''Elligood'' (or ''Ellegood'') was constructed in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in 1794 for Liddle & Co. She performed one voyage for the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

(EIC). She was primarily a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

, but also visited Australia. She is last listed in 1806.

Career

''Ellegood'' was registered 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 ...

in 1795, with F. Holman, master, and Liddle & Co., owners. The entry in ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

'' gave her place of construction as Nova Scotia and her year of launch as 1794. It also gave her trade as London-Martinique.''Lloyd's Register'' (1795), seq. no. E385.
/ref> Captain Francis Holman sailed from Gravesend on 11 October 1796, bound for

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

for the EIC. She reached Madras on 15 February 1797, Cochin on 8 March, Goa on 20 March, and Bombay on 28 March. She left Bombay on 28 June, reached

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

on 11 September, and arrived at Long Reach on 13 December. In 1798 ''Elligood'' was sold to Daniel Bennett for service as a South Seas whaler. He would remain her owner through 1805. In 1798 she sailed to the east coast of Africa under the command of Captain Christopher Dixon. She returned to Britain on 16 July 1799.British Southern Whale Fishery Database – voyages: ''Elligood''.
/ref> On 15 January 1800, Captain Christopher Dickson received a letter of marque for ''Ellegood''. Under Dixson's command, ''Elligood'' sailed from London on 19 February. Several whalers sailed at the same time, including , Thomas Denis, master. ''Elligood'' and ''Kingston'' were to sail in company on a speculative voyage to New Holland for whales. They were then to examine King George Sound, proceed to Shark Bay and the north-west coast, and return via Madagascar and southern Africa. ''Elligood'' and ''Kingston'' arrived in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

on 5 May 1800. The two vessels did some whaling off the African coast and then turned east, cruising off

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 9 August to 22 December. On 27 August they were at

King George Sound King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...

. There, at the entrance to Oyster Harbour, Western Australia (, Dixson made a small garden and left a copper plate engraved "Aug. 27 1800. Chr Dixson, ship Elligood". Late in 1801

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

found the plate on his way along the southern coast of Australia to

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 ...

. ''Ellegood'' returned to Cape Town in May 1801 under the command of Job Anthony as it had been reported that both Dixson and nine crew had died of

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

. Dixson had died on 4 January 1801. On 3 November ''

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...

'' reported that in August she had been at Walfish Bay, together with a number of other whalers such as , , , and , and that they were generally successful.''Lloyd's List'' №4200.
/ref> ''Ellegood'' was at St Helena on 19 September, and arrived at London on 8 December.

Fate

She was still reported as whaling in 1805. ''Lloyd's Register'' and the ''Register of Shipping'' for 1805 both carry ''Elligood'' with the unchanged information as to master, owner, and trade. The ''Register of Shipping'' shows her origin as New Brunswick, and changes her launch year from 1796 to 1793.''Register of Shipping'' (1805), Seq.№428.
/ref>

Citations and references

Citations References * * * * {{cite book , last1=Stanbury , first1=Myra , last2=Henderson , first2=Kandy-Jane , last3=Derrien , first3=Bernard , last4=Bigourdan , first4=Nicolas , last5=Le Touze , first5=Evelyne , year=2015 , chapter=Chapter 18: Epilogue , editor1-last=Stanbury , editor1-first=Myra , title=The Mermaid Atoll Shipwreck: A Mysterious Early 19th-century Loss , location=Fremantle, WA , publisher=Australian National Centre of Excellence for Maritime Archaeology and the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology , pages=235–290 , url=https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=829245882825003;res=IELENG , isbn=9781876465094 Maritime history of Australia History of Tasmania Individual sailing vessels Ships of the British East India Company Whaling ships Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom