The clipper "White Eagle" sailed from Glasgow, Scotland in April 1855. Her destination - Melbourne Australia. She was one of thousands of vessels which would make the journey from the British Isles to Australia in that era and Melbourne was growing dramatically, fuelled by a gold rush that drew thousands of immigrants from around the world. Of 993 tons, the "White Eagle" carried 42 crew, 13 cabin passengers and 49 in steerage. In her hold was cargo from boilers, bolts and bundles of iron to butter, whiskey, wine, tobacco, cheese and salmon. As she sailed, the Crimean war was raging, the first submarine telegraph lines had been laid paving the way for the communications revolution and cholera had recently struck again in London. Queen Victoria had spent 18 years as Monarch and Napoleon the Third, Emperor of France was about to pay England an Imperial visit. But the emigrants onboard had made a decision to leave behind their country and the lives they knew to travel half way around the world crossing oceans and skirting coastlines which had taken many lives.
In command of The “White Eagle” was 34 year old Captain William Storey Croudace. Born in Leeds in 1821 he had his first command at the age of 21 on the brig "Coquette" sailing from Dundee for Baltic ports. There followed commands on the barque "Asia" and the "Amazon" both under the flag of Alexander Stephen. He obtained his masters ticket in Dundee in 1849. The voyage on the "White Eagle" was his first to Australia and from his log held in the collection of the National Archives we can glean something of a picture of the trials which he, the crew and the emigrants endured on the voyage. No doubt the journey was typical of many others. There was heavy weather, men overboard and crews on the verge of mutiny. Even "ship board romance" played its part.
Captain Croudace's log and Melbourne newspapers sourced from the State Library of Victoria, were the main sources of information. Australian newspapers of the day routinely reported on the "trials and tribulations" of voyages to the colonies and log books were generally a record of issues related to passengers and crew such as births, deaths, injuries or insubordination. As such they provide an insight into this period of history.
It was to be a long voyage of four months to Australia and the ship was not yet out of the St George channel, just off the South West coast of Ireland when the passengers had their first taste of heavy weather and the dangers of the sea. Croudace recorded in his log;
"'Friday April 20th.. St Georges Channel Tuskar S.W. 20 miles...John Lawson Seaman whilst in the act of fitting lashings and preventative straps to the starboard cutter hanging in the davits was accessory to his own death by letting go the bow tackle, whereby the boat fell down end on and precipitated him into the water...immediately the accident transpired the helm was put hard to port and the ship rounded to the wind. the two life buoys were thrown overboard and a second boat lowered...he never rose to the surface...found nothing but his cap.."
Shortly after, issues of the crews health and capabilities surfaced as all settled in for the long haul:"Saturday April 21 Lat 49°N long 10°W John Todd 1st steward found to be totally incapable for his duties and consequently demoted to 2nd steward and his pay reduced to 2 pounds per month at his own request"
"Monday April 23...Lat 41° 50'N Long 16° 00'W John...... seaman off duty caused by the venereal disease, his pay to be stopped during the time he is off duty. the Doctor attending him"
"Tuesday April 24 Lat 41° 00'N Long 17° 10'W William..... seaman off duty caused by the venereal disease his pay to be stopped during the time he is off duty. the Doctor attending him."
For the next five weeks the ship took a course south west across the Atlantic. Judging by the lack of entries in the Captain's log they were without serious incident. But on 26 May off the coast of Brazil she was hit by a storm at 23° 35’s 36°w. The Melbourne "Argus" of 16th August reported:
"she was struck by a heavy sea, that unshipped the wheel and carried away the spokes..."
Captain Croudace recorded:
"William Devonshire was thrown over the wheel and sustained a very serious scalp wound..had him conveyed to the mate’s cabin and the wound sewed up by the surgeon".
He did not return to duty for a month.
In mid-Atlantic at 48°s 24°w they were caught again. The Melbourne "Age" reported :
"she experienced a very violent hurricane having the whole of the poop washed away and 4 feet of water in the saloon for several hours, all the passengers engaged in bailing out. The ship is built with 5 watertight compartments on this occasion there was 2½ feet of water in the main compartment...every soul fore and aft had given up every hope of surviving.."
Again on the 16th June she was caught in a cyclone at 37° 18's 0° 33'w which filled her with water to the height of 4 feet on the deck, split all the sails, stove in a quarter boat and damaged the fore rigging. Captain Croudace made the decision to head for Capetown for repairs and supplies. But it was there that trouble with crew came to a head. In the midst of Atlantic ocean storms it had been a matter of life and death for all to work together. But the safety of port revealed the crew's discontent.
