''Dorset'' was a merchant ship built by William Porter at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England in 1838. She made a number of voyages around the south east coast of Australia with cargo and undertook one voyage transporting 9 male

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

s to New South Wales.

Career

Under the command of John Mackie, she sailed from

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

on 20 November 1840 and arrived at Sydney on 1 December 1840. She carried passengers and embarked 9 male convicts under the command of three constables. ''Dorset'' departed Port Jackson on 14 December 1840, bound for

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

, with passengers.

Fate

While sailing under the command of Captain Birdwood from Hobart to Melbourne, she was wrecked upon the

Kent Group The Kent Group are a grouping of six granite islands located in Bass Strait, north-west of the Furneaux Group in Tasmania, Australia. Collectively, the group is comprised within the Kent Group National Park. The islands were named Kent's Grou ...

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

on 28 May 1852. There were no deaths.

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorset (1838 ship) 1838 ships Ships built on the River Mersey Convict ships to New South Wales Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Australia Maritime incidents in May 1852