Builder Fenwick & Co Sail plan Barque | Tonnage 578 or 579 tons | |
Name Willis, Gunn and Co
Wilson and Cook | ||
Victory was built by Fenwick & Co, Sunderland in 1847 and owned by Willis, Gunn and Co (the company advertised as H H Willis and Co) and later owned by Wilson and Cook. She was 578 or 579 ton barque that brought some of the first immigrants from England to Dunedin in July 1848. She also called at Wellington, New Zealand in August 1848. There was an advertisement that gave her weight as 700 tons, but given that her Captain in 1851 was Mullens it was unlikely to be another ship.
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Revolt
Among the Wellington bound passengers was Charles Borlase, one of Wellington's early mayors. The ship's captain was William Lennox Mullens and had sailed from Deal on 6 March 1848. She first arrived in Port Chalmers on 8 July 1848 and then sailed to Wellington, arriving on 16 August 1848. A journey of 163 days. The ship then sailed to Sydney in September/October.
This journey to New Zealand was eventful. Mr L Langland, a passenger, had kept a diary of the journey. The ship left Gravesend on 3 March and had run into bad weather in the English Channel, sheltering at Cowes for ten days. The captain's treatment of the crew was poor and the relationship between both deteriorated. A seaman named Robinson, respected by the crew, kept matters under control. He was a good sailor and popular with the passengers. The captain was described as very reserved man who kept to himself and was aloof from the crew. Just before the ship reached the Bay of Biscay the crew, with Robinson's help, refused to obey an unreasonable order from the captain. The captain was unable to obtain the support of the passengers and relented. Robinson took charge from then on whenever the weather was rough, with the captain having little to do with the running of the ship. On arriving in Dunedin, Robinson was arrested and charged with assault. He and three crew members were imprisoned for a short period, eventually being released to join the crew of a visiting whaler.
Death of Captain Mullens
Captain Mullens met a tragic end. The ship was chartered to carry Chinese coolies from Cumsingmoon (maybe Jiangmen) to Callao, Peru. She sailed from China on 6 December 1851, with more than 350 on board and a general cargo. The ship normally carried just over 100 migrants so the conditions would have been poor. Mistreatment of coolie migrants was common and mutinies by them were becoming more frequent at the time of this voyage.
Between 2pm and 3pm on 10 December 1851, while near Pulo Supato in the South China Sea, the coolies led by Ah-mang commandeered the ship. They killed Captain Mullens, Second Mate James Aransono, cook Edward Bailey, and seaman Henry Watt. The remaining crew were disarmed. Chief Mate William Vagg, who had survived, was compelled by the coolies to steer the ship. He first sailed for Point Kamao (the southernmost point of Vietnam), but the coolies on finding the area uninhabited directed him to sail to Koon Chin or Ko-nana, Cochin China. That proved too difficult, so he was forced to steer for the island of Pulo Ubi, about 20 km (12 mi) south of Point Kamao, where they anchored. Pulo Ubi and Point Kamao were considered to be part of Cambodia at that time. About 50 coolies left the boat at Pulo Ubi after destroying its papers and log books, as well as taking most of its cargo. The boat then sailed to another island to the east of Pulo Ubi, where the remainder of the coolies left.
During the voyage, fights had broken out among the coolies, and on at least one occasion, some tried to set fire to the boat. A number were killed or murdered, including Ah-mang, and a number were thrown overboard alive. The crew had made a couple of attempts to escape, but these were unsuccessful. After the coolies left, Vagg sailed for Singapore, arriving there on about 29 January 1852.
Thirty of the coolies from Victory were located at Kamao and captured by the Rajah. He had them deported to Pulo Ubi. The remainder were reported to be at Hoonding in Cambodia, and it was rumoured that the King was going to banish them. The Singapore papers reported that the Naval Commander-in-Chief at Singapore was going to order HMS Cleopatra, under Captain Thomas L Massie, and SV Semiramis, an East India Company frigate, to call at these places on their way to China. These boats left Singapore on 17 March.
Voyages
Victory sailed from Glasgow on 4 April 1849, carrying immigrants, and arrived on 19 July 1849. On 23 October 1849, she sailed from Sydney to London.
She returned to Auckland, New Zealand, again under Captain Mullens, on 1 February 1851 and then to Wellington on 22 March 1851, having left London on 4 October 1850 via Sydney.
She was again in Australia on 28 February 1853, sailing for London via Bombay under Captain W Vagg.
The ship sailed from London on 29 December 1853 to Perth 24 March 1854.
On 24 May 1855, the ship, under Captain Slaphins, was back in Sydney having sailed on 6 February from Southampton with another load of immigrants.
Victory was still sailing to New Zealand in the late 1850s and early 1860s. She brought migrants to Lyttelton in May 1859 and again in 1860, and to Dunedin from Glasgow in 1861 under Captain Stevens. On 17 June 1859 her return journey she sailed from Lyttleton to London via Batavia. On 13 October 1863 under Captain Gregory she brought Lancashire immigrants to Timaru and other parts from Southampton. The paper also noted that the ships owner had changed.
The ship's fate is unknown.
Co-exiting ships
There were at least five other ships with the name Victory that co-existed with this ship and sailed in the same waters: