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by aukepalmhof » Thu Oct 10, 2013 8:29 pm
1816 Built on the Hooghly River at Howrah, Calcutta, India of Bengal teak.
83 Tons, dim. 55 x 18½ft.
Armament 1 – 6pdr. muzzle loader.
30 September 1817 she arrived in Sydney most probably all under the name MERMAID.
16 December 1817 sold to the British Government for £2.000 the same year, to use her for survey work on the southern and western coast of Australia. She is now known as HM cutter MERMAID.
22 December 1817 under command of the Navy Lieutenant Philip Parker King and a crew of 14 she sailed from Sydney for her first survey voyage. On board were also the botanist Allen Cunningham, and an aborigine from Port Jackson with the name Boongaree.
The instructions for King were a voyage of discovery, and to survey the western coast of Australia, the MERMAID was provisioned for a voyage for 9 months, and had fresh water on board for 12 weeks.
After clearing Sydney she sailed to Bass Strait, after a few days out she discovered that all the bread on board was moldy and had to be rationed.
01 February 1818 she rounded Cape Leeuwin and course was set to the northwest for the North West Cape, the crew got dysentery and only 4 men were able to keep watch.
10 February at anchor off the cape she lost an anchor and the remainder of the voyage she could use only one anchor. 12 February a fluke broke from the second anchor when the wind strengthened during the night.
Three days later she arrived in a secure anchorage, which they named the Bay of Rest.
After a few days at this anchorage she sailed northeast along the coast and on the 25th she arrived at Rosemary Island.
Till 31 May they survey the coast in the direction of Cape Arnhem.
04 June she anchored at the Dutch settlement Kupang, on the island of Timor. From there King send a report to the British Admiralty by a vessel sailing to Batavia.
After leaving Kupang the crew got again dysentery, and while crossing the Great Bight they were constantly wet with the continual seas breaking over the tiny vessel.
24 Re entered the Bass Strait were one sailor died, the MERMAID anchored again in Sydney Cove on 25 July 1818 after a voyage of 31 weeks and 3 days.
She made an other exploring and survey voyage again under command of King along the coast of Australia, sailed on 12/13 January 1820 from Port Jackson and was back at this port on 3-4 July 1821.
Altogether she made 4 survey and exploration voyages on the coast of Australia till 1822.
16 October 1822 sailed from Port Jackson under command of Capt. J.R.Kent bound for the Sandwich Islands, she returned on 24 January 1823.
At that time the flax export from New Zealand was important for that country and the next voyage the MERMAID sailed with the instructions to investigate if the flax was growing in other places than already known, or if it was possible to plant the flax in other regions of New Zealand. During this voyage she would buy so much flax as possible from the Maori.
08 May 1823 sailed from Port Jackson under command of Capt. Kent, and after a stormy passage across the Tasman Sea at least on 22 May the Solander Islands were sighted, not possible to go nearer to the coast due to the bad weather the cutter was kept offshore the next 6 days, in which she lost some sails and rigging.
At least on 29 May the weather did improve so much that she could make some headway, and at 15.00 that day she dropt anchor at Masons Harbour, New Zealand.
After a few days looking around for flax, what not was found, she sailed for Dusky Sound where she arrived on 3 June, stayed at this place till 10 June looking for flax, and not any plant was found.
Then the MERMAID headed for Doubtful Sound but strong winds and high seas forced them to alter course to a southerly course to Chalky Bay and from this place she sailed to Ruapuke Island where she arrived on 18 June.
At this place the first flax was found and the crew cut, and bought flax from the local Maori.
14 July she sailed from this place bound for Port Jackson.
Late 1823 used by John Oxley during his discovery and exploration of the Rivers Tweed, Nerang and Brisbane, the latter river was named in honour of Sir Thomas Brisbane.
Oxley surveyed also Point Curtis and Moreton Bay in the MERMAID.
29 June 1824 sailed under command of Capt. Hall for Hobart Town, from this port she sailed on 18 July bound for New Zealand, on board was Mr. Busby an engineer with heavy salvage equipment, to salvage the colonial brig ELIZABETH HENRIETTA who had grounded on Goulbourn Isl., Foveaux Strait.
After arrival in 26 days Mr. Busy got the brig afloat again, and both ships set sail for the Bay Of Islands, New Zealand.
12 March 1825 The MERMAID was back in Port Jackson with on board 25-ton flax.
1825 Used to transport convicts to Norfolk Island.
Her last voyage was under command of Capt. Nolbrow, when she on 10 May 1829 sailed from Sydney for Port Raffles in the Northern Territory. Nolbrow got his sailorders to follow the inshore passage to Torres Strait, but apparently, he did not do.
Midnight on 12-13 June she was abreast of Double Point to the north of Innisfall. The mate John Hastings whose watch it was suggested at 03.30 am to Capt. Nolbrown to heave to until daylight. Nolbrown refused and when he came on deck at 04.00 he ordered the helmsman to keep his course, at 05.15 the helmsman told the captain that he could not more see the points of the compass in the binnacle, due to that the light had been dowsed or gone out. The captain refused to relit the light, and about twenty minutes later the vessel struck what is believed to be the Frankland’s Reef.
All sail was set to drive her over the reef, she made some headway again but struck again, pounding heavily on the reef. When daylight came it was seen that she was on the weather side of a reef, extending about 1½ mile to the east and the west of the vessel and ahead of her.
The whaleboat was launched and soundings were made, they found that deep water was found about half a cable length astern.
The MERMAID grounded around high water, and when they tried to get her off with a kedge anchor it failed, even after they jettisoned some cargo. The MERMAID made not much water at that time but when at 05.30 pm Nolbrow ordered to set all sails to drive her over the reef, but within 10 minutes the sea hove her over on her beam ends, and within a few minutes four feet of water was in the hold.
The wind and sea increased and at 08.00 pm the MERMAID was abandoned. The crew spent the night in the boats, which were almost swamped in the bad weather and high seas.
When daylight came they landed on an island.
24 June after eleven days in the boats the crew was picked up by the ADMIRAL GIFFORD and later transferred to the SWIFTSURE, but she was within eighteen hours also wrecked.
Both crews were picked up by the RESOURCE and were safely landed at Port Raffles on 20 July.
The report made after the inquiry in the loss of the MERMAID blamed most of her loss on Capt. Nolbrown failure to save the ship, the report was endorsed by the Governor with the remark, ‘Not (Nolbrown) to be again employed’.
Australia 1963 $2 sg 360. 1966 $2 sg 403 and 1999 45c sg MS 1852.
Norfolk Islands 1967 7c sg82. 1975 sg163.
Source: The Dog Watch 1982 page 80. Australian Shipwrecks 1622-1850 by Bateson.
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