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''Arniston'' was a British
East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...
that made eight voyages for the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
(EIC). She was wrecked on 30 May 1815 during a storm at
Waenhuiskrans Arniston is a small seaside settlement on the coast of the Overberg region of South Africa, close to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. Prior to the wreck of , it is also known as Waenhuiskrans, an Afrikaans name meaning literally "Wa ...
, near
Cape Agulhas Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the In ...
, South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives – only six on board survived. She had been chartered as a
troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...
and was underway from
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
to England on a journey to repatriate wounded soldiers from the
Kandyan Wars The Kandyan Wars (or the Kandian Wars) refers generally to the period of warfare between the British colonial forces and the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of what is now Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 1818. More specifically it is used to descri ...
. Controversially, the ship did not have a
marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and the time at t ...
on board, a comparatively new navigational instrument that was an "easy and cheap addition to her equipment" that would have enabled her to determine her longitude accurately. Instead, she was forced to navigate through the heavy storm and strong currents using older, less reliable navigational aids and
dead reckoning In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating the current position of a moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, and incorporating estimates of speed, heading (or direction or course), and elapsed time. T ...
. Navigational difficulties and a lack of headway led to an incorrect assumption that Cape Agulhas was
Cape Point Cape Point () is a promontory at the southeast corner of the Cape Peninsula, a mountainous and scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the African continent in South Africa. Table M ...
. Consequently, ''Arniston'' was wrecked when her captain headed north for
St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
, operating on the incorrect belief the ship had already passed Cape Point.


Overview

East Indiamen operated under charter or licence to the Honourable East India Company, which held a monopoly granted by
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
of England for all English trade between the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
and
Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
. ''Arniston'' was built by William Barnard at Barnard's Thames Yard at
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
on the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
and launched in 1794.Mitchell 2007, tertiary sources. She was probably named after Lord Arniston rather than the tiny village of Arniston near
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. ''Arniston'' was heavily armed, with her fifty-eight guns making her the equivalent of a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...
ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...
. A classification of "ship of the line" – a class of ship that later evolved into the
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
– meant that a ship was powerful enough to stand in a
line of battle The line of battle or the battle line is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships (known as ships of the line) forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for date ...
and explained why these ships of commerce were sometimes mistaken for men-o-war. The armament was necessary for the ship to protect herself and her valuable cargo from
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
s and
commerce raiders Commerce raiding is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging its combatants or enforcing a blockade against them. Privateering is a form ...
of other nations during long voyages between Europe and the Far East. ''Arniston'', like other East Indiamen, was slow and unmanoeuvrable, but able to carry a large quantity of cargo.Port Cities UK, secondary sources


Voyages (1794–1812)

For her first five voyages she sailed under the ownership and management of John Wedderburn (probably
John Wedderburn of Ballindean Sir John Wedderburn of Ballindean, 6th Baronet of Blackness (1729–1803) was a Scottish landowner who made a fortune in slave sugar in the West Indies. Born into a family of impoverished Perthshire gentry, his father, Sir John Wedderburn, 5th ...
) and the next three EIC voyages under ownership of Robert Hudson. ''Arniston'' sailed from Great Britain to the Far East eight times before her last voyage.BL 1812, primary sources. On one of her homeward journeys from China, she struck an uncharted rock at , near the island of Pulo Goondy (modern day Pulau Legundi), located just south of
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
. She did not suffer any ill effects as a result of this incident however, which is mentioned in journals of the time only for its noteworthiness as a navigation hazard to other shipping. Apart from this and another incident in 1800, ''Arniston''s first eight voyages were uneventful.


Voyage number 1: St Helena, Madras, and China (1795–1797)

Captain Campbell Marjoribanks: * 3 April 1795:
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
* 14 April:
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
* 2 June:
St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
* 9 August:
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
* 27 September:
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
* 14 November:
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
* 3 December:
Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
* 11 March 1796: Whampoa * 23 April: Second Bar * 29 June:
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
* 20 November:
St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
* 1 March 1797:
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
While ''Arniston'' was at St Helena on her outward journey, she undertook to transport troops from there to join
Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...
, who was undertaking an expedition to capture
Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
from the Dutch. On 10 July
George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...
arrived in . Vancouver was returning to England after his four-and-a-half-year long voyage of exploration. He transferred to ''Arniston'' four field guns that he had been carrying, together with what ammunition he had left for them, for onward transmission to Elphinstone. ''Discovery''s boats also helped in the ferrying of troops from shore to ''Arniston''. ''Arniston'' was to ferry nine field pieces, as well as a company of artillery and three of infantry (393 men in all), to Elphinstone.


