Lady Macnaghten

Lady MacNaghten[1] was an English barque of 553 tons, founded in 1825, which made numerous voyages to Australia, but remembered as the "Fever ship" for her 1837 voyage when one in six passengers died of illness either en route or shortly after arrival.

This article is about the ship. For Frances (died 1878), wife of Sir William Macnaughten (murdered 1841), see Thomas Taylour, 2nd Marquess of Headfort.

History

Her voyages to Australia included:

1835

Her first voyage to Australia left Dublin on 23 June 1835 for Sydney under Captain Hustwick, with 300 male prisoners, under the superintendence of Dr. Jarman, R. N. The guard consisted of Lieutenant Trapands and Baumgartner, and 29 soldiers of the 25th Regiment. Passengers were Michael Brown, clerk of the works for Sydney, Mrs. Brown and their four children, also eight women emigrants and four children.[2]

1837

Billed as a "female emigrant ship",[3] though the policy of bringing out women indiscriminately was being phased out in favour of family migration, and the ship departed Cork on 5 November 1836 with 412 emigrants.[4]

Lady MacNaghten sailed from Britain to Australia non-stop, as was customary for emigrant ships, and the first news to reach the outside world that anything was amiss was when the ship and HMS Rattlesnake, with Governor Bourke on board, made contact about 200 miles (320 km) south of Port Phillip around 24 February. Captain Hustwick passed the news to Captain W. Hobson that around 50 adults and children had died on board, mostly from typhus, and many more, including the ship's surgeon, Dr. J. A. Hawkins, were seriously ill. Assistant surgeon Bowler of HMS Rattlesnake was placed on board and the two ships went their separate ways.[5] On 26 February the ship pulled in to Spring Cove, where she lay at anchor and those unaffected or recovering were ferried ashore and quarantined under guard. Their clothing and bedding was burnt and they were accommodated in tents, while those still suffering remained on board.[3] Hawkins, who was on his first voyage as a ship's surgeon, died on 2 April and was buried in the Quarantine Ground. Captain Hustwick had contracted the disease but recovered as did Dr. Bowler of the Rattlesnake.[6] These three were popularly regarded as heroes;[7] John Marshall, the London shipping agent whose duty it was to select prospective migrants and arrange their transportation, was the villain, dubbed "dealer in human flesh" for overcrowding the ship.[8] Government regulations stipulated a maximum of 2 persons (including crew) for every 5 tons of Registered Burthen; Lady MacNaghten, of 550 tons should have carried no more than 334; she was carrying an equivalent of 336 adults, so certainly the ship was overcrowded, but the previous year she carried 300 convicts, a crew of 37 and 49 guards; 386 in all, but only lost two. Sixty-one Lady McNaghten passengers were lost, though probably not all to typhus.

An open letter of gratitude was published on 20 April, and signed by 13 passengers.[9] Significantly, John Lazar, who lost three children to the contagion, and was under-compensated for his wardrobe (he was a tailor and actor) which had been destroyed, was not one of them.

1838

Carried 205 immigrants under the Bounty Scheme. Left Cromarty, Scotland on 26 Sept 1838, arriving in Sydney on 28 January 1839. [10]

1840

To Sydney with cargo, arrived December; Captain Doughty. Arrived in Sydney on 16 December, leaving from Plymouth on 30 August, with 260 Immigrants. Dr. McNamara, Esq., Surgeon. Two adults and seven children died, and four births occurred during the passage.[11]

1847

Left London 1 July, arrived in South Australia in October with settlers; Captain James Hibbert. Dr. A. C. Kelly, later a noted vigneron, was ship's surgeon.

1850

Left Plymouth on 24 February, arrived in South Australia in June with settlers; Captain James Hibbert.


Further reading
  • Perry McIntyre & Elizabeth "Liz" Rushen (2010). Quarantined!: The 1837 Lady Macnaghten Immigrants. Anchor Books Australia. ISBN 9780980335408.

References
  1. This is the spelling adopted by historians, though contemporary reports overwhelmingly favoured Lady McNaughton and Lady McNaughten.
  2. "Shipping Intelligence". The Sydney Monitor. X (841). New South Wales, Australia. 28 October 1835. p. 2. Retrieved 19 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "The Female Emigrant Ship Lady M'Naughton". The Sydney Monitor. XII (1001). New South Wales, Australia. 27 February 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 19 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. Of 412 emigrants 144 were females 15 years and over, and 72 males in the same age bracket, so single unaccompanied females would have numbered around 70.
  5. Frank Osborne (April 2001). "An Emigrant Ship - Lady MacNaghten". Illawarra Historical Society. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  6. "Advertising". The Sydney Herald. VII (571). New South Wales, Australia. 17 April 1837. p. 7. Retrieved 20 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "The Fever Ship". The Cornwall Chronicle. 3 (113). Tasmania, Australia. 8 April 1837. p. 1. Retrieved 19 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "The Lady MacNaughten". The Colonist. III (121). New South Wales, Australia. 20 April 1837. p. 3. Retrieved 20 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Lady MacNaghten". The Sydney Herald. VII (572). New South Wales, Australia. 20 April 1837. p. 2. Retrieved 20 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Electric Scotland, https://www.electricscotland.com/history/australia/scotaus3.htm
  11. The Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser, Thursday 17 December 1840, page 3
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