Mariner

Mariner
Ship: 683 tons
Captain: Robert Harland
Surgeon Superintendent: John Latimer Parke
Departed London 11th February 1849 - arrived Port Chalmers 5th June 1849
                                                                  arrived Wellington 12th July 1849

Arrival of Mariner in Wellington

   The Mariner, American-built ship, was sent out by the old firm of Willis, Gann & Company, and made several voyages to New Zealand. She sailed from London to Otago the first of two voyages, bringing out a total of 320 passengers.
   In 1849 the Mariner sailed from Gravesend on February 8th, and arrived on June 5th, making the passage in 119 days. As many of the passengers were booked for Wellington, the vessel proceeded on to that port, arriving on July 12th.
   The following year she sailed for Port Chalmers on the 7th April, and arrived at that port on the 6th August, 1850. The vessel, having 126 passengers for Wellington, sailed from Dunedin at the end of August, and arrived on the 2nd September. After discharging a portion of her cargo, she sailed again for New Plymouth, arriving there on the 11th October. Captain R. Harland brought the ship out on each occasion.
   In 1856 the Mariner sailed from London on July 14th, and after calling at Tasmania for water, arrived at Wellington on November 25th, where she landed 68 passengers. Three deaths occurred during the voyage.
   Nine years later the Mariner was sent out to Nelson under Captain Fraser (Frater). She sailed from London on the 2nd January, and arrived on the 23rd April, 1859. The "Examiner," reporting her arrival, said:-
                                 "The Mariner is the first of the new line of vessels recently established by
                                   the Shaw Saville Co. She brings 48 English, 41 Scotch, and 34 foreign, mostly
                                   Germans - a total of 125 passengers. The passage occupied 111 days from the
                                   Downs to port."

Extracted from White Wings vol 2 by Sir Henry Brett

Extract from the Diary of John Thomas Tylee
Chief Cabin Passenger on board the Mariner

Name Age Occupation Disembarked
Chief Cabin Passengers
Bald Andrew 28 Otago
Brown Charles N 23
Craig Robert 20 Otago
Gibson John 26 Wellington
Hogg James 19 Otago
John 17 Otago
Meyer Herbert 18 Otago
Charles 17 Otago
Napier Peter M 21 Otago
Napier John David 20 Otago
Nixon W

           

Elizabeth 29
Martha 8
Norah 6
Clara 3
Orbell John 47 Otago
Catherine 42 Otago
Catherine 22 Otago
Emily 21 Otago
Fanny 19 Otago
Mary 17 Otago
Edward 17 Otago
Henry 14 Otago
Frank 13 Otago
MacLeod Clement 10 Otago
Jessie 6 Otago
Graham 5 Otago
Smith Robert D 28 Otago
Stirling James Housten 25
Jessie 25
John 2
James Grant 5 months
Tylee John Thomas 22 Otago
Mary Heckett 25 Otago
Fore Cabin Passengers
Alport Augustus James 32 Accountant Wellington
Susannah 35 Wellington
Susannah 3 Wellington
Augustus Frederick 2 Wellington
Infant Wellington
Barr Thomas James 30 Otago
Archibald 28 Otago
Laing Peter 30 Wellington
Assisted Passengers
Archibald Alexander 41 Flax Dresser & Labourer Otago
Alexander 8 Otago
James 5 Otago
Mary Ann 2 Otago
Austin John 15 Labourer Nelson
Bain Thomas 34 Tailor
Christian Sprot 31
Kenneth 3
Biggs Samuel 44 Servant Nelson
Isabella 42 Nelson
Isabella 14 Nelson
Harriet 5 Nelson
Eliza 23 Domestic Servant Nelson
Sarah E 16 Domestic Servant Nelson
Bonnington Harriet 39 Nelson
Charles 20 Nelson
Henry 16 Nelson
Emma 14 Nelson
George 12 Nelson
Joseph 11 Nelson
Herbert 8 Nelson
Frederick 5 Nelson
Christopher 4 Nelson
Mary Ellen 2 Nelson
Boyes Andrew 31 Tailor Otago
Isabella 25 Otago
Andrew 6 Otago
Elizabeth Ann 2 Otago
Brown Mary A 59 Wellington
Andrew 40 Weaver Wellington
Mary 40 Wellington
James 20 Weaver Wellington
Ellen 18 Wellington
Brown Joseph 24
Burns Jean 52 Nelson
Charles 19 Joiner Nelson
Robert 9 Nelson
Burns David 34 Joiner Nelson

