| Career ( Australia) | |
|---|---|
| In service: | 1799 |
| Out of service: | 1803 |
| Fate: | Sunk |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Brig |
| Propulsion: | sail |
| Complement: | 15 men |
| Armament: | 10 guns |
| Notes: | Built of English oak[1] |
The Margaret was a British-built Australian brig that was wrecked in 1803.
The Margaret was constructed in London in 1799 and registered to a company called Turnbull & Co, carrying a crew of fifteen and fitted with ten guns. John Buyers and John Turnbull, who had known each other from a 1799 voyage to China on the Barwell entered a venture with some London merchants to explore trade options. The ship left London on 2 July 1801 and arrived in Sydney in February 1802.[1] Commanded by Buyers, it left Sydney on 5 June 1802 bound for the Society Islands on a seal hunting expedition. Along the voyage the ship was the first European to discover both Makemo, Taenga, and rediscover Nukutepipi in March 1803. On 17 April 1803 the Margaret was grounded on a reef. The mast was cut away but by midnight the ship was abandoned. The crew reached shore in a small boat, which was promptly stolen by natives, with two of the crew being speared. The crew constructed two small boats from the wreck and sailed off the island, eventually making it back to Sydney by 30 September 1803.[2]