Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

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

The Empress

The Empress.

the Empress, a beautiful ship of 1313 tons, of the Houlder Bros. Line, made three successful voyages to Auckland. On her first appearance there she sailed up Rangitoto Channel with a fresh north-east wind, on a dark night, and came to an anchor off the Queen Street wharf without a pilot. the Empress sailed from Woolwich on November 3, 1863, in command of Capt. Ellis, arriving in port on February 20, 1864. She brought out on this occasion 305 non-commissioned officers and men of the 4th Battalion Military Train and the following officers, several of whom were wounded or lost their lives in the Waikato war: Colonel O'Brien, Major and Mrs. Gray, Captain and Mrs. Green, Captain Witchell, Captain Stone, Surgeon and Mrs. Menzies, Lieuts. Lovell, Shaw, Creagh, St. Aubyn, Webb, Davis, Leer, Shakleton, and Clayton, and Assistant-Surgeon Watson. the Empress also landed 105 tons of powder and 500 tons of military stores. The passage occupied 109 days.

the Empress came to Auckland again in 1865 under the same commander, making the run from the docks, which were left on February 3, in the good time of 98 days, notwithstanding she was becalmed for twelve days between 15 deg. and 20 deg. south of the Equator. The vessel arrived on May 14, 1865.

Three years later the Empress made a third voyage to Auckland under Captain Cooper. She sailed on December 3, 1867, and arrived on March 11, 1868, doing the passage in 97 days, port to port.