Salamander (1776 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 England | |
| Name: | Salamander |
| Owner: | |
| Builder: | Thames River[1] |
| Launched: | 1776 |
| Fate: | No longer listed in 1812 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 309,[1] or 319,[3] or 320,[4] or 342[3] (bm) |
| Sail plan: | Ship rig |
| Complement: | |
| Armament: | |
Salamander was a ship built on the Thames River and launched in 1776. In the 1780s she was in the Greenland whale fisheries. In 1791 she transported convicts to Australia. She then became a whaling ship in the South Seas whale fisheries for a number of years, before becoming a general transport and then a slave ship. In 1804 the French captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. She is last listed in 1811.
Career
Salamander appears in the 1786 Lloyd's Register with T. Ash, master, and P. Mellish, owner. Her trade is London-Greenland.[5] That is, she was engaged in the Greenland fisheries. Already in 1784 she is reported to have taken "3 fish".[6] In July 1787, Salamander, Ash, master, was reported to have taken two fish.[7] In June 1788, "Salamander, of London", was reported to have no fish.[8]
Under the command of Master John Nichol, Salamander was part of the third fleet to transport convicts to Australia. She departed Portsmouth on 27 March 1791, and arrived on 21 August 1791 in Port Jackson, New South Wales.[4] She embarked 160 male convicts, five of whom died during the voyage.[9]
She left Port Jackson on 4 September 1791 for Norfolk Island and on the voyage was the first known vessel to enter Port Stephens. Salamander Point (now Nelson Head and Fly Point), Salamander Bay (now Nelson Bay), the present Salamander Bay and associated suburb were named after her. Salamander was then used as a whaler in the South Pacific and without much luck then continued to Peru. She was reported off the coast there in November 1792. She returned to England September 1793.[10]
Under the command of Captain William Irish, in February 1794 she was preparing to sail again to New South Wales. By May she was at Rio de Janeiro, where she underwent repairs and calefaction, i.e., caulking. She was in Rio again in May two years later, replenishing her supplies. She returned to Britain in September.[10]
Captain Thomas Hopper received a letter of marque on 13 December 1799 for Salamander.[3] The Protection Lists, which exempted the crews of certain classes of vessels, such as whalers, from impressment, listed her from 1798 to 1800. She stopped in at Rio de Janeiro in May 1800 seeking repairs after having been attacked. She was reported off the Cape of Good Hope in April 1801. She then returned to England in November.[10]
Lloyd's Register for 1802 lists Salamander as a London-based transport, with Hutchins, master, and still under the ownership of Mellish & Co. There is no mention of armament.[1]
During 1804, her ownership changes to Carver & Co., her master to Walbert, and her trade to London-Africa.[2] A database of slave voyages shows Salamander having carried slaves from the Gold Coast to Cuba in 1803 while under the command of William Jameson, and under the ownership of Calvert. The same database shows her as having gathered slaves on the Gold Coast in 1804 with Anthony Calvert, owner, and Dederick Woolbert, master. Dedrick Woolbert received a letter of marque on 14 February 1804.[3]
Despite her armament and letter of marque, Salamander was captured in 1804, recaptured, and taken into Barbados.[11] The vessel that recaptured the "English Ship Salamander- (a Guineaman)", was HMS Heureux.[12] The recapture notice did not mention any slaves, suggesting that she had already landed her human cargo.
From 1805 on, Lloyd's Register has an unchanged entry showing Wolbert, master, Calvert & Co., owner, and trade London-Africa. The database of slave voyages, however, has no further record of such voyages, and Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807. The entry continues unchanged through 1811. Salamander is no longer listed in 1812.
Citations and references
- Citations
- 1 2 3 4 Lloyd's Register (1802). seq. no. S64.
- 1 2 Lloyd's Register (1804), seq. no. S100.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Letter of Marque, - accessed 14 May 2011.
- 1 2 Bateson (1974), pp.115-6.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register (1786), seq. no. S1123.
- ↑ Lloyd's List, n° 1587.
- ↑ Lloyd's List, n° 1900.
- ↑ Lloyd's List, n° 2002.
- ↑ Bateson (1974), p.122.
- 1 2 3 Clayton (2104), p. 214.
- ↑ Lloyd's List, n° 4507.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15794. p. 436. 2 April 1805.
- References
- Bateson, Charles, The Convict Ships, 1787-1868, Sydney, 1974. ISBN 0-85174-195-9
- Clayton, Jane M. (2014) Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775-1815: An alphabetical list of ships. (Berforts Group). ISBN 978-1908616524