all the passengers and crew so he determined to wait until daylight to see if there was any dry land to which survivors could be taken by boat and raft. The passengers were in fear because the vessel was rolling heavily and striking violently with each roll. At daybreak on 8th October, the Captain succeeded in getting through the breakers to a landing place on one of the two sand islets which rose about 7’ above ordinary high-water mark. Preparations were at once made to transfer the passengers and crew to the spot, the passengers being lowered in a chair over the stern because it was impossible to keep a boat alongside due to the heavy rolling. By 07:00, all were landed. The islet was covered
with pig-weed but there was no water so this was ferried from the wreck. Four of the five water-puncheons were lost, being stove-in by debris or having drifted away. There were 117 persons on the reef. For the first two days they had ½ a pint of water each in temperatures of 112 degrees. A tent was constructed for shelter. The islet was infested with land-crabs and various vermin. They stayed on the islet for 10 days and during that period had recovered from the wreck sufficient water and stores to serve a hundred people for a hundred days.Captain Swanson had left, in the lifeboat,  on 11th October, 1865, to sail towards Pernambuco. After making 120 miles he was picked up by the American ship ‘Hayara’ and dropped 15 miles from his destination. There, he procured the assistance of the ‘Oneida’, Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., which came to the island and took all hands safely to Southampton. The Captain remained in Pernambuco.

The date on the cutting is difficult to read but looks like April 26th, 1864 (could it be 1862 ?)

EMILY ST. PIERRE

Owner unknown. 884 tons. Captain Wilson. Captured off Charleston by the Federal ship ‘James Adger’ . When the ship was taken, most of the crew were transferred to the ‘Florida’ and a prize crew, under a Lieutenant Stone, was sent onboard with the intention of sailing her to Philadelphia. When Captain Wilson heard this, he determined to recapture her and take her into a British port. He inquired of the cook and steward whether they would assist him in his efforts and both agreed. The prizemaster’s Mate was asleep in the cabin on the morning of the second day after capture and Captain Wilson determined to secure him in the first
instance. The cook and the steward were armed and were instructed in the course they were to adopt. A piece of cloth was thrown over the prizemaster’s head, his arms were secured and irons then placed on hishands. He was also prevented from creating any alarm by  being gagged. Captain Wilson returned to the deck and, in a familiar manner, inquired from Lieutenant Stone of the ship’s position. He replied that they were somewhere off Hatteras and were about to change course and would Captain Wilson like to come into the cabin to plot the position ? They went down, the door was closed and, the cook and the steward being also present, Captain Wilson drew a belaying pin and demanded that Lieutenant Stone should quietly consent to a pair of irons being placed upon his hands. He submitted and he, too, was gagged. Captain Wilson then returned on deck where he met three of the prize crew, one being a very powerful fellow whom he did not relish tackling. As a
ploy, he told them that Lieutenant Stone required a coil of rigging from the scuttle and the three men, when they entered, had the hatch closed and locked over them. In the meantime the forecastle door had been fastened-up and the whole of the watch below were imprisoned. The remainder of the prize crew were unconscious of what was going on and Captain Wilson sent the steward forward to ask whether they would assist in navigating the ship to a British port. One man consented and others, who refused, were consigned to the scuttle. When this had been done, those in the forecastle were brought out, one by one, and interrogated as to whether they would help in navigating the vessel. Three consented but only one of these was a seaman, the others being landsmen. In the course of a few days, however, two more of the prizemen expressed their willingness to assist Captain Wilson but one of these was later confined in consequence of violence. With this small crew,
Captain Wilson was compelled to navigate his ship to Liverpool during the course of which voyage the tiller broke in a storm. Captain Wilson and his men overcame this serious defect, it was remedied, and the ship was brought safely into the Mersey.
 
 

Cutting dated October 1st, 1853.
 

