Venus was built in Mauritius in 1807. She spent most of her career sailing between London and the Cape of Good Hope (CGH). She also sailed to Mauritius, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). She wrecked in July 1826 while sailing from Sydney to Singapore.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Builder | Île de France,[1] or India[2] |
| Launched | 1807,[1] or 1804[2] |
| Fate | Wrecked 1 July 1826 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 158,[3] or 169, or 190[2] (bm) |
| Sail plan | Snow |
| Armament |
|
Career
editVenus first appeared in the Register of Shipping (RS) and Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1809, with essentially the same information. LR gave her launch year as 1804 and her origin as India, while RS gave no launch year but gave her origin as Île de France (Mauritius). Some years later RS gave her launch year as 1807.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1809 | B.Bunn C.Allen |
H.Howten | London–Madeira London–CGH |
RS[1] |
| 1810 | C.Allum Allarlet |
Houghton H.Hart |
London–CGH London–Mediterranean |
RS |
| 1811 | Alariot Kilgour |
Hart H.Howton |
London–Mediterranean London–CGH |
RS |
| 1815 | Kilgour | Atkinson | London–CGH | RS |
| 1820 | Kilgour | Captain & Co. | London–CGH | RS; large repair 1813 |
In 1813 the British EIC had lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a licence from the EIC.[4]
On 22 May 1824 Venus arrived at the Cape. She had left Mauritius on 19 April. She reported that while she was at Mauritius there were two hurricanes, one on 23 February and one on 10 April.[5]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1824 | Kilgour Sharp |
Captain & Co. | London–CGH | RS; large repair 1813 & 1812 |
| 1825 | Sharp Kilgour |
Captain & Co. Houghton |
London–CGH | Register of Shipping; large repair 1813 |
On 1 January 1825 Captain G. Kilgower sailed from London for Ceylon.[2]
In early 1826 she had arrived at Sydney from the Cape of Good Hope. She then traded between Sydney and Hobart.[6]
Fate
editVenus, Kilgour, master, sailed from Sydney on 21 June 1826. She was wrecked on Alert Reef, about 400 miles east of Cairns.[6] She was wrecked on 1 July 1826 in Torres Strait on her passage to Singapore. 'Lloyd's List reported that Venus had sailed from Sydney for Singapore and had wrecked on the Alerts Reef in the Torris Straits.[7]
Venus was in company with Security, Ross, master, and Greenock, Miller, master. When Venus struck the reef Kilgour fired her guns, enabling the other two masters to avoid Venus's fate.[8] Security rescued the crew and passengers from Venus and brought them to Batavia, where they arrived on 4 August.[7]
One contemporary newspaper report had Venus in company with Sun, Gillett, master, and both being wrecked. Sun was reportedly carrying 40,000 dollars. The account states that Industry rescued the crews of both Venus and Sun.[9][6] Sun was wrecked on Flinders' Eastern Field Reef in the approaches to Torres Strait, on 28 May 1826.[8]
Citations
edit- ^ a b c d RS (1809), "V" supple. pages.
- ^ a b c d LR (1826), "Ships Trading to India – 1825".
- ^ Hackman (2001), p. 319.
- ^ Hackman (2001), p. 247.
- ^ Lloyd's List №5238.
- ^ a b c Bateson (1972), p. 73.
- ^ a b Lloyd's List №6171.
- ^ a b Nicholson (1996), pp. 82–83.
- ^ "STATE OF THE WEATHER, FROM DECEMBER 8 TO 15, 1826" Hobart Town Gazette 16 December 1826 Page 2.
References
edit- Bateson, Charles (1972). Australian Shipwrecks - vol 1 1622–1850. Sydney: AH and AW Reed. ISBN 0589071122.
- Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
- Nicholson, Ian Hawkins (1996). Via Torres Strait: a maritime history of the Torres Strait Route and the ship's post office at Booby Island. Yaroomba, Qld.: Ian Nicholson [on behalf of the Roebuck Society].