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Harbour diary
Harbour diary

Harbour diary

Author (British, 1926)
DateDecember 1877
Object number00046691
NameDiary
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 325 x 212 mm
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Neville Horner on behalf of Jack Gourlie
DescriptionThis document is from a logbook written on board the 903-ton clipper ship KHIMJEE OODOWJEE on a voyage from Liverpool, England to Bombay, India 1877-1878 under the command of Captain Samuel Bailey.HistoryThe KHIMJEE OODOWJEE was a 903 ton, 212 feet long, 33.5' feet wide, iron, three-masted barque, built at Liverpool, England in 1856. Owned by E Bates and Sons of Liverpool, it was a regular vessel on the Liverpool - Bombay; London - Bombay run with several voyages from Liverpool to Melbourne in the 1860s. The Bates family were very successful shipowners, merchants and shipbrokers, with Edward Bates and Sons operating between 1869 and 1916 before the company was amalgamated into the Cunard Steam Ship Company Ltd. Sir Percy Bates - one of Sir Edward Bates's sons - became one of the first chairmen of the amalgamated company, and the Bates family involvement continues to this day. Sir Edward Bart Bates, the owner of the KHIMJEE OODOWJEE during its 1877 - 1878 voyage to India, had established extensive trading interests in India, particularly Bombay, during the mid-19th century. Edward Bates and Sons exported large quantities of English manufactured goods to India in exchange for raw products including cotton, tea and alcohol. Sir Edward Bates was also known for his strong support of the Confederate cause during the American Civil War. Although this war was fought mainly on land, the Confederacy did attempt to establish a small navy whose main purpose was to seek out and destroy the Union's merchant marine. Denied access to the necessary raw materials to construct large raiders and blockade runners, the Confederacy paid for the construction of a number of vessels in English shipyards, these vessels were often then sold to friendly English shipowners who then leased them back to the Confederacy. One of these shipowners was Edward Bates. This sleight of hand gave the ships some protection under the British flag and at the same time prevented the Union from accusing the British government of aiding the Confederacy. Bates and Sons were one of the largest if not the largest ship owners in Liverpool in the 1870s. They owned and operated a number of large three-masted iron ships and barques. According to MacGregor in 'Merchant Sailing Ships 1850-1875' (1984:38-39) one of the reasons behind the success of the Bates Company was that they were very progressive in thinking, and invested in new technologies such as iron and steel shipbuilding and steam engines as soon as they became available. One of the company's Captains was Samuel Bailey who was born at Great Yarmouth, England in 1839 and sat his exams qualifying as a Captain at Dundee, Scotland in 1865. Bailey was Captain of the STAR OF INDIA between 1873-1876; the KHIMJEE OODOWJEE in 1877-1878 and the BATES FAMILY in 1879-1881. SignificanceThis document is associated with a logbook of a voyage on the KHIMJEE OODOWJEE - a vessel of one of the most innovative, progressive and long lasting shipping companies of the 19th century, Bates & Son.