NEW-ZEALAND-L Archives

From: "Drew" <>
Subject: [NZ] Lady Jocelyn
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 20:03:54 +1300

Gidday,

There appears to be several listers interested in this voyage so I have
extracted the following from "The Story Of Te Puke" by Selwyn G Taylor,
1969. There is a history of the vessel as well as a partial passenger list.
Sorry the surnames are not capitalised, my OCR doesn't do that!
The book also contains a picture (ex Turnbull Library) of the ship which I
could scan and mail offlist on request.


I trust it is of use to someone.

Cheers
Drew

.............................................................

THE LADY JOCELYN

A REPORT FROM THE LONDON TIMES OF 24th SEPTEMBER, 1880

Emigration to N.Z.

"The Lady Jocelyn will sail from the East India Docks on

Monday for New Zealand under the command of Captain Jenkins with

about 500 emigrants on board. ..

The colony of Te Puke of which they will be the earliest

colonists is described as a highly favoured block of land some

15,000 acres in extent only a little more than 12 miles from Tauranga

Harbour-the only harbour between Auckland and Wellington.

Mr Stewart, at a luncheon given on board the Lady Jocelyn yesterday,

said that not only was his ship filled, but many of the emigrants who

were going to people this, the Third Colony he had been so happy as

to be the means of founding in New Zealand, would have to follow

by means of the ship "Himalaya". From his experience in forming

special settlements he would say, with regard to such settlements as

he had planned that they were particularly suited to retired military

and naval officers or civil servants with perhaps £1,000 or £2,000 or

with an income of £200 -£300 a year and possibly nine or ten

children. What comforts could persons with such small means enjoy

in this country (i.e. Britain) where we were all struggling with

each other for a bare existence? In New Zealand they would find

scope for their exertions, openings for their children and the ad-

vantage of congenial society. Contrasting the lot of those who

elected to go to the backwoods of America with that of those who

were going straight to Tauranga he drew a lively picture of the

complete homes which awaited those going out by the Lady Jocelyn.

They would find fifty new houses erected in anticipation of the

arrival of his ship and before she left the port they would be as

comfortably settled as they had been in the homes they had left

behind. Others whom these settlements would suit, were farmers

with limited capital and farm labourers. .."

The Lady Jocelyn departed from London on September 27th

1880. She was filled to such an extent that saloon accommodation

was provided not only in temporary berths in the space allotted to

cargo but even the deck beneath the saloon was also fitted up for

the accommodation of saloon passengers. The cabins however were

well ventilated and were considerably larger. And this is her history.

"A famous ship that flew the Shaw Savill house-flag for many

years was the "Lady Jocelyn" which had a long and colourful career

in various roles. The "Lady Jocelyn" was built for the General

Screw Steam Shipping Company which in 1850, inaugurated the first

contract mail service between England and South Africa. Two years

later the Company signed an agreement with the Admiralty to extend

its monthly service to India with eight ships specially built for the

purpose, two of which were the "Lady Jocelyn" and "Hydaspes".

The "Lady Jocelyn" was named after the wife of Lord Jocelyn, who

was a strong advocate of steamship communication between England

and Australia by way of the Cape. She has a definite place in the

history of the Cape of Good Hope, for it was in her that the Colony's

first constitution arrived out from England in April, 1853. A litho-

graph of the ship, testifying to this fact, hangs in the library of

Parliament at Cape Town.

Built by Mare, of London, the "Lady Jocelyn" was an iron ship

of 2,242 tons gross register, 254 feet in length, 39 feet in breadth,

and 24 ft. 9 in. in depth of hold. She was a lofty full-rigged ship,

fitted with an auxiliary screw driven by engines of 300 n.h.p. She

sailed on her maiden voyage from Plymouth to Calcutta in August,

1852, calling at St. Vincent, St. Helena, the Cape and Mauritius for

bunker coal. In 1854 the General Screw Company abandoned its

Indian Service, and the "Lady Jocelyn's" fourth voyage was out by

way of the Cape to Australia.

