The ''Clontarf'', an immigration

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were generally narrow for their len ...

ship, sailed from

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between 1858 and 1860 on commission for the Canterbury Provincial Council, the governing body of

Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

. Sailing under the flag of Willis, Gann and Co, it set out on its first voyage from

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on 20 September 1858, and after a journey of 105 days arrived at

Lyttelton, New Zealand Lyttelton ( or ''Riritana'') is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As a landing point ...

on 5 January 1859 with 412 immigrants. Six infants and one adult died on the journey, plus there was a still-birth. With one successful run complete it returned to England to collect its next passengers. On 30 November 1859 the ''Clontarf'' left

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with 430 people on board. This voyage met with unforgiving bad weather, and a rampant plague of

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

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and

tropical diseases Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by for ...

swept mercilessly through the ship. It arrived at Lyttelton on 16 March 1860 with many fatalities. On a normal voyage for immigration ship of that time it was expected that up to five people might die from frailty, accident or birth at sea. On the second voyage of the ''Clontarf'' 41 people died: five adults and 36 children. This would give the ''Clontarf'' her infamy. Due to her reputation, prospective immigrants chose not to sail on her, and she was officially dismissed of her duties of ferrying immigrants to

in 1861.

Notable passengers

1858/59 journey

* John Acland (1823–1904), farmer and politician * Edward Sealy (1839–1903), surveyor, photographer and farmer * William Gapes (1822-1903), pioneer and namesake of Gapes Valley

References

* ''The Voyages of the Clontarf'' – Marolyn Diver (Dornie Publishing New Zealand 201

) * Archives New Zealand

* Ancestry.co
ARRIVAL OF THE SHIP CLONTARF
''Lyttelton Times'', 17 March 1860 *

External links

* {{cite book , last1 = Brett , first1 = Henry , author-link1 = Henry Brett (journalist) , chapter = Many deaths on the Clontarf , title = White Wings: Founding of the Provinces and Old-time shipping: Passenger ships from 1840 to 1885 , url = http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bre02Whit-t1-body-d2-d7-d2.html , series = New Zealand Texts Collection , volume = 2 , location = Auckland , publisher = The Brett Printing Company Limited , publication-date = 1928 , page = 361 , access-date = 18 October 2019 , quote = 'We have never had such a list of deaths to publish,' stated the "Lyttelton Times," when reporting the arrival of the Clontarf (Captain A. W. Barclay) on March 16th, 1860. * Ancestry.co

''Lyttelton Times'', 17 March 1860

Clippers