John Dibbs
Encyclopedia
Captain John Dibbs, was a master mariner prominent during 1822-1835 in the seas around the colony of New South Wales
, New Zealand
and the Society Islands (now Tahiti
). Dibbs was master of the schooner Endeavour 1822-1824, the brig Haweis 1824-1827 and the barque Lady Blackwood 1827-1834. He is credited as the European discoverer of Rarotonga
and several other islands. Most of his voyages involved the transporting of missionaries, trade, whaling and seal hunting. He was believed for over 170 years to have disappeared at sea in 1835. He was the father of Sir George Dibbs
, a pre-Federation Australia
n politician, Sir Thomas Dibbs, an Australian banker, and John Campbell Dibbs, a successful Sydney
businessman.
. His parents were John Dibbs and Elizabeth Simpson and John was one of several children. His father, uncle and grandfather did military service prior to his birth in 1790.
(Hertford Heath
, near Hertford
) started in 1806, and trained 16-18 year olds, and if so John would have been one of the earliest intakes of students. He would have graduated to the East India Company Maritime Service in 1808. His activities 1808-1818 are unknown, but there are two general possibilities.
In 1808 at age 18 he graduates and becomes eligible for posting as a midshipman. Reportedly 25% of Scottish males served in the military between 1792 and 1815, so it’s possible (given his father’s and grandfather’s military service) that John joined the Royal Navy that was then involved with the War of 1812
and Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815 at Waterloo
the British economy went into recession, and there were thousands of ex-navy seamen out of work.
There is however no record of a Lieutenant Dibbs (or variant spellings) in the Royal Navy
.
The idea that John Dibbs was in the Royal Navy comes from a story published in about 1885, detailing an 1828 voyage to England in a ship, the Lady Mary, under the command of a Captain Dibbs, a former Royal Navy lieutenant, and how he outwitted pirates off the coast of Brazil
.
Merchant Marine Officer grade promotions usually required a two year tour at sea. Hence it’s reasonable to assume that ...
Scottish
immigration to Canada
peaked in 1819. John is listed as the master of the Rothiemurchus, a ship rated at 322 tons owned by John Watson & Co, Leith, in March 1818. The Rothiemurchus made trips to Quebec
in 1817 (John was probably 1st officer), again in March 1818, and was wrecked in September 1818.
John joined the Westmoreland (rated at 600 tons) in Leith, Scotland, as 2nd Officer in 1820. The Westmoreland (Captain Potton) transported immigrants and cargo from Leith to South Africa and Australia.
of the London Missionary Society
(LMS) on a voyage from Otaheite (Tahiti
) and New Zealand in 1821.
Robert Campbell Sr. and Rev. Williams offered him command of the schooner Endeavour to trade in the Tahiti region. On 25 July 1823, he (re)discovered Armstrong Island (now called Rarotonga), and nearby islands Mitiero and Mauke
.
The Endeavour finally returned to Sydney in 1824.
Captain Dibbs was appointed the London
Missionary Society Master of Ships for the Pacific
station and served in this capacity until 1827.
In March 1825, he was given command of the Campbell & Co brig Haweis (from Capt Jamison) and ferried missionaries around New Zealand and Tahiti, and also traded, until mid 1827.
John made a voyage to Mauritius
(off the east coast of Africa) in early 1827 – April 1827, selling the cargo of sugar in Hobart on the return voyage.
In June 1827, in Launceston
on the return voyage from Hobart
to Sydney, John assaulted a river pilot, one John Williams, who filed a formal complaint. In the court document it is stated that the Haweis had a crew of Tahitians, and John was fluent enough in their language to be able to command them. The court document ends by stating that the accused was “not apprehended, effected his escape”.
In 1821 Campbell & Co had acquired the barque Lady Blackwood in Calcutta. Captain John handed the Haweis over to Capt John James around September, and on 29 September 1827, departed for Calcutta to take command of the Lady Blackwood, returning to Sydney in mid April 1828.
His first trading voyage in the Lady Blackwood was to Valparaiso
, Chile
, May – November 1828, returning with a cargo of wheat, barley, other grains and some breeding mares.
