HM Colonial brig ''Kangaroo'' (or HM hired brig, or HM armed brig), was a brig built at

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1811 or 1812. She belonged to the British

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 ...

's Transport Board and was based 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 ...

. There she made voyages for the colonial government along the east coast of Australia with goods and troops. She made one voyage to

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, ...

for merchandise and transporting military convicts from Ceylon to Australia. She returned to England in 1817 and the Navy sold her in 1818.

Career

Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...

on 30 April 1810 requested the British Government supply the colony with two brigs (colonial ships) that would not be subject to the control of the Admiralty. The British government provided ''Kangaroo'' and ''Emu''. The American privateer ''Holkar'', captained by J. Rolland, captured ''Emu'' in 1812 on her outward-bound voyage. Lieutenant Charles Jefferys (or Jeffreys), received 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 1 March 1813. ''Kangaroo'' arrived in Sydney on 10 January 1814 after a passage of seven months and eight days from England. On 28 February 1814 ''Kangaroo'' took off the last inhabitants of

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 ...

. Then in May–June she carried 40 male convicts and 60 female convicts to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

. The female convicts were being transshipped from , which had arrived at

on 4 May. She made one voyage to

, still under Jeffries' command, leaving on 19 April 1815 and arriving at

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

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on 24 July. She was carrying troops of the 73rd Regiment of Foot and their families. She returned with merchandise, passengers and a number of military convicts, arriving in Sydney on 7 February 1816. On 14 April 1816 ''Kangaroo'' again carried 40 male and 60 female convicts to Van Diemen's Land. On 5 August 1816 ''Kangaroo'' left Port Jackson with 50 male convicts each to

Port Dalrymple George Town (palawa kani: ''kinimathatakinta'') is a large town in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. The Australian Bureau of Statistics records the George Town Municipal Area had a population of 6,764 as ...

Hobart. Governor Lachlan Macquarie sent ''Kangeroo'' back to England after he determined that she was unsuitable for the colony. She left on 9 April 1817. Amongst her passengers were the Maori chiefs

Tītore Tītore ( 1775–1837), sometimes known as Tītore Tākiri, was a rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe). He was a war leader of the Ngāpuhi who led the war expedition against the Māori people, Māori tribes at East Cape in 1820 and 18 ...

and Tui (also known as Tuhi or Tupaea.NZETC: Maori Wars of the Nineteenth Century, 1816
/ref> They visited Professor Samuel Lee at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and assisted him in the preparation of a grammar and vocabulary of Māori, which was published in 1820 as the ''First Grammar and Vocabulary of the New Zealand Language''.

Fate

The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered the "Kangaroo brig, of 203 tons", "lying at Deptford", for sale on 13 August 1818.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kangaroo (1812) 1810s ships Ships built in England Convict ships to New South Wales