''Lotus'' was a ship launched at Whitby, England in 1826. She made several voyages to Australia carrying emigrants. She made one voyage

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 ...

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and 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 common label for former convicts ...

s 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 ...

. On that voyage, in 1833, she rescued 61 survivors from , which a fire had destroyed in the South Atlantic as ''Hibenia'' was carrying immigrants to Van Diemen's Land. ''Lotus'' herself was lost in May 1844 while sailing between Bristol and Quebec.

Career

''Lotus'' appeared in the ''Register of Shipping'' (''RS'') in 1828 with J.Bowes, master, Barrick, owner, and trade Whitby.''RS'' (1828), Seq.№L552.
/ref> She first appeared in ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...

'' (''LR'') in 1830 with Summerson, master, Barrick, owner, and trade London-Swan river.

Western Australia

On 1 June 1829 ''Lotus'' and her master, John Summerson, left England for the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

.''LR'' (1830), p.148.
/ref> She arrived at

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, Western Australia, on 6 October 1829. Discharged passengers 6–8 October 1829. Although some sources state that she was the sixth passenger vessel to arrive in Western Australia, many other ships preceded her at the

Swan River colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

''Lotus'' and ''Hibernia''

''Lotus'' and her master left London on 30 December 1832. ''Hibernia'' was lost on 5 February 1833 and ''Lotus'' picked up survivors on 11 February. She carried the survivors to Rio de Janeiro the next day. There, ''Adelaide'', Clark, master, embarked them and brought them to Hobart. ''Lotus'' arrived at Hobart on 16 May 1833. The surgeon-superintendent was Dr. Henry G. Brock. She brought 216 male prisoners. The guard was under the command of Major Shaw and Lieutenant Blair, and consisted of 29 soldiers from the 21st Regiment of Fusiliers. There were also ten passengers: Mrs. Shaw, eight children, and a female servant.''Hobart Town Magazine'' (1833), Vol. 1, pp.224-5.

Fate

One report states that ''Lotus'' was wrecked . However, ''LR'' for 1837 showed her having undergone repairs for damages and her trade changing from London–Quebec to Bristol–Quebec. Her master was J. Samson and her owner H. Barrick.''LR'' (1839), Seq.№L405.
/ref> ''LR'' for 1845 showed ''Lotus'' with damages repaired in 1837, and small repairs in 1843 and 1844. It gave the name of her master as J.Samson, and of her owner as H.Barrick. Her trade was Bristol–Quebec. There is the annotation "LOST" by her name.''LR'' (1844), Seq.№L471.
/ref> ''Lotus'' was damaged by ice in the

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and foundered on 11 May 1844. ''Swallow'' rescued her crew. ''Lotus'' was on a voyage from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

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References

* * * {{1837 shipwrecks 1826 ships Ships built in Whitby Colony of Western Australia Maritime incidents in May 1844 Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Convict ships to Tasmania