Matoaka
Ship: 1092 Tons
Captain: Stevens
Surgeon Superintendent: E. H. Marshall
Sailed London 13th November 1868 - arrived Lyttelton 8th Feb 1869
Considering the number of voyages that
were made round the stormy Horn in the old sailing days the New Zealand trade was
singularly free from disasters. Saddest of all epitaphs for a gallant ship is that of
"missing". There is something so ominous and mysterious about it, and ones
natural grief at the loss of relation or friend seems trebled when a disaster of that kind
occurs. One of the few ships from New Zealand that have been posted "missing"
was the Matoaka, which was a well known Willis, Gan and Co trader of the very early days.
She was later purchased by the Shaw, Savill Co. She and her skipper, Captain Stevens were
very well known in the Colony, and particularly in Canterbury, five out of the eight
voyages the ship made to New Zealand being to Lyttelton. Captain Stevens was a very
popular man in Christchurch and Auckland. The Matoake traded to New Zealand from 1859 to
1869. On May 13 of the later year she left Lyttelton for London, but was never heard of
again. It was conjectured that the ship struck an iceberg during the night, and foundered
with all hands.
White Wings: Sir Henry Brett
Arrival of Matoaka
Commissioners Report of Matoaka
Name | Age | County | Occupation | |
Families and children | ||||
Carpenter | James | 22 | Stafford | Labourer |
Mary J | 24 | |||
Deniston | James | 30 | Tyrone | Ploughman |
Margaret | 27 | |||
John | 8 | |||
William | 6 | |||
Andrew | 3 | |||
Mary Jane | 10 mths | |||
Downing | George | 31 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Susan | 32 | |||
Elizabeth | 11 | |||
Alfred | 8 | |||
Eli | 6 | |||
William | 4 | |||
Leonard | 2 | |||
Lines | Samuel | 41 | Bedfordshire | Farm labourer |
Emma | 42 | |||
Sarah | 11 | |||
Thomas | 7 | |||
Noah | 4 | |||
Lines | Reuben | 19 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Charlotte | 23 | |||
Pepper | Enoch | 23 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Mary A | 22 | |||
Jane | 4 | |||
Rachel | 2 | |||
Ronan | Michael | 26 | Carlow | Farm Labourer |
Ann | 25 | |||
James | 4 | |||
Thomas | 3 | |||
Ann | 1 | |||
Stemson | Samuel | 29 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Mary | 25 | |||
Eliza | 3 | |||
Emily | 1 | |||
Wadsworth | George | 37 | Northants | Shoemaker |
Mary A | 32 | |||
Harriet | 11 | |||
Anne | 2 | |||
Thomas | 10 wks | |||
Weston | Francis | 19 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Lucy | 18 | |||
Ellen | 1 mth | |||
Weston | William | 23 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Emma | 21 | |||
Emily | 1 | |||
Weston | Edward | 21 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Emma | 21 | |||
Single Men | ||||
Ballagh | Hugh | 21 | Down | Ploughman |
Blackburn | Henry | 22 | Donegal | Ploughman |
Carland | John | 24 | Donegal | Ploughman |
Collison | Edward | 20 | Norfolk | Ploughman |
Cotterill | Albert | 13 | Staffordshire | |
Crozier | John | 22 | Fermanagh | Farm Labourer |
Gallagher | Samuel J | 25 | Donegal | Farm Labourer |
John Thomas | 23 | Donagal | Farm Labourer | |
Alexander | 21 | Donegal | Farm Labourer | |
Gibson | Alexander | 24 | Down | Farm Labourer |
Gilbrow | James | 19 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Gillespie | Alexander | 44 | Londonderry | Farm Labourer |
