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John Lees, of Heamoor, has found more interesting extracts from the logbook
of Captain Richard Nicholls during his voyage aboard the Mystery from
Newlyn to Australia in 1854.
The extract is from week four, 10th to 16th December 1854, 150 years
ago:
11th Noon : Fine Weather Lat. By obs. 5.31North (able to take a noon
sextant sighting of the Sun- 330 miles North of the Equator).
12th 4 am: Tacked ship to the South Eastwards. (Headwinds, not good!)
13th Noon : Continual heavy rain, handed the jib & set storm foresail.
14th Noon: Light steady breezes Lat. By obs. 00.59 north (only 59 miles
to the Equator).
15th 8am: saw a brig standing to the Northward but too far to speak to
him.
Noon : Lat by obs.n. 00.59' South. Long 28.26 west. ( Captain Nicholls
does not mention in his logbook that he has now sailed South past the
Equator!)
16th Noon Lat by obs. 3.11 degrees south. (180 miles south of the Equator).
The seven men were heading for the goldfields, what they did not know,
was that there had been an anarchist uprising at the Eureka goldfieds
on December 3, 1854, at Ballarat near Melbourne. Described more recently
as a massacre, 22 'diggers' were killed and 12 injured by British government
troops following a proposed increase in the prospecting licence (some
injured, reported as being later killed out of hand).
One of the crew members, William Badcock, was later to work as a boatman
for the penal department on his arrival in Australia and in 1857 witnessed
the murder of John Price (son of Sir Rose Price of Trengwainton), the
inspector of Victoria's prison system that had previously held the leaders
of the rebellion in very bad conditions, who was to welcome them to Australia
on their arrival.
article copyright © THE CORNISHMAN
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