EUPHROSYNE

Owner and Master, Captain Barris. Built 1847, in England, 600 tons, barque-rigged. Captain Barris was a wealthy and eccentric young Englishman who painted his vessel jet black, on the starboard side, with  a representation of brickwork on the port side. He sailed only for his own pleasure although, by way of giving employment to his crew , he took cargoes from port to port to pay the ship’s way. Upon arrival in harbour, the Captain went off to see the sights and left the vessel in charge of the crew. He had spent four years sailing the Eastern Archipelago and trading between Calcutta and Japan. He had been to most of the Pacific islands and the chief ports of India and Australia. For crew, he had brought together in harmonious relationship an amalgamation of most of the nations on earth. Numbering about 30, there were natives of Japan, Malaya, Mozambique, China, Bali, Bengal, the Sandwich Isles, England and Ireland. All sailed together in a social and democratic manner. The Japanese, five in number, had their wives and families onboard and the whole crew of men, women and children ate, drank and slept together in perfect harmony. The Captain and his Mate, Constantine D’Esonza, of Penang,  were the only two who occupied the ship’s cabin and lived in any way excluded from the general rules of the community. The crew was well paid and well treated and the Captain ruled over them in a patriarchal and parental manner. When in San Francisco the crew were left to their own devices, as usual, and although nearly all the ships in port were deserted by their crews, the ‘Euphrosyne’ lost not a single man. The women were privileged, at sea, and some of them helped their husbands to take-in sail whilst others did the cooking and cared for the children.
 
 

May 6th, 1854.

FAVOURITE

Owner unknown. On passage from Bremen to Baltimore with nearly 200 emigrants, on Friday, April 29th, at between 01:00 and 02:00, came into collision with the American ship ‘Hesper’, bound to Antwerp. A thick rain was falling and there was a heavy sea and a strong wind from the westward. The shock of the collision was so great that the Master of the ‘Favourite’ was thrown from his bunk. He ran onto the deck and succeeded, along with the 1st Mate and four crew, in getting onboard the ‘Hesper’. At that time, the emigrants were seen running about the deck in great confusion but the vessels separated immediately after the collision and the roughness of the sea prevented any assistance being rendered to them. The ‘Favourite’ had been severely holed below the waterline and quickly settled down with all onboard. The ‘Hesper’ lay-to until daybreak but, when dawn broke, not a vestige of the ‘Favourite’ or any of her passengers could be seen.

FRANCIS SPAIGHT

March 28th, 1846.

Barquentine, owner unknown, Captain Henry Patterson. On passage from Manila to England, put into Table Bay on the 3rd January for replenishment and was
to have sailed on January 7th. However, on Wednesday morning, January 7th, she parted from her anchors in a gale and, in attempting to beat-out, grounded broadside-on to the beach. The surf was tremendous, breaching right over the vessel and carrying away the bulwarks, long boat, main hatch and part of the deck with one crew member. A line was sent from the shore but it broke. Rockets were fired, with lines attached, and one landed on the foremast stay but the crew were unable to reach it. The vessel was fast breaking up and the spars were expected to go at any moment.There was an unaccountable delay until a surf-boat arrived from town, on a wagon, manned with a volunteer crew of 6. They gained the side of the stricken vessel and fifteen persons boarded. As they pushed off and got astern, to leeward, the boat capsized. Of the 21 in the boat, 18 were drowned. After this, another surf-boat, towed by a smaller one, attempted to reach the wreck but one boat was thrown over the other and 2 men were drowned. The ship’s carpenter, James Robertson, had refused to be taken off in the first boat and, almost
when the ship had been completely smashed to pieces, he was rescued, along with another seaman, by a small boat which bravely went alongside. These 2 were all of the crew that were saved. 15 lost their lives, plus the 8 crew of the surf-boats.

>From the scrapbook, dated December 14th, 1867. Any details on the 'George
Kendall', anyone?
                       ............................

