Letter from the Meteorological Office to Captain Belding

Maker Meteorological Office

Date28 September 1901

Object number00017739

NameLetter

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 202 x 323 mm, 0.005 kg

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA handwritten letter from Melville Willis Campbell Hepworth of the Meteorological Office in London to Captain Raustin Belding. The letter is written on letterhead from the `Meteorological Office' in London and dated 28 September, 1901. Campbell Hepworth thanks Captain Belding and his officers for his log book and sends meteorological and pilot charts as a token of appreciation.HistoryMelville Willis Campbell Hepworth (1849-1919) was a Commander RnR (retired) and Master Mariner who had an extensive sea going career in the mercantile marine. In addition to steamer service running between Table Bay and Port Natal, Campbell Hepworth also spent many years on the Australia trade and the Canadian routes. He was an avid meteorologist and published many books on meteorology, including maritime meteorology and the meteorological findings of the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901 - 1904. Although little is known about the British Captain Raustin Belding personally, he had a successful career as a sea captain and became known in maritime circles as captain of the popular vessel THOMAS STEPHENS which became one the fastest and most admired passenger vessels of its day. Belding does not appear to have captained the vessel until the early 1890s and became most renowned for saving the ship not once, but twice. On 24 December 1894 the THOMAS STEPHENS sailing from Barry for Esquimalt, was dismasted off Cape Horn but managed to arrive at the Falkland Islands. But Captain Belding, outraged at the estimated cost of repairing the vessel at Port Stanley, decided instead to make towards Cape Town under jury rig and indignation only. After successfully arriving and undertaking by now urgent repairs, Belding sailed for Esquimalt, British Colombia, and arrived 271 days after departing Barry Harbour in Britain. After being sold to the Portuguese Government in 1896, Captain Belding was requested to sail the THOMAS STEPHENS to Portugal. En route the ship caught fire and witnesses claim the vessel was only saved by Captain Belding’s actions. Portugal was so relieved their latest investment had arrived safely that they gave Captain Belding a service of plate and a Portuguese Order. SignificanceWhile a ship's log typically recorded events on board and the navigation of a ship, they had a wider use in the early decades of meteorology. Logged information on tides, weather conditions and astronomical readings from all parts of the globe could be then be compiled together. This information provided meteorologists with a wider and more accurate picture of the world’s seasonal weather, assisting countless sailors and navigators.