''Lady Franklin'' was a 268-ton

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

built at Port Arthur,

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 ...

, in 1841, and was named after

Jane Franklin Jane, Lady Franklin (née Griffin; 4 December 1791 – 18 July 1875) was a British explorer, seasoned traveller and the second wife of the English explorer Sir John Franklin. During her husband's period as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's L ...

, the wife of the governor,

Sir John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and thro ...

. The barque was best known for being seized by convicts in a mutiny in 1853. The vessel was used mainly for the conveyance of stores between Tasmania and

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 ...

. In July 1846 the vessel brought John Price, a formerly Police Magistrate at Hobart Town, and his family to replace Major Joseph Childs as head of the convict prison settlement on Norfolk Island.Hazzard, page 204. Also on board the ''Lady Franklin'' was

Francis Burgess Francis Burgess (1793–1864) was an English barrister, the first police commissioner for Birmingham, England, and subsequently chief police magistrate of Van Diemen's Land (from 1856 known as Tasmania), and served as a Member of the Van Dieme ...

, a judge appointed to conduct the trials of nine convicts gaoled several months previously on stabbing, robbery and "unnatural offence" charges.Norfolk Island
''The Courier'' (Hobart), 2 September 1846, page 2. They arrived shortly after the

Cooking Pot Uprising The Cooking Pot Uprising or Cooking Pot Riot was an uprising of convicts in Australia, convicts led by William Westwood (bushranger), William Westwood in the penal colony of Norfolk Island, Australia. It occurred on 1 July 1846 in response to ...

. On 28 December 1853 the vessel was seized by convicts. The mutineers were eventually captured in 1854. The story was dramatised for Australian radio in 1950. In 1855 the ''Lady Franklin'' was put to public auction where it was sold to F. A. Downing for £2,049 and was renamed Emily Downing. The ship was refitted as a whaler. In 1864 the ship was sold again by auction for £350 to Alexander McGregor, a shipowner and merchant.

References

;Sources *

Margaret Hazzard Margaret Hazzard (Ivy Margaret Hazzard) 1910 – 19 January 1987 was an Australian author born in Hertfordshire, England. Hazzard immigrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1960 and established a career as a freelance writer, publishing in The Sydney ...

, ''Punishment Short of Death: a history of the penal settlement at Norfolk Island'', Melbourne, Hyland, 1984. () {{Pirates Norfolk Island Rebellions in Australia Mutinies History of Norfolk Island Convictism of Norfolk Island 1853 in Oceania 1854 in Oceania Piracy in Australia Barques of Australia