Croudace recorded in his log of 28 June in Simon's Bay south of Cape Town:
"the crew worked very reluctantly and were very noisy, causing great annoyance to the chief and second officer paying little attention to the orders given one man in particular John Bellamy actually hoisted the ensign down and when rebuked...for his impertinence on the poop saying he would do it again. I put him in irons. The whole crew then came aft in a body, leaving their work and very reluctantly returning to it when ordered..."
"Friday 29th. For the peace of the ship I took the men John Bellamy & John Fullarton on shore and discharged them before the magistrate."
But others asked, if it was good for some then why not all?
Later that day Captain Croudace recorded :
"most of the crew were drunk kicking up a noise and making use of disgusting language until nearly 11 o'clock pm rendering themselves incapable of keeping the night watch, which the officers of the ship had to keep for them..."
"Sunday July 1st at 10am. I called (the)men aft explained to them the articles and again asked them if they would wash the decks down. They all refused. Griffiths stating he would rather go to gaol and all stating it was unnecessary work. I told them I would stop a days pay from each and put them on bread and water if they refused. they said they did not care and when I ordered them forward at 8pm they all refused to keep the night watch indeed James Johnstone began disputing the right we had to order them to keep night watch at all..."
"Monday July 2...Samuel Hendry ...refused to do any more duty. Friday June 29...John Sheasby absconded from the boat whilst on shore waiting for the Master, the day previous he had asked..for his discharge and willing to give up his wages stating that the crew had led him such a dogs life he was wretched and could not remain in the ship with them...",
Several of the crew found themselves serving six weeks in Simon's Town prison for their trouble. But with crew numbers made up from on shore the ship set out again for Australia on 14 July. Making good progress and without further serious incident she arrived at Port Phillip heads on 15th August 1855, 29 days out from Capetown and was brought up by the "Lioness" tug steamer to Hobson's Bay.
The Yarra river(below left) and Hobson's Bay(at left)were crowded with steamers and sailing ships, barques and clippers. The editor of the "Age" proclaimed:
"For distances compassing half the globe, like the voyage to Australia, steam has altogether proved a failure, as a motive power; and the winds of heaven, aided by the great modern discovery of circle sailing have beaten the steam engine, and will continue to beat it until science puts on her nightcap again, and invents some principle of propulsion more economical and less cumbrous than filling a vessel almost exclusively with coal, in order to boil water for the purpose of acting upon her complicated machinery. To this cause is owing the splendid fleet of Australian vessels which now sail to and from the Mersey- clipper ships, which for speed and tonnage power are unexampled in the world..."
Beyond the cluttered Yarra river and the disheveled docks it appears Melbourne was developing apace sufficiently for a correspondent of the London "Times" to write glowingly:
"Landing 2 years ago in Melbourne and exposed there to the horrible discomforts which that place represented, I fled to Sydney as a city of refuge...how was I astonished on my recent visit to see the stupendous alterations which had been effected! The wide streets the handsome shops excellent hotels..the torrent of population..and even splendour of some of its buildings were subjects of constant surprise and congratulation. In my humble opinion Melbourne at this present moment presents the most extraordinary instance of the power and enterprise of the human race that the world ever saw.."
Glowing praise from the correspondent. Perhaps extravagant from our modern standpoint. But when it came to anxiously awaited news brought by the "White Eagle" of the war in the Crimea the editor of the "Geelong Advertiser" was cautious to a fault...
"We would not be premature , but taking every precaution to avoid error in the absence of minute data, we hope that the statement transmitted by Electric Telegraph from the Heads, is authentic, yet we cannot overlook the fact that the "White Eagle" calling at the Cape, whither the information was conveyed, should be without more specific data on an all absorbing topic, and yet there is an air of authenticity and subdued narration, that inclines on the fact of the statement to induce credence. If it be a rumour, or invention, it is a very sober one, yet on a former occasion, news from the Crimea, reported to have been derived from the Cape, turned out to be fallacious, a circumstance that we cannot forget, although it does not weigh against the reasonableness of supposing that the information now furnished is correct."
But it seems thoughts of the "old country" and of the distant war in the Crimea were not uppermost in the minds of the "White Eagle"s crew as in the following weeks spent at anchor in Hobson's Bay, Croudace saw their numbers steadily dwindle as they disappeared into Melbourne's bustling dusty streets never to return.
He wrote;
"Friday Aug 17...Alexander Murray steward had permission to go on shore and return the next morning at 6am. He absconded...he had sent his clothes on shore by the steerage passengers..."
