''John Pirie'' was a schooner and the smallest of the ships in the

First Fleet of South Australia In 1836, at least nine ships in 1836 carried the first European settlers from England to the south coast of Australia for the establishment of the City of Adelaide and the province of South Australia. Although not all of the ships sailed toge ...

that carried colonists and supplies to the

Colony of South Australia In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

in 1836. It was the first ship to set sail for the

South Australian Company The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the S ...

, only three days after the

Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia The Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia, dated 19 February 1836 and formally titled "Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom erecting and establishing the Province of South Australia and fixing the bound ...

were signed. It was built by Alexander Hall and Company at

Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), an ...

in 1827.

Career

The ship was named after

John Pirie Sir John Pirie, 1st Baronet (1781 – 26 February 1851), was a British shipbroker and Lord Mayor of London. He was the largest shipbroker in London.

, a London merchant who initially owned half of the shares in the ship, and later took full ownership. It initially traded between Britain and Italy, Spain and Nova Scotia. Pirie was a founding member of the

, and sold the ''John Pirie'' to the company before it sailed to South Australia. For the journey, it was loaded with stores, farm animals, and 21 passengers. The skipper was George Martin, with two mates and five other crew. It sailed from London on 22 February 1836, and arrived at

Nepean Bay Nepean Bay is a bay located on the north-east coast of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia about south-south-west of Adelaide. It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders, after Sir Evan Nepean on 21 March 1 ...

on 16 August. Another of Pirie's ships, the , was chartered by the company to also make the voyage to South Australia. Martin then sailed ''John Pirie'' to

Hobart Town 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 ...

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 sep ...

to collect more supplies. ''John Pirie'', along with the other South Australian Company ships, remained in Australia following delivery of its passengers. It transported goods and passengers between various settlements in South Australia, as well as settlements at Launceston,

and Sydney. It was blown ashore in a storm in December 1837 while anchored near the whaling station at Rosetta Harbour (west of Victor Harbor) in

Encounter Bay Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Baudi ...

, but was refloated. ''John Pirie'' was pushed on shore in another storm on 23 September 1841 at

Aldinga Bay Aldinga Bay is a bay located on the east coast of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia about south-southwest of Adelaide city centre. Extent & description Aldinga Bay lies between Snapper Point in the suburb of Aldinga Beach at its northern e ...

after breaking both anchor lines. She was refloated and sailed back to Port Adelaide for repairs several weeks later. At the same time, Sydney newspapers carried advertisements that the ''John Pirie'' would be for sale in excellent order when it reached Sydney. It remained under repair until the end of January 1842, at which time it sailed to New Zealand with 16 passengers and cargo.

Fate

She departed Hobart Town for Port Albert, Victoria on 25 August 1848 where she loaded cattle to return to Hobart. She was overdue reaching Hobart Town at the end of 1848. Wreckage was discovered on 3 October 1850 on the southwestern side of Prime Seal Island in the

Furneaux Group The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of ...

in Bass Strait.

Career

Fate

References

See also