Eliza Stewart (1845 ship)

Eliza Stewart was a sailing ship built in 1845 at "Brkw'r", Gloucesterhire. Among other roles, she carried coolies between India and Trinidad. She was wrecked c.1865.

For other ships with the same name, see List of ships named Eliza Stewart.

Eliza Stewart under reduced sail in the Channel off the Eddystone lighthouse, William Clark (Greenock: 1803-1883)
History
United Kingdom
Name: Eliza Stewart
Launched: 1845
Fate: Wrecked c.1865
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 442 (old) & 524 (new),[1] or 495[2] (bm)
Length: 115 ft 3 in (35.1 m)[2]
Beam: 26 ft 4 in (8.0 m)[2]
Depth: 20 ft 3 in (6.2 m)[2]
Notes: Three masts

Career

Eliza Stewart first appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1845 with Henderson, master, Stewart & Co., owners, and trade Newport–Ceylon[3]

Year Master Owner Trade Home port Notes
1846 Henderson Stewart & Co. Newport–Ceylon
Liverpool-Calcutta		 Greenock
1850 Henderson Stewart & Co. Newport–Ceylon
Liverpool-Calcutta		 Greenock Damages repaired in 1847

On 31 August 1847 a typhoon struck Hong Kong, the first since the island became a British colony.[4] Eliza Stewart would have ridden out the typhoon but the British iron bark John Laird drifted against her and drove her against Dos Hermanos. Eliza Stewart was so damaged that she had to discharge her cargo of sugar for Shanghae to effect repairs.[5]


Eliza Stewart carried coolies from India to Trinidad in three voyages. She left Calcutta prior to 5 February 1851 with 159 men, 12 women, and seven children and infants, for a total of 178 persons. She landed 176 on 23 April.[6]

Eliza Stewart also carried coolies from Trinidad back to India when their five-year terms of indenture were up. A bounty scheme gave the immigrants $50 if they extended their term in Trinidad by five years.[7] Although most Indians brought over remained in Trinidad, some would return home with substantial savings.[8] On 31 May 1851 Eliza Stewart carried 20 back to Calcutta.[9] The fare was £20 per person: £10 for Trinidad to Greenock, and £10 for Greenock to Calcutta.[10]

Eliza Steward arrived at Trinidad again on 30 April 1852 with 183 immigrants, three having died on the voyage. Lastly, on 13 May 1853 Eliza Stewart landed 214 immigrants, six having died on the voyage.[6]

Year Master Owner Trade Home port Notes
1855 H. Baird Stewart Lithgow–Calcutta Greenock Small repairs 1854[1]
1860 Oppenheim Fellows London–Australia London Small repairs 1859
1865 H. Osborne Dixon & Co. Liverpool–China Liverpool

Fate

Eliza Stewart's entry in Lloyd's Register for 1865 has the annotation Wrecked.[2]

Citations
  1. Seq.№313.
  2. Lloyd's Register Seq.№E343.
  3. Lloyd's Register (1845), Supple. pages "E".
  4. Campbell (2005), p.61.
  5. "The Typhoon In The China Seas." Times [London, England 20 Nov. 1848: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 4 Aug. 2018.]
  6. CaribbeanGenWeb Project: Indian Immigrant Ship List.
  7. Batrsha (2017), p.119.
  8. Batsha (2017), pp.88-90.
  9. Batsha (2017), p.86.
  10. Batsha (2017), p.113.

References
  • Batsha, Nishant (2017) The Currents of Restless Toil: Colonial Rule and Indian Indentured Labor in Trinidad and Fiji. (Columbia University: PhD Thesis).
  • Campbell, S. (2005) Typhoons affecting Hong Kong: Case Studies.
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