2: Immigrants to Adelaide

Wheat farming was the basis of the economy of the colony of South Australia in the 1870s. Its continued expansion had given rise to a vigorous immigration policy which added an average of three thousand people largely of British stock each year between 1860 and 1880. Many ships were needed to carry these migrants so in 1877 Hydrabad's owners decided to fit her out for this trade. She was comparatively large for an immigrant ship and her lofty 'tween decks made her very suitable. These were fitted out to enable her to cany 407 immigrants to Adelaide. In the forward hold bunks were fitted for 122 single men while the 54 married couples with their 91 children, 79 of whom were under seven years of age, were accommodated on the main deck amidships.

To give each family a measure of privacy, 'Johnson's Patent Berths' were installed. A problem on all immigrant ships was to keep the single men and women apart. In Hydrabad the 76 young women, most of them listed as domestic servants, were housed on the lower deck with special, separate access through the cuddy (cabin) to the poop deck aft so that they did not have to pass through the main deck. They were in the care of a matron, Miss Colin.

In charge of the immigrants was Dr Worthington who had cabin accommodation along with Mrs Holmwood and her son. He had previously been in charge of the immigrant ship Alumbagh to Adelaide where he had for a time been in charge of the quarantine hulk Fitzjames. During the voyage he suggested improvements to the ventilation arrangements which had been made, for adequate ventilation was vital to the well-being of those on board. He thought that hammocks instead of bunks for the single men would have improved the ventilation and would also have kept them out of bed during the day.

Below the immigrants, Hydrabad carried a general cargo of several hundred tons of iron and steel products such as tin-plate, wire rope and tanks, sixty thousand bricks, woollens and worsteds, agricultural and garden seeds, olive oil, vinegar, sugar and other grocery items. Before she sailed from London on 17 November 1877, government surveyors inspected all the ship's gear including anchors, chains and sails. New sails were fitted aft.

Hydrabad took her final departure from Plymouth on 25 November, 1877. Most of the passengers had never been to sea before and they had no time to find their sea legs when, three days out, the ship met a severe gale in the Bay of Biscay. During the several days it lasted a number of migrants were knocked about. The miserable conditions under the hatches probably contributed to an outbreak of diarrhoea among the children. Two infants died but the other sufferers were dosed liberally with claret from the ship's stores and gradually recovered. The acuteness of the attack wore off as cooler latitudes were reached. Childhood illnesses were to carry off five other youngsters during the voyage but one birth was recorded.

Monotony could be a great enemy on immigrant ships and various diversions helped to relieve boredom. King Neptune arrived on board on 20 December to celebrate the crossing of the Equator. Having been formally introduced to Captain Holmwood and Surgeon-Superintendent Worthington he supervised the ritual shavings and other traditional rites and ceremonies. Regular concerts were also held, the stars of which were the Christy Minstrels formed mainly from among the crew. Lifeboat drill was turned into an entertainment. As the passengers lined the rails men would voluntarily dive overboard. With practice, the time for their recovery was whittled down to two and a half minutes.

Shipboard meals tended to revolve around beef, pork, biscuit and oatmeal, but the cook and the baker served the ship well and this added to the general contentment. Dr Worthington found Mrs Holmwood a great help in carrying out his duties and that her presence had a 'salutary effect'. Apart from two cases of measles which broke out when nearing Australia the immigrants arrived in excellent health and spirits.

Landfall was made at Kangaroo Island and Hydrabad sailed through Investigator Strait into St Vincent Gulf bearing up for Port Adelaide. Anchor was dropped off the port on Friday evening, 15 February 1878, eighty-four days out from Plymouth. The immigrants assembled on deck to be addressed by Dr Worthington from the poop. He congratulated them on arriving at such a prosperous period. The cheers and counter cheers were so vociferous, reported the South Australian Register, that the people were obviously satisfied. Not all immigrant voyages ended so happily and it says much for Captain Holmwood that the passengers presented him with an illuminated address page 29 thanking him for his care and consideration on the voyage.

Dr Worthington had not been speaking empty words. The increase in wheat farming meant there was plenty of work available for the 97 agricultural labourers landed from Hydrabad. One of them, George L. Pope, was soon writing home to St Neot in England telling of the job he had secured within a few days of arrival. He had found work on a farm thirty-five miles from Adelaide at a wage of $1.80 a week as well as rations, firewood and a house. His wife was able to earn 25 cents for one days washing and from their combined income he expected to save $1 or $1.20 a week, and have all the meat he wanted. He was looking forward to trying kangaroo tail soup. In six months he was hopeful he would be able to send enough money home to bring out his mother, brother and sisters. Another agricultural labourer, Patrick Wood of Liverpool, found employment with the firm of Swan and Hunter which was engaged in railway construction. In 1897, his son James , also a migrant on the Hydrabad, came to Palmerston North where he was joined by his mother, younger sister and twin brothers. Mrs Wood always remembered Captain Holmwood telling the emigrants that the Hydrabad almost broke her back when suspended between giant wave crests in the Bay of Biscay.

Farming, copper mining, railway construction and house building were all hungry for labour. The twenty-six carpenters and joiners, ten railway men, eight navvies (skilled labourers), five brick-layers and five stonemasons brought by the Hydrabad would have had no difficulty in finding employment. For the adventurous there were the goldfields discovered in the north along the route of the Overland Telegraph to Darwin.

The expansion of the railways was of the greatest page 30 interest to Captain Holmwood, for when he learned that the South Australian government was seeking a ship able to transport redundant locomotives and rolling stock from Canterbury in New Zealand he was quick to offer the Hydrabad. His offer to carry 2,300 tons of equipment (by measurement) for $5,000 was confirmed in writing to the Commissioner of Public Works for South Australia on 21 March 1878. He pointed out that the ship's powerful steam winch, wide hatches and lofty 'tween decks made her very suitable for such work, and that similar cargo had previously been carried for the South of India Railway. The terms he proposed were that the New Zealand government should deliver the cargo on the wharf at Lyttelton or Dunedin. All charges for stevedoring, lighterage, breaking stowage, commission, tonnage dues and pilotage would be borne by the ship. At Port Adelaide the South Australian government was to provide a crane to land the locomotives and other heavy lifts, assisted by the crew. He estimated that Hydrabad could carry 1700 tons by weight, including some cargo on deck at the shipper's risk but at no extra charge.

The offer was accepted and within a fortnight Hydrabad was bound for Lyttelton in ballast. There had been little time to arrange a cargo and the ship's agents, Elder, Smith and Co., despatched only ten bales of cornsacks. The rest of the cargo comprised 45 tons of bark, 20 boxes of raisins, and 27 cases of stationery. In the cabin were Mr and Mrs Wakefield, Mr and Mrs Crosse, Mrs McLean, Mr Wheelwright and Mrs Holmwood and her son. The chief officer had left the ship at Adelaide and second mate J. List was promoted to his place, incidentally increasing his wage from $11 to $17 a month.

From 5 April 1878, when she sailed, until 12 April light page break

Port Adelaide about the time of Hydrabad's visit in 1878 (A.D. Edwardes Collection, State Library of South Australia).

page 32 south-south-east winds were experienced. South of Tasmania a fresh west-south-west gale blew up but lasted only a couple of days. Thereafter the ship had light westerly and variable winds up the east coast of the South Island. Lyttelton Harbour was reached on Sunday 21 April and Hydrabad dropped anchor off Diamond Harbour before moving to her berth at Number One wharf to load her cargo of rolling stock.