Waterloo (1815 ship)
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''Waterloo'' was a merchant ship built at Bristol, England in 1815. On her first voyage she suffered a short-lived mutiny. She then made one voyage under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She made four voyages
transporting 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, pipeline, and ...
convicts from England to Australia, and two voyages from Ireland to Australia. On her seventh convict voyage ''Waterloo'' wrecked on 28 August 1842 in Table Bay with great loss of life.


Career

''Waterloo'' entered '' Lloyd's Registry'' in 1815 with James Ray, master, and trade London-Jamaica. Mutiny: ''Waterloo'', James Ray, master, made a voyage to Madeira and Jamaica. As she approached England on the return leg of her voyage, the mate and two crew members mutinied. They seized the captain and reportedly were preparing to slit his throat when the revenue cutter ''Diligence'' approached. She had seen that ''Waterloo'' was heading for the shore and came to investigate. ''Diligence''s crew saved Ray and ''Waterloo''. On her return, her owners sold ''Waterloo'' to Henry Moor (or Moore). He then sailed her between London and Bengal under license from the EIC. EIC voyage: On 15 July 1820 Captain Henry Richard Wilkinson sailed from the Downs, bound for Bengal and
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. ''Waterloo'' was at Car Nicobar by 19 November, and arrived at Calcutta on 13 December. Homeward bound, she left Calcutta on 10 February 1821. She reached Madras on 24 March, the
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on 4 July, and
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on 25 July; she arrived at the Downs on 28 September.British Library: ''Waterloo'' (2).
/ref> Convict transport: On her first convict voyage, under the command of Stephen Addison and surgeon Michael Goodsir, she departed London on 14 March 1829 arrived in Sydney on 9 July. She had embarked 180 male convicts; there were two convict deaths en route. For the second convict voyage, under the command of Stephen Addison and surgeon William Trotman, she departed Dublin on 18 December 1830 arrived in Sydney on 30 April 1831. She had embarked 200 male convicts and had one convict death en route. For the third convict voyage, under the command of John Cow and surgeon John Stephenson, she departed
Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
on 12 March 1833 and arrived in Sydney on 3 August. She embarked 214 male convicts and had eleven convict deaths en route. On her fourth convict voyage, under the command of John Cow and surgeon George Roberts, she departed Portsmouth on 20 November 1834, arrived in Hobart Town on 3 March 1835. She embarked had 224 male convicts and had no convict deaths en route. She made a fifth convict voyage, under the command of John Cow and surgeon George Roberts. She departed
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, Ireland on 21 May 1836 arrived in Sydney on 6 September. She had embarked 224 male convicts and had two convict deaths en route. On her sixth convict voyage under the command of John Cow and surgeon J. Ellis, she departed Sheerness on 4 October 1837. She arrived in Sydney on 8 February 1838. She embarked 224 male convicts and had no convict deaths en route. She had put into the Cape for refreshment between 20 and 23 December. In addition to her convicts she carried two officers and 29 soldiers, eight women, and 11 children.


Wrecking

''Waterloo'' was an old ship with unsound timbers when she sailed on her seventh voyage transporting convicts. She left
Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
on 1 June 1842 for Van Diemen's Land. In addition to her crew, she was carrying 219 prisoners, 30 soldiers of the 99th Regiment, five women, and thirteen children. The ship's surgeon, Dr Henry Kelsall, had persuaded Captain Henry Ager to put in at the Cape for fresh provisions, as many of those on board were suffering from scurvy. Consequently, ''Waterloo'' entered Table Bay on 24 August 1842 and anchored in a position which was to prove unsafe for that time of year. The Captain went ashore and left the ship in charge of the Chief Mate Jackson. On 26 August, a strong northerly gale sprang up, accompanied by heavy rain. The top-gallant masts snapped and landed on the deck. On 27 August, the surgeon became extremely concerned, especially when the two anchors gave way at about 11pm. He and the Second Mate lit flares to signal their desperate situation. Early on the morning of the 28th, the wind grew to hurricane strength, and the troopship ''Abercrombie Robinson'' was driven ashore. Fearing punishment, the First Mate refused to order the cutting away of the fallen masts. Dr Kelsall ordered the freeing of the prisoners from their irons. From this point on the situation rapidly deteriorated. ''Waterloo'', helpless before the strong wind and high seas, was driven ashore; the masts broke and the ship heeled over on her side. Convicts leapt overboard, one of them aiding Dr Kelsall. Within two hours the ship had been reduced to fragments. In 1842, there were no lifeboats or rescue systems in place in Table Bay. Consequently, one hundred and eighty nine people died in the space of about two hours. There were 113 survivors - 16 men of the guard, a soldier's wife (Mrs. Mulvaney), and 76 convicts. Lieutenant Hext, who commanded the guard, was on shore at the time and made a sketch of the wrecking. Captain Ager survived, as did Mr. Jackson, Chief Mate, Mr. Gunner, 2nd mate, Mr. Gill, 3rd mate, and fifteen of the crew. One hundred and eighty nine people drowned, these being 143 convicts, 15 men of the 99th Regiment, together with 17 wives and children, the boatswain Mr. Chiverton, the sailmaker, the carpenter, and 11 of the crew. On 15 October ''Cape Packet'' took 72 of ''Waterloo''s prisoners, plus three more from Cape Town, to Hobart. She arrived on 23 November and disembarked the prisoners.


Inquiry

There was no
coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
's court, so that the resultant inquiry was informal and superficial. Captain Ager was censured for remaining ashore, while the first mate was criticised for not clearing the fallen masts and rigging. The inquiry also noted that the ship's timbers were rotten and in an unseaworthy condition. An editorial in the ''South African Commercial Advertiser'' of 31 August 1842 criticised the British authorities and ''Waterloos captain, stating that the weather, the water, and the bottom were not the reason for the tragedy. It went on to say:


Similar wrecks

The 751-ton Dutch
East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
, ''Waddinxveen'', and the ''Oosterland'', had on 24 May 1697 been anchored in the same place near the mouth of the Salt River and been wrecked by a strong gale blowing from the same north-west direction. There were only six survivors from the ''Waddinxveen''.


Notes


Citations


References

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External links


List of Prisoners aboard the ''Waterloo''
{{italic title 1815 ships Ships built in Bristol Mutinies Ships of the British East India Company Age of Sail merchant ships Convict ships to New South Wales Convict ships to Tasmania Shipwrecks of the South African Atlantic coast 1842 in South Africa Maritime incidents in August 1842