''Bee'' was a sloop of 11 tons that was employed by the colonial government of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

between 1801 and 1804. She sank in 1806 off

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, New South Wales,

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Colonial history

Although her exact date of arrival is unclear, ''Bee'' was at

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 ...

, New South Wales, by 30 June 1801. Thereafter she was employed in public service for the colonial government of New South Wales. She was described as a "long boat decked" in good repair and crewed by a

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

and three

seamen Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

who were to receive an extra ration from the stores. She was employed to bring

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

to Sydney from different settlements and for various other purposes.''

Historical Records of Australia The ''Historical Records of Australia'' (''HRA'') were collected and published by the Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament, to create a series of accurate publications on the history of Australia. The records begin shortly before 1788 ...

'', Series I, Volume III, p. 700. ''Bee'' was under the command of Thomas Bryant when she sailed on 25 June 1806 from Sydney for the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

. On 28 June 1806 the ship ran into a storm that shifted her

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

and damaged her

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...

and

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

. All the food was washed overboard and the water barrel was smashed. On 29 June 1806 the storm abated and ''Bee'' joined with another small ship, ''Contest'', on the way to Newcastle. While ''Contest'' managed to get into harbour, ''Bee'' was becalmed just outside. A strong current then took the ship southwards when her

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

dragged. Further

squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...

s sprang up over the next couple of days and shredded what was left of ''Bee''′s sails. The two men crewing the ship, Bryant and the ship's owner, Benjamin Crew, were exhausted, hungry, and thirsty as the current then took them northward. On 12 July 1806, Bryant killed the ship's cat and they drank its blood, and on 16 July 1806 Bryant died. On 18 July 1806, Crew was able to get the attention of the passing United States

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

, ''

Brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...

'', Worth, master, which rescued him. ''Bee'' was left to drift and was never seen again. ''Brothers'' landed Crew at Sydney on 21 July 1806.

Citations

References

* * {{coord missing, New South Wales Shipwrecks of the Hunter Region Individual sailing vessels 1800s ships Maritime incidents in 1806 1788–1850 ships of Australia Merchant ships of Australia Sloops of Australia History of Newcastle, New South Wales