Guide to the Logbook of George Siddells (as filmed by AJCP)

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M834

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Created: 2018

Collection Summary

Creator
Siddells, George
Title
Logbook of George Siddells (as filmed by the AJCP)
Date Range
1855 - 1856
Collection Number
M834
Extent
1 item
Language of Materials
English
Repository
Australian Joint Copying Project
Sponsor
The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) online portal was created with the assistance of the Australian Public Service Modernisation Fund, 2017-2020. The National Library of Australia gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the other foundation AJCP partners, the State Library of New South Wales and The National Archives of the UK, and all other organisations which supported the work of the AJCP, the world's most extensive collaborative copying project, operating from 1948 to 1997.

Introduction

Scope and Contents

Log of the first Southern Cross 6 January 1855-24 May 1856. London-Southampton-New Zealand-Norfolk Island. It mainly records weather conditions, bearings and the activities of the crew.

Conditions Governing Access

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred Citation

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Archival History

Filmed as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project, 1972 (AJCP Reel: M834). Original microfilm digitised as part of the NLA AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.

Existence and Location of Originals

The private residence of Reverend W.F. Browning, Parish House, Oxfordshire.

Existence and Location of Copies

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2239174] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Finding Aid Note

This finding aid is a revised online version of the original finding aid prepared by the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP), published by the National Library of Australia in 2018. The original AJCP finding aids were unpublished typescripts or photocopies available from libraries that held copies of the original microfilm.

Dates used in this finding aid refer to the date range of the records selected for filming rather than to the date range of the Series or Files.

Subjects

weather; Logbook; London, England; Melanesian Mission; Mission ships; New Zealand; Norfolk Island; Selwyn, George A., Bishop; Siddells, George; Southern Cross, mission ship; Sustine, George, Capt.

Bibliography

Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry 416, p.162.

Biographical / Historical

George Siddells (c.1825-1907) came to New Zealand in 1855 as the mate on the mission schooner Southern Cross. Following his marriage, he decided to settle in New Zealand. Based in Nelson, Captain Siddells was for many years active in the schooner trade between Wellington, Nelson and the Sounds.

The Southern Cross was the first in a series of vessels with that name owned by the Melanesian Mission. A 100 ton topsail schooner, it was built in 1855 by Wigram and Sons of Blackwall Yard. It was purchased by Bishop G.A. Selwyn, the Bishop of New Zealand, who visited England in 1853-1855 and organised an appeal for funds for the Melanesian Mission. On the voyage to New Zealand it was commanded by Captain George Sustins (1820-1862). Selwyn sailed on the Southern Cross on its annual cruises in 1856 and was accompanied by his missionary chaplain, John C. Patteson, later the first Bishop of Melanesia. The ship was wrecked on 18 June 1860 at the mouth of the Ngunguru River in Northland, New Zealand.

Item Descriptions

Logbook of George Siddells, 6 January 1855 - 24 May 1856 (File)

Logbook of the Southern Cross, kept by the mate George Siddells, on the voyage from London to Auckland and while sailing in New Zealand coastal waters, 6 January 1855 – 24 May 1856. (184pp).

The log was kept in a printed logbook, with columns for direction, wind, latitude and longitude. When the ship was at sea, a daily entry usually fills a page, whereas in port the entries generally take up a few lines, or there are no entries at all. The details in the remarks column are mainly limited to the weather, sail settings, tasks performed by crew members, and sightings of landmarks. There are also references to misdemeanours of crew members, illnesses and deaths, food allowances, sightings of other ships, and the loading and unloading of cargoes. Very occasionally, passengers are mentioned, such as the governor Thomas Gore Brown and the chief justice Sir William Martin. There is a list of the eleven crew members at the beginning of the log.

The Southern Cross left London on 6 January 1855 and departed from Southampton on 29 March 1855. St Paul's Island was sighted on 11 June 1855 and Cape Otway lighthouse on 3 July 1855, before the ship reached Auckland on 20 July 1855. It subsequently visited Nelson (2 Oct. 1855), Port Chalmers (19 Nov. 1855), Bluff (1 Dec. 1855), Wellington (16 Dec. 1855), Auckland (18 Jan. 1856), Wellington (25 Feb. 1856), Auckland (6 March 1856) and the Bay of Islands (14 May 1856). The log ends with the Southern Cross setting off for Norfolk Island.


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