Charles Enderby (1797–1876) was one of three sons of

Samuel Enderby Junior Samuel Enderby Junior (1755–1829) was a British whaling merchant, significant in the history of whaling in Australia. Family background His father, Samuel Enderby (1717–1797), founded the firm named after him in 1775, when he assembled a flee ...

(1756–1829). He was the grandson of Samuel Enderby (1717–1797), who founded the

Samuel Enderby & Sons Samuel Enderby & Sons was a whaling and sealing company based in London, England, founded circa 1775 by Samuel Enderby (1717–1797). The company was significant in the history of whaling in the United Kingdom, not least for encouraging their ...

company in 1775.Green A, 150 Years Of Industry & Enterprise At Enderby's Wharf
/ref> Samuel Enderby & Sons was one of the most prominent English sealing and

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

firms, active in both the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

s. Charles and his two brothers, Henry and George, inherited Samuel Enderby & Sons when their father Samuel Junior died in 1829. They moved the company headquarters in 1830 from Paul's Wharf to Great St. Helens in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Role of Samuel Enderby & Sons in exploration of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

Also in 1830, Charles became a founding member of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(RGS). He served on the council of the RGS on several occasions between 1842 and 1847. Charles encouraged masters of Enderby vessels to report geographical discoveries and had notable successes with

John Biscoe John Biscoe (28 April 1794 – 1843) was an English mariner and explorer who commanded the first expedition known to have sighted the areas named Enderby Land and Graham Land along the coast of Antarctica. The expedition also found a number of is ...

and

John Balleny John Balleny (died 1857) was the English captain of the sealing schooner , who led an exploration cruise for the English whaling firm Samuel Enderby & Sons to the Antarctic in 1838–1839. During the expedition of 1838–1839, Balleny, sailing in co ...

, who between them discovered

Enderby Land Enderby Land is a projecting landmass of Antarctica. Its shore extends from Shinnan Glacier at about to William Scoresby Bay at , approximately of the earth's longitude. It was first documented in western and eastern literature in February 183 ...

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee and ...

, the

Balleny Islands The Balleny Islands () are a series of uninhabited islands in the Southern Ocean extending from 66°15' to 67°35'S and 162°30' to 165°00'E. The group extends for about in a northwest-southeast direction. The islands are heavily glaciated an ...

and the

Sabrina Coast Sabrina Coast () is that portion of the coast of Wilkes Land, Antarctica, lying between Cape Waldron, at 115° 33' E, and Cape Southard, at 122° 05' E. John Balleny has long been credited with having seen land in March 1839 at about 117° E. T ...

. Another Enderby captain,

Abraham Bristow Abraham Bristow (c1771-1846) was a British mariner, sealer and whaler. In August 1806 he discovered the Auckland Islands. Life and early maritime career Bristow was baptised 22 March 1771 at Begbroke, Oxfordshire; the fifth child and third so ...

, discovered the

Auckland Islands The Auckland Islands (Māori: ''Motu Maha'' "Many islands" or ''Maungahuka'' "Snowy mountains") are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying , is surrounded by smaller Adams Island, ...

in 1806, naming one of the islands

Enderby Island Enderby Island is part of New Zealand's uninhabited Auckland Islands archipelago, south of mainland New Zealand. It is situated just off the northern tip of Auckland Island, the largest island in the archipelago. Geography and geology Enderby ...

. In January, 1841 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

Effect of exploratory voyages on viability of Samuel Enderby & Sons

These many voyages of exploration, while fruitful in terms of geographical discovery, were not financially profitable for the Enderby family business. While the exploratory voyages were slowly sapping the company's resources, the destruction of Enderby's Hemp Rope Works, the company's rope-making factory on the

Greenwich Peninsula The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South London, South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Thames, Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the ...

in the

London Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London boroughs, London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metr ...

, triggered an immediate need for a change in the company business plan.

Auckland Islands and the Enderby Settlement

Looking for a way to revive the firm's fortunes, Charles Enderby successfully petitioned for government backing to establish a settlement on the

'for the purpose of the whale fishery, as a station at which to discharge the cargoes and refit vessels'.The Southern Whale Fishery Company
/ref> In 1846, Charles founded the

Southern Whale Fishery Company The Southern Whale Fishery Company was established by the granting of a Royal Charter in 1846 to Charles Enderby, for the purpose of operating a permanent whaling station on the Auckland Islands. Charles Enderby was the grandson of Samuel Enderby, ...

in England. In December 1849, he established the

Enderby Settlement Hardwicke was the name of an agricultural and whaling community set up at Port Ross, a natural harbour on Auckland Island in the Auckland Islands in the Southern Ocean, south of New Zealand. Although a short-lived settlement was established, it w ...

in Erebus Cove,

Port Ross Port Ross is a natural harbour on Auckland Island in the Auckland Islands Group, a subantarctic chain that forms part of the New Zealand Outlying Islands. Guarding the mouth of Port Ross are Rose Island, Enderby Island, Ewing Island, and th ...

, at the north-eastern end of

Auckland Island Auckland Island ( mi, Mauka Huka) is the main island of the eponymous uninhabited archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the New Zealand subantarctic area. It is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the other New ...

, close to

. This was the beginning of the community named Hardwicke. The Hardwicke settlement was based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, resupply and minor repair of ships, and whaling. However, the cold, damp climate and acid soils made agriculture impossible, and the eight whaling ships attached to the station caught very few whales.Conon Fraser, ''The Enderby settlement; Britain's whaling venture on the subantarctic islands 1849-1852'', Otago, University Press, 2014. Ultimately unsuccessful, the colony was abandoned in August 1852.

Final years

Charles Enderby returned to London in 1853. The ill-fated Enderby Settlement finally bankrupted the Enderby family business, which was liquidated in 1854.Charles Enderby
/ref> He lived for a time in

Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsfl ...

in a house owned by friend and former whaling entrepreneur

Thomas Sturge Thomas Sturge (1787–1866) was a British oil merchant, shipowner, cement manufacturer, railway company director, social reformer and philanthropist. Family background and early life Thomas Sturge was born in 1787, one of at least ten children ...

. Charles Enderby died in poverty in London on 31 August 1876.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enderby, Charles 1798 births 1876 deaths British people in whaling Auckland Islands History of the New Zealand outlying islands Fellows of the Royal Society