''Borrowdale'' was a three-masted,

square rig Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called '' yards'' ...

ged merchant ship, launched in 1785, that served as a storeship of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

, a convoy of 11 ships taking settlers and convicts to establish the first European colony in Australia. She was wrecked in 1789.

Career

''Borrowdale'' was built in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in 1785. She was one of three colliers (the others were and ) owned by George and William Leighton, coal shippers of Sunderland, that the British government contracted to carry stores and provisions to Australia. Previously, the three vessels had carried coal from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

to London. ''Borrowdale'' was one of 11 vessels that made up the First Fleet of settlers to

Botany Bay Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

, departing Britain in 1787. She first appeared in ''Lloyd's Register'' in 1786 with obsonReed, master, Leighton, owner, and trade London-Botany Bay. She left

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

on 13 May 1787, and arrived at

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

, on 20 January 1788. Along with most other ships of the First Fleet, ''Borrowdale'' sailed on to Port Jackson arriving 26 January 1788, after the colonists found Botany Bay unsuitable for settlement. She left Port Jackson on 14 July 1788 to return to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

via

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

. The crew was so badly affected by

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease, disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, ch ...

that the

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

, (Readthorn) Hobson Reed, took her to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, where the harbour master and his men had to bring the ship to its berth. Five of the crew died on the homeward voyage. One of the five was the captain's father, Joseph Reed, a former

master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location o ...

in the coal trade. ''Borrowdale'' arrived at Plymouth from Botany Bay on 25 March 1789.

Career per ''Lloyd's Register''

After returning to England ''Borrowdale'' served as a collier. Unfortunately, information is only as correct and up-to-date as the information vessel owners provided.

Fate

A violent storm developed off the coast of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

on 30 October 1789 that damaged many vessels and sank some. On 31 October 1789 ''Borrowdale'' sank off

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

, taking Reed and all but one man of his crew with her.

Post-script

Urban Transit Authority The Urban Transit Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, was responsible for the operation and maintenance of buses and ferries in Sydney and Newcastle from July 1980 until January 1989. History The Urban ...

First Fleet ferry was named after ''Borrowdale'' in 1985.Sydney Ferries Fleet Facts
Transport for NSW ''Borrowdale'' remains in operation and is run by Sydney Ferries to date (2022).

Citations

References

* *

External links

* {{cite web , url = http://dictionaryofsydney.org/artefact/borrowdale , title = Borrowdale , accessdate = 2 October 2015 , author = Penny Edwell , date = 2015 , work=

Dictionary of Sydney The Dictionary of Sydney is a digital humanities project to produce an online, expert-written encyclopedia of all aspects of the history of Sydney. Description The Dictionary is a partnership between the City of Sydney, the University of Sydney ...

CC-By-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyric ...

] 1785 ships Ships built on the River Wear Ships of the First Fleet Maritime incidents in 1789