Clipper Ship 'City of Adelaide'

Article Index
Diary of James Anderson McLauchlan
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Monday 29th

[summarised entry]... Cook went overboard for a swim.... was severely reprimanded by the Mate.... At half past 7 this evening we reached the Equator..... Father Neptune in the shape of the oldest seaman on board....came up with his Trident in his right hand an his lady on the other (one of the younger seamen with a woman's gown and bonnet...)...went aft under escort and was received on the Poop by the Captain... wished us a safe journey... a Tub with some inflammable material in it was set on fire and cast adrift...... seamen were not allowed the usual ceremonies.... on account of the sickness on board.... 124 miles Lat. 30.

Tuesday June 30th

[summarised entry]...another has been added to our list of dead.... a young child about 9 months old....died about 4 o'clock and was buried about 9.... bereaved parents are Scots from the Glasgow district..... 160 miles

Wednesday July 1st

[summarised entry]... as beautiful a day as I could ever wish to behold.... another of our number is lost to us forever.... a young Irish girl of about 21 years of age.... had been very bad for two or three days... succumbed about 5 o'clock and in about half an hour afterwards she was committed to the deep... awful to think how little ceremony there is... in this case it was quicker than usual... they intended to sink her bed with her, but horrible to say it had not been loaded enough to sink at all.... the body just gave a plunge and rose to the surface again.... 178 miles...

Thursday 2nd

[summarised entry]... the hard biscuit and salt meat was a great change to us, but time works wonders... we get that preserved mead twice a week which is a nice change besides pea soup the one day, and rice the other.... we don't like the preserved potatoes...we sometimes get porridge and molasses.... we also get a loaf for the mess twice a week... [mentions the flour, suet and raisins again] ...can't sit down on the Fo'castle... we don't know if we will walk away with a family or two of that most obnoxious of vermin....146 miles...

Friday 3rd

[summarised entry]... outcry arose today... a young fellow in our mess declaring he had got a sum of 19/6d stolen from him....went to the Captain.... sympathised with him but could do nothing in the case as they had only taken the money and not the purse....it was all a ruse to ... a good many [passengers have] given their money to the Captain to keep for them... 138 miles...

Saturday 4th

[summarised entry]...saw great numbers of Portugese Men of War [jelly fish] .... sudden rain storm.... 104 miles

Sunday 5th

[summarised entry]... some of the beds of them that slept on deck [are] in a miserable plight... no doubt there was also a good many lives lost by being washed overboard [this is following a storm during the night - no lives were lost in the storm at all] ... passed a homeward bound ship about midday... 196 miles...

Monday 6th

[summarised entry]... great disturbance today.... an Irishman who had lost his bed taking one belonging to one of his mates... Such a wrangling, discontented, quarrelsome set of fellows it never was my lot to be amongst before, and please God never again... 232 miles Lat. 17.32 Long. 30.20

Tuesday 7th

[summarised entry]...our Captain says he believes he will make Australia in about 30 days...passed 4 miles to the westward of the Island of Trinidada.... in the evening ... had some singing to help pass away the night.... the performance winding up with what is termed a Dutch Medley... each in his turn singing a verse of any song he remembered then the whole joining in with a Chorus of Rule Britannia which made the old ship ring... 232 miles

Wednesday 8th

[summarised entry]... wind has fallen considerably... we will lose the South east trade winds about the Tropic of Capricorn or 23° south..... which we will probably pass today... distance 126...

Thursday 9th

[summarised entry] ... we are very well off compared to some, with regard to our water... we have a condenser on board.... keeps us always supplied with the very best of fresh water... With a little lime juice (which commodity each of us is supplied with weekly) amongst it, it is very cool and delicious.... passed three ships tow of them going in the same direction as ourselves, the other homeward which was signalled........ had it not been for the fever on board we would have got letters taken home.... the fever on board has every chance of disappearing with the warm weather... only two patients on board, one [with] some chronic disease, the other fever ... mending favourably.... 100 miles

Friday 10th

[summarised entry]... a whale was seen close to the vessel.... distance 66

Saturday 11th

[summarised entry] .... passed another ship.... the "High Flyer"... left London three days before us and is reckoned a very fast sailer.... seems there is not many can compete with our gallant little ship... [the sailors on board the "City"]

how happy they are and how nimbly they go through their work..... secret is they get Saturday afternoon as a half holiday in fine weather... a great blessing to them.. am sorry to say that it has not become general yet [meaning that this was specific to the City of Adelaide] ... 120 miles Lat. 28:5 Long 27:12...

Sunday 12th

[summarised entry]... awakened early by the rolling of the ship.... throwing me first on the one side of my bunk and then on the other.... waves coming broadside on.... At dinner time... pea soup was made to fly about in all directions. Each had to collar his dish and balance it according to the roll of the ship... This evening a most disgraceful fight between a young Englishman and an Irishman.... ended in a hand to hand encounter.... they ran great risk of being put in irons..........206

... a most disagreeable day... wind... hard from the South West... heavy blinding rain... very cold... lasting without intermission until late at night..... we got a fiddle started and had a little dancing... some jigs and hornpipes were creditably done by some of our Irish friends...

