Ravenswood Dreaming, page 55
In 1855 Williams’ wife Ann finally fell pregnant and gave birth to a boy whom they named Ailstace Arthur. Apart from that lovely event there were no more births in the family until 1858 when Elizabeth gave birth to their second daughter Mary Ann. They now had four surviving sons and two daughters. The steady as she goes policy was succeeding, they were happy times.
Their eldest son John Frederick had now turned sixteen. He had started to work as crew on the lighters and often came out on the Empress while the ship was in port. During this time he learned the ins and outs of loading and unloading cargo. Under the instruction of one of the more reliable crew members he also learned how to take down the sails for maintenance or replacement and check the standing and running rigging for wear. His mother was not very happy at the thought of her eldest son going to sea, but if that was what he wanted he might as well learn on a ship belonging to his father, so she did not interfere.
The fifties could also have been dubbed the sandalwood decade, for on most voyages to Singapore they carried a cargo of sandalwood. The precious timber was in great demand in Asia and George Shenton, their main client, was making his fortune exporting it. This suited the Thomas brothers as quite often George Shenton took up most of the space in the hold and they did not have to hunt around looking for other cargo to make the voyage profitable. Sometimes he would book space in the hold in advance so that as soon as the ship was unloaded his consignment of sandalwood was ready for loading.
As the colony grew and the decade progressed they noticed that the amount of cargo they were requested to carry grew in size. On one voyage from Singapore in 1856 she carried over four hundred boxes of tea, nearly a thousand bags of sugar and smaller quantities of rice and coffee.
John felt sure that this accelerated growth in the general economy of the colony through the fifties was directly linked to the introduction of convicts in 1850. Expenditure on maintaining the convicts, building the facilities to house the convicts and building the facilities to house the guards and warders had grown each year. By the end of 1850 another 100 convicts had arrived and then each year for the past five years between 500 and 1000 had arrived.
On looking back over the records of the shipping company, the hotel and the shop, John could see that so far throughout the fifties there had been a definite increase in the rate of growth of revenue. Demand for everything had increased and exports of produce had increased. There was no other explanation, it had to be the effect of the introduction of convicts.
There was a sense of optimism developing among the merchants of Fremantle. Trade was buoyant. Opportunities abundant.
Also in 1855 Henry and Jane announced they were quitting the lightering business and moving to Champion Bay. George Shenton was planning to open a general store there and also had gone into partnership with several other men to further develop the Geraldine Mining Company to mine the seam of galena that had been discovered north of the port. They were also planning to refine the ore and produce pigs of lead for export to Fremantle and Asia. Henry had been working for George Shenton on and off for some time and George had offered him a position looking after his interests. Henry was also planning to acquire farm land in the district and also to set up his own retail business.
So in July of that year they had bid goodbye to the Gray family and promised that when the Empress stopped at Champion Bay they would call in and see them.
The huge exports of Sandalwood from Fremantle and huge imports of produce and wares from Singapore and other Asian ports had continued for the next three years and at the beginning of 1858 John and William had been discussing the possibility of another ship. The Empress alone could not cope with demand for their services.
With John as captain and William as first mate the Empress had arrived in Singapore with a full hold of Sandalwood and began discharging the cargo.
While this was happening John went ashore to do some shopping for himself and William. The skills of the Chinese tailors were amazing. Shirts, jackets and trousers could be made to order and be ready within 24 hours at one tenth of the price that would be charged in Fremantle and Perth. He ordered half a dozen shirts and two pairs of trousers each for himself and William and a black captain’s coat and cap of the sort worn by Greek fishermen. They would be ready in two days. Then he dropped by the premises of Spottiswood and Co to settle his account.
While there he was informed that anchored in the harbour was a three-masted-barque for sale by auction. The Spottiswood staff knew the ship and were of the opinion she would be perfect for the trade around the islands and down the coast to the Swan River. At the auction on the 17th of April John became the proud owner of a fine ship The Rory-O-More.
Part 11
RORY O’ MORE
The Rory O’ More was a huge ship when compared to the Empress. The Empress was estimated to weigh about 100 tons and could carry 140 tons of cargo. While not as manoeuvrable as the Empress, the new acquisition more than made up for this. The Rory-O-More Weighed in at 296 tons and could carry 480 to 520 tons of cargo. She was built in Scotland in 1842 and was copper fastened. She carried a full complement of sails with plenty of spares and equipment. She had one long boat and one jolly boat, 8 water casks, 2 binnacles complete with compasses, a galley with four coppers and a large tea kettle. A massive pantry of food in storage including over 450 pounds of beef, 600 loaves of bread, kegs of rum, porter wine and vinegar, 400 pounds of pork, a quantity of pickled pork, bags of sugar, rice, flour, beans and a box of tea and much, much more. In addition she was fitted out with iron water tanks and pumps, small arms and ammunition, and two cannons able to fire through two ports at the bow.
This amount of food and other supplies such as lamp oil, coal and firewood and a fully equipped galley with cooking pots and pans, utensils, crockery and glassware meant that even with a crew and passengers, numbering as many as 15, the ship could stay at sea for an extended period.
