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White Wings Vol II. Founding Of The Provinces And Old-Time Shipping. Passenger Ships From 1840 To 1885

The Amelia Thompson

The Amelia Thompson.

Second of the six barques to sail was the Amelia Thompson, a Sunderland-built vessel of 480 tons, Captain William Dawson, which left Plymouth on March 25, 1841, with 187 passengers, of whom 104 were males. She arrived off Port Underwood on August 2, 130 days out, was sent on to Port Nicholson for instructions, and did not get to New Plymouth until September 3. The voyage out was long and somewhat tedious, but not unpleasant, as the weather had been generally good throughout. When Brazilian waters were reached, the winds being variable, the captain decided to put into Bahia, to break the weary monotony, At that port the ship remained four days at anchor, and obtained a supply of fresh water, fruit and vegetables. An old journal records that all hearts were saddened at the sight of gangs of slaves, some chained together, the poor things being emaciated and covered with sores. There were seven deaths on the voyage out and seven births. Among the passengers was Captain Henry King, formerly of the Royal Navy, who was chief commissioner for the company, and took an active part in furthering the success of the settlement. Before he left England, Captain King had several houses built in sections, and these were assembled when Taranaki was reached.

The equinoctial gales were blowing when the Amelia Thompson arrived off the Sugar Loaves, and the captain, being a cautious man, did not feel too comfortable in such an open roadstead. He used to clear out on the slightest suspicion of the wind coming in, and consequently it was the middle of October before the cargo was unloaded. A contemporary account speaks of the captain "apparently thinking there is no safety for him unless he is ten or twenty miles from the place." As a result of this shyness of Captain Dawson's the boats that brought passengers and cargo ashore often had a long pull, and once when a boat was benighted the occupants were thrown on the rocks, but no lives were lost. The skipper seems to have made up his mind from the first that the Taranaki roadstead was no place for the Amelia Thompson. When he got as far as Port Nicholson he did his best to convince everyone that his duty ended there, and that passengers should disembark there and take their cargo with them. There were some protracted negotiations, and eventually an extra £100 provided by Colonel Wakefield induced this cautious skipper to proceed to Taranaki.

When the first anniversary of the arrival of the Amelia Thompson came round it was observed as a public holiday in New Plymouth, page 52 part of the celebrations being a ball, "the first ever held here," and fireworks, which greatly astonished the natives.

The subsequent history of the Amelia Thompson shows the truth of the old saying about ignorance and bliss. On one occasion when beached at Batavia to have her bottom cleaned, Captain Dawson was amazed to find that her back was broken. When he got back to London he told the insurance agent about it, and that gentleman coolly remarked, "Oh, yes, we knew that; her back was broken when she was being launched." For a time the Amelia Thompson was engaged as a transport during the Chinese war, and eventually she was wrecked on the coast of India, near Madras, one life being lost.