Monday 13th

[summarised entry] ... a most disagreeable day... wind... hard from the South West... heavy blinding rain... very cold... lasting without intermission until late at night..... we got a fiddle started and had a little dancing... some jigs and hornpipes were creditably done by some of our Irish friends...we got no reckoning today...

Tuesday 14th

[summarised entry] ... rain had cleared off but the wind was fresh... ship rolling very much... at dinner by not exercising extreme caution, our pea soup took wings and flew from the table to the middle of the floor... distance for two days 308 miles...

Wednesday 15th

[summarised entry]... wind freshened to a regular gale... stitch after stitch was taken off [sails] until there was nothing left but the Lower Main Topsail.... to keep her head to the wind, and here we lay almost as if at anchor (what the sailors term "Hove to").... waves now and again coming right over her like a sheet.... One great wave... struck her amidships and knocked in a part of the bulwarks.... I got drenched... as I was going to the galley for our coffee.... [a woman] got herself severely hurt, another fainted [this while on deck and the ship being pounded by large waves].... 202 miles Lat 38.22 Long 20.4

Thursday 16th

[summarised entry]... wind had fallen considerably.... distance 33 miles Lat. 38.10 Long. 19.25W ... we have lost 12 miles Lat. and gained 33 by Long.

Friday 17th

[summarised entry]....we are getting it cold enough now... glad to put on our overcoats.... about 8 o'clock we were all alarmed by the loud cries of Fire from the deck.... I happened to be down below at the time.... glad to find it was nothing serious... one of the staysails had been in too close proximity to the flue of the condenser.... very little damage done... distance 192..

Saturday 18th

[summarised entry] .... light breeze blowing... Captain could not take his observations... we had some innocent games with which we passed the night very pleasantly...

Sunday 19th

[summarised entry] ...rained without intermission for four and twenty hours... have not see the sun at all today.... no observations yet today...

Monday 20th

[summarised entry] ...a little disturbance arose in consequence of their refusing to cook some of our little extras, which he does without grumbling to the married folks or the young women... we agreed to throw all our fat meat and refuse to the fishes instead of giving it to him... made the bully give in a little.... it is still quite evident that they rob us of all they can to give to those that are continually giving two or three shillings a proceeding, which I hate [seems obvious that the cabin passengers were paying for extra favours from the cook, at the expense of the single men].... I intend giving something at the end of the voyage, but now I am determined to give nothing..... no sun today...

Tuesday 21st

[summarised entry] ... "the iceberg... come up and see the iceberg" [the old sailor who had played Neptune playing tricks on the unsuspecting passengers]... could not have wished to be among a better crew... all so respectable and agreeable among themselves and us.... we all like to talk to them... we can generally depend upon the truth of any statement they make... I began to see evidences of our enemies, that loathsome vermin being spread over the whole of us [lice]...I have now, for the first time in my life, got two or three on my body... very disheartening for there is no way of keeping ourselves clean, for when we put on clean clothes, we just get a fresh family [of lice].... There is nothing for it but to wear the clothes we have and throw them overboard when we land... 522 miles [more than one day's sailing] Lat 42.53 Long. 2.5

Wednesday 22nd

[summarised entry] ... school for the young children was carried on by Mr. Kerslake, the same who was christened "The Shah", has been knocked off now on account of the cold weather... today we had another novelty in the shape of oatmeal cakes or Bannocks.... distance 198 miles

Thursday 23rd

[summarised entry].... they do not seem to study our wants very well, for there are three of our messes without seats, and one without a table having been broken about the time of the gale... nor do they seem in any hurry to mend them... some [furniture items] have been sitting on the deck ever since... was amused at some of my fellow passengers declaring their intentions to travel by land when they came home again... [via the same route that was used] to bring horses to England, that is overland to India and from there home, never supposing for a moment that Australia is an Island thousands of miles from the nearest mainland. Distance 148 miles...

Friday 24th

[summarised entry] ... the Captain declaring that he expected to land in three weeks... weather is now very cold... sometimes got a flying shower of snow or sleet... distance today 266 miles..

Saturday 25th

[summarised entry] ... very thick and foggy accompanied with a drizzling rain... "Scotch Mist"... distance 198 miles

Sunday 26th

[summarised entry] ... awakened this morning about 6 o'clock... "come up and see the Cape Lights"... "for those who have letters to take on shore, get them ready"... this idea was quite absurd... we were about 400 miles south of the Cape... fog very dense in the morning... the Doctor doing his daily rounds congratulated us on good health ( not one of us has been laid up the whole voyage) [referring to the men in his mess area]... In the married place... about 20 are lying badly again... 76 miles ... becalmed since last night... Lat 44.7 Long 18.3 E

Monday 27th

[summarised entry]... awakened by some of the sailors who said there was a comet to be seen away in the east... thinking it a ruse I lay still... on getting up.. found that it had actually been seen....(I remember having seen the large Comet of 1858 [see note after the text])... distance 150 miles...