GORLESTON SALVAGE BOAT/GEORGE KENDALL

GORLESTON SALVAGE-BOAT.   Three yawls were kept at Gorleston, crewed by men who made their living by salvaging what they could from the frequent wrecks along that stretch of coastline. They were known as “salvage-boats” and were in no way connected to the boats of the RNLI although they frequently
engaged in life-saving rescues.

At daybreak on the morning of August 3rd,1867, the two crew of one of these boats put to sea to afford help to any vessels that may have needed it. They were hailed by a brig who reported that a ship’s crew could be seen in a small boat, about two miles distant. The boat was picked up and found to contain the owner, pilot and crew of the ‘George Kendall’, a full-rigged ship of 900 tons, bound from Hull to Liverpool. There were 23 persons in the boat and they had abandoned their ship the day before. The ship’s boat was taken in tow to Gorleston but, on arriving there, found a steamer with a brig in tow that had carried away her mainmast, making for the same point. The Master of the steamer slackened his speed  and the salvage-boat shot out from under his lee. At the same moment a fishing lugger, also making for the harbour, appeared to windward, unobserved until then. Suddenly, the lugger ran aboard the salvage-boat, striking her on the starboard quarter , causing the salvage-boat to broach and fall under the lugger’s bow. The salvage-boat instantly capsized and all the occupants were thrown into the water. The
lugger held her course and ran into the harbour, giving no aid whatever. The Master of the steamer, seeing what had happened, cast-off the vessel he had in tow and did his best to save the lives of those in the sea. Unfortunately, his efforts were fruitless and 25 men lost their lives.
 
 

GOLDEN FLEECE - see Abyssinian Hospital Ships
 
 

Undated, circa February 1846

GREAT LIVERPOOL

On February 24th, 1846, the ship ran onto the Guros shoal,  to the south of Corcubion, near Cape Finisterre. The weather was hazy with a heavy sea running. There were 145 persons on board and all were saved except a female passenger, a child of seven and an Indian servant girl. The vessel had grounded about 300 yards from the beach and the boats were got ready. The port boat was sent with a party of seamen and a line to haul a rope ashore, which was done with some difficulty, and then a hawser was passed and secured. The ship’s launch made several trips to and from and all persons were taken off  although three lives were lost when it capsized in the surf. Even as the last people were being taken off, the ship was breaking-up. By February 27th the ship had gone entirely to pieces and a great portion of the mails, luggage and cargo was plundered by the local inhabitants.

Undated, circa August 1876

GREAT QUEENSLAND

Sailed from London for Melbourne in August, 1876, with about 70 souls onboard and 35 tons of gunpowder . Last sighted at the mouth of the Bristol Channel and then disappeared. A few fragments of wreck, identified as having belonged to the ship, were picked up. Comments were made in the press demanding that legislation should be introduced regarding the carriage of dangerous cargoes.
 
 

GREAT TASMANIA

The East India Company, Crimean troop transport. Chartered to return Indian troops to their homeland, after fighting in the Crimea, the mortality that occurred onboard the ship gave rise to accusations of mismanagement, neglect, corruption and criminal blunder against the Government.The jury stated that, in the first place, the provisions supplied by the Government as stores for the use of the troops was bad and unfit for human consumption, with the exception of tea, pork, pickles and rice. There was an absence of disinfectants. The limejuice had lost its medicinal properties, the beef was putrid, the biscuits maggoty and blue-moulded, and the vegetables rotten.  As these foodstuff had passed inspection, then those who signed the general inspection report had to be held responsible for the disease and death which resulted from their “careless and slovenly conduct”.The newspaper said that if the case rested only on the uselessness of the limejuice, there would still be grounds for the severest censure, if not actual punishment, of the inspecting officers who were instrumental in causing the outbreak of scurvy. Even more, every single article of food which they passed and approved was so far advanced in putrescence that its use was sure to bring about that very disease against the approach of which, of all others ,it was their duty to provide. Common justice, said the newspaper, demanded their immediate dismissal and regretted that they could not be placed on trial for manslaughter. The paper continued that, if in the days of transportation, men had been sent to Botany Bay so crowded and so ill-provided, philanthropists would have showered denunciations upon the heads of those answerable for the business.The only bright spot in the affair was that the Captain and officers of the ship were entirely blameless and that the surgeon and military officers did their best, under the circumstances, to promote the health of the men under their charge. However, continued the newspaper, retribution had to fall on the heads of those responsible.

