Brian and Morgan

Source: The India Gazette. 14 September 1826

The blog will be a little quiet for a while as I research these two guys for an article I'm trying to write. If I can't get it published I guess I can always inflict it here!

Strange sort of stories these - obviously tongue in cheek, and the real identities of the two men is never given, so it will be a bit of detective work through various memoirs of those who came in contact with them. They got around a bit, NZ, India, Australia and several of the Pacific Islands.

They were on a very serious mission - to get muskets to fight against the Nga Puhi under Hongi Hika who were well armed. The man with whom they travelled had his own glorious goal, and the colourful natures of the three of them were milked in the press and at parties. Brian, Morgan and Peter Dillon got their treasures, but it was all downhill from there.

News on the Macoa Roads

("Roads" in a nautical sense refers the approaches to a harbour from the sea)

Flinders could have done with this knowledge. Despite being on a scientific expedition and in possession of a passport issued by the French government allowing him free passage (Baudin had one as well issued by the English), he may have thought to change his mind and not gone to Isle de France. He was arrested there and interned for seven years.

Britain and France were at war on and off all the time and it was very difficult for people in the South Seas to keep track of it all.

The log entries for when the Rolla was in the road and in harbour are written on seperate sheets and tipped into the logbook, whence it starts again once having left the port. Not sure of course, but I think this is because the ship's papers - including the log - would have been in the hands of the Harbour authorities to make sure their was no shenanigans.

I've copied out the entry here:

Monday 5 December

Moderate breeze with cloudy weather People variously employ'd

seamen as necessary Passed down the River three Americans

hailed one of them named the New York bound to

New York who informed us it was believed there was

war between Great Brittain and France Wind ESE

Brevity is the virtue of busy people

This is the rather funny log entry for the Rolla, currently sitting on my desk. (And before anyone panics, I took the photo without the flash)

The space was obviously left blank and then at some time next year the gap filled in. Probably from notes. 1803 is the correct year, but the skipper forgets himself and writes in 1804 by mistake at the 10th and 11th. I've copied it out below as 19th century handwriting can be difficult. Although I've got to say it's better than my 21st Century handwriting.

The log also suffers from its own end of century bug - the printed headings for the dates are all 17_ _. He's had to write over it.

Back Story:

Matthew Flinders had left Port Jackson after a lovely bit of work charting the Southern coast of Australia (in competition with Frenchman Nicolas Baudin, who was doing the same thing at the same time). Much of their work is still to be found on modern charts. Flinders was on his way back to England on board the Porpoise in convoy with two East India merchant ships, the Cato (John Park) and the Bridgewater(E H Palmer), when the Porpoise and the Cato struck a sandbank off the coast of what is now Queensland on 19 August.

The Porpoise crew got off safely, and rescued provisions. They managed to help the crew of the Cato abandon next day. Most men survived. The Bridgewater saw all this happen, and next day captain Palmer made the call to sail blithely on to Bombay, where he reported Cato and Porpoise lost. The 3rd mate of the Bridgewater was scandalised (as were most of the officers and crew but they didn't mutiny) and filed a contradictory report, telling the truth of the matter. I'll see if they still exist in the East India Office files. The 3rd mate (I only know him as Williams - but will check the files) quit the ship in disgust, and the Bridgewater left for England, never to be seen again. Karma for the skipper, but rough to say the least on the rest of the crew.

Meanwhile, Flinders and some others took one of Porpoise's small boats and sailed back to Port Jackson, leaving the other castaways to make a comfortable camp and begin building new boats from the wrecks. The first of these boats was doing its sea trials when help arrived. It came in the form of the East India ship Rolla, and two schooners: the Cumberland (now under Flinders' command for the intended return journey to England) and the Francis. Rolla's log entry takes up the story:

7 October Friday 1803.

Noon fine breeze & clear. Saw a reef to the SW Dist about 4 Leagues.

8 October Saturday 1803.
Fine breeze & clear Wr at 3pm
Came to an anchor at Wreck Reef Bay in 20 Faths The
flag staff bears NE Dist 1 1/2 Miles

9th day Oct Sunday
Fine breezes & clear weather Employed in taking on board
the officers seamen & stores belonging to H M the late ship Porpoise
and Mercht ship Cato Wind ENE

10 Oct 1804 Monday
Moderate & cloudy Wr. Employed taking on board the
remainder of the crew that was wrecked with some??
& provisions wind ?? E

11 Oct 1804 Tuesday
Light airs nearly calm at 6am have ?? after taking on board 57 men belonging to the Porpoise & 15 belonging
to Cato and at 8am weighed & ?? the Cumberland Capt
M Fletcher at noon Wreck Reef Sand bank bore S & W
Dist 10 miles

Edward Gibbon Wakefield

Naughty, naughty man

Click on the image at left to read it

I came across this while doing some research at work on another topic. It comes from the Indian Gazette (02 November 1826), a newspaper published in Calcutta. I haven't done a big search for it, but I think it likely it was written by a local resident. From what I can glean, this paper was something of a tabloid, reprinting the harder news of the Government Gazette, Bengal Hurkaru, and "Home news", and adding a bit of local gossip.

The poem refers to his second kidnapping of a teenage girl (Ellen Turner) from England and their marriage in Scotland where the rules on this sort of thing were a bit slacker. His first marriage (also in Scotland) to Eliza Pattle had stuck - probably the girl's family wanted to avoid a scandal - but she had died from complications resulting from the birth of the equally wayward son, Edward Jerningham Wakefield.

This second affair was closely monitored by the press wherever there was an interest in British society, and the family of the poor girl stood by her. The global British press closely reported on the court proceedings. The end result for EGW was a spell in prison and a subsequent career in the furthest colonies. He died in New Zealand.

EGW, as is well known, was a VERY dodgy character who, after some strange doings in Canada, a failed go at creating a colony in South Australia, went on to orchestrate the creation of the New Zealand Company, encouraging colonisation, and eventually became a Member of Parliament there. Go figure.

The poem is not a very good one, but you can't have everything. It follows an article reporting on Wakefield's confession, probably reprinted from a London newspaper.