Send an e-mail to: Amanda TaylorSend an e-mail to: Amanda TaylorThe following article was written and researched by Grace Douglass & Laurel Legge and published in their book 'Along the Windsor Richmond Road' 1985 (ISBN 0 9589831 0 0 and ISBN 0 9589831 3 5) and is subject to copyright. Written permission is held from the late author Grace Douglass for the writer to publish contents via the Internet. However, although this book is in the public domain, it still remains copyrighted material and may not be copied for any reason without permission. I do not have the right to give permission to others to reprint the book. I was only given permission to put it on line. All copyrights stay with Grace Douglass & Laurel Legge and whoever they appointed, for control of the book. Under no circumstances may it be reprinted for profit.
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The Witney brothers, John and Edmund, sailed from England with their Families on Xmas Day 1843. Edmund, being a methodical man, later recorded the date on the fly-leaf of the Family Bible. Each man hoped for a better life for his children in the new Country, yet death would visit each Family before the vessel disembarked in Sydney Cove.
They sailed on the 'United Kingdom - a regular 'Hell Ship', according to the Port Authorities when she later reached Sydney, and consequently, owing to the number of Souls who perished during the voyage, an enquiry was held at her destination into the circumstances surrounding the voyage.
The passengers on the 'United Kingdom' were all Bounty Immigrants. The early discovery of enormous areas of fertile land in the Colony had led to vast expansion of settlement, and both skilled and unskilled workers were in great demand. From 1830 onwards many family groups, as well as single mean and women were encouraged, and assisted to immigrate. Financial assistance was given by the Government, by Church groups, and by Landholders and Businessmen, so that the Settlers sailing from England paid a very nominal passage fee to be transported to the new Colony and were guaranteed employment and support for their Families at journey�s end. The Shipping Companies also benefited, as they were paid a 'Bounty' for each person, man, woman and child (other than babes-in-arms) who disembarked in Sydney Cove. Thus Johnathan Witney who was buried at sea, was crossed off the list and not paid for, and his cousin, Thomas Witney, who was taken from the ship in Sydney Cove and died in Sydney Hospital, was paid for.
The Witney brothers, John (b.1807) and Edmund (b.1809) were the sons of William and Mary Witney, all natives of Chinnor in Oxfordshire. They were all unskilled farm labourers. John's wife was Patience Wilder, the daughter of Simon and Sarah Wilder, born in Bray, Berkshire in 1813, she was by trace, a lace-maker. John and Patience brought with them five children : Sarah (b.1834), William (b.1836), Hannah (b.1838), George (b.1840) and Johnathan aged seven months. Edward's wife was Elizabeth Ratley, also a native of Chinnor. Elizabeth was the daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (nee White) Ratley and had been born in 1813. Edmund and Elizabeth also brought with them five children : Henery (b.1829), Thomas (b.1834), Robert (b.1838), Mary Anne (b.1840) and Edmund aged six months, leaving two infant daughters behind, buried in Chinnor.
William and Mary Witney left behind in Oxfordshire, were never to see their sons and grandchildren again, nor would they ever know their new Australian-born grandchildren. They, themselves had already buried two daughters, Ann born 1812 and Anna born 1814, and they also had at least three other surviving children, Ann born 1816, George born 1819 and Lucy born 1824. Patience and Elizabeth both left Fathers behind, although both of them had already lost their Mothers.
Much has been written about the conditions on the Convict Ships, yet our convict 'grandfather' William Ezzy who was transported on the first voyage of the 'Royal Admiral' in 1792, reached the Colony swifter, and in more comfortable circumstances, than did the young child, Mary Anne Witney, who was later to be the bride of his grandson, Henry Ezzey. There are, of course, exceptions to everything, the 'United Kingdom' just happened to be a most unsuitable vessel for the journey she undertook, whereas the 'Royal Admiral' broke a speed record on this first journey to the Colony, and the conditions under which the convicts were expected to live were far above average. Even so, here again there was greed for profit and Governor Phillip later stated in one of his reports back to the Admiralty that in his opinion the convicts had been overcrowded into a limited living space in order to make more area available to carry trade goods.
When the 'United Kingdom' sailed from Liverpool the accommodation provided for the Immigrants was good so far as regarded the fitting-up of the ship, but the vessel proved itself to have been a no means suitable one for the service. Because of her unweildy construction owing to her having originally laid down for a steamer rather than a vessel under sail, the 'United Kingdom' had at all times to labour to a much greater extent than an ordinary vessel under sail, and labour she did, to the detriment of herself and her passengers, as is recorded in the Surgeon�s Journal quite independent of the Marine Inquiry.
Commenting on the dampness and lack of ventilation in the ship the Surgeon wrote 'During some bad weather between the Cape and Sydney, the tween decks were quite damp from water getting down through various seams in the upper deck which had been opened by the heavy straining of the vessel...' In an entry commenting on ventilation, he stated...'I have found it necessary to order the removal of a large portion of the partitioning which had been erected between the families to give them privacy, this action was necessary for the purpose of creating sufficient circulation of air...' (No cabin privacy, you will note when you came as an Assisted Immigrant.) The Marine Inquiry found that the designers of the vessel had not allowed for it's rolling tendencies in high seas when providing the necessary ventilation ports. It had evidently been estimated, based on the height of the vessel and the roominess between decks, coupled with the height above water of her side scuttles that sufficient provision had been made of port holes to provide a sufficient cross-flow ventilation. However, this was to prove not so in practice, as when the vessel began to pitch and roll in the high seas the lower ports had to be closed and the resulting loss of air-flow made conditions impossible.
It was also found that the vessel had been previously used to carry salt-cargo to North America and consequently the spaces between her planking were filled with a salt residue, which once it became wet, opened up and allowed the water in. As early as 1841 the Commissioners of the Marine Board had prohibited vessels carrying salt from also carrying passengers, because of heir diminished standards of health and comfort, and even though the salt-cargo, itself, was not present on this voyage, the results were the same.
The Ship's Surgeon made several further references to the leaking qualities of the vessel in his Journal, and commented that at times the seas were so rough that the hatches had also to be closed to prevent the intake of water and this worsened the ventilation problem. He also implied that he considered the general health of some of the passengers at time of embarkation left something to be desired, and that in his opinion the Agents who selected them needed closer supervision in the future.
It also came out in the Inquiry that the potatoes put on board for consumption on the voyage, had been loaded in a damp condition causing them to spoil more quickly than would have been expected, causing a shortage of staple food.
During the night of the 5th January, owing to bad stowage together with the great motion of the vessel, several of the water casks worked undone causing considerable leakage, and later on the 29th February, due to the same cause, several more leaked, causing a shortage of water and consequently the vessel was obliged to put into the Cape to replenish their supplies. The surgeon also mentioned that they were short of oil, and so on the 12th February had spoken to an American Whaler and so obtained some of this much needed commodity. He spoke also of poor standards of general cleanliness on the vessel, no sand had been carried and therefore it had been impossible to holystone and clean the decks
Frequent complaints also appear in the Journal of the inconvenience experienced by the want of proper fuel for the 'swing stoves' that were used to heat and dry the passengers' quarters, and in noticing the commencement of disease amongst the children he says ....'The cause of this seems evidently to be the very unfavourable weather we have had since leaving Liverpool and the cold and damp condition of the tween decks which I find it impossible entirely to remedy for want of proper fuel for the swing stoves.' In general remarks at the close of his Journal he states that the frequent use of the swing stoves in the tween decks would certainly have alleviated, if not entirely prevented this fruitful source of infantile disease � cold damp.
A total of 28 passengers were buried at sea including the infant son of John and Patience. Johnathan Witney aged 11 months was buried 9/4/1844 and the cause of death entered in the Ship�s Log was 'Hydrocephalus'. This, I understand is a disease brought on by sub-standard living conditions and poor nourishment, however, in all fairness to those concerned, he could have perished from the same cause had he remained in an impoverished farming community in Chinnor. As usual, it was the very young who succumbed first under these conditions, and of the 28 who perished, 24 were infants under the age of seven years.
As a direct result of the voyage being prolonged by bad weather and rough seas, coupled with the nonexistence of a plentiful supply of good food, Typhus Fever manifested itself after the vessel had entered the shelter of Sydney Harbour. It was a finding of the Board of Inquiry that it's extensive prevalence could be attributed to the few days longer spent at sea, which after all were the result of poor management and planning. No fewer than 14 of the Emmigrants by the 'United Kingdom' were received into the hospital in Sydney, and an Adult Female and a child named Thomas Witney, died there. Thomas, second son of Edmund and Elizabeth was buried in Sydney 4/4/1844, fifteen days before the remainder of the passengers were declared 'healthy and free from disease' and so allowed to disembark in Sydney Cove.
The journey had taken 126 days, slightly shorter than the journey of the 'Royal Admiral' some 50 years previously, however, it must be borne in mind that the 'United Kingdom' was a much larger vessel (1267 tons compared to 914) and therefore carried far more sail. It must also be remembered that the 'Royal Admiral' was more than three weeks at the Cape loading supplies, whereas the 'United Kingdom' only spent 6 days there. According to Official Documents, Patience Witney was suffering from Mumps on arrival, so that was another scourge that traveled with the passengers, lumped together in such proximity. The findings of the Inquiry were that although the Surgeon and Master appeared qualified in their respective trades, they both appeared utterly unqualified in the management of Immigrants under these conditions. It was also pointed out that ships sailing from Liverpool had a higher ratio of deaths (7 & � %) to those of Glasgow (1%) and London and Cork (2 & �%), due it was felt to mismanagement. The Company was still paid the fee of 18 pounds 17.6 for each adult and 9 pounds 3.9 for each child.
Travelling with John Witney, under his guardianship was Harriet West, an 18 year old farm servant from Chinnor. John had signed an agreement with the Shipping Agents, stating that he promised to care for her as part of his Family and allow her to live with them until such time as she was otherwise provided for in the Colony.
The passengers continued to live on the ship until such time as they were taken off by their employers, the last passengers did not disembark until early June. The Witney Families, however, obtained their release on 7th May, 1844 when they were taken into the employ of William Cox Jnr. at 'Hobartville', Richmond. Elizabeth Cox appears to have been the one to make the journey to Sydney to select the new help for her husband's property, as it is her signature that appears on the Employment Agreements. At the time, the standard rate of pay for this type of employment was 23 pounds 10.0 per year, plus rations for a married couple if the wife also worked and 10 pounds per year plus rations for the entire Family, if only the husband was employed. A single man was slightly better off as he received 13 pounds per year plus rations. No mention was made of accommodation. The weekly rations for a Family at that time consisted of 26 1bs of beef or mutton, 20 lbs flour (from which the wife would be required to make their bread), 2 lbs sugar and � lb of tea. It is assumed that they were expected to grow their own vegetables. Elizabeth Cox employed both John and Edmund, together with Edmund's eldest son Henery, and each of them signed the following agreement:
'7th May 1844 - MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT made this day between William Cox of Richmond Esq., of the one part, and Edmund Witney a free Immigrant per Ship 'United Kingdom' of the other part. The conditions are, that the said Edmund Witney engages to serve the said William Cox as a farm labourer and otherwise make himself generally useful, for the term of twelve Calendar Months; and also to obey all his, or his overseers' or authorized agents' lawful and reasonable commands during that period; in consideration of which the said William Cox doth hereby agree to pay the said Edmund Witney wages; at the rate of +10 per annum, and to provide with the following rations weekly for self and Family � Beef or mutton 26 1lbs, Flour 20 lbs, sugar 2 lbs Tea � lb. IN WITNESS WHEREOF they have mutually affixed their signatures to this Document (sgd) Elizabeth Cox for William Cox, and Edmund Witney.'
Both the brothers remained at 'Hobartville' for at least five years, possibly longer. John and Patience buried their eldest son, William, a month after settling at Richmond, and their second son, George five years later. Seven other children were born to them after their arrival in the Colony, although most followed their brothers to St. Peter's Churchyard. Rebecca (b.1845), Harriet (b.1847), Ann (b.1849 survived 13 months), John (b.1857 survived 14 months), William (b.1852), Harvey (b.1854 died 1876) and James (b.1857 survived 14 months). John Witney became Sexton at St. Peter's in 1848 and occupied the position (except for a short break) for many years. In the latter years of his life John appears to have been a plasterer, although one wonders by what means be became skilled at this trade so late in life. John was buried in St. Peter's at the age of 82 and Patience followed him two years later.
Edmund and Elizabeth also added to their Family after arrival in Richmond, and also buried some, along with their cousins in St. Peter's Churchyard. First to be buried there was the infant Edmund who had journeyed with the Family from Oxfordshire, he survived less than nine months in the Colony. William was born several months later, Elizabeth in 1847 - survived 8 months, Jane in 1848 - survived 7 months and George 1852. Another un-named son died at birth in 1856.
Elizabeth passed away in 1883 and as the Family were now members of the Presbyterian Church in Richmond, she was buried in the Presbyterian Burial Ground. Edmund paid the sum of One Pound for the burial plot, and still being a methodical man, pasted it to the fly-leaf of the same Family Bible, where it still remains more than 100 years later. In the latter years of his life Edmund was a currier in Richmond, a skill he no doubt learned during his years at 'Hobartville'. He spent the last few years of his life, after Elizabeth passed away, living with his only surviving daughter, Mary Anne and her husband, Henry Ezzey, in Carters Road, Grose Vale. He is buried with his wife in the Presbyterian Burial Ground. He died in 1899.
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