In December 1828 John married Sophia Allwright (19) the daughter of convicts Thomas Allwright and Sophia Langford, in Sydney, and took her back to St. Andrews in early 1829 on the Lady Blackwood. A son, John (the most likely name), was born prematurely soon after arrival in London in August 1829 but died after 6 hours. They had three other sons, John Campbell (b.1830), Thomas Allwright (b.1832) and George Richard (b.1834), all who became prominent in the colony before federation.
Examination of shipping records between 1829 and 1833 show that John was engaged mostly in the seal and whaling trade in the Lady Blackwood. During his last voyage, something happened which caused major personality changes and he was diagnosed with "mania furiosa", with symptoms of uncontrollable rages. The most likely cause is a severe head injury, such as a depressed skull fracture. He and Sophia lived apart for a few months, and then when his condition became unmanageable, the East India Company
(through the assistance of John Campbell) arranged for him to be transferred to the company asylum in Calcutta, then later to another facility in London.
Aug 1835 Capt John departs for Calcutta aboard the Africaine, restrained in his cabin. He appears to have been accompanied or escorted by a Captain Carew.
Nov 1837 John is shipped to England aboard the Catherine at a cost of Rs.600. He was reportedly so uncontrollable that he had to be placed in a straight jacket.
The 1841 census in England lists John Dibbs, born in Scotland around 1790, in an East India Company Asylum, Pembroke House, in London. He was described as a Naval Officer. John Dibbs and his wife Elizabeth Simpson had a son John who was baptised on 14 November 1790 in St Andrews and St Leonards, Scotland, for whom no other records have been found. East India Company records show John Dibbs, a ship’s captain, as a patient in the lunatic Asylum of Isaac Beardsmore in Calcutta, India in 1835. He was diagnosed with 'mania furiosa'. After many letters to the Governor of Bengal
, a passage to London was arranged in June 1837 on the Catherine. It was hoped that the better climate there would effect an improvement in his health. His former place of abode was 'unknown' but he himself stated that he was born in St Andrews, Scotland, that his father was a grocer and alive in 1829 and that his wife and children were in Sydney, where he had property.
After a year, in 1838, he had not improved and was described as 'haughty and sullen' and 'unwilling to take treatment'. His main occupations were reading and walking and religious attendance. He was in otherwise good health. Details of the diet of the patients are given for each day of the week. Breakfast was always one pint of milk and five ounces of thick round bread. For dinner there was typically half a pound of meat such as mutton, with potatoes or barley broth, five ounces of bread, a pudding like rice pudding and one and a half pints of beer. There were carrots on Thursday, specially mentioned. There was always a teatime serving of one pint of tea and a thick round of bread and butter. For supper there was bread and cheese and beer for those who liked it. John must have thrived, at least physically as he spent the next 37 years in the care of the East India Company, moving with them to their new Royal India Asylum in Ealing
, London. He died aged 81 in 1872. His death certificate states that he had dementia for 37 years, an enlarged prostate and the cause of death seems to have been urania poisoning.
John Dibbs was buried from the Royal India Asylum, Ealing, in the South Ealing Cemetery.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and the Society Islands (now Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
). Dibbs was master of the schooner Endeavour 1822-1824, the brig Haweis 1824-1827 and the barque Lady Blackwood 1827-1834. He is credited as the European discoverer of Rarotonga
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...
and several other islands. Most of his voyages involved the transporting of missionaries, trade, whaling and seal hunting. He was believed for over 170 years to have disappeared at sea in 1835. He was the father of Sir George Dibbs
George Dibbs
Sir George Richard Dibbs KCMG was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales on three occasions.-Early years:Dibbs was born in Sydney, son of Captain John Dibbs, who disappeared in the same year...
, a pre-Federation 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...
n politician, Sir Thomas Dibbs, an Australian banker, and John Campbell Dibbs, a successful Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
businessman.
Early Years
Very few verifiable facts are known. John was born and educated in St. Andrews Fifeshire, ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. His parents were John Dibbs and Elizabeth Simpson and John was one of several children. His father, uncle and grandfather did military service prior to his birth in 1790.
