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The voyage of Alfred Shoppee on the WOOLLOOMOOLOO from London to Sydney
The voyage of Alfred Shoppee on the WOOLLOOMOOLOO from London to Sydney

The voyage of Alfred Shoppee on the WOOLLOOMOOLOO from London to Sydney

Author
Date1852 - 1853
Object number00027222
NameManuscript
MediumGilt, leather, cloth covered boards, Ink on paper
DimensionsOverall: 240 x 197 x 7 mm, 0.3 kg
Copyright© Alfred Shoppee
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection
Collections
DescriptionA diary written by Alfred Collett Shoppee titled "The voyage of Alf D ColT Shoppee by the Aberdeen clipper WOOLLOOMOOLOO from London to Sydney". It is dated between Saturday November 13 1852 and Friday February 10 1853. The manuscript is written to a family member and details everyday life on board the ship, including meal times, weather and encounters with other vessels. Alfred Collett Shoppee was born 1832 in St Pancras, Middlesex, England. He would later return to England where he died in Surrey in 1881.HistoryThe WOOLLOOMOOLOO was a 645 ton (gross), wooden, three masted ship, designed and built by Walter Hood and Co of Aberdeen, Scotland in 1852 for George Thompson of the Aberdeen White Star Line. The ship was designed specifically for the Australian run and developed a reputation as a fast sailing ship aided by the classic 'Aberdeen Bow'. On the outward passage, whether to Sydney or Melbourne, the Aberdeen White Star Line carried only a few first class passengers. It was only during the very height of the Victorian gold rush in the 1850's that they carried second and steerage class passengers. This daily travel account contains a number of interesting observations on the passage from London to Sydney on the first ocean voyage of the Aberdeen Clipper WOOLLOOMOOLOO in 1853. These observations include meeting the American vessel CONDOR which "went away...in an unlady (sic) like manner without even thanking us or saying Goodbye" and “Shaving Day - Mr Barber came along who with his brush well lather'd your whiskers with something quite different to Honey Soap then with his razor he scraped you, which was liking having your face rubbed with a brick." On arrival of the ship in Sydney Shoppee notes "at 5pm we arrived at Sydney where the Pilot came on board for to run us up the Harbour which is the finest view I ever beheld. Mountains & Bush each side." Alfred Shoppee would go on to Ballarat where he opened a china and glass business with his brother, Charles Shoppee and brother-in-law Henry Biggs. In 1857 it is recorded that Charles bought Alfred out of the business and would later go on to be a prominent member and mayor of Ballarat and the Victorian Parliament. SignificanceThis passenger account by Alfred Shoppee is very detailed and provides information on life on board the WOOLLOOMOOLOO on its very first ocean voyage from a passenger's perspective.