Next year she was employed as a transport carrying troops to

the Crimea. The company was in financial straits, and in 1857 its

eight ships were sold to a new concern, the European and American

Steam Shipping Company for £320,000, which was about half their

original cost. The plan was to run a service to New York and

another to Brazil, but before she was delivered, the "Lady Jocelyn"

was taken up as a troopship for the Indian Mutiny operations. In

1857 she was renamed "Brazil", but soon the European and American

Company was wound up and the fleet sold for £250,000 to a new

concern known as the East India and London Shipping Company,

which planned a new service to Madras and Calcutta. The ship then

resumed her former name of "Lady Jocelyn".

She carried troops home from India and in 1863 made her

first voyage to New Zealand with troops from India to Auckland to

fight in the second Maori war. She carried 667 rank and file, 48

women, 93 children and a band numbering 25. There were seven

deaths and nine births during the passage. Some time later, the

"Lady Jocelyn" was bought by a retired naval Captain who had her

engines taken out and large repairs made. In 1869 she was owned

by Park Bros. of London, who long had been interested in the New

Zealand trade for which their ships were chartered and loaded by

Shaw Savill & Co.

>From 1872 onward the "Lady Jocelyn" made fourteen successful

voyages out to New Zealand with emigrants for Canterbury, Otago,

Wellington and Auckland. In 1875 she arrived at Lyttelton with no

fewer than 516 passengers, and in August, 1878 she arrived at Auck-

land after a passage of 88 days with 451 emigrants for the Bay of

Plenty settlements organised by Mr Vesey Stewart. She was the

first overseas ship to bring emigrants direct to Tauranga and arrived

at that port on January 2nd, 1881.

In the following year the "Lady Jocelyn" was purchased outright

by the Shaw Savill and Albion Company and fitted with refrigerating

machinery. She arrived at Wellington in December, 1882, to load

the first cargo of frozen meat from that port. In addition to a large

quantity of wool and tallow, she had 5,800 carcases of mutton and

lamb in her holds when she sailed on February 25th, 1883. She was

105 days on passage to London where she delivered her meat in

perfect condition. Very good prices were obtained for her cargo-

ths mutton selling at 6½d. a pound and the beef 6d. The "Lady

Jocelyn" made her last voyage to New Zealand in 1889. On her

return to London, she was converted into a refrigeration hulk in

the West India Docks, the cold storage facilities in the Port of

London then being insufficient to meet the rapidly growing volume

of the frozen meat trade. As the shore facilities increased, the old

ship became surplus to requirements and she was chartered to

various interests as a floating warehouse or labour barracks. In 1899

she was sold to the Shipping Federation. During the First World

War, the "Lady Jocelyn" was used as a barracks, though not for

strike breakers. Her hull was still in sound condition when she

was sold in March, 1922, to Dutch shipbreakers".


Report of the ship "Lady Jocelyn" 2,138 tons register from London to
Tauranga

Left London September 27th 1880.
Passed Gravesend 28th, the Downs on the 29th.
October 3rd, at noon passed the Lizard; (i.e. the most southerly
point in England, in Cornwall. It has two lighthouses) bore N.E.
20 miles from which we take our departure.
On the 8th October, crossed the latitude of Madeira and the
Cape de Verde on the 19th. Had very light N.E. trades and lost
them in 150 N. -thence to the Equator.
Had a long time of light Airs and Calms. Crossed the Equator
7th November in 25° 6' W. 35 days out.
Cleared the Southern tropics 16th November. Passed Tristan
d'Acunha on the 26th and rounded the Cape of Good Hope 4th
December, and the Meridian of St. Pauls on the 16th December. The
Meridian of Cape Otway and South Cape of Tasmania on 26th
December.
>From the Cape we had fine weather and fresh breezes from the
W.N.W., to the S.W., all the way to Tasmania, and southerly winds
up to the Three Kings which was made at 1 p.m. of the 31st Decem-
ber-89 days from the Lizard.
We had on board:
Saloon 87
Second Class 90
Third Class 220
Crew 74
Total 471
During the voyage had 4 births (3 boys and a girl) and two
deaths (a Mr Edger Bailey and Mr S. Green).