 

Elizabeth 32 Nelson
Marion 10 Nelson
Robert 8 Nelson
Jane 5 Nelson
Margaret 1 Nelson
Calder David 46 Mason & Farmer Otago
Jane 42 Otago
James 10 Otago
David 7 Otago
George 3 Otago
John 1 Otago

Calder

Hugh 19 Mason & Farmer

Otago

Cameron Catherine 21 Domestic Servant Nelson
Cameron Donald 30 Shepherd Nelson
Collins William 31 Printer &Farm Labourer New Plymouth
Mary Ann 25 New Plymouth
Thomas 9 New Plymouth
Louisa 8 New Plymouth
William 6 New Plymouth
Susannah 4 New Plymouth
Mary Ann 1 New Plymouth
Cook Jessie 18 Servant Nelson
Corkery Julia 17 Domestic Servant Wellington
Edwards George 44 Agricultural Labourer Nelson
Eliza 42 Nelson
Charles 18 Nelson
Emma 12 Nelson
Henry 11 Nelson
William 6 Nelson
Alfred R 4 Nelson
Eliza 2 Nelson
Edwards Ann 16 Nelson
Frazer Hugh 17 Farm Labourer Nelson
Frost Dennis 45 Agricultural Labourer Nelson
Lydia 44 Nelson
William 23 Groom & Labourer Nelson
Emma 21 House Servant Nelson
Edward 18 Labourer Nelson
Dennis 17 Labourer Nelson
Sarah 15 House Servant Nelson
Walter 6 Nelson
Susan 7 Nelson
Thomas 9 Nelson
Jonathan 11 Nelson
George 13 Nelson
Gentry Charles 26 Brickmaker Nelson
Mary Ann 26 Nelson
Charles William 2 Nelson
Mary Ann 6 months Nelson
Harvey Isaac 32 Sawyer Nelson
Elizabeth 33 Nelson
Harriet 7 Nelson
Hannah 5 Nelson
Catherine 2 Nelson
Hastie John 23 Farm Servant Nelson
Healy John 29
Heenan Dennis 60 Agriculturist Otago
Judith 42 Otago
Mary 11 Otago
Edward 8 Otago
James 7 Otago
Winifred 5 Otago
Michael 3 Otago
Jane 1 Otago
John 13 Otago
Dan 15 Otago
Ann 17 Otago
Joanna 19 Otago
William 20 Otago
Henderson Elizabeth 24 Domestic Servant Nelson
Hooker Robert 23 Farm Labourer Nelson
Houstan Thomas S 29 Agricultural Labourer Otago
Marianne 24 Otago
James 5 Otago
Alexander E Infant Otago
Jackson George 22 Farm Labourer Wellington
Jacobsen Hans 51 Ships Carpenter Nelson
Annah 51 Nelson
Johann C 24 Shoemaker Nelson
Andreas 21 Ships Carpenter Nelson
Heinrich 16 Ships Carpenter Nelson
Just Sarah 15 Domestic Servant
Emma 21 Domestic Servant
Kerr William Laing 25 Agricultural Servant Otago
Jessie Janet 30 Otago
William Laing 2 Otago
Margaret 1 Otago
Kerr Hugh 21 Otago
King James 35 Brickmaker and Farm Labourer Nelson
Elizabeth 40 Nelson
Elizabeth 12 Nelson
Emma 11 Nelson
Hannah 7 Nelson
Susan 2 Nelson
Lindsay Peter 40 Otago
Agnes 34 Otago
Peter 11 Otago
John 9 Otago
Isabella 4 Otago
Livingston James 42 Farm Labourer Nelson
Mary 39 Nelson
James 10 Nelson
John 7 Nelson
Jean 5 Nelson
David 3 Nelson
Lyall William 42 Shoemaker Wellington
Lucy 45 Wellington
MacFayden Hugh 26 Cooper Otago
Ellen Hunter 25 Otago
Hugh 2 Otago
Agnes Fortune Born on Board Otago
Mann John 13
Mayo James 35 Otago
Mary 35 Otago
Anne 7 Otago
Henry 4 Otago
Mary 2 Otago
Emma 8 months Otago
McGowan Katherine 18 Servant Otago
McIntosh John 33 Ploughman Otago
Isabella 25 Otago
Hugh 6 Otago
Alexander 4 Otago
McKearnon Margaret 15 Servant Otago
McKenzie Jane 17 Servant Otago
McLaren Peter 23 Agricuiltural Labourer Otago
Jessie 20 Otago
McManaway Thomas dalton 39 Labourer Wellington
Anne 32 Wellington
Ellen 8 Wellington
Mary 6 Wellington
Thomas 3 Wellington
Child Born & died at sea
Mitchell Mary 21 Domestic Servant Nelson
Monro Jessie 23 Domestic Servant & Straw Bonnet Maker Otago

