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White Wings Vol I. Fifty Years Of Sail In The New Zealand Trade, 1850 TO 1900

The Queen Of Beauty

page 221

The Queen Of Beauty.

American Built Clipper—Overhauled by Alabama.

There are not many people in Auckland who can say that they saw the Alabama, the Confederate cruiser that did such havoc among the shipping of the Northern States during the American Civil War. Mr. Robert Farrell, of Auckland, the well-known builder, well remembers meeting the famous raider. The British vessel concerned was the Queen of Beauty, a vessel of 1235 tons, which was built in North America, like so many of the fast vessels of the 'sixties, and was owned by the Merchant Trading Co., of Liverpool. On August 9, 1863, two years after she was launched, the ship arrived in Auckland from the Old Country after a run of 96 days, with 270 passengers on board. The first thing the passengers heard when they arrived was the news of the Maori war, and many of the young men joined either the volunteers or the militia. It was the fact that the Queen of Beauty was an American-built ship that led to the exciting encounter with the raider Alabama. the Queen of Beauty left Gravesend on May 5, and it was on June 16, when about 80 miles off the coast of Brazil, that she got three shots across her bows from the guns of the Alabama. Captain Chapman, of the Queen of Beauty, hove the ship to after the third shot, and a boat put off from the cruiser with an officer and several men.

A Narrow Shave.

The crew of the Alabama's boat were a pretty tough-looking lot, and they were armed to the teeth. At first the Queen of Beauty people did not think the shots were intended for their ship, and Mr. Farrell says they were lucky in getting off as they did. It was just a toss-up whether the third shot (which was ball and not blank charge like the first two shots) struck the ship, but fortunately it did not.

"At the time," writes Mr. Farrell, "there was considerable excitement among the Queen's passengers, many of whom, believing they would be taken off the ship and landed on some island, hurried to collect their valuables in bags and kits, and any other receptacles they could rake up. When the officer and men of the Alabama's boat came on board the Queen the officer went down to the captain's cabin and examined the ship's papers. Being satisfied that she was a British ship the officer apologised to Captain Chapman for delaying him. Refreshments were then served out, and the Alabama's boat left the ship's side to the accompaniment of hearty cheers from the people on the Queen. While the officer was down in Captain Chapman's cabin examining the ship's papers some of the crew of the Alabama's boat mingled with our passengers, and they told us that they had used up all their tobacco pipes. Many of our people were bringing out boxes of the old clay pipes that were the fashion in those days, and they at once rushed below and got them to give to the Alabama men. The Americans said it was a pity they had not known it was an immigrant ship they were boarding, as they had great quantities of tobacco on board and could have brought some off to exchange. The American sailors told Mr. Phillips, our second mate, that the night before they had been chasing the American ship Onward, but failed to overtake her. Early next morning they picked up the Queen of Beauty, and seeing that she was American-built and similarly rigged they thought they had got the Onward."

The commander of the Alabama was Admiral Semmes, a typical Southerner, with a superb contempt for the "Yankee.' He wrote a most interesting account of the adventures of the Alabama from the start right up to the time she was sunk by the Kearsage. In that book, which is called "Memoirs of Service Afloat," and is probably now out of print, the Admiral mentions the boarding of the Queen of Beauty, which he says was formerly the American ship Challenger. Describing the cruise of the Alabama off the Brazil coast, he says: "On the 16th of June, 1863, we overhauled two more American ships under English colours. One of these was the Azzapali, of Port Louis, in the Mauritius. Having to put into Port Louis in distress, she had been sold for the benefit 'of whom it might concern,' and purchased by English parties two years before. The other was the Queen of Beauty, formerly the Challenger. Under her new colours and nationality she was running as a packet between London and Auckland. These were both bona fide transfers, and were evidence of the straits to which Yankee commerce was being put. Many morepage 222 ships disappeared from under the 'flaunting lie' by sale than by capture, their owners not being able to employ them."

Maori War Days.

Regarding the people that came out on the Queen of Beauty, Mr. Farrell writes: "The majority of the passengers were of the farmer class, and of real good quality. Several families settled in the Whangarei district, and are still there, and are doing well, having borne their share in the development and progress of the district. Messrs. Carter, Horn, Tilly, and others are still enjoying good health and are supervising the efforts of their sons and daughters.

"As the Maori war had just started when we arrived many of the young men who failed to join the Volunteer Corps were conscripted and sent to the front. Work was plentiful in Auckland at that time, and employers visited the ship in search of mechanics who wanted employment. I remember that the foundations of the present Union Bank of Australia, at the corner of Victoria and Queen Streets, were then just level with the street, and bricklayers and carpenters were in request. The late Mr. Wm. Philcox, builder, had a big contract erecting military stores in the Albert Barracks, now the Albert Park, and that gave employment to a good many hands. The blacksmith and engineers found work putting together the parts of a small steamer called the Gemnotus, which Messrs. Bach and Sons brought out from home in sections. This little steamer was afterwards taken overland to Onehunga, and then to the Waikato River, where she did good work carrying troops and stores up and down the river. The spot where the little Gemnotus was put together on the beach at Auckland was somewhere about the site of the present building of the United Insurance Company in Fort Street."