"Saturday Aug 18 Gilbert Preston cook asked for permission to go ashore for a pair of boots. 2s was given for their purchase. He absconded...""Tuesday Aug 21 James Gilmour King 3rd steward and John Russell Butcher were discharged by mutual consent..."
"Friday Aug 24 John Duncan, William Devonshire, Alexander Cheap deserted during the night taking their clothes with them with them...intimation was given at the Police Office for their apprehension and a reward of two pounds for each offered."
"Tuesday Aug 28..William McIntosh Boatswain Peter Giffard Seamen and James Welsh ditto. Deserted during the night ..."
"Saturday Sept 1 Joshua Young apprentice had liberty to spend a week on shore with his uncles, after remaining with them six days he absconded and was not found up to the date of the ship's departure from Melbourne"
Even family ties, it seems, mattered not. Captain Croudace's nephews Alfred and William Jessop were serving as apprentices on the "White Eagle" but he noted in his log:
"Sunday Sept 2 Robert Henderson, Sailmaker and Alfred Jessop Apprentice deserted taking a lighters boat...two pounds reward for their apprehension..."Had Alfred told his brother William, of what he intended to do? Why did a boy of 16 decide to desert ship on the other side of the world leaving behind all he knew? It seems the reason was young Sarah Nixon, a steerage passenger traveling with her parents. We know because a little over a year later they were married and 17 year old Alfred had suddenly become 21. After a few years in Melbourne they left for the goldfields of Ballarat where Alfred would make his living in the mines. Did he ever see or hear from his brother or his family in England again?
The "White Eagle" departed for Calcutta on 20 September with a cargo of 1,450 sovereigns.
Captain Croudace's final log entry on departing:"Port Phillip Heads Sept 20th ..None of the deserters were recovered their places were partly filled up by Lascars and Europeans.."
The "White Eagle" returned to London via Calcutta arriving on 16 May 1856 more than one year after departing Glasgow.
Captain Croudace returned to Australia in 1866 with the 1199 ton clipper "Corona" (at left) carrying over 300 convicts- with 30 guards and their families- to the Swan River Colony - later to become Perth, Western Australia. In charge of the convicts on that voyage was Royal Navy Surgeon Superintendent William Crawford. His journal gives us an indication of the conditions onboard:
"1866 Sept 6th Surgeon Superintendent went on shore to inspect the prisoners. During his absence 98 convicts arrived from Chatham 1 PM. One of the crew seized with Cholera sent on shore...weighed anchor at 4am..."
"Sept 12th Barracks and prison to be whitewashed twice a week with Chloride of Lime...to be frequently applied to all parts off the ship. All secretions from stomach and bowel to be disinfected"
"Sept 14th Very rough all last night...3AM strong squall....many seasick. Wine issued for the first time.."
"Sept 15th....Prisoner 7604 William Sharp very sick. His bedding & clothing thrown overboard"
"Sept 16th....Prisoners no 7811 Enoch Gibson and no 7037 Alexander McCulloch suffering from Diarrhea with cramps and symptoms of Cholera..."
"Sept 17th....William Sharp departed this life...body of William Sharp taken on shore"
"Sept 20th Prisoner No 7564 Owen King suffering from Choleraic Diarrhea"
"Sept 23rd Divine service in the prison...11.15PM Enoch Gibson departed this life...wine issued to all hands"
"Oct 8th (off Motherbank) Prisoners no 7561 Owen King and no 7818 Momas Jones sent on shore by order of the secretary of state....79 convicts embarked at 3PM "
"Oct 12th off Portland 133 convicts embarked"
"Oct 13th off Portland Compressed vegetables issued Convicts writing to their friends"
"Oct 17th Very rough during the night. Most of the prisoners sick. Wine issued to all at 1.20PM Much rain today..".
"Oct 24th 3.15PM The wife of guard Casey safely of a daughter... wine and vegetables issued...."
"Oct 25th 6.30AM The wife of Serg Hughes...delivered of a son..."