In the mid- to late-19th century: thousands of Chinese labourers left their homeland to sail to the USA to find work, usually in the construction of railways. GGGPa's scrapbook gives a graphic illustration of what they could expect in this cutting of 1859.
 

FLORA TEMPLE  (1859)

Clipper.  Captain Johnson. Sailed from Macao on the morning of October 8th, 1859 with 850 coolies, destination unknown.  Her crew, including officers, was about 50. On the evening of the 14th October a cry of “Hard up !” was heard from the lookout and it was discovered the ship was within a short distance of breakers. Within minutes she struck, at first slightly and then several times with tremendous crashes with the breakers running very high alongside. Pieces of timber and planking broke away and after a few more heavy bumps she remained apparently immobile. Whilst this was going on, a fear that the coolies would rise and murder all onboard seemed to have possessed the minds of the crew. This fear rose to such a height that the Captain, having at the time no intention to abandon the ship, had the two quarter boats lowered and placed an officer and five men in each. Their orders were to remain close to the ship so that refuge and assistance might be at hand. The crew appear to have been thoroughly unmanned : their only anxiety was to get out of the ship. If not for the Captain, his brother and a few others onboard, the boats would have left the ship absolutely unprovided. The boats were lowered at 22:00 and by 04:00 on the 15th October the longboat and the remainder of the crew had left. At daybreak the ship was seen to be almost motionless. Her masts were standing, she had a heavy list to port, her back was broken and the sea was breaching over her starboard quarter. The coolies, who had remained below all night, now clustered on the upper decks. The Captain, in his boat, passed around
the northern extremity of the breakers and joined the starboard-quarter boat which had the smaller boats in company. The port-quarter boat, with the 2nd Mate in command, had deserted during the night probably due to guns which were fired from the ship and which might have seemed like the beginning of a rising by the Chinese. The crews of the dinghies were then transferred to the longboat and the quarter-boat and at 09:00 on the 15th October sail was made to the westward. The boats encountered severe weather and the men suffered dreadfully. Eventually, twelve days later, on the 27th October, land was made to the south of Touron and, on the evening of October 28th they came in sight of the French squadron. They were received onboard the ‘Gironde’ and Captain Johnson begged the French Admiral Page to send in search of the missing boats and rescue the coolies. This request was complied with and the ‘Gironde’ was despatched to the scene with Captain Johnson, his brother and Mr Childs, Surgeon, accompanying them. They came in sight of the reef  on the afternoon of November 2nd but there was no sign of the ship except a small portion of the port side from the main chain, forward. Of the 850 coolies, not a trace remained. The ‘Gironde’ then set course for Manila where she arrived on the evening of November 8th.It appears that the crew had grounds for fearing the coolies for one of the crew had been murdered when separated from his companions.The ‘Gironde’ placed the wreck at 10.19 N., 113.13 E. Captain Johnson made the position 10.16 N., 113.20 E.
 
 

The event took place in 1875.

