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'ALFRED'

Built by:Money & H. L. Wigram, at Blackwall.
Yard No.
Launched:8th April 1845
Tonnage:1,265 76/94
Length:
Breadth:
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Machinery:
Decks:
Built of:
Type:Indiaman
Registered:
Off Number:
Built for:Built to be a 36-gun frigate in the Royal Navy, but the Admiralty changed their minds and sold her to Messrs. Green whilst on the stocks.
Other info:Crew - 90 men including 5 mates, 3 boatswains, and 2 carpenters.
Armament - 6 guns.
History:20th August 1846. Due to sail from Gravesend, Captain A. Henning, for Madras and Calcutta.
11th May 1847. Sailed from the Downs, Captain Campbell, for the Cape and Singapore.
13th August 1856. Arrived from Calcutta was brought up at the Blackwall buoys, was afterwards hauled into the Victoria Docks to discharge in consequence of there not being a sufficient depth of water for her to enter the East India Docks.
5th August 1862. Sailed from the East India Dock for Melbourne in tow of tugs ‘Robert Bruce’ and ‘Robert Burns’.
6th August 1862. Took on passengers and live stock at Gravesend.
15th August 1862. Passed the Lizard lights.
25th August 1862. Passed the Desertas.
27th August 1862. Passed Palma.
20th September 1862. Crossed the Line.
9th October 1862. Crossed the meridian of Greenwich.
8th November 1862. At noon a midshipman named Reynolds fell overboard from the foc’s’le head. The flying jib, royals, fore topgallant sail and staysails were immediately taken in, the mainyard backed and the starboard lifeboat lowered. At 1.30 p.m. the main topgallant sail was handed and the port lifeboat sent after the starboard one. The midshipman was sighted by the boats, struggling to protect his face and eyes from the attacks of albatrosses and mollyhawks, but before the boats could get up to him he had sunk, and it was the opinion of those in the boats that the sea birds had been the cause of his death. At 2.30 p.m. the boats returned and the ship was put back on course.
16th November 1862. Arrived at Hobson’s Bay.
13th February 1863. Saiiled from Sydney and taken in tow out of the harbour by the steam tug ‘Bungaree’.
4th March 1863. In very thick fog an iceberg was close to the starboard bow and just cleared it, the ship’s side scraping the ice.
9/10th March 1863. Passed a great number of icebergs.
19th March 1863. Passed Cape Horn.
13th April 1863. Sighted the Island of Trinidada.
25th April 1863. Crossed the equator.
10th May 1863. The ship ‘Sussex’ was on the port bow. Hove to and boarded for wine.
30th May 1863. Passed the Lizard.
1st June 1863. Several passengers left ship in a Deal lugger.


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