HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Parmelia'' was a
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 in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada, in 1825. Originally registered on 31 May in Quebec, she sailed to Great Britain and assumed British registry. She made one voyage 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), in 1827–1828. In 1829 she transported the first civilian officials and settlers of 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 ...
to
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. She then made two voyages transporting
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 ...
to
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 ...
, Australia. A fire damaged her irreparably in May 1839.


Career

''Parmelia'' "was more of a plain working girl than the great and beautiful lady of the sea". ''Parmelia'' sailed to London and on 17 November she was transferred from the Quebec to the London register. In 1826 she was used as a troop carrier.


EIC voyage

Some time in the first half of 1827, ''Parmelia'' was sold to Joseph Somes, who was also a director of the EIC. For the next year, she operated under charter to the British East India Company, carrying goods and passengers between London and
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. Captain John Wimble sailed from the Downs on 19 June 1827, bound for Bengal and
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 ...
. ''Parmelia'' arrived 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 ...
on 3 December. Homeward bound, she was at Fultahm, on the
Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
, on 18 January 1828. She was at Vizagapatam on 30 January, and Madras on 9 February. She reached
Saint 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 30 April and arrived at the Downs on 3 July.British Library: ''Parmelia''.
/ref>


Settlers to Western Australia

In 1828 the British government, at the urging of Captain James Stirling, decided to establish a
colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
at the Swan River in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. was despatched under Charles Fremantle to annex the colony, and it was arranged that a contingent of soldiers, officials and settlers would follow on . Stirling, whom the government had appointed the civil superintendent of the colony, however argued that the passengers and goods to be carried exceeded the capacity of ''Sulphur'', and asked that an additional ship to be chartered. The government reluctantly agreed to the extra cost, chartering ''Parmelia'' in December 1828. It was then arranged that ''Sulphur'' would carry a detachment of the 63rd Regiment, with ''Parmelia'' carrying the civilian officials and settlers. ''Sulphur'' and ''Parmelia'' sailed from
Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...
off Portsmouth, England on 3 or 6 February 1829, sighting their destination on 1 June. Contrary to popular belief, Stirling did not captain ''Parmelia'' (J. H. Luscombe did); on arrival, however, he assumed the duties of
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
. He initially tried to enter Cockburn Sound through a passage that he had discovered in 1827, but was prevented by strong winds and a heavy swell. Instead he chose to remain off
Rottnest Island Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a Islands of Perth, Western Australia, island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, ...
for the night. The following day, he tried to bring ''Parmelia'' into the Sound from the north, against the advice of Fremantle, and ran aground on a sand bank, later to be named Parmelia Bank. Despite the best efforts of the crews to dislodge her, ''Parmelia'' remained on the bank for over 18 hours, finally coming off the bank by herself early the following morning. By that time, she had lost her foreyard,
rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
,
windlass The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound arou ...
, spare spars,
longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest bo ...
and
skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats, usually propelled by sails or oars. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for work, leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-pers ...
, and was leaking at a rate of per hour. ''Parmelia'' then rode out a storm at anchor for three days before finally being brought to a safe anchorage. The passengers were able to disembark on 8 June. ''Challenger'' was due to depart once ''Sulphur'' and ''Parmelia'' had arrived, but ''Parmelia'' needed repairs that it could not get without access to the skilled labour amongst ''Challenger'' crew. Fremantle therefore took the decision to remain and assist with the repairs, which were completed many weeks later. Later that year, Stirling chartered ''Parmelia'' to bring food supplies from
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
. In 1830, she returned to England via Singapore. She carried to Singapore members of the crew of , which had wrecked on 4 March.


Convict voyage #1 (1832)

Captain James Gilbert sailed from Sheerness on 28 July 1832. ''Parmelia'' arrived at Sydney on 16 November. She had embarked 200 male convicts and she landed 196, four having died en route. ''Parmelia'' sailed from Sydney late in December 1832 and arrived in Batavia on 29 January 1833. She left Batavia on 5 March, reached
Saint 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 17 May, and arrived back at Portsmouth on 8 August.


Convict voyage #2 (1833–1834)

Captain James Gilbert sailed from Cork on 27 October 1833. ''Parmelia'' arrived at Sydney on 2 March 1834. She embarked 220 male convicts and she landed 218, two convicts having died en route. On 12 April ''Parmelia'' sailed for Manila.


Troop transport

In 1837 ''Parmelia'' and transported troops for the British government. On 19 January they carried the 82 Regiment of Foot from Dublin to Gibraltar. They then carried the 59th regiment of Foot from Gibraltar to Malta. On 14 March they carried the 5th Regiment of Foot from Malta to the
Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...
. Once they had completed the task, the British government hired the two vessels for £1,281 7 s 9 d to carry the remnants of the British Auxiliary Legion back from Spain to England.


Fate

''Parmelia'' then continued to sail as a London-based transport. She was last listed in 1838 with J. Spence, master, J. Somes, owner, and trade London-transport. In 1839 ''Parmelia'' was refitted to carry migrants to the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
. She was intended to run between Britain and Quebec, but on 1 May 1839, as her refit was almost complete, a fire in Bank's Yard, at Frank's Queery, Cremyll, destroyed her. Eight days later she was surveyed and declared a constructive total loss. She was then sold for breaking up. The Kwinana suburb of Parmelia is named in honour of ''Parmelia'', as is Parmelia Bank.


Passengers on ''Parmelia'', 1829

The following people embarked ''Parmelia'' when she left Portsmouth in February 1829.


Notes


Citations


References

* * * * * * * {{1839 shipwrecks 1825 ships Ships built in Quebec City Age of Sail merchant ships Convict ships to New South Wales History of Western Australia Migrant ships to Australia Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in May 1839