GOLIATH               THE DESTRUCTION AT GRAYS

The 'Goliath' was a vessel of the Royal Navy, lent by the Admiralty to the Forest Gate district board of managers for the training of pauper boys from an association of metropolitan parishes according to a system established when Mr. Goshen was First Lord of the Admiralty.  She was moored in the estuary of the Thames, off the village of Grays, having on board more than 400 boys, and was commanded by Staff Commander Bourchier, of the Royal Navy, and a large staff of subordinate officers.  On Wednesday morning, December 22nd, shortly before eight o'clock, a fire broke out in the lamp-room on the main deck.  There is no doubt this wascaused by the dropping of one of the lamps, which were at the time being extinguished and carried into the lamp-room to be cleaned and re-trimmed for future use.  A boy named Loeber, charged with this duty, dropped one of the lamps which, unfortunately, had not been extinguished.  The oil which was spilt caught fire at once, and the flames quickly spread over the floor of the lamp-room, which was saturated with oil. Loeber, with great promptitude and courage, tore off his coat, and, throwing it on the flames, sat down on it in the hope, which soon proved unavailing, of extinguishing them. The fire was at once retorted to Mr. Hall, the chief officer, and to Captain Bourchier, and though the fire-bell was rung immediately, and the boys rushed to their stations and pumps on the lower deck without confusion or delay, yet the fire had spread all over the main deck even before the bell had ceased ringing. Nevertheless, the boys stuck to their work on the lower deck till the fire began to reach them. The boats, most of which were hanging from the upper deck, could scarcely be reached on account of the flames and it would have been almost impossible to lower them with safety, as the falls at one end or the other had, in most cases, been burnt through, and they were consequently hanging end-on to the water. The boys had to save themselves by jumping into the water from the ports and decks.  Unfortunately, a fresh breeze was blowing at the time and this not only fanned the flames through the open ports, but chilled the water and rendered swimming difficult. Happily, nearly all the boys had been taught to swim and, as the vessel was not above a thousand feet from the shore, many managed to reach the land unaided.  Others were picked up in boats, but fifteen of the boys are missing though only five are, up to this time, known to be dead.  Unfortunately, there is too much reason to believe that one of the teachers, named Wheeler,has also been drowned. He disappeared from a boat which capsized as he jumped into it and, though its other occupants seem to have been picked up, he has not since been heard of.  Captain Bourchier was the last to leave his ship and his wife and daughters, with two female servants who were on board, owed their escape to their own promptitude and courage. A barge was moored to the ship when the fire broke out, and many of the boys made their way into it; a few of the younger ones, scared by the smoke and the scorching flames, tried to push-off from the ship before the barge was full; but an elder boy, named Bolton, whose courage and endurance deserve to be commemorated, held on manfully to the ship till he had taken all on board who were within his reach.  Finally, Captain Bourchier and the crew of the boat in which he had been rescued rowed up to the bows, under the blazing rigging, and, at imminent risk of their lives, carried off a little fellow who was seen hanging in the chains. The ship burnt to the water's edge, and drifted from her moorings on to the mud of the river bank.  Such is the story of the burning of the Goliath.

By command of her Majesty, a letter has been addressed by Mr. Sclater-Booth, the President of the Local Government Board, and to Captain Bourchier, R.N.,
expressing her Majesty's great satisfaction at the admirable conduct displayed by all on board the 'Goliath'.

At the time of our going to press with the early edition, no news had reached Grays of any more bodies of Goliath boys having been found, and an anxious look-out is being kept over the parts where it is thought likely any will be swept up by the action of the tides. Those of the survivors who were injured are progressing favourably. Application has been made by the managers for another ship in place of the 'Goliath'; and, as the late ship supplied the wants of all London, it is suggested that the board of management should be selected from a wider area than three East-End parishes, and that the Asylums Board should take upon itself this function.
Several of the past and present managers of the 'Goliath' are upon that board. A committee has been formed to receive subscriptions towards a fund to recoup the officers, who have suffered severe losses by the destruction of their ship.
 
 

HERALD

Owner unknown, of Leith. Captain Lawson. Left Shanghai for Leith in October, 1851. In addition to the Captain and his wife, there were onboard two European Mates,, a steward, carpenter, cook, a Portuguese seaman, 12 Filipino sailors and a Filipino deckboy.