"Nov 4th 10.50AM One of the ships company overboard life buoy thrown out to him immediately by which he was supported until ...(reached)..by the ships boat which was lowered...without delay"
"Nov 8th...7.50AM..7718 Thomas Hinson ....departed this life....3.30PM Thomas Hinson buried carried by his three mates"
A discovery on the 26th of November indicated the resourcefulness of some of the convicts:
"This evening (on going his usual rounds) the carpenter discovered about two inches of the between deck plank on the port side forward drawn through and several small holes bored through the adjacent planks forming in shape a square , evidently intended to form a hatch sufficiently large for the passage of a man's body. On examining the upper surface of the deck, in the convicts quarters not the least trace of a cut or abrasion of the plank could be seen so ingeniously had the same been filled with waste paper and soap; and only by pushing up a wire from below, could the place be found. It was situated under the bottom board of one of the convicts beds, no doubt another day or two would have completed it & admitted the convicts into the hold. On questioning the men...in and over the place, they denied all knowledge of it, but the deed being of such a serious nature....the two men occupying the berths over the place, and the Captain of the Mess were selected by the Surgeon Superintendent for Corporal punishment and at noon this was carried into execution as follows No 456 Hugh McGriskin 18 lashes No 9311 George Egan 24 lashes No 275 John Barker 24 lashes
"Dec 23rd At Fremantle 9.30am The Hon: the Controller(?) General, and the Hon: the Commandant, arrived onboard and inspected the ship...made arrangements for the dis-embarkation of the prisoners and guard tomorrow the 24 inst commencing 6am..."
William Crawford's journal entries give us an idea of the harshness of the conditions endured by the convicts. The Superintendent's "Punishment list" shows there was a regular routine of punishment meted out for convicts misdemeanours with the most severe dealt out for the attempted incursion into the ship's hold. Others punished usually suffered one or more days solitary confinement with bread and water for "crimes" ranging from foul language and smoking between decks to washing clothes between decks or gambling "beneath the forecastle". Certainly amongst the convicts were the petty pick pockets of convict "folklore" but there were also serious criminals - rapists and killers- setting foot in the colony. What would be their legacy in the new land?
The "Corona" sailed on to Calcutta picking up 433 Indian workers destined for the fields of Jamaica. Ironically, of them 14 died en route- a higher death toll than amongst the convicts. By October 1868 the "Corona" was lying in East India Dock and an advertisement in the "Times" extolled the virtues of the ship's "full poop with excellent accommodation for passengers" for a voyage to Port Phillip under Captain Croudace.
The Melbourne "Argus" of 22 February 1869 provided an account of that voyage.
"The fine clipper ship Corona, Captain William S Croudace, which was advised as having sailed from Plymouth in November last for this port with immigrants, arrived in the bay yesterday afternoon. The Corona left with 446 passengers- men, women and children- and this number has increased to 448, two infants having been born during the voyage."
"The passengers have come out some of them under the bounty system, and others as assisted immigrants and are classified as follows:-Married couples, 65; single men, 107; single women, 204; children of all ages 65. They have all arrived in excellent health, and in so far as appearance goes will compare favourably with those who have been brought to this colony of late. The arrangements for the accommodation of so large a number of people are in every way satisfactory, and the attention paid by Captain Croudace to the welfare of those on board is very creditable. The medical supervision of the passengers has been entrusted to Dr Robert Newbold, who has long experience in immigrant ships to nearly all the Australian colonies, and who came out here last year in the Vimlera."
"The single women have been under the care of Miss Robertson, who has been matron for a number of voyages in immigrant ships bound to Sydney. The quiet conduct and orderly demeanour of the passengers during the voyage was favourably mentioned by Captain Croudace. The Corona sailed from Plymouth on November 23, and experienced contrary winds to the line, which was crossed on December 26, in lon. 25deg W. Favourable S.E. trades were fallen in with to lat 25deg S, and the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope was passed on January 20 in lat 44deg. 30min S. The easting was run down between lat 41deg and 42deg ; moderate N.W. and W. winds having prevailed to the meridian of Cape Leuwin, which was passed on the 7th inst. Since then the voyage has been delayed by N.E, and E. winds, with frequent calms. The Corona is consigned to Messrs Fenwick Brothers and will discharge at the Victorian Railway pier."
In 1850 Captain Croudace had married Elsie Stephen, daughter of Scottish shipbuilder Alexander Stephen -owner of the "White Eagle" and "Corona" - and it was perhaps that connection which enabled him to retire from the sea around 1870. He then turned his hand to the science of nautical navigation with his invention of the "Croudace stellar azimuth compass" and "ordnance night sight vane" or "collimator" as well as the publication of a number of works on the topic.