Voyage number 2: China (1797–1798)

On this voyage ''Arniston'' sailed under a
letter of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a Sovereign state, government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or French corsairs, corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with t ...
in the name of Captain William Macnamara, and dated 13 May 1797. Her itinerary was: * 5 June 1797: Portsmouth * 29 August: Cape of Good Hope * 9 December: Whampoa * 14 February 1798: Second Bar * 26 March: Macau * 5 August: St Helena * 23 October: Long Reach


Voyage number 3: St Helena, Benkulen, and China (1800–1801)

On this voyage ''Arniston'' sailed under a letter of marque in the name of Captain Campbell Marjoribanks, and dated 29 November 1799. Her itinerary was: * 7 January 1800: Portsmouth * 4 April: St Helena * 27 June:
Benkulen Bengkulu (), historically known as Bencoolen, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the area of the historic Bencoolen Residency from the province of S ...
* 29 July: Penang * 27 August: Malacca * 21 September: Whampoa * 29 November: Second Bar * 18 January 1801: Macau * 15 April: St Helena * 17 June: Long Reach During this voyage ''Arniston'' had just anchored at
Benkulen Bengkulu (), historically known as Bencoolen, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the area of the historic Bencoolen Residency from the province of S ...
on 27 June 1800, when the 26-gun French
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
''Confiance'' attacked her. ''Arniston'' cut her anchor and gave chase, firing several broadsides into the other ship, but the faster French ship was able to make an escape.Lindsay 1874, primary sources. On 9 October 1800, the East Indiaman ''Kent'' would be less fortunate; ''Confiance'' would capture ''Kent'' after a two-hour engagement.


Voyage number 4: St Helena, Benkulen, and China (1801–1803)

Captain Campbell Marjoribanks: * 31 December 1801: Downs * 9 March 1802: St Helena * 10 June: Benkulen * 12 July: Penang * 31 August: Whampoa * 24 October: Second Bar * 11 February 1803: St Helena * 26 April: Long Reach


Voyage number 5: China (1804–1805)

On this voyage ''Arniston'' sailed under a letter of marque in the name of Captain James Jameson, and dated 24 March 1804. Her itinerary was: On 9 June 1804, ''Arniston'' left
St Helens, Isle of Wight St Helens is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish located on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight. The village developed around village greens. This is claimed to be the largest in England but some say it is the second la ...
, as part of a convoy of nine
East Indiamen East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European Trading company, trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belon ...
of the British
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
, all bound for China. The Indiamen were , , ''Cuffnells'', , , , , and . provided the escort.Evans: ''Finding my ancestors: Voyage of the Athenienne to China in 1804/1805''.
The fleet arrived at
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
around 14–18 August. It then passed the Cape of Good Hope. From here, rather than passing through the Indian Ocean and the
Straits of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...
, the fleet sailed south of Western Australia and through
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 ...
. The objectives were two-fold: to avoid French ships reported to be in the Indian Ocean, and to improve the charting of Bass Strait. The ships then sailed to
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...
, which was the next rendezvous point after Saint Paul Island, for members that had separated. ''Taunton Castle'' had separated in the South Atlantic and although she arrived at Norfolk Island three days after the fleet had sailed on, did not rejoin the rest of the fleet until she arrived at Haerlem Bay, in China. The arrival of ''Athenienne'' and the East Indiamen at Norfolk Island sowed panic among the colonists there who feared that a French flotilla had arrived. The fleet arrived at Whampoa in mid-January 1805. The fleet then returned to England via the Straits of Malacca. ''Arniston'', for example, crossed the second Bar on 14 February, reached Malacca on 21 March and
St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
on 30 June, and arrived at Long Reach on 15 September.


Voyage number 6: China (1806–1807)

On this voyage ''Arniston'' sailed under a letter of marque in the name of Captain Peter Wedderburn dated 20 March 1806. Her itinerary was: * 14 May 1806: Portsmouth * 7 August: Cape of Good Hope * 10 October: Penang * 21 January 1807: Whampoa * 4 May: off Lintin Island * 1 July: Penang * 17 July:
Acheh Aceh ( , ; , Jawoë: ; Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the wes ...
* 19 September: Cape of Good Hope * 13 October: St Helena * 6 January 1808: Lower Hope


Voyage number 7: Bombay and China (1810–1811)

Captain Samuel Landon: * 21 January 1810: Portsmouth * 9 April: Cape of Good Hope * 26 May:
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
* 1 September: Penang * 12 October: Whampoa * 29 December: Second Bar * 28 May 1811: St Helena * 13 August: Long Reach


Voyage number 8: Bombay and China (1812–1813)

On this voyage ''Arniston'' sailed under a letter of marque in the name of Captain Walter Campbell. Her itinerary was: * 4 January 1812:
Torbay Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of ...
* 5 April:
Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek Spiritus ...
* 7 May: Bombay * 11 September: Whampoa * 4 January 1813: Macau * 27 March: St Helena * 7 June: Long Reach The British government then chartered ''Arniston'' as a
troop transport Troop transport may be: * Troopship * Military Railway Service (United States) * Military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military aircraft, military-owned transport aircraft used ...
to the Cape and India.


