''Scarborough'' was a double-decked, three-masted, ship-rigged,
copper-sheathed,
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...
that participated in 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 ...
, assigned to
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
convicts
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 conv ...
for the European
colonisation of Australia
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
in 1788. Also, the
British East India company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
(EIC) chartered ''Scarborough'' to take a cargo of tea back to Britain after her two voyages transporting convicts. She spent much of her career as a
West Indiaman
West Indiaman was a general name for any merchantman sailing ship making runs from the Old World to the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas. These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the Atlantic ...
, trading between London and the West Indies, but did perform a third voyage in 1801–02 to Bengal for the EIC. In January 1805 she repelled a French privateer of superior force in a
single-ship action
A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions.
Single-shi ...
, before foundering in April.
Early career
''Scarborough'' spent her first four years transporting timber from the Baltic and North America. She first enters ''
Lloyd's Register
Lloyd's Register Group Limited (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 and education in science and ...
'' in 1783. Her entry gives her burthen as 600 tons (bm), her master as "Scorbdle", her owner as T. Hooper, and her trade as "London Transport".
[''Lloyd's Register'' (1783), Seq. №301.]
/ref> The next year John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
replaced Scorbdale as master.
In 1787 south London shipbroker
Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators (i.e. brokers) between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers an ...
William Richards chartered ''Scarborough'' for the First Fleet voyage at a rate of 12 shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...
s per ton (bm) per month. He selected her after first consulting with Royal Marine
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
officers Watkin Tench
Lieutenant General Watkin Tench (6 October 1758 – 7 May 1833) was a British marine officer who is best known for publishing two books describing his experiences in the First Fleet, which established the first European settlement in Australia in ...
and David Collins David Collins may refer to:
Persons
* David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer
* David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967)
* David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?)
* David Collins (Australian footballer) ...
. Both marine officers would sail with the Fleet to Australia, Tench as a captain of marines and Collins as judge-advocate for the new colony. She was the second-largest transport selected for the Fleet after .
After selection, ''Scarborough'' sailed to Deptford dockyard to be refitted for convict transportation under the supervision of Naval Agent George Teer. The height between decks was increased to amidships and between and fore and aft, and tw
windsails
were brought aboard to improve the flow of air in the convict quarters. Bulkheads were also fitted to separate convict quarters from those of the marines and crew, and space set aside for stores and a sick bay. An Osbridge machine was also installed to filter ''Scarborough''s drinking water during the voyage to New South Wales. Teer was entirely satisfied with ''Scarborough''s fitout; in December 1786 he advised the Navy Board that she and her fellow First Fleet transports were "completed fitted ithprovisions and accommodations .. better than any other set of transports I have ever had any directions in."
''Scarborough''s crew as a convict transport was approximately 35 men including her master, three mates, a boatswain
A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervis ...
and a ship's surgeon.
Voyage with the First Fleet
On her first convict voyage, as part of the First Fleet, her 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 ...
was John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
and her surgeon was Dennis Considen. 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, carrying 208 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 conv ...
s, together with officers and 34 other ranks of the New South Wales Marine Corps. On the way Marshall suspected that the convicts had a plan to mutiny. An informer named two ringleaders, whom Marshall then transferred to . There they received 24 lashes each and then were again transferred, this time to . She arrived at Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman S ...
, Sydney, on 26 January 1788.
On leaving Port Jackson on 6 May 1788, in company with ''Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
'', she travelled to China. On 17 May 1788 the two ships landed at Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Po ...
for birds and vegetables, then sailed for Whampoa. En route, the ships became the first European vessels to pass among the Marshall and Gilbert Gilbert may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Gilbert (surname), including a list of people
Places Australia
* Gilbert River (Queensland)
* Gilbert River (South A ...
islands. Further north, they made landfall on Tinian
Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...
in the Northern Marianas, where both ships were forced to anchor. The long sea voyage had depleted ''Scarborough''s stores, and scurvy had become rampant among her crew. Fifteen of the sickest men were brought ashore on Tinian and housed in tents on the dunes, while the remainder of the crew foraged for food. While anchored off Tinian, both vessels were nearly blown onto shore by strong winds, but disaster was averted when their captains decided to cut the anchor ropes and raise sail to move off shore.
