Account of a voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne aboard the MERMAID

Account of a voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne aboard the MERMAID

Maker Charles Frederick Warner

Date1855-1856

Object number00027249

NameManuscript diary

MediumCardboard, Ink on paper

DimensionsOverall: 291 × 24.5 × 6 mm, 0.15 kg

ClassificationsBooks and journals

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from John M Warner

Collections

Manuscript diaries, journals and logs

DescriptionA manuscript diary kept by Charles Frederick Warner during his voyage on the MERMAID in 1855. Titled 'Account of voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne, to: Australia on board the ship MERMAID. Captain Dewey kept by Cha's Fred'k Warner Nov: 20 : 1855', the diary details life on board the ship, particularly the weather and technical ship details. Warner also mentions icebergs, passenger injuries and illnesses as well as mutinous activity by the sailmakers and sailors on board. HistoryWith the discovery of gold in Australia in the late 1840's the 12,000 mile voyage from England to Melbourne,the closest port to the goldfields, became the 'race-course' of the ocean. Rivalry between the various shipping companies was intense with the duels between ships regularly reported in The London Times and The Melbourne Argus, with large sums wagered on the winning vessels. This rivalry was intensified by the ships builders who wanted to prove that English built vessels were faster than North American built ships and vice versa. One of the most famous of the sea rialvry was the one between Pilkingtons and Wilson, (later The White Star Line) and The Black Ball Line, both of whom signed contracts with the Post - Master General in 1854 -1855 for the carriage of Mails to Australia. Under the terms of the severy lucrative contracts the shipping companies agreed to land the mail in Australia within 68 days of leaving England or pay a penalty of £100 per day. Ships such as the MARCO POLO, RED JACKET, LIGHTNING and CHAMPION OF THE SEAS became synonymous with speed, the delivery of the mails and 'The Race to the Diggings'. Although not as well known as the other ocean greyhounds RMS MERMAID was regarded as being one of the fastest and finest of the sea clippers, making a number of very fast passages to Melbourne coming second only to RED JACKET in 1854. The 1321 ton, wooden ship MERMAID was built at St John's, New Brunswick in 1853 for the Liverpool based shipping company, Pilkingtons and Wilson, the founders of the famous White Star Line. The MERMAID was built specifically to carry passengers and mail between England and Australia during the Victorian gold rushes and was known as a very fast, colonial clipper ship.The granting of the Royal Mail contract to the MERMAID, is a very good indication of the vessels speed and reliability. The vessel made at least six voyages to Australia between 1853 and 1859 when it was put on the England - New Zealand run. Unlike many other passage accounts, when Charles Frederick Warner came on board RMS MERMAID on Wednesday 21 November 1855, his accounts show none of the part awe, part fear of a new sailor, obviously familiar with ships and the sea, Warner's account reads more like that of a mid shipman or petty officer than a green passenger. His use of nautical terms flow easily off the pen, painting a lively and accurate picture of life on board a Royal Mail clipper ship. The ships position is given at regular intervals throughout the account, along with details of the weather, life on board and the complaints of fellow passengers. On the 1855 - 1856 passage to Australia, the MERMAID carried 12 cabin and 236 intermediates and steerage passengers along with a very large general cargo consisting of iron goods, nails, butter, chicory, clothing, paper, watches, shovels, salted meats, cheese, books, bacon, smith's bellows, spades, cordage, water pipes, coal, jewellery, silverplate, saddlery, hams, boots, leather goods, glass bottles, candles, stamp heads, sardines, sacking, bars of iron, preserved provisions, barley, cigar tubes, lead shot, 2582 newspapers, blankets, one cart, cart wheels, metal pans, sieves, ink, stoves, beer, china ware and wine.SignificanceShip board manuscripts are quite rare especially when written by a passenger who has a detailed knowledge of the running of a sailing vessel and weather conditions. Although difficult to read in places, usually because of the amount of detail that Warner packed into the pages, this manuscript gives an incredibly insightful view into life aboard a clipper ship. The way that passengers and crew amused themselves and the day to day events that culminated in the arrival at their destination of Melbourne.