 

Catherine 18 Domestic Servant & Straw Bonnet Maker Otago
Morrison Walter 19 Agricultural Labourer New Plymouth
Munroe Jessie 23 Domestic
Kate 18 Servant
Jane 22 Dress & Straw Bonnet Maker
Isabella 17 Milliner
Maria 15 House Servant
Murphy James 23 Blacksmith Wellington
Patrick 21 Wellington
Mary 17 Wellington
Bridget 14 Wellington
Nicol James F 35 Labourer Nelson
Elizabeth 31 Nelson
Florence E 6 Nelson
Nisbet John 34 Agricultural labourer Otago
Phillips Edward 26 Hatter
Phillips Mrs Jane 32
Purvis Isabella 22 Domestic Servant Wellington
Ritchie James 40
Ross Charles 20 Ploughman Nelson
Seafors William 27 Farm Labourer
Clara 22
Seafors Augustus 30 Farm Labourer
Charlotte 22
Sheriff William 46 Cooper Otago
Isabella 45 Otago
George 13 Otago
Margaret 11 Otago
Robert 5 Otago
Thomas 16 Otago
Elizabeth 15 Otago
Smith John 25 Labourer Nelson
Summers Andrew 22 Baker & Labourer Otago
Jessie 22 Otago
Thackthwaite Colchester 18 Gardener & Nurseryman Nelson
Thompson Andrew 22 Baker
Jessie 23
Thompson Thomas 27 Labourer Otago
Margaret 27 Otago
Agnes 3 Otago
Margaret 1 Otago
Trumble Thomas 44 Agriculturalist Otago
Jane 31 Otago
Ellen 12 Otago
Matilda 10 Otago
Eliza 7 Otago
Morgan 5 Otago
Victoria 3 Otago
Thomas 10 Otago
Wakelin Thomas 36 Wheelwright & Joiner Wellington
Jane 29 Wellington
Mary Jane 4 months Wellington
Wilcocks William 26 Labourer Otago
Janet 27 Otago
James 2 Otago
Janet 8 Otago
Wilson Alfred 23 Farm Labourer
Wilson Robert 22 Baker & Labourer Otago
Jessie 24 Otago
Wood Mary Ann 30 Domestic Servant New Plymouth

                       

HEINRICH (HENRY) JACOBSEN:
A Sailor’s Story by Captain Henry Jacobsen, St Heliers Bay, Auckland.
from "The Diggers’ Story" by Carl J Pfaff

I am a very old West Coaster, having spent a great many of the best years of my life there in various capacities trading from Nelson up and down the Coast in my own vessel, which was flying the first British flag seen in Westport. This flag was presented to me by the Westport Borough Council, and is believed to be in their possession now (see copy of letter appended, received by me from the Town Clerk’s Office, Westport re the flag, which may be of interest to some West Coasters). As a gold digger, I often tramped over hills and through bush not previously tramped by the white man.

