Bussorah Merchant 1853

Profile manager: Leisa Buckmaster [send private message]

The voyage of the Bussorah Merchant, arrived in Sydney 19 Mar 1853

This voyage of the Bussorah Merchant carried my ancestors and 293 other Bounty Immigrants to Sydney from London. She was built in Calcutta in 1818 so was 25 years old by now, having worked on trade routes for the East India Company and bought 3 loads of convicts before bringing free settlers to Australia, then missionaries to Oceania. Made from teak, with 3 masts, she was sheathed in yellow metal in the year before the 1853 voyage^[1]

Timeline

The passengers came from all over the British isles so the first leg of the journey began as they left their hometown with trunks, families or possibly alone, headed for London. I don't yet know how far in advance the tickets were bought, for what price or what may have motivated the passengers to board the ship.

10 Nov 1852 The Bussorah Merchant arrives in Plymouth

13 Nov 1852 She sails from Plymouth

It was a non-stop voyage, but the ship "spoke" with a few other ships enroute to Sydney, Brisbane and America and bought this information with them to port^[2]

There were 7 deaths at sea. Two were adults with diseases of the heart and 5 were children. There were 9 births with the baby girl Bussorah Goodwin named for the ship on which she was born^[3]

19 Mar 1853 SHIPPING INTELIGENCE March 19. - Bussorah Merchant, ship, 533 tons. Captain Blyth, from Plymouth November 13th, with 293 bounty immigrants. Surgeon Superintendent, Dr Bloomfield. Smith, Campbell, and Co., agents..^[4]

22 Mar 1853 An advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald The married and single men could be employed straight from the ship today. Anchored at Dawes Point in the usual place.

23 Mar 1853 The single women were taken to Hyde Park Barracks. Anyone wishing to employ them was to go there^[5]

2 Apr 1853 Docked at Campbell's wharf for Smith, Campbell and Co, agents^[6]

Merchandise, including Rum, corks, champagne, window glass, cigars, tin plates. German silver mounted double barelled guns, an Iron cask and blankets were also offloaded to many importers^[7][8]

26 Apr 1853 The ship moves to The Stream^[9]

The seamen no doubt were happy for some shore leave. Two were reported to the police for desertion. They were Samuel Wm. Joyce, a boy described as "growing, fair complexion, light brown hair, hazel eyes", and Charles Johnson, Bussorah Merchant, A. B.; reward £6.^[10] They must have returned to the ship as it was reported 11 days later that, "The Bussorah Merchant, which is about to leave this port for Guam, is navigated by the same crew with which she left England. This almost solitary instance reflects much credit upon the tact and management of Captain Blyth, and upon the good faith of his excellent crew"^[11]

26 Apr 1853 The Bussorah Merchant, with Captain Blyth is due to leave Sydney Harbour for Guam^[12]

29 Apr 1853 Anchored inside the heads^[13]

By the time the Bussorah Merchant leaves Sydney Harbour on 1 May 1853^[14], her passengers had already had a taste of Australian life.

The remainder of this project will be to find out where they went and how they fared. We know that the Furbanks followed the expanding railways over the Blue Mountains, then when Charles died, Jane ran a boarding house in Penrith. Sarah Hyland, one of the single females didn't have a great start, having already deserted her new employer by September so I hope her life in the colony improved. I wonder if any of the 6 single males found love among the 74 single females? Little Bussorah Goodwin, one of the 9 babies born onboard will only ever know Australia as home. I wonder what life in the colony had in store for her?

Passenger Lists

• NRS5316/4_4790/Bussorah Merchant_19 Mar 1853/ from the Assisted Immigrants (digital) Shipping Lists on the New South Wales State Archives and Records website at: http://indexes.records.nsw.gov.au/ebook/list.aspx?series=NRS5316&item=4_4790&ship=Bussorah%20Merchant
• BUSSORAH MERCHANT from the Mariners and ships in Australian Waters website at: http://marinersandships.com.au/1853/03/043bus.htm
• IMMIGRANTS PER "BUSSORAH MERCHANT." from the New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) of Monday 21 March 1853 [Issue No.32 (SUPPLEMENT)], Page 564. at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229115930?

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussorah_Merchant_(1818_ship)
2. ↑ SHIPS MAILS. (1853, March 21). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28644563
3. ↑ SHIPS' MAILS. (1853, March 21). Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61322698
4. ↑ SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. (1853, March 21). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28644552
5. ↑ Advertising (1853, March 22). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12944577
6. ↑ SHIPS IN HARBOUR. (1853, April 2). The Shipping Gazette and Sydney General Trade List (NSW : 1844 - 1860), p. 93. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161107909
7. ↑ IMPORTS. (1853, March 21). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28644548
8. ↑ Advertising (1853, April 12). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12945012
9. ↑ SHIPS IN HARBOUR. (1853, March 26). The Shipping Gazette and Sydney General Trade List (NSW : 1844 - 1860), p. 89. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161106670
10. ↑ Government Gazette Notices (1853, April 19). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 700. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229116414
11. ↑ VICTORIA. (1853, April 30). The Shipping Gazette and Sydney General Trade List (NSW : 1844 - 1860), p. 129. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161108544
12. ↑ SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. CLEARANCES. (1853, April 27). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12945356
13. ↑ SHIPS' MAILS. (1853, April 29). Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61323801
14. ↑ DEPARTURES. (1853, May 2). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12945471

Project Progress & To Do list

As at 29/10

• Table - 59/293
• Profiles -42/293 , connected 30/293
• Summarise - who stayed close?
• Any notable stories?
• Bio for Capt and surgeon
• Ships log not yet found

Do you have anything to add? Please post a comment here on this page, in G2G using the project tag, or send me a private message. Thanks!

Sortable Table of Passengers