Medway was launched at Frindsbury in 1810. She made two voyages between 1820 and 1825 transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land. Medway was ondemned at Calcutta in late 1840.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Medway |
| Namesake | River Medway |
| Builder | John King, Frindsbury, (or Upnor) |
| Launched | 23 June 1810[1] |
| Fate | Condemned 1840 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 435,[1] or 449[2] (bm) |
| Armament | 2 × 9-pounder guns + 8 × 12-pounder carronades[2] |
Career edit
Medway enters Lloyd's Register in 1810 with Peterson, master, Taylor & Co., owner, and trade London–Jamaica.[3]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1815 | J. Mackie W. Graves |
Irwin | London–Tobago | Lloyd's Register (LR)[2] |
| 1820 | B. Wight | Irwin | London–Calcutta | Register of Shipping (RS) |
Convict voyage #1 (1820-1821): Captain Borthwick Wight sailed Medway from on 13 November 1820. She arrived at Hobart Town on 13 March 1821.[4] She had embarked 156 convicts, none of whom died en route.[5] The 53rd Regiment of Foot provided the guard. Medway sailed on to Sydney, arriving there on 27 March; she carried a number of prisoners being transferred from Hobart to Newcastle, New South Wales. Newcastle had become a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as punishment for their crimes.[6]
Convict voyage #2 (1825): Captain Wight sailed Medway from Land's End on 22 August 1825 and arrived in Hobart on 9 December 1825.[7] She had embarked 172 male convicts. One source states that she had no deaths en route;[8] another source states that she had four. The 57th Regiment of Foot provided the guard.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | B. Wright | J. Pirie | Cork–New South Wales | LR |
| 1835 | B. Weight | Weight & Co. | London | LR |
| 1840 | B. Weight | Weight & Co. | London | LR |
Fate edit
Medway, Griffith, master, from Sydney, was condemned at Calcutta in 1840. Her hull was sold at auction for Rupees 4,500.[9] Medway was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1841.
Citations edit
- ^ a b Hackman (2001), p. 298.
- ^ a b c Lloyd's Register (1815), Seq. №M236.
- ^ Lloyd's Register (1810), Seq. №88.
- ^ Bateson (1959), pp. 306–7.
- ^ Bateson (1959), p. 328.
- ^ "Newcastle". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
- ^ Bateson (1959), pp. 308–9.
- ^ Bateson (1959), p. 330.
- ^ " MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES" Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and its Dependencies (London, England), 1 December 1840, Volume 33, Issue 132 p. 315.
References edit
- Bateson, Charles (1959). The Convict Ships, 1787-1868. Brown, Son & Ferguson. OCLC 3778075.
- Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.