Guide to the Papers of HMS Challenger (as filmed by the AJCP)
M2640 - M2642
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: 2019
Collection Summary
- Creator
- HMS Challenger
- Title
- Papers of HMS Challenger (as filmed by the AJCP)
- Date Range
- 1873 - 1890
- Collection Number
- M2640 - M2642
- Extent
- 22 items
- 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
Diaries of Sir John Murray 1874-1875, John J. Wild 1874-1875, Sir Charles W. Thomson 1874-1875 and Rudolph von Willemoes-Suhm 1874-1875 describing the voyage to Australia and the Pacific.
Logs of HMS Challenger 1874-1875.
Letter-book 1883-1890 of the zoologist Sir John Murray.
Letters 1874-1878 of Joseph Matkin containing descriptions of Melbourne, Sydney and places in the Pacific, and work on board the ship.
Journal 1874-1875 of Henry N. Moseley describing the voyage from Melbourne across the Pacific.
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 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)
Archival History
Material selectively filmed at Mineralogy and Zoology Libraries, and Bryozoa Section, British Museum, London, as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project, 1989 (AJCP Reels: M2640-M2642). Original microfilm digitised as part of the AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.
Existence and Location of Originals
Mineralogy and Zoology Libraries, and Bryozoa Section, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London.
For more information see: HMS Challenger at the British Museum (Natural History) [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/library-and-archives.html]
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-vn1067341] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.
Finding-aid Notes
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 2019. 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.
Pieces that were not filmed by the Australian Joint Copying Project have not been included in this Finding Aid.
Advisory Statement
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this Finding Aid contains material and descriptive information which may be considered culturally sensitive and may cause distress, including names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased. This Finding Aid contains terms that reflect authors' views or those of the historical period, but which may not be considered appropriate today. While the information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided in an historical context.
Subjects
Challenger, HMS (ship); Matkin, Joseph; Melbourne, Victoria; Moseley, Henry N.; Murray, Sir John; Pacific Ocean; Royal Navy: exploration and surveys; Royal Navy: voyages; Sydney, New South Wales ; Thomson, Sir Charles Wyville; Wild, John J.; Willemoes-Suhm, Rudolf von
Bibliography
Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry 94, p33. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-397322928]
Biographical / Historical
On 21 December 1872 the 2306 ton steam assisted corvette HMS Challenger sailed from Portsmouth on a 3½ year voyage of marine exploration. She was commanded by Captain G.S. Nares, and the Director of the scientific staff was Charles Wyville Thomson Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh University.
During the 68,890 mile voyage the naval staff was responsible for taking a wide variety of magnetic and meteorological observations, and for the actual working of the sampling gears at the 354 official stations where the vessel stopped to make detailed studies. The samples were studied by the experts on board - water samples by John Young Buchanan, contents of nets and dredges by Wyville Thomson, and his naturalists, - H.N. Moseley (corals), Rudolf von Willemoes Suhm (crustaceans), and John Murray (pelagic organisms and ocean deposits). J.J. Wild acted as secretary and artist to the expedition.
From the ships complement of 243 only 10 fatalities occured - one of these was Willemoes Suhm who died from erysipelas in the Pacific, and sixty one ratings deserted, many in Australia.
On the return to England the main scientific work remained to be done. Wyville Thomson established the Challenger Office in Edinburgh, and organised the distribution of material to the specialist scientists. The strain of this and of establishing a style for the publications of the official reports broke his health. In 1881 he died, and it was left to John Murray to see to the publication of the 50 volumed report, the final volumes of which were not published until 1895 - twenty five years after the voyage. The foundations of modern oceanography are based on the scientific data and samples collected during Challenger's voyage and many of the reports still form the starting point for specialist studies in oceanography.
See also: E. Linklater. The Voyage of the Challenger. London. John Murray, 1972.
D.R.C. Kempe and H.A. Buckley. Fifty years of oceanography in the Dept of Mineralogy, British Museum (Natural History). Bulletin of British Museum (Natural History). Historical Series. Vol 15 no.2, Nov. 1987.
E. Brunton. Catalogue of Challenger photographs. Bulletin of British Museum (Natural History). Historical Series. (In press).
Item Descriptions
Series 1 - 5. Diary of Sir Charles Murray, 8 June 1874 - 1 November 1875
3 itemsArchival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2640.
Vol. 2, 8 June 1874 - 16 November 1874 (File 2)
1 itemFilmed selectively.
Voyage Sydney to Wellington, SE Asia, to Hong Kong; details of scientific work on board; sightings of birds, trips on land, 8 June 1874 - 16 November 1874 (Item)
(200p.)
[no entries 13 March - 8 June]
At back: (specimens taken?) copy: April 2, 1874 - 30 Aug 1875.
(22p.)
Material gathered on journey from Australia to SE Asia, Hong Kong and across Pacific.
Vol. 3, 6 January 1875 - 11 May 1875 (File 3)
1 item
Despatch of specimens in Hong Kong collected between Sydney and Hong Kong, 6 January 1875 - 11 May 1875 (Item)
Hong Kong to Japan
Voyage via Philippine Islands, Admiralty Islands, to Japan. Details of scientific work on board, results of dredging and trawls, sightings of birds, descriptions of natives. (288p. + 6p at back).
At back: additional notes on Admiralty Islands. 6p.
Vol. 4, 11 May 1875 - 1 November 1875 (File 4)
1 item
Scientific work on board ship in Japanese waters, 11 May 1875 - 1 November 1875 (Item)
Japan to long, 100 W lat, 40 S
Details of birds and fishes sighted; visit to Sandwich Islands; King of Hawaii visits ship; death of Rudolf von Willemoes Suhm; visit to Society Islands - expeditions on Tahiti. Scientific notes at back of volume. (376p.)
Series 6 - 9. Diary of John James Wild, 13 March 1874 - 1 November 1875
2 itemsFilmed selectively.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2640.
Biographical / Historical
John James. Wild was the official artist on Challenger.
Vol. 2, 13 March 1874 - 28 January 1875 (File 7)
2 itemsFilmed selectively.
Station 160 - Station 211, 13 March 1874 - 28 January 1875 (Item p87 - 373)
Daily entries giving details of barometer and temperature readings, scientific work on board, visits from Governor Sir George Bowen and other VIPs, table of meteorological observations made at Tonga. 1872 - 1874, description of Banda Island; observation of Transit of Venus in Hong Kong Harbour.
Vol. 3, 29 January 1875 - 1 November 1875 (File 8)
2 itemsFilmed selectively.
Station 212 - Station 293, 29 January 1875 - 1 November 1875 (Item p.1-290)
Daily entries as before; description of natives of Papua, measurements and weights of natives of Admiralty Islands, list of corals of Hawaiian Islands, death of Willemoes Suhm. Notes on Tahiti and Moorea from document consulted in Papeete, list of corals collected at Tahiti.
Series 10. Diary of Sir Wyville Thomson, 13 March 1874 - 22 October 1875
1 itemFilmed selectively.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2641.
Series 12. Rudolph von Willemoes-Suhm, 15 March 1874 - 18 August 1875
1 itemsFilmed selectively.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2641.
Biographical / Historical
Rudolf von Willemoes-Suhm (1847-1875) was born in Gluckstadt, Schleswig-Holstein. He studied zoology at Munich and the University of Gottingen. He lectured at the University of Munich and in 1872 joined a Danish expedition to the Faroe Islands, where he studied vertebrates and polychaetes. In Edinburgh he met Charles Wyville Thomson and he joined the Challenger expedition at the last moment. He worked on many of the crustaceans that were discovered, but died while the ship was sailing from Hawaii to Tahiti.
Diary, 15 March 1874 - 18 August 1875 (File 12(a))
1 item
Arrival in Melbourne, Sydney, details of scientific work on board ship and at Sydney, 15 March 1874 - 18 August 1875 (Item)
Voyage to Wellington, on to Friendly Islands, animals sighted on Tonga and Fiji, Aru Islands, excursions at Amboyna, specimens on Philippines, natives of Admiralty Islands, Japan, Sandwich Islands, excursions at Honolulu. (98p).
Series 18 - 20. HMS Challenger Logs, 13 March 1874 - 1 November 1875
2 itemsFilmed selectively.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2641.
Series 21a - d. Sir John Murray Letter books, 18 October 1882 - 18 March 1890
3 itemsFilmed selectively.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2641.
Biographical / Historical
Sir John Murray (1841-1914), the son of Scottish parents, spent his early years in Canada. In 1858 he returned to Scotland and attended Stirling High School and Edinburgh University, where he studied geology. He joined HMS Challenger in 1872 as a naturalist and after the expedition he was appointed chief assistant at the Challenger offices in Edinburgh. In 1882, following the death of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, he became director of the office and under his direction the report of the scientific results of the expedition was published in over 50 volumes. In 1884 he set up a marine laboratory in Edinburgh.
Vol. 1, 2 June 1883 - 4 April 1888 (File 21a)
3 itemsVol. 3, 18 October 1882 - 30 May 1883 (File 21c)
2 itemsVol. 4, 27 August 1888 - 18 March 1890 (File 21d)
5 items
John Murray to Secretary of State for Colonies, 27 August 1888 (Item f10A-11A)
Re Colonial Office identification of North Keeling Island as Christmas Island, and his expedition to Christmas Island. (1st page very faint.)
John Murray to Secretary of State for Colonies, 7 September 1888 (Item f12A-13A)
Re annexation of Christmas Island. No evidence Ross had experimental plantations there.
John Murray to Secretary of State for Colonies, 12 October 1888 (Item f14A-18A)
Re his involvement in the annexation of Christmas Island and Brougham Guppy's expedition.
Series 22. Sir Charles Wyville Thomson Shore notes, February 1875
1 itemFilmed selectively.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2641.
Biographical / Historical
Sir Charles Wyville Thomson (1830-1882) was born in Linlithgow, Scotland. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, but became interested in botany and joined the Botanical Society of Edinburgh in 1847. In 1853 he was appointed professor of natural history at Queen's College, Cork. In 1854 he transferred to Queen's College, Belfast, where he was at first professor of mineralogy and geology and later professor of natural history. He was professor of natural history at Edinburgh University from 1870 until his death. In 1872 he was appointed director of the civilian staff on HMS Challenger. After the expedition he was placed in charge of the working up of the specimens and the writing of the reports of the expedition.
Series 61a - d. Specimens sent out, 1874 - 1915
4 itemsArchival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2642.
Vol. 1, April 1874 (File 61a)
3 itemsFilmed selectively.
Series. Joseph Matkin Letters to his family, 23 April 1868 - 3 October 1878
2 itemsFilmed selectively.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2642.
Biographical / Historical
Joseph Matkin (1852-1927) was born in Uppingham, Rutland. He entered the merchant marine in 1868 and made two voyages to Australia on the Essex. He enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1870 and in 1873 was appointed ship's steward's boy on HMS Challenger. He was promoted to ship's steward's assistant in 1873. Matkin remained on the Challenger until the end of the voyage, but left the Navy in 1877. He worked as a clerk in the Local Government Board in London from 1878 to 1894.
Mrs Stone Transcriptions of letters by Joseph Matkin, 23 April 1868 - 3 October 1878 (File B)
12 itemsArchival History
Originals held by British Museum (Natural History), Scripps Institution and elsewhere. (xerox typescript)
Biographical / Historical
Joseph Matkin (1853 - 1927)
Matkin to mother (Spring Creek) Gold Diggings, Journey to diggings, description of Spring Creek, lawlessness, meeting natives. (4p), 23 April 1868 (Item)
Matkin to mother on HMS Challenger, off Prince Edward Island to Melbourne, 25 December 1873 - 18 March 1874 (Item)
Work on board ship, dredging, description of King Island. 13p.
Matkin to mother on HMS Challenger, Melbourne, family news, description of Indigenous Australians. 3p, 23 March 1874 (Item)
Matkin to mother on HMS Challenger, Sydney. Provisioning the ship, desertion by seamen - including bandsmen. 2p, 7 May 1874 (Item)
Matkin to Charlie on HMS Challenger, Sydney. Descriptions of Sydney and Melbourne, lost 22 men through desertion. 2p., 15 May 1874 (Item)
Matkin to Willie on HMS Challenger, Tongatabu, 23 July 1874 (Item)
Work on board ship, description of friendly Islands and its natives, visit from King and Queen, labour traffic in South Seas. 7p.
Matkin to mother on HMS Challenger, New Guinea, 24 February 1875 - 8 April 1875 (Item)
Admiralty Islands, sailing through Philippines, description of New Guinea and its natives, Admiralty Islands. 8p.
Series. Lieutenant A. Channer. Sketches and Journal on board HMS Challenger, 1872 - 1876
1 itemXerox of original and transcript owned by Sir Antony Murray.
Filmed selectively.
Archival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2642.
Series. Box 102 - 119
1 itemArchival History
Challenger Cupboard Material.
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2642.
Series. Henry Nottidge Moseley, 1874 - 1875
1 itemArchival History
Originally filmed on AJCP Reel M2642.
Biographical / Historical
Henry Nottidge Moseley (1844-1891) was born in London and educated at Harrow School and Exeter College, Oxford. He later studied at Vienna and Leipzig. He was the naturalist on the Eclipse on a voyage to Ceylon in 1871 and was a member of the Challenger expedition in 1872-76. He published Notes of a naturalist on the Challenger in 1879. In 1881 he was appointed professor of human and comparative anatomy at Merton College, Oxford.