Voyage to London in 1871

Voyage to London in 1871
Under command of	Captain John Bruce
Departure port	Port Adelaide
Departure date	18th November 1870
Arrival port	London
Arrival date	3rd March 1881
Voyage duration	105 days

After being anchored in the Port River for a week after her arrival, the ship was docked at Company's Wharf in Port Adelaide for the remaining twelve weeks of her visit. She completed her loading over two days in mid-stream, then sailed from South Australia on 18 November 1870, and arrived in London on 3 March 1871, a duration of 105 days.

Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Alan Platt, historian, specialising in the history of the City of Adelaide and its illustrious masters, we have a list of passengers who are known to have made the return voyage to England aboard the clipper. The list was compiled by Dr. Platt from data collected from Adelaide newspapers by R.T. (Bob) Sexton, noted South Australian maritime author.

Passenger List

No.	Name on Passenger List	GEDCOM Name	Cabin Class	Birth Date	Age	Trade	Marital Status	Passage	Comment
1	Edmunds, Mrs.	Edmunds,	First Class (Saloon)
2	Hall, Mr.	Hall,	First Class (Saloon)
3	Hall, Mrs.	Hall,	First Class (Saloon)
4	Moulden, Mrs.	Moulden,	First Class (Saloon)
5	Moulden, Miss	Moulden,	First Class (Saloon)
6	Smith, B.	Smith, B.	First Class (Saloon)
7	Young, G. jnr	Young, G. jnr	First Class (Saloon)
8	Churchett, T.	Churchett, T.	Second Class Cabins
9	Liddiatt, J.	Liddiatt, J.	Second Class Cabins
10	McKinnon, Mr.	McKinnon,	Second Class Cabins
11	McKinnon, Mrs.	McKinnon,	Second Class Cabins
12	Mejury, Mrs.	Mejury,	Second Class Cabins
13	Mejury, Child	Mejury,	Second Class Cabins
14	Mejury, Child	Mejury,	Second Class Cabins
15	Mortimer, W. W.	Mortimer, W.	Second Class Cabins
16	Robinson, Mrs.	Robinson,	Second Class Cabins
17	Robinson, Child	Robinson,	Second Class Cabins
18	Robinson, Child	Robinson,	Second Class Cabins
19	Ryan, T.	Ryan, T.	Second Class Cabins
20	Walker, F.	Walker, F.	Second Class Cabins
21	Watson, G.	Watson, G.	Second Class Cabins
22	Worsley, Mr.	Worsley,	Second Class Cabins

Crew List

This list is held by The National Archives at Kew in London, England. It requires personal attendance to retrieve and copy the ship's documents, and any help would be appreciated.

#	Name	Position	Wage	Last ship	Date joined	Place joined	Date Left	Place Left	Reason left	Age	Comment
1	Bruce, John	Master								30	Assumed on crew, no list held
2	Robins, Edwd Joseph	1st Mate								51	Assumed on crew, no list held
3	McIntosh, William	Carpenter								30	Assumed on crew, no list held
4	Brown, William	Sailmaker								56	Assumed on crew, no list held
5	Brinsmead, Horace G	Apprentice		Indentured	14 November 1869	London	Remains			18	Assumed on crew, no list held
6	Newton, William	Apprentice		Indentured	14 November 1870	London	Remains			15	Assumed on crew, no list held

Cargo List

The list of exporters follows.

Exporter	Goods		Exporter	Goods
Whyte, Counsell and Company	7 bales wool		J White	95 bales wool
Harrold Brothers	297 bales wool		Harrold Brothers	2 packages twine
Duffield and Harrold	127 bales wool		Harrold and Duffield	100 bales wool
Sanders, James and Company	601 bales wool		F Clark and Sons	107 bales wool
J Godfrey	14 bales wool		W Peacock and Son	46 bales wool
J Darwent	95 bales wool		P Auld	30 butts wine
W Ibister	17 bales wool		W Duffield and Co.	61 bales wool
S Parnell	10 bales wool		Duffield and Porter	270 bales wool
T Reynolds	31 casks wine		G Young	1 bag gum, 38 tons bark
G Young	111 bales wool		J M Linklater	101 bales wool
J H Angas	135 bales wool		J Stilling and Company	51 bales wool
J and G Wilcox	3 cases gum		J and G Wilcox	13 bales wool
T G Brown	2 cases wine		Mrs Penfold	1 qr-cask wine
J Tidmarsh and Company	119 packages tallow		W W Blyth	99 cart-arms
Paramatta Mining Company	1,807 bags copper ore		J Colton	75 bales wool
J Colton	3 bales leather		Adelaide Meat Company	292 cases meat
H C Rathgen	18 bales wool		A Shannon	53 bales wool
J Brown	20 bales wool		South Australian Institute	1 case
H Dawson	24 bales wool		K Brice	6 bales wool
W Peacock and Son	170 bales wool		W Peacock and Son	24 bales leather
T W Leach	1 case wine		Captain Bruce	1 iron tank
Cleland and Company	100 pieces sandal wood		M C Davies	11 cases cigars
M C Davies	2 cases snuff		A Hallett	266 bales wool
English & Australian Copper Co.	215 cakes copper

Also on board were two snakes and a rat in a cage, as reported in the newspaper:

—From the Register, Tuesday. May 16, 1871.— When the ship City of Adelaide left Port Adelaide on her last trip to London she had on board two very large snakes, consigned from the Conservator of the Botanic Garden to the Zoological Society, London; and with a view, it is presumed, to afford their snakeships a repast, should they feel so disposed, a large rat was placed in the cage with them. Much to the satisfaction, although none the less to the astonishment of those on board, instead of the snakes devouring the rat, the latter ate the snakes. It is supposed that the reptiles became torpid, otherwise either of them could have crushed the rat with one squeeze and swallowed it at a mouth full.—