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The Old Whaling Days

1831

page 86

1831.

Before the whaling season opened, on 29th March, 1831, the schooner Samuel, under the command of Captain Anglin reached Sydney with a cargo of 440 seal skins and 10 tons of flax, and brought the distressing news that the brig Industry, under the command of Captain W. Wiseman, had been wrecked at Easy Bay, Stewart Island, in a dreadful gale of wind on 28th February. The captain, ten seamen, and six native women, were drowned. Two men only escaped and were expected to come up to Sydney in the Caroline. Wiseman is described as a remarkably active and fine looking man whose father resided at the Hawkesbury. He was married to a daughter of John Grono, formerly in the New Zealand trade, but at this date a ship builder at the Hawkesbury and one of the owners of the Industry. He left a widow and one child. Wiseman had been in New South Wales and connected with its shipping for a long time, and in the course of his trading voyages had visited New Zealand, South Shetland, South America and various places in the South Seas. Tradition among southern natives says that the Industry called at Codfish Island, where she was lying when the gale came up, and that, under the direction of Chaseland, one of the few who escaped a watery grave, she ran for Easy Harbour.

The year 1831 records nothing special about Bunn's establishment beyond the regular visits of the Caroline, taking up to Sydney 114 tuns oil, 2 cwt. whalebone, 674 skins and ½ ton of flax, as follows:—

Arrival Captain Flax Oil Skins
Apr. 6 Farley ½ ton 20 Tuns 530
July 8 Anglin 29 Tuns 74
Nov. 8 Anglin 25 Tuns 50
Dec. 26 Williams 40 Tuns 20

On her last trip she proceeded from Sydney to Newcastle and transhipped her oil into the barque Integrity, which was lying there.

page 87

This year Messrs. Enderby, of London, the well-known whaling firm, sent out to explore the high southern latitudes an expedition of two vessels—the brig Tula, of 148 tons, under the command of John Biscoe, R.N., and the cutter Lively, of 49 tons, under the command of George Avery.

The expedition sailed from Gravesend on 14th July. 1831, and arrived in due course at Van Diemen's Land, from whence it sailed, on 9th October, 1831, round the North Cape of New Zealand to the Bay of Islands, which was reached in 21 days. On 5th November it proceeded to the south and made for Chatham Island. On the seventeenth, the 44° Rocks were sighted and land was visible at different times, but it was not until the nineteenth that boats were sent ashore. These returned with three natives who expressed their willingness to remain on board. Biscoe describes them as quite naked but wearing over their shoulders a stiff mat, which, when they squatted down on the deck, stuck out like the shell of a turtle and formed a roof for turning the water off. As there was no work for them they were returned to the shore. Thick dirty weather prevailed until the twenty-third when the 44 degree rocks were again sighted and a boat sent for seals, but the rocks proved so perpendicular that it was difficult to land upon them, and only seven skins were secured. Thinking that these were stragglers from some rookery near at hand, Biscoe tried the rocks to the south, but owing to bad weather could not effect a landing and accordingly bore up for Chatham Island. After spending some time in a further unsuccessful hunt after seals, on 2nd December, anchor was cast in a bight of the largest of the Cornwallis Islands, and the boats were sent out to the different islets for skins. Pigs were found on the island, but seals, which were so much desired, were nowhere to be seen. In one of his excursions Biscoe found the wreck, of a small vessel of about 100 tons, which he concluded to be the Glory, lost there in January, 1827. On the twelfth sixteen skins were procured on the Sisters rocks.

page 88

From there the expedition made for the Bounty Islands, which were sighted on the twenty-fourth. The boats were sent ashore but returned without anything, having seen only five seals which could not be approached. Landing on one of the rocks they found a hut, the roof of which was formed of skins and wings of birds, a baking dish, a water cask, a bottle half filled with oil, some pieces of firewood and an Irish provision cask. So far the expedition had failed to find likely sealing ground. From the Bounties Biscoe made southward. With his Antarctic explorations we are not concerned, but, considering his poor equipment, Biscoe earned for himself a high position amongst Antarctic explorers.

His journal, for which we are indebted to the courtesy of the R.G.S., will be found as Appendix B.

In the early days of 1831 the Venus tried the old Campbell and Macquarie Island grounds for seal skins and elephant oil, but with no success whatever. She first made Macquarie Island and the captain landed at both ends of the Island, but could see no signs of elephants. “Macquarie Island is entirely cut up,” was his report. After leaving that place Harvey went south as far as 72°, but, finding such a succession of fogs that it was impossible to see further than a mile from the ship, he gave up his search for fresh fields and returned. The Venus next put into Campbell Island to set up casks for whaling. Here 170 prime skins were procured. About 20 tons of salt was landed at the head of Preservation Harbour, and from what Captain Harvey saw there he came to the conclusion that “it would pay a boat's crew to remain.” From Campbell Island the Venus sailed for Cloudy Bay, where she was reported at anchor on 28th May. When she reached Sydney on 31st December, 1832, she had a cargo of 140 tuns black oil, 6 tons whalebone, 25 tuns sperm oil, and 170 skins.

A letter of Captain Harvey to Captain Kelly, the owner of the Venus, written during the vessel's stay in Sydney, is now in a private collection of manuscripts in Tasmania.