''Rapid'' was a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

launched in 1821 or 1826 at Yarmouth. In 1836 she brought

William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839) was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He was the first Surveyor General of South Australia, Surveyor-General of the History of South Australia#British preparation for est ...

's surveying party to the new colony of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. She was wrecked in 1841.

History

''Rapid'' was built in 1826 at Yarmouth, and featured a carved figurehead in the shape of a

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

. She first appeared in ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...

'' (''LR'') in 1826 with William Joy, master, Priest & Co., owner, and trade Yarmouth–Hull.''LR'' (1826), Supple. pages "R", Seq.№R21.
/ref> The next year her owner became Brest and her trade became Hull–St Petersburg.

South Australia

The board of commissioners of the

South Australian Company The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the So ...

purchased her to send out on their

first fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

to establish the Colony of South Australia and the city of Adelaide. The company added a deck for passenger exercise, but as the height between decks was , it was hardly luxurious. On 1 May 1836, ''Rapid'' left Blackwall, and sailed down the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

under the command of Col.

; she reached Kangaroo Island on 17 August 1836. Light's crew included Lieut. G. M. Field, R.N. (first officer), Lieut. (later Admiral) William S. Pullen (second officer), Lieut. R. Hill (third officer) and Thomas Woodforde (surgeon). Other members of the party were William Bell, W. Bradley, Robert Buck snr, Robert Buck jnr, William Chatfield, George Childs, William Claughton, John Duncan, William Freemantle, Maria Gandy, Light's

common-law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prec ...

wife (referred to as his housekeeper), and her young brothers, Edward and William, Thomas Gepp, Robert Goddard, William Hodges, William Jacob, William Lawes, James Lewis, George Mildred, Hiram Mildred, George Penton, and Robert G. Thomas, John Thorn, John Thorpe, William Tuckey. ''Rapid'' was used for survey work at Port Adelaide, and in 1837 sailed to England under Capt. William George Field with G. S. Kingston on board to report to the Colonisation Commissioners on the needs of the Survey Department. She returned to Adelaide in June 1838. She subsequently made several trips to Launceston, Van Diemen's Land. ''Lloyd's Register'' for 1841 (published in 1840), still carried her master as Light and her owner as the Australian Company.''Lloyd's Register'' (1841), Seq.№64.
/ref>

Fate

In 1840 ''Rapid'' was sold to Capt. Arthur Devlin. She was wrecked on a coral island near

Rotuma Rotuma () is a self-governing heptarchy, generally designated a Local government in Fiji, dependency of Fiji. Rotuma commonly refers to the Rotuma Island, the only permanently inhabited and by far the largest of all the islands in the Rotuma Gro ...

early in the morning of 14 January 1841 while on a voyage from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

(

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

), to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. All on board were rescued by Capt. Joseph Underwood of the whaling barque ''Avon'', but not before their cargo and valuables had been appropriated by the island's

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

Recognition

*Mr. Roper, harbormaster at Second Valley, found an anchor at

Rapid Bay Rapid Bay is a locality that includes a small seaside town and bay on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It lies within the District Council of Yankalilla and its township is approximately 100 km south of the stat ...

that was believed to be the one ''Rapid'' lost. *The

South Australian Maritime Museum The South Australian Maritime Museum is a state government museum, part of the History Trust of South Australia. The museum opened in 1986 in a collection of historic buildings in the heart of Port Adelaide, South Australia's first heritage pre ...

holds an oil painting of ''Rapid'' by Doreen Bice (niece of J. G. Bice) after a watercolor sketch by Colonel Light. *A number of Adelaide citizens claim descent from passengers on ''Rapid''. Those listed in 1936 were: Mr. Alfred Barker, Mrs. Dean Berry, Mrs. Mary L. Brown, Mr. Malcolm Collins. Misses M. K. and R. Cussen, Mrs. F. Martin. Miss Florence Mildred, Mrs. L. Wray, Mrs. Percival Stow, Mrs. Annie Ross, Mrs. Willis, Dr. Helen Mayo, Miss Mayo, Mr. Hubert Mayo. K.C., Dr. John Mayo. Miss O'Halloran, Miss E. K. Barker. Miss Emily Penton, Mrs. F. M. Pratt, Mrs. M. Stenhouse, Mrs. F. J. Sweetapple and Mrs. H. W. Wunderley.

References

{{1841 shipwrecks Brigs of Australia 1821 ships Shipwrecks of Fiji Maritime incidents in January 1841 Age of Sail merchant ships of England Ships sunk with no fatalities