Maritime Training
It is very likely he trained as a midshipman through the Marine Society around 1806. The East India Company CollegeEast India Company College
The East India College was a college in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in February 1806 as the training establishment for the British East India Company . At that time, the BEIC provided general and vocational education for young gentlemen of sixteen to eighteen years old,...
(Hertford Heath
Hertford Heath
Hertford Heath is a small village and civil parish near the county town of Hertford in Hertfordshire, England.-Geography:It is located on a heath above the River Lea valley, on its south side...
, near Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
) started in 1806, and trained 16-18 year olds, and if so John would have been one of the earliest intakes of students. He would have graduated to the East India Company Maritime Service in 1808. His activities 1808-1818 are unknown, but there are two general possibilities.
In 1808 at age 18 he graduates and becomes eligible for posting as a midshipman. Reportedly 25% of Scottish males served in the military between 1792 and 1815, so it’s possible (given his father’s and grandfather’s military service) that John joined the Royal Navy that was then involved with the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
and Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815 at 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...
the British economy went into recession, and there were thousands of ex-navy seamen out of work.
There is however no record of a Lieutenant Dibbs (or variant spellings) in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
The idea that John Dibbs was in the Royal Navy comes from a story published in about 1885, detailing an 1828 voyage to England in a ship, the Lady Mary, under the command of a Captain Dibbs, a former Royal Navy lieutenant, and how he outwitted pirates off the coast of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Merchant Marine Officer grade promotions usually required a two year tour at sea. Hence it’s reasonable to assume that ...
- John graduated from midshipman to 6rd Officer about 1810.
- John is promoted to 5rd Officer about 1812.
- John is promoted to 4rd Officer about 1814.
- John is promoted to 3rd Officer about 1816.
Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
immigration to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
peaked in 1819. John is listed as the master of the Rothiemurchus, a ship rated at 322 tons owned by John Watson & Co, Leith, in March 1818. The Rothiemurchus made trips to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in 1817 (John was probably 1st officer), again in March 1818, and was wrecked in September 1818.
John joined the Westmoreland (rated at 600 tons) in Leith, Scotland, as 2nd Officer in 1820. The Westmoreland (Captain Potton) transported immigrants and cargo from Leith to South Africa and Australia.
Arrival in New South Wales
On his arrival in Sydney in 1821 on the Westmoreland John became acquainted with Robert Campbell Sr. (of the Sydney traders Campbell & Co), his sons, John (20), Robert (18) and Rev. John WilliamsJohn Williams (missionary)
John Williams was an English missionary, active in the South Pacific. Born near London, England, he was trained as a foundry worker and mechanic...
of the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
(LMS) on a voyage from Otaheite (Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
) and New Zealand in 1821.
Robert Campbell Sr. and Rev. Williams offered him command of the schooner Endeavour to trade in the Tahiti region. On 25 July 1823, he (re)discovered Armstrong Island (now called Rarotonga), and nearby islands Mitiero and Mauke
Mauke
Mauke is a raised atoll island, the eastern most of the Cook Islands.-Geography:...
.
The Endeavour finally returned to Sydney in 1824.
Captain Dibbs was appointed the 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...
Missionary Society Master of Ships for the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
station and served in this capacity until 1827.
In March 1825, he was given command of the Campbell & Co brig Haweis (from Capt Jamison) and ferried missionaries around New Zealand and Tahiti, and also traded, until mid 1827.
John made a voyage to Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
(off the east coast of Africa) in early 1827 – April 1827, selling the cargo of sugar in Hobart on the return voyage.
In June 1827, in Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
on the return voyage from Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
to Sydney, John assaulted a river pilot, one John Williams, who filed a formal complaint. In the court document it is stated that the Haweis had a crew of Tahitians, and John was fluent enough in their language to be able to command them. The court document ends by stating that the accused was “not apprehended, effected his escape”.
