They came by the Ward Chapman 1841

Victoria before 1848

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They came by ship - Assisted Immigrants who arrived 1841

Passenger lists - NSW lists as families or singles, Victoria has age of individual, or C=child, A=Adult.
Some are not on both lists, people slip between the lists - Vic includes crew and maybe the paying passengers.

The Ward Chipman Vessel Record built at St John, New Brunswick, Canada in 1840 and transferred to Liverpool - and it was destined to voyage from Liverpool to Sydney. It was a 740 ton barque, which has all of the front masts having sails across the ship while the rear mast has the sails parallel with the ship. In 1868 the ship was found abandoned on the open sea. (from: John & Naomi Hill : pioneers in Australia from 1841 : the Hill family / compiled by Ronald H. Hill. Tree of Life, 1999.) the source of this comment is lost

From 'Perilous Voyages" pages 85-7, this voyage was very hard on the passengers, being poorly provisioned and lacking equipment for preserving a healthy area. 19 children died from food poisoning. The Bristol Agent JB Hinton purchased the vessel and provisioned it with food preserved by John Gillon & Co using the newly invented process of putting food in tins. Timothy Nolan, squatter of Hunter River engaged the shipping Agent William Williams to select immigrants and gathered 70 families of 272 souls, 36 unmarried men and 17 unmarried women. He travelled as a Cabin passenger and refused to call in at Capetown to replenish supplies. Melbourne merchant Arthur Kemmis claimed 4524 pounds Bounty, and was shocked to be refused, he died in Feb 1842, and in 1851 a sum of 1263 pounds was finally paid to JB Hinton's son who had settled in Melbourne as a shipping agent.

The Ward Chipman sailed from Bristol on the 27th August and arrived at Pt Phillip on 16th December 1841. It was a 740-ton ship, carrying seventy families consisting of 272 individuals, as well as 36 unmarried men and 17 unmarried women.

After the ship sailed, they discovered that there was an insufficient supply of tablespoons, knives, forks, teaspoons, and pannicans, hook pots, water pails, tubs and mess tins. There was also no coffee mill no pepper or any other condiments, no hand brushes to sweep out the berths, no charcoal for the stoves no cattle medicines and no cook for the emigrants. The captain then had to employ one of the emigrants to be the cook. There was also an in-sufficient amount of space for the sick.

They had intended to have enough water to last them six months but it was discovered that many of the casks were empty or almost empty. This meant they would only have enough water to last them 14 weeks

Oct. 31st Details of the food provided are as follows:
There were two different qualities of bread and biscuits. Women and children suffered from bowel disorders. The beef and pork smelt bad and the quality was poor. Flour and oatmeal were sourish. There were two different kinds of peas. One sort took longer to cook. These caused colic and inflammation of the bowel. They ran out of sugar on the 3rd of December and tea was all gone a fortnight before arrival in Port Phillip Bay. The coffee was rotten and there was no supply of molasses and pepper. Suet was bad and a very small amount of wine, pale ale, brandy and rum was given to the sick. There was no butter or fat, which meant the fish, was not edible so some passengers would go without meals and the pickles were also very bad. Surprisingly all members of the Hill family survived the trip.

The Hill Family
John Hill, Naomi and their sons Alfred John, Rowland, Edward, Henry and William left England as assisted immigrants, bound for the Antipodes at the other end of the world. The emigrants were ordered to be at Bristol on the 1st of August ready to leave but were delayed because of provisions being inspected by Government officials. Each immigrant was paid a shilling per day until the ship sailed. The ship was called the "Ward Chipman" and it departed England on the 24th of August 1841. Many of the emigrants were encouraged to leave loved ones and take a risk to abandon England forever for better chances in Australia. The British Government also introduced a ‘Bounty’ system subsidising most of the cost. The attractions were fertile and largely un-populated lands. The passage to Australia took four times as long and cost fives times as much than to North America so less than one in ten chose to go to Australia between 1834 and 1851.

The "Ward Chipman" arrived at the small, rough, frontier township of Melbourne on December the 6th 1841. The voyage took just over 100 days. From here the ship traveled to Port Phillip Bay, which took almost two weeks. As they slowly made their way up the river, numbers of stark naked Aborigines jumped around slapping their rumps at them. This distressed Naomi because of what she thought would happen to them.

Bounty system The immigrants were mostly labourers and servants from southern England and Wales. It brought many bounty immigrants, but Catherine was apparently one of some single women who were "not under adequate protection" and so for whom the bounty was not paid. "The regulations of 1840 & 1841 continued the provision that single women might be granted bounties only if they emigrated under the protection of a married couple with whom they proposed to remain until they were otherwise provided for in the colony." : (R.B. Madgwick: "Immigration into eastern Australia 1788-1851". Syd. U.P. 1969.)

Governor Gipps withheld half the bounties because 38 immigrants did not come under the regulations, and for misconduct by the shippers and their agents.

Tinned food The Ward Chipman had taken on board a large consignment of tinned food: a new process in the experimental stage. Before the vessel rounded the Cape of Good Hope there were scores of ailing children and adults, particularly among the steerage passengers. It seems that the preserved soup and bouille had become contaminated by acids formed on the thinner surface of some tins. The whole food and water situation on board was disastrous. 19 children died from poisoning from the tinned food and 2 adult males died from TB during the voyage.
(Michael Cannon: "Perilous voyages to the New Land". Mornington, Vic. : Today's Publishing Co., 1995.)

Catherine Munger aged 21, calling: Home Duty, Religion: P, able to Read (only), Native place: Carmarthen. The "amount of bounty" is zero, and it is stated that she is "ineligible, not under protection"

John and Grace Pagan came from Truro, Cornwall, with their two daughters Mary Pagan Birth: 02 Oct 1831, and Eliza (Elizabeth Jane Pagan) Birth: 16 Mar 1834.

Ambrose Pullin see his web page for more details of the voyage. See my notes for Ambrose Pullin

In later years St Helena from a paper about the missionary Life of Rev. James M'gregor Bertram, - written in New York, May 10th, 1852. He was born February 24th, 1806, at Southfield, in the parish of Gladsmuir, East Lothian, Haddingtonshire, Scotland
Page 70 - The ship "Ward Chipman," of St. John's, New Brunswick, commanded by Captain Aymers, a Scotchman, was then lying in Table Bay, expecting to sail in a few days for Saldanha. Mr. Bertram bade farewell to his family and friends, and embarked on board the " Ward Chipman," on a Wednesday evening, in the latter part of April, 1845. Saldanha Bay is a " magnificent haven" on the southwest coast of Africa, about sixty miles north of Table Bay, in lat. 32 54' south.
Page 76 - The " Ward Chipman" proceeded on her way, and arrived off the bay about ten o'clock in the evening of Thursday. The night was dark, and the captain, not being acquainted with the channel, attempted to enter on the wrong side of the island, that divides the mouth into two nearly equal parts. Presently the breakers were seen within a few yards, and the position of the ship became quite perilous. The main anchor was speedily dropped, and the vessel stayed. As soon as it was known in the harbor, six and twenty boats were manned by the shipmasters and their men, by whose timely and powerful aid, the vessel was towed, with the loss of her anchor, and with no further injury, to a safe and quiet anchorage within the land-locked harbor.
The locals were rioting, ships could not load cargos, send for help
Just then a ship of war hove in sight, which proved to be one of Her Majesty's vessels that had been lying at Simon's Bay, or False Bay, as it was formerly called, on the eastern side of the peninsula, that terminates in the Cape of Good Hope, on the west side of which Cape Town is built ; which vessel had been ordered to Saldanha Bay to quell the mutiny. The rioters had given themselves up to gluttony and drunkenness.
So they promised to go to work like honest men, and never again be guilty of such wicked conduct
The commander left - he had been ordered to the western coast of Africa, on a cruise, to watch the slave ships, and break up their piratical traffic.

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