''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 purchased her to send out on their First Fleet of South Australia, first fleet 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 Yard, Blackwall, and sailed down the English Channel 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, William Light#Maria Gandy, Maria Gandy, Light's common-law wife (referred to as his housekeeper), and her young brothers, Edward and William, Thomas Gepp, Robert Goddard, William Hodges, Caroline Jacob#Family, 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, Tasmania, 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 early in the morning of 14 January 1841 while on a voyage from Port Jackson (Sydney), to qing dynasty, China. 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.

Recognition

*Mr. Roper, harbormaster at Second Valley, South Australia, Second Valley, found an anchor at Rapid Bay that was believed to be the one ''Rapid'' lost. *The South Australian Maritime Museum 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