Voyage number 9: Madeira, Cape, and Ceylon (1814–1815)

Captain George Simpson left England on 8 June 1814. At Ceylon, ''Arniston'' embarked soldiers of the 73rd Regiment, who were wounded in the
Kandyan Wars The Kandyan Wars (or the Kandian Wars) refers generally to the period of warfare between the British colonial forces and the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of what is now Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 1818. More specifically it is used to descri ...
in
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, to repatriate them to England.


Wreck (1815)

Critically, the ship did not have a chronometer—a comparatively new navigational instrument that was an "easy and cheap addition to her equipment" at the time—for this voyage. Captain George Simpson could not afford the 60–100
guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
for one,Hall 1820, primary sources. and the ship's owners were also unwilling to purchase one, even threatening to replace him with another captain if he refused to set sail without one.Hall 1833, primary sources. ''Arniston'' sailed from Port de Galle on 4 April 1815 in a convoy of six other East Indiamen, under the escort of HMS ''Africaine'' and .Grocott 1997, primary sources Among her 378 passengers were many invalid soldiers and sailors, plus 14 women and 25 children. During the passage from Ceylon, at one o'clock every day, the ships signalled each other their longitude that they calculated using their chronometers. In this way, the ships were able to compare their respective instruments, and the master of the ''Arniston'' was able to learn his longitude too, as long as he remained in the convoy. On 26 May, while rounding the southern tip of Africa, ''Arniston'' separated from the convoy in bad weather after her sails were damaged. Without accurate daily longitudinal information from the other ships, ''Arniston'' had to rely instead on older, less accurate navigation methods. Navigation via
dead reckoning In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating the current position of a moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, and incorporating estimates of speed, heading (or direction or course), and elapsed time. T ...
proved particularly difficult as there were strong ocean currents combined with inclement weather that prevented a fix being obtained for several days via
celestial navigation Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is the practice of position fixing using stars and other celestial bodies that enables a navigator to accurately determine their actual current physical position in space or on the surface ...
. On 29 May, land was sighted to the north at 7 am, and given the dead reckoning estimates, was presumed to be the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
. The ship sailed west until 4:30 pm on 29 May, then turned north to
run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
for
St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
. However the land sighted had in fact been
Cape Agulhas Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the In ...
(then known as "Cape L'Agullas") and the ship had also not made good headway against the current since this sighting. Compounding these navigational errors, the master had not taken any depth soundings (which would have confirmed his location over the
Agulhas Bank The Agulhas Bank (, from Portuguese for Cape Agulhas, ''Cabo das Agulhas'', "Cape of Needles") is a broad, shallow part of the southern African continental shelf which extends up to south of Cape Agulhas before falling steeply to the abyssal pla ...
), before heading north. Consequently, instead of being west of the Cape of Good Hope as presumed, the ship was closing on the reef at
Waenhuiskrans Arniston is a small seaside settlement on the coast of the Overberg region of South Africa, close to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. Prior to the wreck of , it is also known as Waenhuiskrans, an Afrikaans name meaning literally "Wa ...
near Cape Agulhas. The anchors were unable to hold the heavy ship in the storm, so on 30 May near 4 pm, Lieutenant Brice advised Captain Simpson to ground the ship to save the lives of those aboard. Eight minutes later, at about 8 pm, the ship struck rocks half a mile offshore and heeled into the wind. The guns on the opposite side were cut away in a failed attempt to level the ship, which soon started to break up in the waves.AJ 1816, primary sources. Only six men (the ship's carpenter and five sailors of the 378 people on board survived, after reaching the shore only with great difficulty through the high surf. The following morning the
sternpost A sternpost is the upright structural member or post at the aft end of a ship or a boat, to which are attached the transoms and the rearmost part of the stern. The sternpost may either be completely vertical or may be tilted or "raked" slight ...
was the only part of the vessel still visible. The ship and her passengers had been lost for lack of a chronometer, or as an officer from the same convoy later wrote:


