Ocean Chief (clipper)
 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 UK | |
| Name: | Ocean Chief (1) |
| Owner: | James Baines & Co. |
| Operator: | Black Ball Line |
| Route: | United Kingdom−Australia |
| Builder: | Joshua C. Morton,[1] Thomaston, Maine, USA |
| Completed: | 1853 |
| Acquired: | 1854 |
| Fate: | Burnt, 1862 Bluff Harbour New Zealand |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Clipper |
| Tonnage: | 1,026 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 182 ft (55 m) |
| Beam: | 34 ft (10 m) |
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| History | |
| UK | |
| Name: | Ocean Chief (2) (renamed from Wild Ranger) |
| Owner: | James Baines & Co. |
| Operator: | Black Ball Line |
| Route: | United Kingdom−Australia |
| Builder: | J. O. Curtis, Medford, Massachusetts, USA |
| Completed: | 1853 |
| Acquired: | 1962 |
| Out of service: | 1966 |
| Fate: | Sunk off Calcutta in 1872 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Clipper |
| Tonnage: | 930 gross register tons (GRT) |
The Ocean Chief, a clipper ship, used as a regular packet service and passenger ship for bounty emigrants to Australia between June 1854 and Dec. 1861 at the time of the gold rush.
Original
The original Ocean Chief was built in Thomaston, Maine, USA by Joshua C. Morton (Born 1789) and his son Charles, one of two clippers that they built.[2]
She was a fast and consistent sailer and made an average passage of 74 days.
The Black Ball Line (founded 1852 – ceased 1871) owners James Baines & Thomas MacKay, Liverpool[3] purchased the vessel for a regular mail service between Liverpool and Melbourne. It also visited other ports including Hobart, Tasmania and New Zealand.
In 1862 the Ocean Chief arrived at Bluff Harbour under Captain T. Brown, with 4000 sheep. On the morning of 23 January 1862, the ship was burned by the crew believing that they could get rich on the nearby Otago Gold Rush.[4][5]
Replacement
Another ship which was built 1853 by J. O. Curtis, Medford, Mass named Wild Ranger was purchased in 1862 as a replacement ship and renamed the Ocean Chief. This ship was slightly smaller being 930 tons. It was sold in 1866 sold to E. Angel, Liverpool. It went down in a large storm off Calcutta in 1872.
Voyages
| Departed | Date | Arrived | Date | Captain | Passengers | Days | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | - | Australia | - | Thomas James Tobin | |||
| Australia | - | England | - | Thomas James Tobin | 86 | ||
| England | 11 January 1855 | Hobart, Australia | 26 March 1855 | Thomas James Tobin | 370 | 75 | |
| Australia | - | England | - | Thomas James Tobin | 69 | ||
| England | 8 October 1855 | Australia | January 1856 | - | 362 | ||
| Australia | - | England | - | ||||
| England | – | Australia | May 1858 | - | |||
| Australia | - | England | - | ||||
| England | – | Australia | February 1859 | - | |||
| Australia | - | England | - | ||||
| England | 5 September 1859 | Australia | 30 November 1859 | William Brown | 109 | 86 | |
| Australia | - | England | - | ||||
| England | 5 July 1860 | Melbourne, Australia | 2 October 1860 | - | |||
| Australia | - | England | - | ||||
| England | – | Melbourne, Australia | 21 July 1861 | - | |||
| Australia | - | England | - | ||||
| England | – | Melbourne, Australia | December 1861 | - | |||
| Burnt New Zealand | 23 January 1862 | T. Brown |
References
- ↑ "The Ships List". www.theshipslist.com. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ↑ "The American Clipper Ships 1845–1920". McFarland and Company P71. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ↑ "Baines & MacKay / Black Ball Line, Liverpool". www.theshipslist.com. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ↑ "Fate – Fire Afloat". ancestry.com. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ↑ "Destruction of the "Ocean Chief" by Fire at the Bluff Harbour". Otago Daily Times (63). 28 January 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 15 March 2016.