Duke of York, Immigrant Voyage to South Australia 1836

The British 3-masted barque Duke of York (190 tons), was the first of a fleet of emigrant ships to arrive in South Australia under the South Australia Act, an Act to found the Colony of South Australia, was passed in 1834. Duke of York departed London 24th February 1836 (twice forced back for repairs and bad weather; finally got away April 17th 1836) arrived Reeves Point, Kangaroo Island, on 27th July 1836, with 47 passengers and crew, Captain Robert Clarke Morgan and a crew of around 30.

Duke of York 1836 was equipped and crewed as a whaling vessel and carried only 9 adults and 4 children as passengers. The passengers were employees or officials of The South Australian Company and their families. The ship departed on a whaling voyage shortly after leaving the passengers on Kangaroo Island and called at Hobart-town before heading for the South Pacific. She was subsequently wrecked after running onto a reef off the north east coast of Australia, near Curtis Island. Most of the crew survived.

Further Reading

• The Man Who Hunted Whales by Dorothy M. Heinrich, Pub. by Awoonga, 2011.

• 1836 'Duke of York' from the OLD COLONISTS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA database at: [1]

• DUKE OF YORK 1836 from the Bound for South Australia database at: [2]