John took possession of the ship immediately and within a few days his personal effects were transferred from the Empress. Four or five crew members and a Mr Cunningham, the first officer, decided to remain with the ship. At the present time John was more than happy to have men on board who were familiar with the ship and its idiosyncrasies.
John and William had decided to leave the Empress in Singapore in the care of their agents. They had contracted to have the ship’s sails, yardarms and rigging renewed and to have the hull inspected and any damaged or worn sections repaired. While they were still in port William would remain on board to supervise the dispersal of the remaining cargo. Just prior to the departure of the Rory-O-More, William would come back on board as second mate leaving a skeleton crew of three trusted men on the Empress to keep an eye on the work being done.
It took some time for the necessary documents to be drawn up and the word to get around that the Rory-O-More was open for business and would be sailing for the Swan River before the end of the month. Once this was known there was no shortage of requests for space in the hold and loading began in earnest and continued for two and a half weeks. Bags of rice, boxes of tea, casks of brandy, jute matting, jute bags, bundles of rope coils, bags of sugar and timber planks were ferried from the storehouses on shore by a continuous stream of boats and were hauled aboard using a yard arm as a crane.
On the 24 of May 1858, the ship’s crew weighed anchor and propelled by a light southerly breeze they departed from Singapore. John charted a course South, that would take the ship to the east of Binton Island parallel to the coast of Sumatra, through the Bangka Strait then Southwest into the Sunda Strait passing to the east of Krakatoa and heading South-Southwest out into the Indian Ocean.
This was a new experience for John and William. The huge square rigged ship was not as quick to respond as the Empress and the passage south through the Bangka Strait with only light air was slow and difficult to navigate. Sand banks, unfavorable tides and swirling currents were a nightmare for the helmsman and often they had to anchor and wait for more favourable conditions. Twelve days later they had cleared the southern end of Sumatra and sailed directly across the entrance to the Sunda Strait in order to anchor in Anyer Roads in the lee of a headland on the Eastern end of Java. John sent a boat ashore to arrange for the villagers to provide the ship with drinking water, firewood and supplies. The crew were then kept busy for two days, hoisting barrels of water, bundles of fire wood and boxes and bags of dried and smoked fish, tropical fruits, coconuts, rice and two dozen poultry which were ensconced in the hen coops. Two days later they weighed anchor and made their way through the Sunda Straits, passed Krakatoa and out into the Indian ocean. Gales and squally weather dogged them all through the rest of June and well in to July. By the 10th of July they were at latitude 31.45, almost dead level with Fremantle and some 900 miles west. John still maintained the southerly course as he knew that once they were at a higher latitude they could pick up the westerlies. The journey east would be relatively easy with tail winds all the way, then when the winds turned to the Southwest the run up the coast and into the anchorage would be easier.
On the 22nd of July 1858, beset by heavy squalls and heavy rain, they sighted Rottnest lighthouse at 4 am and an hour later they could see the lights of Fremantle. At 7 am the pilot, Mr Jackson, came on board and at 2 pm they dropped anchor in the shelter of Garden Island.
Overall it had been a very successful first voyage for John and William. There were however some incidents with several members of the crew, something that John and William had never encountered before. On the 11th of June, John Stack at the helm had lost his temper because he was not relieved in time for breakfast and was very abusive and insolent towards John and had to be reprimanded and was put on report. On the 23 of June, Lew Martin was chastised by the first officer for throwing the water bucket across the deck and responded with vile language and challenged the officer to do anything about his behavior. Once again John was forced to make a note to charge a member of the crew with making mutinous threats. Finally James Douglas, who had been asked by the first officer to tend to the binnacle lamp, did not jump to and carry out the request. When reprimanded for his tardiness he was insolent and abusive and wanted to fight the first officer.
John, who had witnessed this behavior did not react because he reasoned that Mr Cunningham handled the situation badly. He should not have pushed seaman Douglas. These were rough and ready men often with short tempers. Officers must remain calm and avoid confrontation. In the light of the other incidents he began to doubt Mr Cunningham’s ability to handle these types of men. Further he blamed himself and William to some extent for the situation. He realised that he should never trust the task of selecting crew to anyone but himself and William, especially the first and second mates.
John’s thoughts were somewhat confirmed when later that afternoon the entire crew confronted the first officer and John and demanded that they be discharged and paid out. Jack Stack appeared to be the ring leader and spoke to John in a defiant manner and said that the crew would not unload the cargo and refused to do any other work on the ship.
John reminded them that they had signed on and were obliged to work until they were discharged. He gave them a while to think it over and sent William ashore with instructions to inform the water police that the ship had a mutinous crew who were refusing to do work of any kind.`
At this stage John decided to test the authority of his first officer and issued orders that if the crew did not take down the sails and perform other tasks that were expected of them then they were not to be given anything to eat. Further more, until the cargo had been unloaded they would not be paid or discharged. John left the situation with the first officer and went ashore. The situation had been festering for some time and he was determined not to give in. He suspected that Mr Cunningham was part of the problem.
