Passages of Aberdeen Ships to Sydney, 1872-1873.
The best passage made out to Sydney between these dates was that of the iron tea clipper Halloween on her maiden voyage. She left the Thames on 1st July, 1872, crossed the line in 27° W. on the 20th, 19 days out, crossed the meridian of the Cape on 10th August, 40 days out, ran her easting down in 42° and arrived in Sydney on 8th September, 69 days out.
Another very famous Aberdeen ship, the Star of Peace, left London, 21st September, 1873, and arrived at Melbourne on 16th December, 86 days out.
This little table will perhaps give a good idea of the usual passages made by the wood and composite built ships.
| Ship | Sailed | Crossed Equator | in Long. | Crossed Meridian of Cape | Ran Easting Down in Lat. | Arrived | D’ys Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1872 | ° | ° | |||||
| Thyatira | Feb. 23 | Mar. 20 | 22 W | April 25 | 42 S | May 23 | 89 |
| Ann Duthie | Mar. 5 | „ 25 | 27 | — | 48 | „ 24 | 80 |
| Ascalon | „ 5 | April 2 | 23 | April 30 | 41 | June 7 | 94 |
| Maid of Judah | „ 21 | „ 18 | 22 | May 21 | — | „ 23 | 94 |
| Centurion | April 18 | May 10 | 22 | June 8 | 39 | July 5 | 78 |
| John Duthie | June 4 | June 30 | 27 | July 28 | 42 | Aug. 29 | 86 |
| Strathdon | July 8 | Aug. 14 | 26 | Sept. 9 | 45 | Oct. 25 | 109 |
| William Duthie | „ 16 | „ 17 | 27 | „ 15 | 44 | „ 31 | 107 |
| Ethiopian | „ 25 | „ 29 | 21 | — | — | „ 31 | 98 |
| 1873 | |||||||
| Harlaw | Feb. 5 | Feb. 25 | 23 | Mar. 22 | 45 | April 29 | 83 |
| Nineveh | „ 11 | Mar. 8 | 21 | April 3 | 44 | May 1 | 79 |
| Aviemore | Mar. 14 | „ 29 | 23 | May 28 | 45 | June 4 | 82 |
| Abergeldie | July 7 | — | — | Sept. 1 | 42 | Oct. 2 | 87 |
The South Australian Trade.
During the sixties and seventies, when Sydney and Melbourne were filling their harbours with the finest ships in the British Mercantile Marine, Adelaide, in a smaller way, was carrying on an ever increasing trade of her own, in which some very smart little clippers were making very good money and putting up sailing records which could well bear comparison with those made by the more powerful clippers sailing to Hobson’s Bay and Port Jackson.
From the early fifties South Australia had been sending wool home in exchange for general cargoes from London.
This trade was in the hands of two or three well-run firms, such as the Orient, Devitt & Moore and Elder. These firms owned some beautiful little composite ships, which up till now have received scant notice in the annals of our Mercantile Marine. These little clippers, most of them well under 1000 tons register, were driven as hard as any Black Ball or White Star crack, and this without the incentive of publicity.
Their captains, however, were always in keen rivalry and put a high value on their reputations as desperate sail carriers. They made little of weather that would have scared men who commanded ships of three times the tonnage of the little Adelaide clippers, and they were not afraid of a little water on deck—indeed, when running down the easting, their ships were more like half-tide rocks than merchant vessels, being swept from end to end by every roaring sea; and even in only a fresh breeze their decks were hidden by a curtain of spray.