Tuesday 28th

[summarised entry] .... Comet seen this morning [see note after the text]... threw some of our Tea things over to other messes, who having lost some of their own, have taken ours to make up for it... cold... causes me to take refuge beside the stove in the Fo'castle among the sailors... I spent an hour or two very comfortably....

Wednesday 29th

[summarised entry]... being cloudy the Comet was not seen at all this morning... have now passed the Longitude of the Cape... we had a very severe snow storm which lasted about an hour... about 8 o'clock there was another hail... all the invalids are recovered again with the exception of one or two... I am much afraid we will have to lie for a week or two in quarantine... 492 miles... Lat 43.43 Long. 32.53 E...

Thursday 30th

[summarised entry] ...beautiful day... 246 miles...

...amusing to see the civility we get from the cooks now... they even come and ask if would like a little more soup, or would we like a little hot water, a commodity which if we had asked even for our greasy dishes a week or two ago, we would have got nothing but insult... the secret is we are drawing near the end of our journey and they are expecting us to subscribe two or three pounds to them... afraid they will be woefully mistaken... amongst all the ship, they least deserve it...

Friday 31st

[summarised entry]... foggy all day...amusing to see the civility we get from the cooks now... they even come and ask if would like a little more soup, or would we like a little hot water, a commodity which if we had asked even for our greasy dishes a week or two ago, we would have got nothing but insult... the secret is we are drawing near the end of our journey and they are expecting us to subscribe two or three pounds to them... afraid they will be woefully mistaken... amongst all the ship, they least deserve it...

Saturday August 1st

[summarised entry]... [he comments upon the quick passing of the past two months]... seems like a dream to me, this passing from the extreme heat of summer to the heart of winter.. almost like the sudden changes of the Magic Lantern, the varied scenes of which I used to like so well [he had obviously been exposed to the earliest forms of motion pictures which were called Magic Lanterns]... distance 444 miles

Sunday 2nd

[summarised entry] ...there was service today as usual but I did not attend. I am wearying for the time when I shall once more go quietly to church as I used to do at home, for somehow I can't take with this English church service... 216 miles..

Monday 3rd

[summarised entry] ... rather dull, but was spent reading a novel... in the evening the wind fell away to a very light breeze... distance 190 miles..

Tuesday 4th

[summarised entry] .. another young child was added to our list of dead, and was buried at half past 9...a sweet tempered little creature... a general favourite with all on board.. About midday we came within signalling distance of [a ship which proved to be] "Otago" a full rigged ship of 992 tons and bound for Otago with 450 emigrants on board... all in good health [referring to Otago passengers] ...not a death having occurred among them... sailed on 30th May [Otago].... we came within speaking distance of one another... could distinctly hear one passenger ask if we had got pea soup for dinner... another asked if we had seen the "Shah" [passenger Kerslake] for some time.... a good deal of slang passed between the two... no sun today....

Wednesday 5th

[summarised entry] ... nothing could be seen of "Otago"... this afternoon, the decks being wet and slippery, a poor fellow fell and broke his collar bone.... is the first invalid we have had in our apartment.... [of the sailors] out of their number there has been 6 on the sick list.. there are two lying at the present moment very ill... cooks had the impudence today to suggest that we should raise a subscription for them. I don't know how they could ever expect such a thing after the usage we have got from them... we had a meeting to see what was to be done... it was almost unanimously agreed that the cook should get nothing... we should get up a subscription to give the fellow a little that some time ago said he lost his money... and who in reality appears hard up... and give the remainder to the Baker (who, poor fellow, got his job taken from him some time ago and is to get no wages when he lands.....) distance 390 miles

Thursday 6th

[summarised entry] ... the Bully of a Cook tried to have revenge on the poor Baker, who was the innocent cause of last night's affair [the meeting and decision made no doubt], by striking him, keeping him from getting his breakfast and otherwise annoying him... was prevented from going any further by the timely interference of a third part.... he is awfully riled... poor Baker will have to look out....

Friday 7th

[summarised entry] ...the wife of a young Englishman gave birth to a dead child... the other invalids are either better or recovering fast with the exception of one poor sailor who appears to me to be in a consumption... expecting to reach our destination in less than a fortnight... some can scarcely walk with "chill blains" .... distance 376 miles

Saturday 8th

[summarised entry] ...passed large quantities of sea weed...

Sunday 9th

[summarised entry] ... they are all supplied with charcoal fires down below, with the exception of us single men, who are either not worth one or are supposed to be so hardy as not to require one... Barometer had been falling all day... distance 506 miles

Monday 10th

[summarised entry]... wind blowing through the rigging as if it were a regular hurricane...a loud report as if a gun had been fired.. violent flapping of a sail... a chain that had snapped... they had put two men at the wheel... we passed a piece of rope with what I took to be a part of a sail attached to it, which told that some ship had got a severe handling... heavy showers of hail all day... the hailstones the largest I ever saw, sometimes as large as peas... distance 204 miles ...

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