Four or five days after leaving Shanghai, the crew were put upon the customary food allowances which seemed to annoy the Filipinos. Before the ship had reached Angeer, they had deputed to the Captain a number of times to demand more, which was refused. The Filipinos then appeared to have devised a plan to murder all the Europeans onboard, with the exception of the Portuguese, who they thought might have helped them in their designs. They told him of the project. He, hoping to give the Europeans a chance, suggested that they be poisoned, rather than violently murdered. . This was attempted with some poisoned sugar cane, powdered into coffee, which made the Captain and his wife ill, but they soon recovered.

The Portuguese sailor gave details of the Filipino’s plan to Captain Lawson and the Captain directed the Mate to muster them every night and take their
knives off them. He also directed his officers to keep themselves armed at all times.

About the 25th day of the voyage Angeer was sighted but, as it was thought there were sufficient provisions and water onboard to last until the Cape of Good Hope, or St. Helena, the ship was not brought to anchor but continued on her voyage. This angered the Filipinos and on the morning of the 26th day the Portuguese sailor was alarmed at hearing his name being called on deck. He went on deck and met with some of the crew who said that they now had plenty of food and water because they had just killed the Europeans.

The Portuguese was sent to assist in clearing the cabin where he discovered  Captain Lawson, the carpenter and the officers who, with the exception of the Mate, were all dead.  Mrs Lawson was lying next to her husband’s body, crying bitterly. The crew then attached heavy weights to the legs of the bodies  and, carrying them on deck, threw them into the sea. The Mate was still alive when he was bound and cast overboard.

One of the Filipinos then appointed himself as Captain with two of his compatriots as 1st Mate and 2nd Mate.

The slaughter then re-commenced. The steward, the cook and the Portuguese were tied up and told that their last hour had arrived. The steward appealed for mercy, but the Filipino who was acting as the 1st Mate split open his head with an axe and then ran him through with a cutlass. The Portuguese sailor, and the cook who was a native of that part of the coast, pleaded for their lives and were eventually released.  Shortly after, the mutineers decided to  scuttle the ship and leave.

The boats were prepared and Mrs Lawson, hearing of this, appealed to be taken ashore but the Filipino ‘Mate’ said that his companions would not countenance such a thing. Mrs Lawson then implored them to give her a spar to cling to, but this was denied. Instead, she was battened in one of the cabins and abandoned.

About 22:00 that night, they, with the Portuguese sailor, the cook and the deckboy quit the vessel in one of the longboats and shortly afterwards the vessel foundered.Early the following morning the boat reached Java, landing at Sjilankang, where the Portuguese informed the authorities of the events. The murderers were arrested and sent to Batavia to await trial. The Portuguese seaman, the cook and the boy were also secured as witnesses.

Cutting dated 1868

HIBERNIA  (1868)

