THE SETTLEMENT OF OTAGO.

Otago Witness, Issue 3833, 30 August 1927, Page 17

THE SETTLEMENT OF OTAGO.

FIRST FIVE SHIPS. VOYAGE OF THE BLUNDELL. I Seventy-nine years have almost elapsed since a band of about 100 adult pioneers was landed at Port Chalmers by the ship Blundell, from London. Of the original total of. 152 passengers, there are only 10 survivors. The Blundell was the fourth ship to arrive, her anchor being dropped in Otago Harbour on September 21, 1848. She was Dreceded by the John Wickliffe (March 23), Philip Laing (April 15), and Victory (July 8), and followed by the Bernicia (December 12), 1848. One of the passengers by the Blundell and a descendant of another passenger have just compiled interesting narratives in connection with the voyage of the vessel. As no authentic account of this early ship’s voyage has ever appeared in print, the accompanying narrative, and the one to follow, should prove interesting, not only to descendants of passengers, but also to the rising generation!. One of the narratives was compiled by Mr James Somerville, of Dunedin, and the other by Mr J. Johnston, of Wellington.

THOUGHTS OF EMIGRATION. When the cry of emigration to the colonies of New Zealand and Australia was raised in the Homeland in 1847, many families thought it would be advisable to emigrate to one of these new lands. The first scheme to attract these families was one advocated by a Dr Lang, who had returned to England from Moreton’s Bay, Queensland. He described Queensland as an ideal place for settlement, and did all he could to start a flow of emigration to the Australian State. The heads of one or two families had decided to emigrate to Queensland, but, owing to a hitch in the arrangements, the scheme fell through. Just about this time the New Zealand Company and the Free Church of Scotland combined in what was known as the Otago Settlement Scheme. Under this scheme provision was made for the education of the children of the settlers, and also for the establishment of religious services under a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. The scheme was a Scottish settlement, and most of the early emigrants came from Scotland. Towards the end of 1847 the first balloting for land under the Otago Settlement Scheme took place in England, when 104 properties were purchased. The New Zealand Company chartered two ships—John Wickliffe and Philip Laing—to convey new settlers to Otago. In April, 1848, a number of families were ready to start out On their adventure to a new land at the other side of the world. Passages were booked by the Blundell, which was scheduled to sail from London early in May. To convey the Scottish emigrants from the Highlands to London, a paddle steamer was engaged, and thus it came about that on the afternoon of the last Saturday in April, 1848, many families left the pier at Granton on the first stage of the long journey to the new land. They arrived in London on the following Monday morning, and all luggage was placed oil board the Blundell as quickly as possible. Everything was ready on the Monday afternoon, and the Blundell moved out of the dock and was towed to Gravesend, where she lay until all the preparations for the voyage were completed. The Blundell was a barque of 573 tons gross. She was commanded by Captain Charles Renaut, and the medical officer was Dr M ells. Both looked very carefully after the welfare and comfort of all on board throughout the long voyage. The Blundell was staunch, being built of teak. She was a very safe vessel, but, as the passengers discovered before the voyage was ended, was a very slow sailer. The voyage occupied 20 weeks’from Gravesend to Port Chalmers. One of the passengers, writing to relatives in England after landing in Otago, said that the Blundell, instead of sailing 16,000 miles, must have sailed nearly 30,000. At some time previous to this voyage, the Blundell had been engaged in carrying convicts from England to Botany Bay' and Tas-' mania.

DEPARTURE FROM GRAVESEND. On the afternoon of May 4, 1848, everything being ready, the pilot came on board, and the Blundell was towed down the Thames. Darkness set in as the ship sailed down the English Channel. The last glimpse all on board had of the Homeland was the lights on the coast of England. There were 152 passengers all told on board, of whom 57 were 12 years old and under. The Blundell was, however, not overcrowded. The first-cabin passengers were accommodated in cabins on the poop. The second-cabin passengers were accommodated in the after part of the ship, and the “paying passengers” had their cabins from the after hatch to the main hatch, while the “assisted passengers” were housed from the main hatch to the fore hatch. They were provided with open bunks in large enclosed compartments. The young women ha<; a separate compartment next to the “paying passengers,’’ and the voung men were accommodated in the fore part of the ship, on one side, while on the other side was a space reserved for a hospital. The bunks or bertlis were arranged on either side of the vessel, this leaving a clear space along the centre, which was occupied by a table extending from the after hatch to the fore hatch, with plenty of seating accommodation. The most comfortable part of the ship was that occupied by the passengers just under the main hatch, as they- did not notice the pitching of the ship in rough seas as did those passengers living in the after and fore parts.

SHIPBOARD LIFE. During the first part of the voyage all the passengers had to appear on deck after breakfast each morning, and answer wh* u the roll was called. All through the voyage the doctor insisted on evervouo spending as much time as possible on deck. Public worship was conducted morning and evening by Mr Henry Clark, assisted by Mr John Adams. As soon as the passengers had settled down to shipboard life, a day school for the children was organised and conducted by some of the passengers, so that the education of the juveniles was attended to during the voyage.

The water and provisions were at first served out daily by the third mate, but as there was a great deal of grumbling and dissatisfaction, which led to many - disputes, the captain appointed one of the passengers to take the mates place in serving out the rations every forenoon. There were sheep and pigs on board, and there was also a cow to supply fresh in tor the children, but the supply from this source had to be supplemented by preserved milk. The only vegetables on board were preserved potatoes and carrots. When the ship reached the warmer latitudes and the water become stale, an extra supply of sugar was served out to bo used with lime juice. This helped to ward off scurvy. Provisions were served out so liberally that the majority of the passengers saved sufficient out of their daily rations to keep them going for two or three weeks after their arrival in tho colony. The voyage was such a lengthy one that the live stock became exhausted long before the Blundell reached Otago, and all on board had to be content with salt junk.

The passengers had practically nothing to do to occupy their minds and hands, and various expedients were adopted to make the time pass more lightly. During the day sports were indulged in by the young people, while the older folks indulged in card games. It was decided to publish a newspaper, but as there was no printing press or type on board, the newssheet had to be handwritten. The paper was called the Blundell Chronicle, ami was published every fortnight. The editor, who was regarded as a fairly good artist, headed every issue with a sketch of the Blundell under a big spread of canvas. As the paper had to be produced by the pen each issue was limited to one copy, which was passed round among the passengers and ship's company. The advent of the paper served to break the monotony of the voyage, and the passengers eagerly looked forward to each issue.