In 1821 Campbell & Co had acquired the barque Lady Blackwood in Calcutta. Captain John handed the Haweis over to Capt John James around September, and on 29 September 1827, departed for Calcutta to take command of the Lady Blackwood, returning to Sydney in mid April 1828.
His first trading voyage in the Lady Blackwood was to Valparaiso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, May – November 1828, returning with a cargo of wheat, barley, other grains and some breeding mares.
Marriage(s)
The London Missionary Society records that at Raiatea (now Tahiti), "25 Aug 1825, Mary, wife of John Dibbys, Master schooner Haweis, died in childbirth." There is no other known information on Mary, but it’s most probable that she was from Sydney or New Zealand, and they would have been married by mid 1824. She may have been the daughter of an LMS missionary, as John transported many of them with families around the region. Shipping records indicate that the Haweis was not in Tahiti in August 1825.In December 1828 John married Sophia Allwright (19) the daughter of convicts Thomas Allwright and Sophia Langford, in Sydney, and took her back to St. Andrews in early 1829 on the Lady Blackwood. A son, John (the most likely name), was born prematurely soon after arrival in London in August 1829 but died after 6 hours. They had three other sons, John Campbell (b.1830), Thomas Allwright (b.1832) and George Richard (b.1834), all who became prominent in the colony before federation.
"Disappearance at Sea", and the real story
For generations, it was thought and always said by the family that Captain John Dibbs disappeared at sea in 1835, and was never heard of again. It was only in 2009 that part of the true story finally emerged when records from the HEIC archives were located in London.Examination of shipping records between 1829 and 1833 show that John was engaged mostly in the seal and whaling trade in the Lady Blackwood. During his last voyage, something happened which caused major personality changes and he was diagnosed with "mania furiosa", with symptoms of uncontrollable rages. The most likely cause is a severe head injury, such as a depressed skull fracture. He and Sophia lived apart for a few months, and then when his condition became unmanageable, the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
(through the assistance of John Campbell) arranged for him to be transferred to the company asylum in Calcutta, then later to another facility in London.
Aug 1835 Capt John departs for Calcutta aboard the Africaine, restrained in his cabin. He appears to have been accompanied or escorted by a Captain Carew.
Nov 1837 John is shipped to England aboard the Catherine at a cost of Rs.600. He was reportedly so uncontrollable that he had to be placed in a straight jacket.
The 1841 census in England lists John Dibbs, born in Scotland around 1790, in an East India Company Asylum, Pembroke House, in London. He was described as a Naval Officer. John Dibbs and his wife Elizabeth Simpson had a son John who was baptised on 14 November 1790 in St Andrews and St Leonards, Scotland, for whom no other records have been found. East India Company records show John Dibbs, a ship’s captain, as a patient in the lunatic Asylum of Isaac Beardsmore in Calcutta, India in 1835. He was diagnosed with 'mania furiosa'. After many letters to the Governor of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, a passage to London was arranged in June 1837 on the Catherine. It was hoped that the better climate there would effect an improvement in his health. His former place of abode was 'unknown' but he himself stated that he was born in St Andrews, Scotland, that his father was a grocer and alive in 1829 and that his wife and children were in Sydney, where he had property.
After a year, in 1838, he had not improved and was described as 'haughty and sullen' and 'unwilling to take treatment'. His main occupations were reading and walking and religious attendance. He was in otherwise good health. Details of the diet of the patients are given for each day of the week. Breakfast was always one pint of milk and five ounces of thick round bread. For dinner there was typically half a pound of meat such as mutton, with potatoes or barley broth, five ounces of bread, a pudding like rice pudding and one and a half pints of beer. There were carrots on Thursday, specially mentioned. There was always a teatime serving of one pint of tea and a thick round of bread and butter. For supper there was bread and cheese and beer for those who liked it. John must have thrived, at least physically as he spent the next 37 years in the care of the East India Company, moving with them to their new Royal India Asylum in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, London. He died aged 81 in 1872. His death certificate states that he had dementia for 37 years, an enlarged prostate and the cause of death seems to have been urania poisoning.
John Dibbs was buried from the Royal India Asylum, Ealing, in the South Ealing Cemetery.