Before going to the West Coast of the South Island, I was engaged trading between Nelson, New Plymouth and Onehunga, taking stores for the commissariat and carrying the mails, coal and general cargo. This was during the time of the Maori War in Taranaki. In June, 1861, I was chartered by Messrs Waite and Saunders, who were then living in Collingwood, to go to Westport. We left Nelson in the ketch "Jane" with several gold diggers and a miscellaneous lot of cargo. Calling in at Collingwood we took on more diggers and cargo and sailed for Westport. On arrival at Westport we were joined by four or five men, who had left Collingwood at the same time as we did. They had launched their boat across Farewell Spit. These, with the men I took in the ketch, were the first permanent settlers and gold diggers on the West Coast. We found about half-a-dozen Maoris living in Westport. There was no accommodation of any kind, so we had to set to work to provide some. The Maoris gave up one of their whares for us to put the stores in. The country was a mass of dense bush everywhere. Mosquitos, fleas, sandflies and blowflies were very plentiful. The blowflies were a perfect pest, getting into clothing, blankets and wherever they could. I waited for three weeks in Westport assisting the diggers (who afterwards scattered up the Buller River) with their stores. I continued to trade between Nelson and Westport for about six months; on one trip, I took among other cargo, three hundredweight of greenstone. I then went to Waimangaroa where I myself tried golddigging. Failing to get any gold there, I went further up the Buller, but met with no luck. Returning to Westport, I had the misfortune to lose my boat, and all it contained, coming down the river. I managed to swim ashore, a distance of nearly a mile owing to the difficulty of landing, and then did the rest of the journey on foot. In March, 1862, I was chartered by Mr Mackley to take him, his family and stores to the Grey River. Mr J. C. Richmond (afterwards Premier of New Zealand) was with us. While waiting to get into the Grey I sailed 50 miles South in order to give Mr Richmond an opportunity of painting Mt Cook. The conditions at the Grey were somwhat similar to those at Westport. There were a few Maoris who had cleared several acres of land, and whose live stock at the time consisted of thirteen roosters, one hen and a large number of dogs. I assisted Mr Mackley to take his stores by the river to his place at Waipuna, about 45 miles from the Grey. It took nearly a month to take the six trips backwards and forwards, before Mr Mackley was settled. Mr Mackley’s house, which measured 40ft by 30ft, was made out of manuka poles and bark, and took eight days to build. Returning to the Grey with Mr Mackley we had to contend with a high flood, all the flat land being under water. We were nearly frozen when we reached the gorge.

In the Grey the Maoris were flooded out, the flat land where Greymouth now stands being six or seven feet under water. In order to reach the terrace at the back where we were to make our camp, we had to take the boat through the treetops. After a rest in the Grey, Mr Mackley, a Maori boy, and I walked to the saddle near  the present town of Reefton, which took us two days. Reaching the Inangahua River we launched a small canoe previously left by Mr Rochfort at a place known to Mr Mackley. Here Mr Mackley and I parted. I then went in the canoe down the Inangahua and Buller Rivers, arriving in Westport in two days, in rags and tatters and half-starved. There I was made welcome and had a good square meal, which I badly needed and thoroughly enjoyed. At Westport I found my old vessel on the beach. It had during my absence been sold with all it contained, by the mate who had also done away with the proceeds. Buying her back, I sailed round Blind Bay for some time and then finally sold the vessel.

In September, 1864, I took charge of a sheepstation belonging to Major Newcombe, situated above the Grey River near the Ahaura. In January, 1865, Mrs Jacobsen joined me on the station. Some idea of the difficulty of travelling at that time may be gathered from the fact that it took Mrs Jacobsen eight days to do the journey of twenty-five miles in a canoe owing to floods, rain, and other inconveniences. Canoes were the chief means of conveyance from place to place, but one journey I made from the station to the Grey had to be made in a raft made of three bundles of flat sticks.

The house in which my wife and I lived was built of mud, the walls being covered with moss halfway up. The roof consisted of flakes of manuka bark tied down with flax. The place was infected with rats of a very large size. The comforts or discomforts of living may be easily imagined. I left the sheep station after having been there nine months. From an old account book in my possession some idea of the cost of provisions at that time may be gathered. Items may be of interest today who grumble at the increased cost of living. The following are some of the prices ruling then:-

Salt 2s. 6d. jer lb., sugar 2s. 6d. jer lb., salt beef 2s. 6d. per lb., flour from 60 to 75 pounds per ton, bread (4lb. loaf) 2s 6d., coffee 6s. per lb., tea 4s. per lb., onions 1s 6d per lb., small ham 24s. 6d., herrings 1s 6d each, potatoes 10s. per lb.

Soon after this things began to improve very rapidly. Gold diggings broke out in several places on the coast and inland. Large sailing vessels and several steamboats were plying chiefly from Nelson and Melbourne, bringing people and stores of all kinds. Settlers and diggers were flocking everywhere. I started gold-digging again, this time on the Nine Mile Beach between Greymouth and Westport. On my way I came across a man whose leg had been broken in two places through a fall from the cliff. While setting the leg and splinting it up with pieces of bark, Mr Kenesley (the gold field warden at the time) and three policemen arrived. They informed me that they had been trying to find my location, as I was wanted to take the post of signal man at Westport.

I accepted the position, and was gazetted signalman by Governor Bowen about September, 1866. One of my first duties on arrival at Westport was to see to the erection of a flagstaff. In 1875 I was transferred to the station at Port Hills, Nelson, where I remained until the station was removed to Boulder Bank. In 1890 I was transferred to the lighthouse service and removed to the Auckland District. After being altogether thirty-six years in the Government Service, I received notice from the secretary of the Marine Department that he had the honour to inform me that on account of my old age, my services would no longer be required.

So here I am, stranded like an old ship. I am 79 years of age. This is only an account of a few of the adventures on the West Coast, the recollections of which, with the many hardships endured, are still very vivid.

COPY OF LETTER FROM TOWN CLERK, WESTPORT.

Town Clerk’s Office
Westport
26th June, 1889
Sir,

I have the honour by direction of the Westport Borough Council to acknowledge the receipt of your letter accompanied by a flag, the first hoisted in the Buller River. The Council, in accepting the flag, desires to place on record their thanks to you for the same and also to assure you that the gift is duly appreciated, and will be hoisted on all fitting occasions, with due care as to its preservation. I have the honour to be, sir,
Your obedient servant,
A.D. Gordon Cumming,
Town Clerk.
The preceeding was given to us by Greta, a descendent of Captain Henry Jacobsen. If you have a connection or re interested in learning more please e-mail her at [email protected]

                                     

SUMMERS family:
My Great Grandparents, Andrew and Jessie (nee BINNIE) SUMMERS were married on 22nd January 1849 at St James Church, in Edinburgh. 17 days later the newly-weds left for New Zealand on board "MARINER".  Their four children were all born in Dunedin, Agnes in 1851, James 1853, John 1855 and Andrew 1857.  Sadly Jessie died in 1860 and four years later Andrew married Annie RUTHERFORD.  Although they produced five children only one survived, Robert born 1871 who died young.  Andrew was a baker and owned a provision store on the corner of Princess and Dowling Sts, Dunedin  from early 1850s. Andrew died in Dunedin in 1877. If you have an interest in or connection with this family please contact Noeline Cottam on [email protected]

Copyright Denise & Peter 1999, 2000, 2001

Reference
Archives New Zealand NZC 34/p71

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