''Roslin Castle'' (also called ''Roslyn Castle'') was a barque of 450 tons built in 1819 at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. She was a merchant ship that also made five voyages transporting convicts to Australia. Described as a single decker, her hull was sheathed in copper in 1823 and was sheathed in patent felt and copper over-boards in 1828. She later served as a whaling vessel out of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia.

Career

In early 1828, she traded in Jamaican waters. First convict voyage (1828): Captain John Duff sailed ''Roslin Castle'' from The Downs on 19 August 1828 and arrived at Hobart Town on 16 December.Bateson (1959), pp.310–1. She had embarked 176 male convicts; two convicts died during the voyage. Second convict voyage (1830): Captain Henry Ferguson sailed from The Downs on 3 March 1830. She lost her main mast and mizzen top mast in a sudden squall off St. Paul's on 3 June. The ship became leaky and the confines were constantly wet. She arrived at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

on 29 June. She had embarked 128 female convicts, none of whom died on the voyage. Third convict voyage (1832–1833): Captain William Richards sailed from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland, on 8 October 1832 and arrived at Port Jackson on 16 December. She had embarked 195 male convicts; one convict died during the voyage. The surgeon-superintendent on this voyage was

George Imlay George Imlay (1794–1846), together with his brothers Alexander (1794-1847) and Peter (1797–1881), was a Scottish-born pioneer settler in southern New South Wales. All three reached Australia as military surgeons serving on convict ships. They ...

. Fourth convict voyage (1834): Captain Richards left London on 22 May 1834 and arrived at Port Jackson on 15 September.Bateson (1959), pp.302–3. ''Roslin Castle'' had embarked 232 male convicts. Three convicts died during the voyage. Fifth convict voyage (1835–1836): Captain Richards left Cork on 28 October 1835. She arrived at Port Jackson on 25 February 1836. ''Roslin Castle'' had embarked 165 female convicts. Three convicts died during the voyage. In March 1836, it was announced in the press the vessel was to be fitted out for a whaling voyage to Cloudy Bay, New Zealand, under charter to Messrs Long & Co. A whaling voyage (1836-1837): ''Roslyn Castle'' departed Sydney 29 April 1836 under the command of Captain William Richards for New Zealand. She first went to

Akaroa Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled in standard ...

and by 15 June was reported at Cloudy Bay with "1 fish." Then it was to the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

before going to

Kapiti Kapiti or Kāpiti may refer to: *Kapiti Island, an island a short distance off the New Zealand coast north of Wellington *Kapiti Coast District, the local government district which includes much of the Kapiti Coast *Kapiti Coast Airport, an airport ...

where they arrived on 13 July. The vessel was reported off

the Three Kings "The Three Kings", or "Three Kings From Persian Lands Afar", is a Christmas carol by the German composer Peter Cornelius. He set "Die Könige" for a vocal soloist, accompanied by Philip Nicolai's hymn "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" ("Ho ...

, at the Bay of Islands, at

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...

and elsewhere off the coast of New Zealand. She returned to Sydney 7 November 1837 with a reported 3,500 barrels of oil aboard, of which 500 was sperm whale oil, plus 12 tons of “whale bone” (

baleen Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and ...

). This was declared by ''The Sydney Gazette'' to be, "the largest cargo we believe ever brought into this port from our whale fishery.”. On 2 August 1838, the vessel was purchased in Sydney for £2,200 by Robert Duke & Co. At first it was planned to send her whaling again. This was changed instead to a voyage to London. She departed Sydney 20 January 1839 for London, with a general cargo and a few passengers.Nicholson, p.178.

References

{{reflist, 30em 1819 ships Ships built in Bristol Convict ships to Tasmania Age of Sail merchant ships of England Whaling ships Ships of Australia