Births
1880 Sept. 16th Mrs Thomas Carr A son
Oct. 20th Mrs William J. Trigg A son .
Oct. 29th Mrs John Smith A daughter
1881 Jan. 1st Mrs Wm. Swarbrick A son

End of Report

As the "Lady Jocelyn" was the first ship to Tauranga direct
from London, the Government paid the whole Pilotage Cost of
£40 Os. Od. less a few pence.
A newspaper called the Lady Jocelyn Courier was edited by
Captain Barclay who was to be quite prominent in future Te Puke
affairs. Only 4 copies came out each week.
After standing off the entrance (where an unconfirmed report
states she lost an anchor) for perhaps 24 hours, the vessel and her
excited complement were finally towed into Tauranga by the
S.S. Waitaki of the Union Steamship Company on January 2nd, 1881.
And this was her published passenger list, which is far from
complete, for the names of her Cabin passengers only were published.

First Cabin

Capt. Wm. de R. Barclay and Mrs Barclay,
Glenville, Miss T. Miss C. Francis William,
Etty, Theodosia, Frederick, Geoffrey, Colville
R. A. Carr.
Spencer & J. W. Carr.
E. T. Collins Mrs Collins.
J. D. Darley & Mrs Darley.
Martha G. Deeble
Capt. Evered & Mrs G. D. Evered H. F. N.,
Adela
John
Malcolm
Robert
Gertrude
Miss S. M., R. A. C. & J. C. Galbraith.
John Phillips; Mrs Phillips,
Peter
Mary A.
Lillian
John
C. H. Sykes
Peter Tait & Mrs Tait
James Vogan, Mrs Vogan
Miss E.
Arthur
Harold

Second Cabin

Joseph Heatherington & Mrs H. Heatherington
John, Joseph & Hannah Heatherington
Mrs Hewitson, Miss Hewitson, Kate and Helen
James Tanner, Mrs G. Tanner,
James
Mary
John
Margaret
Gertrude
Thomas

Third Cabin

Joseph B. Chappell & Mrs Mary Chappell
Henry M.,
Albert B.,
William,
Frederick.
Sydney and Alice E. Chappell.
William & John Fairley.
Thomas Hill & Mrs N. J. Hill,
Lizzie,
John,
James,
Robert & Jane Hill.
Arthur Mahoney.
H. K. Moore, Mrs E. Moore.
Alice & Gertrude Murray.
Henry McDowell, Joseph, Mary, Martha & Maggie McDowell.
William McGhie, Mrs Maria McGhie, and John A, William, Mary, Charles,
Henry, Jane, Ellen & Anna McGhie.
James F. Ryder, Mrs Sarah Ryder,
Gertrude, Kate & Mabel Ryder
William Sly, Mrs Julia Sly,
William,
Agnus,
Arthur,
Harold,
Oswald,
Earnest Percival,
Rose & Sydney Sly.
W. W. Smith & Mrs Smith,
Sarah,
Anne,
Shepherd,
Martha,
Thomas,
William & Francis Smith.
John Swarbrick, Mrs Sarah Swarbrick,
Harriet,
Isa,
Alice,
John,
Daniel,
Emily,
John G. and Oswald Swarbrick.
William and Mrs Swarbrick, Jocelyn
P. Tuthill.
W. J. Trigg, Mrs Emma Trigg,
F. W.,
T. J.,
Annie,
E. F., and Jocelyn Trigg.
Joseph & Mrs Webley,
Eva, Fanny and Charlotte.

This thread:

• [NZ] Lady Jocelyn by "Taylor Family" <>
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  • [NZ] Lady Jocelyn by "Drew" <>