''Fairlie'' was launched at

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in 1810 and sailed to England. There she became a regular ship for 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 ...

(EIC). Including her voyage to England, she made four voyages for the EIC. From around 1821 on she became a Free Trader, continuing to trade with India under a license from the EIC. She also made two 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, pipelines, and ...

convicts A convict is "a person found Guilt (law), guilty of a crime and Sentence (law), 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 commo ...

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 ...

(1834), and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

(1852). She made several voyages carrying immigrants to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, New South Wales, and

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

. Fairlie foundered in November 1865.

EIC voyages

''Fairlie'' cost 130,000 rupees to build. EIC voyage #1 (1810): Captain William Parker D'Esterre sailed from

Saugor Sagar, formerly Saugor, is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. It's Madhya Pradesh's 6th largest city of by Population. The city is situated on a ...

on 19 July 1810, bound for England. She reached

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 ...

on 30 August 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 3 December, and arrived at The Downs on 26 February 1811. ''Fairlie'', Fairlie, Fergusson, & Co., owners, appeared in a list of vessels registered in Calcutta in January 1811. EIC voyage #2 (1812–1814): Captain D'Esteree acquired 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 ...

on 30 November 1811. He sailed from Portsmouth on 3 June 1812, bound for Batavia, Madras, and Bengal. ''Fairlie'' reached

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

on 18 June and arrived at Saugor on 5 December. She then sailed on to Penang (28 March 1813) and Malacca (7 April). On 21 April, ''Fairlie'' grounded on a coral shoal at , which is about 100 miles north of Jakarta and the channel to the west of

Bangka Island Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in ...

. This shoal became known as "Fairlie Rock", or more currently "Fairlie Klip" or "Fairlie Rif". Apparently ''Fairlie'' got off the shoal without material damage. On 1 May, ''Fairlie'' reached Batavia. She sailed to

Samarang Semarang ( Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. The city has been na ...

, which she reached on 26 May, before returning to Batavia on 18 June. By 18 July, ''Fairlie'' was again at Madras, and by 17 August

Kidderpore Khidirpur or Kidderpore is a neighbourhood of Kolkata, South Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Etymology Most plausibly, the name is a corruption of ''Khidrpur'' or ''Khizarpur' ...

. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 2 November, 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 ...

on 1 March 1814, and St Helena on 18 March. On 31 May, ''Fairlie'' arrived at Deal with several Indiamen (including and ) and two whalers (including ), all under escort by . ''Fairlie'' arrived at Blackwall on 3 June. EIC voyage #3 (1815–1816): Captain Thomas E. Ward sailed from The Downs on 22 May 1815, bound for Bengal and Batavia. On 10 June ''Fairlie'' reached Madeira. Mount Tambora exploded in April 1815. Between 1 and 3 October ''Fairlie'' sailed for two days through extensive pumice rafts about west of Tambora. ''Fairlie'' arrived at the New Anchorage (near

Diamond Harbour Diamond Harbour is a town and municipality located in the South 24 Parganas district of the Indian state of West Bengal. Situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, it serves as the administrative headquarters of the Diamond Harbour su ...

and

Kedgeree Kedgeree (or occasionally ) is a dish consisting of cooked, flaked fish (traditionally smoked haddock), boiled rice, parsley, hard-boiled eggs, curry powder, lemon juice, salt, butter or cream, and occasionally sultanas. The dish can be eat ...

) on 31 October. Homeward bound, ''Fairlie'' was at Batavia on 20 April, reached St Helena on 21 August, and arrived at Blackwall on 8 November. EIC voyage #4 (1818–1819): Captain Ward sailed from The Downs on 1 April 1818, bound for Bengal and

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 ...

. ''Fairlie'' reached Diamond Harbour on 7 August. Homeward bound, she was at the New Anchorage on 3 October, and Bombay on 8 December. She was at

Tellichery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the List of districts of India, districts of Mahe, India, Mahe and Kozhikode district, Kozhiko ...

on 2 January 1819, reached St Helena on 26 March, and arrived at Blackwall on 8 June.

Free trader

In 1813, the EIC lost its monopoly on the trade between Britain and India; it retained its monopoly on the trade between Britain and China. Many vessels then entered the trade with India, becoming Free Traders sailing under licenses from the EIC. ''Fairlie''s owners gave up their status as an EIC regular ship and converted to Free Trader status. ''Fairlie'' continue to trade between Britain and India, and later South America, but also began transporting convicts and carrying migrants. On 3 December 1825, ''Fairlie'' rescued Captain Carss, one passenger, and eleven crew from . ''Nassau'' had wrecked on the island of

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascensi ...

on 31 August. First convict voyage (1833–1834): Captain Henry Ager sailed from England on 27 October 1833 and arrived at Sydney on 15 February 1834. ''Fairlie'' had embarked 374 male convicts and she landed 372, having suffered four convict deaths ''en route''. Immigrants to New South Wales (1838): ''Fairlie'', again commanded by Captain Henry Ager sailed from

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

on 31 July, continued on from the

on 21 October, and arrived at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

on 6 December 1838. Aboard were nearly 20 cabin-class passengers, amongst whom was Major-General Sir Maurice O'Connell, the former Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, coming to take up his command of the colony's military forces. There were also 277

Steerage Steerage is a term for the lowest category of passenger accommodation in a ship. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, considerable numbers of persons travelled from their homeland to seek a new life elsewhere, in many cases North Amer ...

passengers aboard. Immigrants to South Australia (1840): Captain Edward Garrett sailed ''Fairlie'' from London on 3 April 1840 with cargo and 266 passengers. She arrived at Port Adelaide on 6 July. Immigrants to New South Wales (1841): ''Fairlie'' arrived on 5 November 1841 at Sydney. She had left

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, with 308 bounty immigrants, and a number of cabin and intermediate passengers. She had suffered six deaths on board, four of them children under the age of five. In 1843, ''Fairlie'' was sold to Joseph Somes, London. Second convict voyage (1852): Captain Edward Pavey sailed from Plymouth on 11 March 1852 and arrived at

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

on 3 July. She had embarked 294 male convicts and she landed 292, having suffered two convict deaths ''en route''. Immigrants to British Guiana (1860–1861): ''Fairlie'' sailed from India on 12 December 1860 with 367 immigrants for British Guiana.

Fate

In 1865, the Merchant Shipping Co., Ltd., London, became ''Fairlie''s owner. ''Lloyd's Register'' for 1866 shows ''Fairlie'' with Stephens, master, Merchant, owner, and trade London–Australia. The entry for her is market "LOST". ''The Times'' reported that on 6 January 1866 ''Innisfallen'' had delivered the crew of ''Fairlie'' to

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. Apparently ''Fairlie'' had encountered a heavy cyclone on 23 November 1865 that dismasted her and her crew abandoned her on the 27th at , either very leaky or having foundered. ''Innisfallen'' had been on her way from Calcutta to London when she rescued the survivors.''The Times'' (London, England), February 8, 1866; pg. 7; Issue 25416.
/ref>

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * {{1865 shipwrecks 1810 ships British ships built in India Age of Sail merchant ships of England Ships of the British East India Company Convict ships to New South Wales Convict ships to Tasmania Migrant ships to Australia Maritime incidents in November 1865