Taroba.
Five more years pass before the next two ancestors arrived.
The first arrival on my parental side was my second great-grandfather. He was on board the “Taroba“.
Journey Begins.
The ship “Taroba” was the latest addition to the fleet of the British India Steam Navigation Company. The vessel was under the command of Captain Morris. The surgeon-superintendent was Dr. Charles Webb and Mrs Currie was the matron.
The ship departed from Gravesend, England on Saturday 30 June at 5pm with 141 crew and 605 passengers. These were made up of 28 in Saloon class, 12 in Steerage, 150 listed as Free, 53 Assisted, 334 under Remittance, 27 Free Nominated and 1 Indented. The ship sailed out into the North Sea and then did a right-hand turn into the English Channel. The vessel passed by the Isle of Wight around daybreak the next morning, Sunday 1 July.
Compass Issues.
Newspaper reports indicated that there appeared to have been some issues with the compasses. However, they were adjusted by an expert who was on board.
Eventually, the ship’s course was set for Ushant (Ouessant in French) which is a French island located in the southern part of the English Channel. Then, four days later passing through the Gibraltar Strait and headed towards Malta.
Heat.
On Tuesday 10 July after 3250 miles in 10 days and three hours, Port Said was reached. Coal bunkers were replenished here before entering the Suez Canal the next day. The temperature averaged 95°F as the ship travelled down the Red Sea towards Aden. On one of the days, the maximum temperature was 106°F. One female passenger died from the heat on Sunday 15 July. Having travelled 1309 miles, the steamer’s anchor was “let go off” at Steamer Point, Aden around 11 pm on Monday 16 July.
Batavia.
The next part of the voyage took the vessel across the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean towards Indonesia and arrived at Batavia where strict quarantine was enforced. There was a delay of 36 hours.
After the vessel took on coal, it departed for Thursday Island at about 11 pm on Tuesday 31 July. A one-year-old baby girl died on Thursday 2 August and would have most likely been buried at sea.
Zoologist.
Within eight days the vessel arrived at Thursday Island, five days ahead of the contracted time. Pratique was granted after the inspection of all passengers and crew by Dr Salter, the local health officer.
A passenger, Professor Haddon, a zoologist, left the ship here and intended on visiting New Guinea for scientific purposes. Check this link for more information about the Professor: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/haddon-alfred-cort-10386. Another two other passengers also disembarked.
Journey South.
The vessel began its southerly journey with the first port of call on the mainland being Cooktown on Saturday 11 August where mail bound for England was transferred to another ship, “Warrego“. 24 passengers disembarked and 180 tons of cargo was discharged. The ship departed around 8pm to head toward Townsville. Here, 109 passengers left the ship to commence their new adventures. The vessel continued on to Bowen where only four female passengers left the ship.
Home.
The vessel reached Flat-top Island just off Mackay on Wednesday, 15 August. My great-great-grandfather would have transferred to a small boat and taken into the town after 47 days onboard. On the passenger list, he is shown as being one of the Free passengers. He is 29 years old and can read and write. His occupation is listed as a farm labourer.
There are another 30 passengers who are about to make Mackay their new home. The “Taroba” continues south…
Final Destination.
The vessel continued south stopping offshore at Rockhampton. Fifty-nine passengers disembark and would have been taken up the river into the town. Finally, the ship reached its final destination Brisbane on Friday 17 August where the last of the passengers disembarked being 375 along with 2500 tons of cargo.
And Finally.
The nationality breakdown of the 605 passengers follows — 259 English, 252 Irish, 59 Scottish and 35 others. It is interesting to note that of these 35 other passengers, 1 left at Thursday Island, 5 at Cooktown, 1 in Bowen, 4 in Rockhampton and 24 in Brisbane. Newspaper records mentioned two deaths during the voyage. These deaths are mentioned in the text above. There was little to no sickness on board. The total voyage of the “Taroba” from London to Brisbane took about 50 days.
Acknowledgements:
Ship photo: Boardman Moss Family Tree, https://boardmanmoss.blogspot.com/2016/02/introduction-notes-and-family-tree-in.html
Maps: Pixabay.com
Ancestor Family 