Mersey (1801 ship)
History | |
---|---|
Name: | Mersey |
Namesake: | River Mersey |
Builder: | Chittagong |
Launched: | 1801 |
Fate: | Lost 1804 |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Ship |
Tons burthen: | 300,[1] or 350[2] (bm) |
Propulsion: | Sail |
Complement: | 73[2] |
Armament: | 10 guns[2] |
Notes: | Teak built. |
Mersey was a ship launched at Chittagong in 1801 and wrecked in the Torres Strait, Australia, about mid-June 1804. [3]
Mersey was built in Chittagong in 1801 and registered at Fort William, India. At the time of her loss her captain and owner was James Wilson.
Philip Gidley King, governor of New South Wales, chartered her to purchase 250 cows from Bengal and deliver them to Hobart, Tasmania. Afterwards, Mersey left Port Jackson on 24 May 1804 for Bengal with a cargo of 1632 feet of timber.[2] While passing through the Torres Strait, Mersey was totally wrecked. Only 17 crew and the captain were saved by sailing in a longboat to Timor; 56 others drowned. After refitting the longboat at Dili the survivors reached Bencoolen from where they sailed to Madras on an Acehen vessel. Captain Wilson arrived in Calcutta 20 September 1804 on board Margaret, from Madras.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
See also
Citations and references
Citations
- ↑ Phipps (1840), pp.176 & 189.
- 1 2 3 4 Bladen 1897), p.535.
- ↑ The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sunday 25 November 1804 p3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article626518
- ↑ The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sunday 27 May 1804 p4 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article626216
- ↑ The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sunday 14 April 1805 p2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article626718
- ↑ Australian Shipwrecks - vol1 1622-1850, Charles Bateson, AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, ISBN 0-589-07112-2 p40
- ↑ Shipping arrivals and departures, Sydney, 1788-1825, J.S. Cumpston
- ↑ National Shipwrecks database "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
References
- Bladen, Frank Murcot (ed.) (1897) Historical Records of New South Wales, Volume 5. (C. Potter)
- Phipps, John, (of the Master Attendant's Office, Calcutta), (1840) A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time .... (Scott).