''Unity'' was a ship that went missing in 1813 off the coast of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia. ''Unity'' was a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

and was moored in Hobart when on the night of 24 April 1813, between 11pm and midnight, a gang of seven armed

convicts 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 convic ...

boarded the ship. They seized the crew and the ship's owner, William Hobart Mansel, a merchant from Sydney, and held them captive as they sailed the ship down the River Derwent. Off Cape Frederick they released their captives – Mansel, the captain and three seamen – and set them adrift in the ship's boat. Mansel and the crew navigated their way back to Hobart. ''Unity'' was never heard from again. A special inquiry hearing on 3 May 1820 in front of Special Commissioner J.T. Bigg, found that the ship had not been seen at any port. The ship was presumed lost. Of the seven convicts, five had arrived on ''Indefatigable'' and two on ''Guilford'' in 1812.

References

Shipwrecks of Tasmania History of New South Wales Sailing ships Individual sailing vessels Missing ships Maritime incidents in 1813 Ships lost with all hands {{ship-stub