Hougoumont (ship)
Encyclopedia
Hougoumont was the last convict ship
to transport
convicts
to Australia
.
A three-masted full rigged ship
of the type commonly known as a Blackwall Frigate
of 875 tons gross on dimensions of 165.5 feet long, 34 ft beam and 23 ft depth of hold, Hougoumont was constructed at Moulmein, Burma in 1852 and named after the Château d'Hougomont
where the Battle of Waterloo
was fought. The ship's original owner was Duncan Dunbar
, a highly successful ship owner who entered the convict transport trade in the 1840s, providing nearly a third of the ships that transported convicts to Western Australia
.
Hougoumont was chartered by the French
as a troop carrier during the Crimean War
, during which time it was renamed Baraguey d'Hilliers after the French general Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers
, as its original name would have been offensive to the French. After the Crimean War ended in 1856, it was renamed Hougoumont.
In the 1860s, Hougoumonts tender was accepted by the Emigration Commission. On 9 June 1866 it began a voyage from Plymouth
to Port Adelaide, carrying 335 government-assisted emigrants. It arrived on 16 September.
Hougoumonts most famous voyage occurred in 1867, after it was chartered to transport
convicts to Western Australia
. By this time, it was owned by Luscombe of London. A number of convicts boarded the ship at Sheerness
, London
on 30 September. It then sailed along the south coast of Britain
to Portland
, where more convicts were boarded. It departed Portsmouth
on 12 October 1867 with 280 convicts and 108 passengers on board. Most of the passengers were pensioner guards and their families. The ship captain was William Cozens and the surgeon-superintendent
was Dr William Smith. After a largely uneventful voyage of 89 days, during which time one convict died, Hougoumont docked at Fremantle, Western Australia
on 9 January 1868.
Amongst the convicts were 62 Fenian
political prisoner
s, transported
for their part in the Fenian Rising
of 1867. About 17 of these were military Fenians. The transportation of political prisoners contravened the agreement between the United Kingdom
and Western Australia
, and news of their impending arrival caused panic in Western Australia. The fact that military Fenians were transported was also highly unusual, given the United Kingdom Government's previous firm policy not to transport military prisoners.
The presence of Fenians amongst the convicts meant that there were many more literate convicts on board than was usual for a convict ship. Consequently, a number of journals of the voyage are extant: the journal of Denis Cashman
has been known of for many years, and the journal of John Casey and the memoirs of Thomas McCarthy Fennell
have recently been discovered and published. Numerous letters survive, and many articles about the voyage were later written by Fenians who went on to become journalists, such as John Boyle O'Reilly
. Also, during the voyage a number of the Fenians entertained themselves by producing seven editions of a shipboard newspaper entitled The Wild Goose
, which survive in the State Library of New South Wales
.
Little is known of Hougoumonts later service, but there are records of emigrants arriving in Melbourne
on board Hougoumont in 1869, and was still listed in Lloyd's Register in 1873.
Many pictures purporting to be "the" Hougoumont are in fact of a later steel four-masted barque named Hougomont, 2428 tons, built at Greenock
in 1897, and hulked in South Australia
in 1932.
For other convict ship voyages to Western Australia, see List of convict ship voyages to Western Australia.
Convict ship
The term convict ship is a colloquial term used to describe any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.-Colonial practice:...
to transport
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
convicts
Convictism in Australia
During the late 18th and 19th centuries, large numbers of convicts were transported to the various Australian penal colonies by the British government. One of the primary reasons for the British settlement of Australia was the establishment of a penal colony to alleviate pressure on their...
to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
A three-masted full rigged ship
Full rigged ship
A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. A full rigged ship is said to have a ship rig....
of the type commonly known as a Blackwall Frigate
Blackwall Frigate
Blackwall Frigate was the colloquial name for a type of three-masted full-rigged ship built between the late 1830s and the mid 1870s. They were originally intended as replacements for the British East Indiaman in the trade between England, the Cape of Good Hope, India and China, but from the 1850s...
of 875 tons gross on dimensions of 165.5 feet long, 34 ft beam and 23 ft depth of hold, Hougoumont was constructed at Moulmein, Burma in 1852 and named after the Château d'Hougomont
Hougoumont
Hougoumont was a fortified farm held by Wellington's army in the Battle of Waterloo. It may also refer to:* Hougoumont , a convict ship;...
where the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
was fought. The ship's original owner was Duncan Dunbar
Duncan Dunbar
The Duncan Dunbar was a clipper constructed for the Scottish ship owner Duncan Dunbar in 1853. It was shipwrecked off the coast of Brazil on 7 October 1865 on the way to Sydney, Australia.A contemporary report states:...