To John’s surprise Elizabeth was obviously pregnant. The baby had been conceived sometime late in February or early March just before the Empress had set off for Singapore. Elizabeth calculated that the baby would be born sometime late in October or early November.
Later in the afternoon the water police came on board and spoke to the assembled crew. They were reminded that they had signed papers and were obliged to work. If they did not they would be arrested. The crew remained defiant. The police officer said he would give them some time to consider their position. After about ten minutes they said they would unload the cargo but they would do nothing else. Mr Clifton then went ashore and conveyed the crew’s position to John and informed John that Mr Cunningham wanted to know what to do.
John decided that it was time to call the bluff. He did nothing. He stayed on shore. Cunningham would have to show what he was made of.
John stayed on shore for three days. Mr Cunningham and a Mr Simmonds who was not rebellious pumped the ship dry and took down some of the sails, trimmed the yard arms, cleaned the brass work, and cleaned the guns and around the guns.
On the fourth day William boarded the ship with the permits to deliver the cargo to the store sheds on shore. Finally Mr Cunningham, (with help from Mr Simmonds) having completed some of the work which the recalcitrant crew should have done, managed to get the crew to begin unloading the cargo and the passengers’ luggage.
The unloading of the cargo took the best part of five days. On the fifth day John sent four trusted boatmen on board the ship to take down the remaining sails, the royal yardarm and the topgallant yardarm which completed the work that the crew should have done.
Satisfied that he had made his point John returned to the ship on Sunday, the 1st of August, and instructed Mr Cunningham to assemble all of the crew and order them to wash down the decks. Those that did not carry out the order would be given nothing but bread and water until they were discharged on the following day. Three men refused to carry out the order.
On the Monday morning William took all of the crew except Mr Cunningham and Mr Simmonds ashore where they were discharged and paid out. They were paid nothing for the four days on which they refused to work. Mr Cunningham and Mr Simmonds stayed on board the ship for two weeks and continued to work. At the end of that period Mr Cunningham handed in his resignation to John as he had signed on a ship bound for Adelaide.
William needed to stay on shore with his family because he would soon be gone again, as he would sail on the Rory-O-More back to Singapore and take over command of the refurbished Empress. That left Mr Simmonds and the steward, Jacob Clark, the only crew on board the Rory. There was still a few minor repairs and cleaning to be done and some small items and passengers’ luggage to come on board. Partly for the experience and partly because they were a bit wary of engaging anyone without careful scrutiny, John’s eldest son John Frederick (who was about to turn seventeen), was signed on temporarily as second mate while the ship remained in harbour. It would be his responsibility to receive on board the small items, luggage and look after tradesmen carrying out repairs. Simmonds also remained on board. John stayed ashore and began advertising for and interviewing prospective crew members. He did not want a disaster like the trip from Singapore. It had been a disappointing start for the company’s new flagship.
He closely scrutinized each applicant and discussed each one with Elizabeth. He valued her opinion as he thought she was a good judge of character and could sense trouble. Then he ran them by William.
Within a week they had recruited the second officer Richard Bennet and three others, John Brown, William Mills and John Newman. Richard Bennet was assured that (providing John was happy with his performance), when William left the ship to take over command of the Empress he would be promoted to first officer and one of the able seamen would be promoted to second officer.
Next on board were the new cook Edward Cooty and the new steward Ah Chow. William Simmonds was invited to stay with the ship and he accepted. That made seven crew members plus John and William. They needed three more.
The ship was now about ready to begin loading the main cargo for Singapore so John arranged for them to join the ship on the 25th of August, 1858. He still had one thing to do which he thought would be a good way to see how the new crew shaped up.
Elizabeth, their children and William’s wife Elizabeth-Ann and their little boy, had only seen the company’s new acquisition from a distance. John brought up the subject with Elizabeth. He remembered how much she had enjoyed the trip to South Australia. His idea was to take the two wives and the children sailing for a day. William could arrange for Edward Cooty to cook a lunch and some of the crew could show the children around the ship.
Elizabeth thought it was a good idea for the children to see what their father did when he was away at sea for months at a time. William’s wife was also quite taken with the idea, especially as Rose-Ann would be invited to accompany them to help look after the babies.
The following day John announced to the crew, which now numbered ten, that they would be taking the ship on a shake down run out around Rottnest and south down the sound. Onboard would be a number of passengers, seven in all three of whom were women, two with babies. The purpose of this trip was to make sure that all of the crew were familiar with the ship, the sails and the equipment. Since it was an extra commitment that he required of them they would be paid at double their daily rate. Also in view of the fact that they would have so many passengers on board he expected that they would perform at their best, look sharp and get things done quickly and efficiently. The announcement that there would be passengers caused a few murmured comments. The announcement that they would get double pay elicited some positive responses. When John asked if there were any questions, the men wanted to know who the women with babies were.
The women with babies are Mrs Ann Thomas, wife of the first mate and Mrs Elizabeth Thomas, my wife. There was a murmur of disappointment.
What about the third lady Captain, who is she, is she married? Someone wanted to know.
