''Sir George Seymour'' was built in

Sunderland, Tyne and Wear Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the historic county of Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on the River Wear's mouth to the North Sea. The ri ...

in 1844 by Somes Brothers. She made one voyage transporting

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 convict ...

to Australia and at least one carrying emigrants to Australia and one to New Zealand. A fire at sea in her cargo in December 1867 forced her crew to abandon her.

Convict transport

On 4 November 1844 ''Sir George Seymour'', John Young Clarke, master, set sail from England, bound for

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

, Australia; she arrived at

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

on 27 February 1845. She had embarked 345 male convicts and she landed 175 at

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

and 169 at Hobart; one convict died on the voyage. She sailed for Calcutta on 27 June with 132 horses, and other cargo and passengers.

1849 emigrant voyage to Australia

''Sir George Seymour'' sailed from Plymouth on 9 January 1849, bound for Geelong, Victoria. She was carrying 302 assisted immigrants and assorted cargo. (Ten vessels, carrying over 1000 immigrants to Australia, left that week.) She anchored off Port Henry on 14 May; she arrived at Melbourne 1 June. On 3 July she sailed from Sydney, bound for Singapore and Calcutta.

1850 emigrant voyage to New Zealand

In 1850 ''Sir George Seymour'' was one of the

First Four Ships The First Four Ships refers to the four sailing vessels chartered by the Canterbury Association which left Plymouth, England, in September 1850 to transport the first English settlers to new homes in Canterbury, New Zealand. The colonists or se ...

to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in New Zealand on behalf of the

Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch. ...

. The other three ships were '' Cressy'', ''

Charlotte Jane ''Charlotte Jane'' was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury in New Zealand. Maiden voyage The ''Charlotte Jane'' departed from England in 1848, bound for Sy ...

'', and ''

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

''. ''Sir George Seymour'' left

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

around 11am on Sunday, 8 September 1850, with about 227 passengers. On 4 October, she sighed ''Randolph'' and a Mr. Davy, who had missed that ship at Plymouth, took the opportunity to change vessels and complete the voyage in his assigned ship and cabin, and be reunited with his outfit. One of ''Randolph's'' boats executed the passenger exchange and some of that ship's passengers took the opportunity to visit. The two ships sailed in company until 10 October. The ship sailed southward til, on 7 December, nearly 49° S. Then about 4 AM on Wednesday, 11 December, she sighted Stewart's Island, apparently earlier than either the ''Charlotte Jane'' or the ''Randolph'' did on that same day. However, she sailed closer to the cost of the South Island than her sister ships and dropped anchor in Port Victoria (off Lyttelton) at 10am on Tuesday, 17 December 1850, a day later than ''Charlotte Jane''. Her passage was 100 days and 2 young children died during the journey. The passengers aboard the first four ships were referred to as "The Pilgrims". Their names are inscribed on marble plaques in Cathedral Square in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. The ship is remembered in the name of a road, George Seymour Quay, in the port town of Lyttelton.

Notable passengers

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

(1820–1897), second mayor of Christchurch :*

(1850–1934), his son *

Guise Brittan William Guise Brittan (3 December 1809 – 18 July 1876), mostly known as Guise Brittan and commonly referred to as W. G. Brittan, was the first Commissioner of Crown Lands for Canterbury in New Zealand. Biography Brittan was born in Gloucester, ...

(1807–1876), first Commissioner of Crown Lands for Canterbury :* Emily Foster (1842–1897), teacher and school principal; daughter of Guise Brittan *

Richard James Strachan Harman Richard James Strachan Harman (14 April 1826 – 26 November 1902) was trained as a civil engineer. However, in Christchurch, New Zealand, he worked as a bureaucrat, politician and businessman. He was one of the Canterbury Pilgrims, having arriv ...

(1826–1902), politician and businessman *

Henry Jacobs Henry Sandy Jacobs (October 9, 1924 – September 25, 2015) was an American sound artist and humorist. Early life and education Jacobs was born in Chicago, Illinois. After a tour in the Air Corps —during which time he acquired some broadcast ex ...

(1824–1901), first Dean of Christchurch * Elizabeth Watts-Russell (1833–1905), community leader and wife of John Watts-Russell *

John Watts-Russell John Charles Watts-Russell JP (1825 – 2 April 1875) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician, a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council and a member of the Legislative Council. He was supposedly the wealthiest of the early settlers, and ...

(1825–1875), politician and runholder

Later career and fate

In 1865 ''Sir George Seymour'' underwent repairs for damages. At the time her master was M'Ewen, her owner Higgins & Co., her homeport London, and her trade "Brs".''Lloyd's Register'' (1865), Seq.№S491.
/ref> A fire destroyed ''Sir George Seymour'' in 1867. She was carrying a cargo of coal from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

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- ...

when the cargo suffered spontaneous combustion on 18 December 1867 at . Her crew abandoned her. ''Leda'', which was on her way to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, rescued 15 crew members. Her entry in ''Lloyd's Register'' for 1867 carried the annotation " RNT". The listing gave her master as M'Ewen, but her homeport now was

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and her owner D. Law.''Lloyd's Register'' (1867), Seq.№487.
/ref>

Notes

Citations

References

* {{First Four Ships History of Christchurch Age of Sail merchant ships of England Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom Canterbury Association Convict ships to Tasmania Ships built on the River Tyne Convict ships to Victoria 1844 ships Maritime incidents in December 1867 1850s in Christchurch Migrant ships to Australia Migrant ships to New Zealand