ARRIVAL OF THE EARL OF ZETLAND
Otago Daily Times June 4th 1875

The ship sighted from the Ocean Beach on Monday reached the Heads yesterday morning, and turned out to be the Earl of Zetland, from London, with immigrants, and her bill of health being exceptionally clean. She was towed right up the harbour, and anchored off Carey's Bay. After the preliminary investigation at the ship's side had been pursued by the Medical Adviser to the Board of Health on the one part, and Dr Cunningham, the Surgeon Superintendent of the Earl of Zetland on the other, the customary oficial inspection of the ship and her living freight was made and resulted to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, the immigrants being a fair class, and healthy, whilst their respective compartments were clean and in good order. The proportion of males to females, however, somewhat excessive, whilst the common labouring class predominated amongst the 115 young men berthed in the forward compartment. At the same time, the men were for the most part young, and not wanting in thews ans sinews, and expressed themselves ready and willing to work. The women berthed in the after compartment really merited the designation young applied to them in the official record. Thirty-two out of the thirty-four being young, strapping, well looking lasses, who received a very good character from the matron, Mrs Dounes. Dr Cunningham and Captain Reid also spoke well of them. The other two women were married and had nine children between them. Dr Cunningham, by the way, is an old acquaintance, he had visited the Province last year as surgeon superintendent of the ship Tweed, and then, as now, was fortunate in delivering his charge in very good condition indeed. His account of the passage is favourable, little or no disease having appeared on board. Whilst mortality was reduced to a minimum, one infant only dying, as against seven births. So that the Earl of Zetland delivers more souls to the Province than she left Britain with. This fact combined with the good run she made, reflects creditably on the ship, and is an excellent beginning of what we trust will prove a long and prosperous career.

The Earl of Zetland's immigrants number 347 sould, equal to 269 statute adults. We include the newly born in this reckoning. They comprise 49 married couples, 82 single women, 115 single men, 46 male children, 85 female children, 7 female infants, and 6 male infants. Classified according to their nationalities, they stand thus; English 110 males, 64 females. Scotch, 29 males, 15 females; Irish 85 males, 45 females; foreigners, 2 males and 1 female. The death befell a female infant aged one year, and named Mary Bird, she died of tubercular disease. The births were as follows - April 3rd Mrs Hamilton of a son, April 6th Mrs Clarke, of a daughter, April 17th Mrs Wilkins of a daughter, April 20th Mrs Carroll, of a daughter, May 9th Mrs White, of a son.

When we inspected the 'tween decks the passengers in reply to our interrogatories, expressed themselves as highly satisfied with the entertainment accorded them on board, one matron affirming that she had been very much better treated than she expected. Captain Reid and Dr Cunningham were spoken of in terms of kindly regard. The ship was capitally fitted up, the various offices being roomy and comfortable and the other accomodation unexceptionable, save in the case of the married people, who were, as usual, berthed much too openly. But in the case of the Earl of Zetland's case the most was made of a faulty system and a fair need of convenience and comfort was thereby ensured the passengers. The store of fresh water was kept up by distilling with one of the Forbes's condensers, which was reported favourably of 370 gallons of water being obtained each day by eight hours distilling. As it was too late to land the.....

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...... burst, the squall resolved itself into a heavy gale from the south west, before which the ship ran, and made good weather of it. A deluge of rain fell, and the sea was fearfully cross and heavy, occasionally topping the bulwarks, and necessitating the battening down of the main hatch. The glass commenced to go up towards midnight and rose as fast as it fell, and next day the weather was comparatively moderate again. Steady moderate winds prevailed thence to the 17th May, when a six day's spell of exceedingly ugly weather set in. Severe gales from North West prevailed, and each day the wind went right around the compass. settling into North West again to a hard blow. Such chopping of the wind of course raised a bad sea, but the Zetland ran through it all without mishap, and on the 22nd {she being off Leuwin} met with steady weather. North west prevailing and carried it to the land, which was sighted at the Snares on the 31st May. Thence she had been crawling along with light airs and calms, and finally fetched the Heads and anchored at 2am yesterday, and was towed in shortly after 1pm. Excepting the two bad weather spells mentioned, the passage was one of moderate winds, but on the whole wet weather, 43 out of the 79 days she was at sea having been more or less wet; and yet the barometer was very steady from the time she left the land until the 29th April, fluctuating between about 30.00 and 30.10. From the 29th it fluctuated excessively to the end of the passage, the drop on the 8th May was from 30.30 to 28.30, nearly two inches, and it often ranged above half an inch afterwards.