But his principal business was in the acquisition of his own fleet of ships. Amongst them were the "Broomhall" the steel barques "Procyon"(1892)"Castor"(1886) and "Orion"(1890) and the tanker "Pollux"(1887). There were also interests in the whaling vessels "Mysanthean", "Triune" and "Cornwallis" all of which were lost. Another of his vessels the "St Enoch" under the command of Captain Browse, departed Dundee in March 1878 with two thousand tons of coal en route for Calcutta. Last sighted off Dover she and her 33 hands were never seen again. That and the fate of his two sons reminds us of the enormous toll of lives and ships which was taken by the sea in those days. His sons both were mariners and both died at sea-Captain John Stephen Croudace on the "Orion" in 1897 and Lawrence Croudace on "Rover" in 1886. Captain Croudace though having survived many years at sea, died himself on a Dundee train at the age of 73 still working to his last day.
The Crew of the "White Eagle", Glasgow April 18th 1855
Captain William Storey Croudace
Charles Allardyce -Mate
John Neilson 2nd mate
John Grant Carpenter
William McIntosh Boatswain
Robert Henderson Sailmaker
John Todd 1st steward
Alexander Murray 2nd steward
James Gilmour King 3rd steward
Gilbert Preston 1st cook
John Russell 2nd cook
Peter Annandale Seaman
John Rowman "
Thomas Davies "
John M Fullarton "
John Duncan "
William Keddie "
William Hughes "
John Bellamy "
Gilman Gordon "
William Griffiths "
James Smith "
George King "
John Lawson "
Thomas Williams "
James Johnstone "
Alexander Cheap "
Peter Giffard "
William Devonshire "
Samuel Hendry "
James Dunlop Groom
John Sheasby Seaman
George Marius "
James Welsh "
Alfred Jessop Apprentice
William Jessop "
Joshua Young "
William Storey Croudace.
certificate 1583 Dundee 1849 Ex 1st class.
Ships captained:
Harkaway 1852-1854 Ei, Ct
White Eagle 1855-1856 Aust, M
King Lear 27151, 1860-61 Aust, Ei, C, N.P
Corona 52575 1866-1868, 1877? Aust, CP, Ei
C: China Japan Korea
Ct: Coastal trade Holland Belgium France
CP: Cape Colonies Ascencion St Helena
Ei :East Indies Burmah Mauritius Red Sea
NP: North Pacific and West Coast of North America
Harkaway
9/11/1853 passed Deal from Shoreham for Hartlepool
3/2/1854 in British Guiana
16/2/1854 arr Liverpool from Charleston
16/3/1854 passed Deal from Table Bay for London
White Eagle :
993 tons, built 1855 Glasgow, builders Stephen&?
iron sailing ship. 199ft long, breadth 31ft, 20.8ft depth
April 15 1855 departed Glasgow
August 16 1855arrived Port Phillip heads .
6/6/56 passed Deal from London for Balaclava
3/7/56 off the island of Pantellaria bound for Constantinople(spoken “Lion”)
King Lear
9/3/1860 of London bound south 9s 33w(off the east coast of south America)
22/2/1861 off Plymouth from Bombay
25/2/1861 arr Gravesend from Bombay
Corona: 1199 tons, 209.6ft long, 35ft breadth, 22ft depth, built 1866 Stephen, Dundee, Owner Stephen & co. Port Dundee.
5/9/1866 sailed from Gravesend for Swan River colony with 300 convicts.
16/10/1866 dep Portland for Swan River
Surgeons journal William Crawford AJCP 3181
23/12/1866 arr WA
4/5/1867 lat 35°s 22° 40 e, from Calcutta for Jamaica, 51 days out.
7/1867 Kingston with 433 “coolies” from Calcutta (14 deaths on the voyage)
10/9/1868 passed Deal in tow for London
9/11/1868 departed Gravesend for Port Phillip 452 passengers
21/2/1869 arrived Port Phillip
The Melbourne "Argus", Shipping Intelligence, August 16, 1855 & 22 February 1869. State Library of Victoria.
Surgeons Journal for the convict ship "Corona". State Library of NSW. Microfilm AJCP 3181.
Captain Croudace's obituary from the "Dundee Year Book" 1894 kindly supplied by the Dundee Central Library, The Wellgate, Dundee DD1 1DB.
Photograph of the "White Eagle" reproduced by kind permission of the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/ , image no 180814.
The following images reproduced by kind permission of the State Library of Victoria, Brodie Collection, Latrobe Picture Collection:"Hobson's Bay", 1853,SLV image no bs001751.
"The Yarra below the falls",1858,Daintree, Richard et al, SLV image no b22444.
"Bourke st Melbourne" 1858, Daintree, Richard et al, SLV image no b22436
"Early Melbourne", Swanston st 1860, Sear's Studios, SLV image no b51973.
"Corona", SLV image no bs001649.
Copyright © Philip Eagles October 2006
philipeaglesrocket@hotmail