Mariners-L Archives

From: "David Renwick Grant" <>
Subject: [Mar] Hellfire Jock Maclean
Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2004 16:37:59 -0000

Following from the great help I have been getting from the 'old hands' on this list, here, following on from the "Ceres" and her master W W Cochrane, is an intriguing story for New Year:

"The family of Macleans were [William Cochrane's] relations. Jas MacLean or "Hellfire Jock" as he was called in Melbourne and Geelong was a famous Capt. He sailed his own S.S. and used her to lighten the large vessels lying at Geelong for Melbourne which was not deep enough at that time to take larger vessels. He used to weigh down the exhaust valves to save the steam and hurry along with the engines red hot, hence the name "Hellfire Jock." His sister Maggie married a large squatter [sic!] Jas McArthur (a Highland man). His largest estate was 12 miles square (Meningoort) and he had another something less in size. He ran 100,000 sheep, 1000 horses and lots of cattle...."

Does the shade of Hellfire Jock Maclean still exist? Unfortunately the name of his ship is not given in the rather disjointed m/s, which covers other family matters but he must have been a kenspeckle figure in his day. McArthurs still own Meningoort, as far as I know. William Cochrane stayed there for a month in the 1870's, when his ship was in Melbourne dock.

Cochrane himself apparently had "28 uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins, father [John] and brother [J(ohn) or J(ames)] all at sea in various stages of promotion." Most were on his mother's side and would have borne the surname Weir.

David Grant

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• [Mar] Hellfire Jock Maclean by "David Renwick Grant" <>