Aftermath

The six survivors buried the bodies found on the beach, then travelled east along the beach, expecting to reach
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
. However, after four and a half days, they realised their error and returned to the site of the wreck. Here they subsisted off a cask of oatmeal, while trying to effect repairs to the ship's pinnace, which had been washed ashore. They were discovered six days later on 14 June by a farmer's son, who was out hunting. * Among the victims were: Captain George Simpson, Lieutenant Brice, the 6th
Viscount Molesworth Viscount Molesworth, of Swords in the County of Dublin, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1716 for Robert Molesworth. He was made Lord Molesworth, Baron of Philipstown, of King's County, at the same time, also in the Peerage ...
and Viscountess Molesworth. * The six survivors were: Dr. Gunter (
boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, or the third hand on a fishing vessel, is the most senior Naval rating, rate of the deck department and is responsible for the ...
), John Barrett (carpenter), Charles Stewart Scott (carpenter's mate), William Grung (second class), Gibbs (third class), Robinson (fourth class). A memorial, a replica of which can be seen today, was erected on the beach by the wife of Colonel
Andrew Geils Colonel Andrew Geils ( – ⁠11 February 1843) was a military officer of British (Scottish) heritage, who served as Commandant (acting governor) of Van Diemen's Land (subsequently Tasmania) between 1812 and 1813; prior to that time he served in ...
(spelled "Giels" in this instance), whose four children were lost in the tragedy on their homeward journey, having visited him in
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. The memorial bears the following inscription: Over time, the seaside village of
Waenhuiskrans Arniston is a small seaside settlement on the coast of the Overberg region of South Africa, close to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. Prior to the wreck of , it is also known as Waenhuiskrans, an Afrikaans name meaning literally "Wa ...
has become so associated with the wreck, that it now is also known as Arniston. The nearby town of
Bredasdorp Bredasdorp is a town in the Southern Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, and the main economic and service hub of that region. It lies on the northern edge of the Agulhas Plain, about south-east of Cape Town and north of Cape Agu ...
has a museum dedicated to the wreck. The wreck had a direct influence on the decision to build a lighthouse at
Cape Agulhas Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the In ...
to the west in 1847–1848.Proposals for a Lighthouse at L'Agulhas, secondary sources. Thirty seven years later, the 73rd Regiment once again suffered hundreds of casualties on this coast when was wrecked away at
Gansbaai Gansbaai (Dutch/Afrikaans for "bay of geese," sometimes referred to as Gans Bay) is a fishing town and tourist destination in the Overberg District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. It is known for its dense population of great white shar ...
.


Archaeological excavation

The wreck, which lies in about of water, was surveyed by an archaeological team from the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
(UCT) in 1982. The National Monuments Council issued a permit to UCT student Jim Jobling to conduct an underwater survey of the site, as well as a limited excavation. A number of artefacts were recovered, which were donated to the Bredasdorp Shipwreck Museum.


Notes


Citations


References

*
Primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...
s consulted * * * Hackman, Rowan (2001) ''Ships of the East India Company''. (Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society). * – The Arniston cautionary tale (concluding an exposé of
dead reckoning In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating the current position of a moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, and incorporating estimates of speed, heading (or direction or course), and elapsed time. T ...
with a map p. 276). * – Chapter reprinted from his ''Fragments of Voyages and Travels'', 3rd series (1833). * Hardy, Charles (1835) ''Supplement to a Register of Ships Employed in the Service of the ... East India Company from 1760 to the Conclusion of the Commercial Charter, Etc.'' * * * * * * Vancouver, George (1798) ''A voyage of discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and round the world''. (London: G.G. and J. Robinson). *
Secondary source In Scholarly method, scholarship, a secondary sourcePrimary, secondary and tertiar ...
s consulted * * (A partnership of websites with material from the heritage organisations of the five key maritime cities in the UK –
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
,
Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
, Liverpool, London and
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
) *
Tertiary source A tertiary source is an index or textual consolidation of already published primary and secondary sources
Wexham, Brian. ''Shipwrecks of the Western Cape''. And: Turner, Malcolm. ''Shipwrecks and Salvage in South Africa''.


External links

*
The history of HMS ''Arniston'' in connection with the village Arniston
{{coord, 34, 39, 36, S, 20, 15, 7, E, type:landmark_region:ZA, name=Wreck of Arniston, display=title Maritime incidents in 1815 Shipwrecks of the South African Indian Ocean coast Monuments and memorials in South Africa Troop ships of the United Kingdom 1815 in South Africa Ships built in Deptford Ships of the British East India Company 1794 ships Maritime incidents in South Africa Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom