Voyage of Abberton 1884
Mrs. Irene Drakeford has sent a letter written to Governor LaTrobe with a report on the arrival of the sailing ship "Abberton".Irene Drakeford's Great Grandparents, Cranwell, were on the ship with James Read and his wife Annice. The Cranwells settled in Cotham Road, Kew where they grew vegetables and later fruit. The Reads came to Templestowe and were among the first orchardists. Extracts from this letter are reproduced below:
Melbourne
October 12th 1844
To His Honour
C J LaTrobe Esq
Superintendent
Melbourne.
Sir,
The "Abberton" sailed from London on the 16th May and from Cork on the 1st June last and arrived at Port Philip on the 22nd September 1844, for the conveyance of 2000 statute adults at the rate of (pound) 18-14-0 per statute adult.
The Immigrants have been selected chiefly in the midland counties of England and a few from the southern counties of Ireland and appear to be a class of people likely to become useful to the Colony as they consist principally of Agricultural Labourers and female Domestic Servants.
We have considered it incumbent upon us to recommend the disallowance of the bounty on 2 individuals sent out as bounty immigrants, namely, Martha Davis, 26 yrs., who came out as an unmarried female but who has proved to be with child on her arrival here and very near her confinement, and Thomas Buckley, 12 yrs. stepson of Matthew Sullivan who is very evidently idiotic.
In the case of Martha Davis, it is worthy of particular remark that on her arrival at Deptford, the place of embarkation, she then applied to the Rev. B.S. Rector of St. Pauls for his signature to certify that the Certificates of her character were to the best of his belief authentic and worthy of credit.
The compliance of the Rev. Gentleman in question appears to us very unaccountable seeing that such is required to be certified by the Clergyman of her Parish, viz., Farringdon in Berkshire, which parish she probably never was in, nor had any personal knowledge of the individuals whose signatures and respectability he has certified to.
The "Abberton" appears to be sufficiently well calculated for the conveyance of passengers as far as regards height between decks but being rather narrow in the beam. In rough weather, she is said to roll about and to ship seas considerably, consequently in rough weather the single men in the forepart of the vessel had wet and uncomfortable berths in bad weather. Having made these remarks and exceptions we beg here to express our opinion that M/rs. Carter & Bonier are entitled to receive the sum of Three thousand, Four hundred and Seventy Eight pounds, Four Shillings, £3,478-4-0 sterling.
As this is likely to be our last report on the subject of Immigration in the present year, we are desirous of calling particular attention to the large proportion of married people with families of young children which have been sent to this part of the Colony during the present year. They are not the class of persons who ought to be encouraged to emigrate. Young and helpless children are a clog to the exertions of parents and such families will not be employed by the inhabitants of the town nor by the settlers in the country except from absolute necessity, the consequence of this state of things is that very many of the married immigrants with a helpless family of young children have passed weeks in seeking employment, their wives and children frequently badly off for the necessities of life and in this manner a period of time is miserably passed, alike unprofitable to the immigrant and useless to the community.
Besides, when a Mother has to attend to 2 or 3 young children and other necessary domestic concerns, she can have no time to devote to the business of the employer.
1989 03 DTHS Newsletter
Ships Passenger List - Abberton 22/9/1844
General Passenger: Thomas Buckley, 12 yrs. stepson of Matthew Sullivan
Unmarried Woman: Martha Davis 26: "Martha Davis came out with a Mr.Hedley & family as Cabin Passengers and is ??? near her accroachment consequently ineligible for the bounty."
Unmarried man: James Read. (No mention of wife Annice)
Abberton (from My Migrant Story)
The Abberton arrived on the 22nd of September 1844 from England. The captain of the ship was Captain Campbell. On board six people lost their lives. Mary Wheeler died while giving birth and her infant daughter died four days later. Three other small children died of unknown causes and 16 year old Thomas Waring died a painful death by inflammation of the brain. The Abberton was built at Ipswich in 1819 and belonged to the Marshall of London. The ship sailed from England to Cork before arriving in Australia. On the ship many people had seasickness because of the continuous rocking and the only cure was pea soup but by the end of the voyage everyone was so sick of pea soup that they couldn't look at the food without feeling nauseous. The Abberton was narrow in the beam. This caused damp and uncomfortable living conditions in the single men's quarter. When the immigrants arrived the men were made to sign a form stating that they had received proper treatment and praising the doctor, master and crew for their great kindness and attention.
Reminiscences - Henry Mundy 1912
Reminiscences of Henry Mundy; includes a description of his life in England before migrating to Australia, 1844; an account of his voyage aboard the "Abberton", and stay in Melbourne on arrival; his life on Mustan's Creek station, 1845, and later at Newtown, Geelong. Also includes descriptions of gold mining at Fryer's Creek, 1851, and Ballarat, with references to the Eureka Stockade and the Chinese on the gold fields; and descriptions of bushfires in Victoria, January 1845 and Black Thursday, 1851.
https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Reminiscences.html?id=LzBmYgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
ABBERTON - London 1/61844 - Melbourne 22/9/1844 Port of Call: Cork. 252 Migrants on board. Account based on H'y Mundy's Diary (Log of Logs, Vol 2) "Perilous Voyages to the New Land" by M. Cannon, (Mornington 1995). "The Somerset Years" by Florence Chuck, (Ballarat 1987)
http://passengersinhistory.sa.gov.au/node/1003673
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