After several weeks recovery on Tinian, ''Scarborough''s crew had returned to sufficient health for the voyage to resume. In easy sailing weather, ''Scarborough'' and ''Charlotte'' reached Macau on 9 September and Whampoa shortly afterwards. There the EIC chartered them as an "extra ship". They received cargoes of tea and made ready to sail to England. Departing Whampoa on 17 December, the ships reached St. Helena by 20 March 1789 and arrived in England on 15 June.[
]
Voyage with the Second Fleet
''Scarborough'' returned to New South Wales with the notorious Second Fleet. In company with and , she sailed from England with 253 male convicts on 19 January 1790. Her master was again John Marshall and the surgeon was Augustus Jacob Beyer.
On the 18 February, several convicts plotted a mutiny. They chose as their leader Samuel Burt, who revealed the plot to the ship's officers. The plotters were interrogated, and several were severely flogged. Others were chained to the deck.
''Scarborough'' arrived at the Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...
on 13 April 1790, and spent 16 days there, taking on provisions, and eight male convicts from , which had been wrecked after striking an iceberg. She and ''Neptune'' parted from ''Surprize'' in heavy weather and arrived at Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman S ...
on 28 June - 160 days out from England. During the voyage 68 convicts died and 96 (37%) were sick when landed. After landing, a total of 124 convicts who had arrived in Port Jackson succumbed to disease. She also brought with her two officers and 38 soldiers.
''Scarborough'' returned to England in 1792, via China.
Later service
''Scarborough''s Pacific voyages had left her increasingly decrepit and in need of repairs to her hull. In 1792 she was re-sheeted to remove damage caused by shipworm
The shipworms are marine bivalve molluscs in the family Teredinidae: a group of saltwater clams with long, soft, naked bodies. They are notorious for boring into (and commonly eventually destroying) wood that is immersed in sea water, including ...
, and then plied between London and St. Petersburg.[''Lloyd's Register'', 1796-1805.] Further repairs were undertaken in 1795 and 1798.[ In 1800 to 1801, under Captain J. Scott, she shuttled back and forth between London and the Caribbean, carrying trade goods and provisions for British colonies including St. Vincents, with extensive repairs between voyages.][ In 1801 ''Lloyd's Register'' gives her trade as London to St. Vincents, and then London to the East Indies.
On 10 December 1800 Captain John Scott received a letter of marque.][ Mr. Charles Kensington tendered ''Scarborough'' to the East India Company to bring back rice from Bengal. She was one of 28 vessels that sailed on that mission between December 1800 and February 1801.
Scott left Falmouth on 25 January 1801 for Bengal. ''Scarborough'' arrived at ]Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
on 19 June. Homeward bound, she left Diamond Harbour
Diamond Harbour () is a town and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is the headquarters of the Diamond Harbour subdivision.
Histor ...
on 21 August, reached the Cape on 22 December and St Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
on 28 January 1802, and arrived at the Downs on 8 April.
In 1802 her owners sold ''Scarborough'' to Charles Kensington. However, on 10 November she was sold to foreign buyers and her registration was cancelled.
In 1803 her former owners repurchased her to use her as a West Indiaman. Captain John Scott received a letter of marque on 15 December 1803.[ For the next two years she plied a route between London and Tobago.][
]
Single-ship action
In December 1804, ''Scarborough'', under Captain James Scott, left the Motherbank in a convoy for the West Indies. She joined with and ten other vessels but a gale dispersed the vessels on 5 January. ''Scarborough'' joined ''Dorset'' and ''King George'', and the three agreed to keep company to Barbados. On 26 January, they encountered a French privateer of 16 guns and nearly 200 men. In order to be able to resist, Scott asked for reinforcements from his two companion vessels. Their captains agreed and seven men came over from ''Dorset'' and five from ''King George'', giving Scott 27 men and boys in total, including a passenger from the 60th Regiment who joined in. At 4 p.m. an engagement ensued that was estimated to last an hour. ''Scarborough'' succeeded in repelling the privateer, but at the cost of one man killed and her first officer mortally wounded. James Scott speculated that the privateer had suffered 70 casualties. The three British ships reached Barbados the next day.
Fate
In April 1805, ''Scarborough'' began leaking heavily while at sea and foundered off Port Royal
Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and ...
, Jamaica.
Postscript
An 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 ''Scarborough'' in 1986.Sydney Ferries Fleet Facts
Transport for NSW
See also
Artist's impression of ''Scarborough''
*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 ...
* Journals of the First Fleet
*List of convicts on the First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the group of eleven ships carrying convicts, the first to do so, that left England in May 1787 and arrived in Australia in January 1788. The ships departed with an estimated 775 convicts (582 men and 193 wom ...
Notes, citations, and references
Notes
Citations
References
*
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External links
* Creative Commons license">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 ...
]
{{1805 shipwrecks
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