, a highly successful ship owner who entered the convict transport trade in the 1840s, providing nearly a third of the ships that transported convicts to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
Hougoumont was chartered by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as a troop carrier during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, during which time it was renamed Baraguey d'Hilliers after the French general Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers
Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis-Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, 1st Comte Baraguey d'Hilliers was a Marshal of France and politician.Baraguey d'Hilliers was born in Paris, the son of the French revolutionary general Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers...
, as its original name would have been offensive to the French. After the Crimean War ended in 1856, it was renamed Hougoumont.
In the 1860s, Hougoumonts tender was accepted by the Emigration Commission. On 9 June 1866 it began a voyage from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to Port Adelaide, carrying 335 government-assisted emigrants. It arrived on 16 September.
Hougoumonts most famous voyage occurred in 1867, after it was chartered to transport
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
convicts to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. By this time, it was owned by Luscombe of London. A number of convicts boarded the ship at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 30 September. It then sailed along the south coast of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, where more convicts were boarded. It departed Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
on 12 October 1867 with 280 convicts and 108 passengers on board. Most of the passengers were pensioner guards and their families. The ship captain was William Cozens and the surgeon-superintendent
Surgeon-superintendent
A surgeon-superintendent was the official on board a convict transport ship and ships transporting indentured labour, with overall authority in all non-nautical matters....
was Dr William Smith. After a largely uneventful voyage of 89 days, during which time one convict died, Hougoumont docked at Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
on 9 January 1868.
Amongst the convicts were 62 Fenian
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s, transported
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
for their part in the Fenian Rising
Fenian Rising
The Fenian Rising of 1867 was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood .After the suppression of the Irish People newspaper, disaffection among Irish radical nationalists had continued to smoulder, and during the later part of 1866 IRB leader James...
of 1867. About 17 of these were military Fenians. The transportation of political prisoners contravened the agreement between the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, and news of their impending arrival caused panic in Western Australia. The fact that military Fenians were transported was also highly unusual, given the United Kingdom Government's previous firm policy not to transport military prisoners.
The presence of Fenians amongst the convicts meant that there were many more literate convicts on board than was usual for a convict ship. Consequently, a number of journals of the voyage are extant: the journal of Denis Cashman
Denis Cashman
Denis B. Cashman was a Fenian who was transported to Western Australia as a political prisoner and wrote of his experiences in a diary .- Early life :Cashman was enlisted as a Fenian in 1858 aged just 16...
has been known of for many years, and the journal of John Casey and the memoirs of Thomas McCarthy Fennell
Thomas McCarthy Fennell
Thomas McCarthy Fennell was a Fenian political prisoner transported as a convict to Western Australia.Born in County Clare, Ireland in 1841, Fennell was just four years old when the Irish Potato Famine struck...
have recently been discovered and published. Numerous letters survive, and many articles about the voyage were later written by Fenians who went on to become journalists, such as John Boyle O'Reilly
John Boyle O'Reilly
John Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australia...
. Also, during the voyage a number of the Fenians entertained themselves by producing seven editions of a shipboard newspaper entitled The Wild Goose
The Wild Goose
The Wild Goose: A Collection of Ocean Waifs was a hand-written newspaper created in late 1867 by Fenian prisoners aboard the Hougoumont, the last ship to transport convicts to Australia....
, which survive in the State Library of New South Wales
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place...
.
Little is known of Hougoumonts later service, but there are records of emigrants arriving in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on board Hougoumont in 1869, and was still listed in Lloyd's Register in 1873.
Many pictures purporting to be "the" Hougoumont are in fact of a later steel four-masted barque named Hougomont, 2428 tons, built at Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
in 1897, and hulked in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in 1932.
See also
Convicts transported on board Hougoumont include:- Thomas BerwickThomas BerwickThomas Berwick was a convict transported to Western Australia. He was one of only 37 such convicts from the 9721 convicts transported to the colony to overcome the social stigma of convictism to become schoolteachers....
- John Boyle O'ReillyJohn Boyle O'ReillyJohn Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australia...
- James Wilson (Irish Nationalist)James Wilson (Irish Nationalist)James Wilson was a Fenian who was transported as a convict to Western Australia.Born James McNally in Newry, County Down, Ireland on 6 February 1836, little is known of his early life...
- Thomas McCarthy FennellThomas McCarthy FennellThomas McCarthy Fennell was a Fenian political prisoner transported as a convict to Western Australia.Born in County Clare, Ireland in 1841, Fennell was just four years old when the Irish Potato Famine struck...
For other convict ship voyages to Western Australia, see List of convict ship voyages to Western Australia.