'' Eliza '' was an American brig wrecked at Fiji in 1808. ''Eliza'' had been constructed and registered at Providence,

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, United States. She carried a crew of ten and was owned by Brown & Ives. ''Eliza'' arrived at Port Jackson from

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on 9 December 1807, and remained in Sydney until 22 April 1808 when she departed for Norfolk Island and Fiji. She carried at least one soldier of the NSW Corps to Norfolk Island. She is recorded touching at Tonga 14 June. It was some days later in June when she was wrecked south-southwest of Nairai Island, becoming a

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. One European man, whom ''Eliza'' had rescued from the wrecked , drowned. While the rest of the crew waited, ''Eliza''s master, E. Hill Corri, and his two mates travelled in a whaleboat to Sandalwood Bay where on 29 June 1808 they found the brig ''Elizabeth'' and the American ship ''Jenny'' lying at anchor. Corri and a rescue crew from both these ships travelled the 60–70 miles back to the ''Eliza'' wreck, where they were promptly attacked by natives. The natives killed the

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from ''Elizabeth'', but the remaining sailors, led by ''Eliza''s second officer, Seth Barton, counterattacked and defeated them. Corri and his crew then sailed on ''Jenny'' for China but ''Jenny'' was dismasted at

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and so he and his crew left her there.''Australian Shipwrecks - vol 1 1622-1850'', Charles Bateson, AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, p44 ''Eliza'' is also notable for being the ship that carried

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from

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

to Fiji. Another vessel named ''Eliza'', a carval built sloop of 22 tons was operating in NSW waters at the same time, built in the colony in 1808, owned by Edward Wills, and mentioned several times in the Sydney Gazette. She is recorded departing with passengers to quit the colony (9 October 1808 ''Sydney Gazette'') and is clearly a different vessel to the brig.

Citations

{{1808 shipwrecks Ships built in Providence, Rhode Island Maritime history of Australia History of New South Wales Sailing ships Individual sailing vessels Maritime incidents in 1808 Shipwrecks of Fiji Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean