Voyage of the Bounty Ship Maitland to New South Wales in 1838

Date: 24 Jun 1838 to 6 Nov 1838
Location: New South Wales

From Kerin Ann Southam and Wendy Lyn Phillips Family Tree on GENI.com:

The "Maitland" was converted to barque rigging for its one and only voyage to Australia with emigrants in 1838. Prior to this it was used for the transport of convicts.

The ship was chartered under Admiralty control, and the charter organisers were able to cram 205 adults, 111 children and some livestock (for fresh food) on board for this journey, under the care of Ship's Master Marshall Baker and Surgeon John Smith. Most passengers were being "assisted" to emigrate from England by their Parishes, who paid around Five Pounds in sponsorship in order to remove their commitment to support these poorer families.

Most of the emigrant families came from south-eastern England, notably Kent and East Sussex. Added to the crowded and unhygienic conditions, the effect of typhus and scarlet fever infections resulted in a very high mortality rate amongst the passengers.

On this particular voyage, the "Maitland" departed from Gravesend, which is on the southern bank of the Thames, in Kent, just west of the river's mouth. It raised anchor on 24 June 1838, and newspaper reports show that it arrived in Sydney, Australia on the night of Monday 5 November 1838. However, the Ship's Log records the date of arrival as 6 November 1838 so this could probably be a result of the ship's Captain not formally reporting to the harbour authority until the following morning (office hours?).

Due to presence of disease on board, the ship was placed in quarantine at Manly Cove, some passengers and crew on board and some "under canvas" on shore. They could not be accommodated at Sydney's North Head Quarantine Station in Spring Cove, due to the fact that the passengers of the ship "William Roger" filled the available spaces in that area, and the groups had to be kept separate. The passengers and crew of the "Maitland" were dispersed from quarantine as soon as they were assessed as not being infected. [1]

For More Information on this Voyage:

1. Bruce Fairhall's MAITLAND - The Voyage of 1838 : [2]

2. Kerin Ann Southam and Wendy Lyn Phillips family Tree at: [3]

3. The Assisted Immigrants (digital) Shipping Lists on The New South Wales State Archives and Records website: [4]

4. Under individual passengers names at the Family Search database: Australia, New South Wales, Index to Bounty Immigrants, 1828-1842 : [5]

5. Jen Willett's Free Settler or Felon website: [6]

6. Maitland Immigrant Ship 1838 tagged articles on TROVE : [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] & [12]