Captain Munro. The ship left New York for Glasgow on Saturday afternoon, November 14th, 1868, with a total of 133 souls onboard, including crew. On Monday, November 23rd, she ran into a heavy gale from the SW which caused the ship to labour. At 02:00, Tuesday, November 24th, the propeller shaft broke in the stern-pipe and the propeller, getting loose, damaged the sternpost to which the rudder was attached. The pipe itself was also damaged by the un-connected propeller and large volumes of water entered the vessel. During the whole of Tuesday the crew were engaged in jettisoning cargo, to no avail. On Tuesday night, the course was changed to NW and, on Wednesday morning, November 25th, the situation became so critical that all the boats were lowered. At 06:00, passengers began to be embarked in the boats, a certain number of ladies appointed to occupy each boat along with a proportion of the crew. At 07:00 all the crew and passengers were in their appointed places. The ladies had been lowered into the boats by ropes around their waists.The boats were brought around under the lee of the ship.  No.1 boat was under the command of Captain Munro; No.2 boat, the 1st Mate; No.3 boat, the 2nd Mate; starboard-quarter boat, 3rd Mate; port-quarter boat, the boatswain. The Captain was the last to leave. After getting about a quarter of a mile from the ship, she went down stern-first at 07:20. The position was 53.20 N, 29 W., about 700 miles west of Ireland.At 07:30, the 1st Mate’s boat, with 33 persons,  capsized. The Captain’s boat was about a quarter of a mile away but, owing to the gale then blowing, and the crowded state of his boat, he was unable to render any assistance. So critical was the Captain’s boat’s condition that he had two
men constantly baling with buckets, with more using hand-basins, to keep afloat. Stores were even thrown overboard and some of the ladies threw off their shawls to lighten the load.In the evening, Captain Munro and those in No.1 lifeboat were picked up by the ‘Star of Hope’, Captain Talbot, from Quebec to Aberdeen. A search was commenced for the other boats and the boatswain’s boat was rescued between 23:00 and 24:00, Wednesday, November 25th. The weather moderated on Thursday, November 26th but, after cruising the area for about 30 hours ,the search was called off and the ‘Star of Hope’ resumed her course. The two boats rescued contained 52 persons.The 1st Mate’s boat eventually reached the coast of Donegal with the Mate and 2 hands. It had righted itself and the survivors had succeeded in getting aboard after the boat had laid bottom-up for 4 hours. The Mate stated that two of the passengers jumped overboard the first day. On the third day, another passenger leaped overboard. Five other passengers died from exposure with 16 having been lost when the boat capsized. The 3 survivors, failing in their attempts to hail passing ships, ran into Mulroy Bay on the Donegal coast. At the time, all other boats were feared lost although the possibility was held out of them being picked-up by outward-bound vessels because they were on a shipping lane.

Newspaper report dated August 25th, 1888

THINGVALLA / GEISER

On the morning of August 14th, about 30 miles east of Sable Island, Nova Scotia, the ship was in collision with the ‘Thingvalla’ of the same company. The ‘Geiser’, of 1818 tons, was steaming eastward from New York to Copenhagen, carrying 107 passengers and a crew of nearly 50. The ‘Thingvalla’s’ course lay westward to New York, a little south of the ‘Geiser’s’  course. The ‘Thingvalla’, of 1630 tons was lightly laden and  carried 61 cabin passengers and 394 in steerage. There was mist and rain. Under these conditions, the ‘Thingvalla’s’ bow struck the ‘Geiser’ amidships, abaft the starboard main rigging, nearly at right-angles to the keel, and cut the ‘Geiser’ almost in two. Neither vessel had sighted the other until just before the collision. Neither of them could take effective means to prevent the catastrophe as both engines were put astern, unable to reverse the movement of the vessels quickly enough. The ‘Geiser’ starboarded her helm, throwing the bow to the north, but the ‘Thingvalla’ ported her helm instead of passing the Geiser’  to the south. The ‘Thingvalla’s’  bow was torn away, leaving a hole measuring 20-feet square open to the sea. The bulkhead, however, kept her afloat.  She rocked like a cradle and, within seven minutes, sank like a stone. As she settled more and more onto her
starboard side, she careened so that some of the passengers stepped into the sea. Others, dashing along blindly, fell into the hole made by the Thingvalla’. Many were crushed in their berths. The ‘Geiser’ launched three boats, one of which capsized whilst another floated so far away that no-one could jump for it. The third boat was over-laden and was sucked down, reappearing seconds later with no occupants. Meanwhile, the ‘Thingvalla’s’ boats rescued those who were floating on wreckage, namely 14 passengers and 17 crew. The ‘Thingvalla’, disabled and overcrowded with survivors, was relieved at noon by the German steamer ‘Wieland’ which took the passengers to New York, leaving the ‘Thingvalla’ to steam slowly for Halifax, 100 miles distant, where she arrived safely. Captain Moller, of the ‘Geiser’ stood-by his vessel until the last. Just as the stern of his ship disappeared, a wave swept over the bridge and carried him away. He was nearly drowned by the suction of the sinking vessel but managed to fight his way to the surface and clung to an oar for half-an-hour until being rescued by a boat from the ‘Thingvalla’.
 
 

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