Marquis of Wellington (1801 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name: | Marquis of Wellington |
| Owner: | MacCullum & Co., or D. Isbister & Co.[1] |
| Builder: | Edward Bacon[1] |
| Launched: | 22 December 1801, Calcutta, India |
| Fate: | Wrecked March 1818 at Margate |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 653,[2] or 63634⁄94[1] (bm) |
| Length: | 124 feet 9 inches (38.0 m)[1] (keel) |
| Beam: | 34 feet 11 inches (10.6 m)[1] |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 53 |
| Armament: | 12 guns |
Marquis of Wellington was a 653-ton sailing ship built in 1801 at Calcutta, India. She made one and possibly two voyages for the British East India Company. She was returning to England in 1818 when she was wrecked there.
Career
She made one trip for the British East India Company (EIC), in which she transported convicts to New South Wales and then carried a cargo back from China to Portsmouth. On this voyage she made the first recorded European contact with Mokil Atoll (Mwoakilloa Atoll).
Under the command of George Betham (or Bitham), she sailed from Portsmouth, England, on 1 September 1814,[2] with 199 male convicts. A detachment from the 46th Regiment of Foot provided the guard; the regiment was transferring to Australia to replace the 73rd Regiment of Foot (1st Battalion Highlanders). On 11 November Marquis of Wellington reached Rio de Janeiro.[3] She then stayed there for some three weeks.
Marquis of Wellington arrived at Port Jackson on 27 January 1815.[2] One male convict died on the voyage.[4]
Marquis of Wellington left Port Jackson on 4 April, bound for China.[5] She sighted Pohnpei, and on 7 May Betham made the first recorded sighting of Mokil (Mwoakilloa Atoll), at 6°4′N 159°48′E / 6.067°N 159.800°E.,[6] naming it "Wellington Group" after his ship,[7] The name persisted for some years thereafter.[8]
Marquis of Wellington arrived at Whampoa on 4 June. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 12 July. She reached Batavia on 5 September and St Helena on 10 November, before arriving back at Portsmouth on 26 December.[3]
Fate
On 21 November 1817, Lloyd's List reported that Marquis of Wellington, Nichols, master, had arrived at Bengal in a damaged state and been taken into dock. She was expected to be able to take on a cargo in June.[9] Marquis of Wellington was driven onshore on 4 March 1818 on the Mouse Sand, with the loss of two masts, when she was caught in a gale that also caused difficulties to many other vessels along the coast of England.[10] Five days later she was abandoned as a total wreck.[1] Marquis of Wellington, Nichols, master, had been sailing from Bengal to London. Part of her cargo was gotten off and taken to Whitstable and Margate.[11]
Citations
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hackman (2001), p.296.
- 1 2 3 Bateson (1974), pp.290-1.
- 1 2 National Archives: Marquis of Wellington (2) - accessed 29 July 2015
- ↑ Bateson (1974) p.327.
- ↑ "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891, p.17. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ↑ Foreign Ships in Micronesia: Pohnpei - accessed 29 July 20-15
- ↑ Anthony (1996), p.4.
- ↑ Herzel (1994), p.84.
- ↑ Lloyd's List, n° 5231.
- ↑ Lloyd's List, n°5260.
- ↑ Lloyd's List, n° 5261, dated 10 March 1818.
References
- Anthony, Stephen S. (1996) Hydrogeology and ground-water resources of Kahlap Island, Mwoakilloa Atoll, State of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. (U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey).
- Bateson, Charles, The Convict Ships, 1787-1868, Sydney, 1974. ISBN 0-85174-195-9
- Hackman, Rowan (2001) Ships of the East India Company. (Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society). ISBN 0-905617-96-7
- Hezel, Francis X. (1994) The First Taint of Civilization: A History of the Caroline and Marshall Islands in Pre-colonial Days, 1521-1885. (University of Hawaii). ISBN 978-0824816438