James | 22 | Londonderry | Farm Labourer | |
Alexander | 4 | Londonderry | ||
Gilmore | Hans | 23 | Down | Farm Labourer |
Hamilton | John | 27 | Antrim | Farm Labourer |
Jolly | Henry | 23 | Cornwall | Ploughman |
Keig | Robert | 18 | Isle of Man | Ploughman |
Lines | William | 13 | Bedfordshire | |
Matthews | John | 20 | Tyrone | Ploughman |
Henry | 18 | Tyrone | Ploughman | |
McCann | John | 23 | Down | Ploughman |
McConnell | William | 23 | Donegal | Farm Labourer |
McKie | William | 28 | Kirkudbright | Farm Labourer |
Niven | William | 24 | Kirkudbright | Farm Labourer |
Robinson | Charles | 23 | Tyrone | Farm Labourer |
Robinson | William | 22 | Kings | Farm Labourer |
Squire | George | 26 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Todd | Robert | 18 | Antrim | Farm Labourer |
Trezise | Thomas | 22 | Cornwall | Ploughman |
Virgin | John | 23 | Bedfordshire | Farm Labourer |
Wilson | Michael | 17 | Down | Farm Labourer |
Single Women | ||||
Asher | Emily | 20 | Middlesex | General Servant |
Brady | Sarah | 26 | Down | General Servant |
Bonner | Margaret | 23 | Donegal | General Servant |
Burt | Lucy Ellen | 18 | Devonshire | General Servant |
Cassidy | Harriet | 58 | Norfolk | Shop Keeper |
Coleman | Matilda | 21 | Middlesex | General Servant |
Cotterill | Sophia | 38 | Stafford | Dressmaker |
Selina | 19 | General Sevant | ||
Walker | 11 | |||
Darragh | Jane | 21 | Antrim | Housemaid |
Dilton | Florence | 18 | Middlesex | Housemaid |
Dudley | Ann | 17 | Bedfordshire | General Servant |
Dunn | Ellen | 21 | Wicklow | Dairymaid |
Faulkner | Mary | 22 | Waterford | Dairymaid |
Bridget | 20 | Waterford | General Servant | |
Flint | Rosa | 23 | Sussex | Cook |
Findley | Mary | 22 | Dublin | Cook |
Gallagher | Isabella | 54 | Donegal | |
Mary | 19 | Donegal | General Servant | |
Gillespie | Jane | 20 | Londonderry | General Servant |
Eliza | 18 | Londonderry | General Servant | |
Hamilton | Mary | 18 | Antrim | General Servant |
Herric | Sarah | 23 | Middlesex | Housemaid |
Higgins | Maggy | 20 | Londonderry | General Servant |
Hill | Mary C | 23 | Down | Housemaid |
Hillier | Mary A | 40 | Cornwall | Matron to Ship |
Hunter | Jane | 26 | Middlesex | Housemaid |
Ives | Emily | 20 | Middlesex | Housemaid |
Jolly | Mary | 30 | Cornwall | Dairymaid |
Kating | Anna | 24 | Kings | General Servant |
Kerson | Jane | 23 | Norfolk | General Servant |
Lines | Betsy | 16 | Beds | General Servant |
Lowry | Grace | 18 | Down | Dairy Maid |
Magill | Eliza | 21 | Antrim | General Servant |
Maquire | Catherine | 24 | Fermanagh | General Servant |
Mark | Margaret | 20 | Antrim | Dairy Maid |
McCloy | Martha | 18 | Antrim | Dairy Maid |
McConnell | Margaret | 19 | Donegal | Dairy Maid |
McCormick | Sarah | 23 | Down | General Servant |
McDermott | Harriett | 22 | Devonshire | Nurse |
Monaghan | Ann | 21 | Tyrone | General Servant |
Mullowney | Ellen | 19 | Galway | General Servant |
Bridget | 18 | Galway | General Servant | |
Porter | Mary A | 35 | Middlesex | General Servant |
Raffell | Harriet | 24 | Berkshire | Housemaid |
Redmond | Bridget | 25 | Carlow | General Servant |
Reid | Sarah | 20 | Londonderry | Dairy Maid |
Sullivan | Kate | 23 | Devonshire | Housemaid |
Taplin | Mary | 16 | Oxfordshire | General Servant |
Taylor | Susan | 21 | Fermanagh | General Servant |
Weir | Margaret | 24 | Fifeshire | General Servant |
Wills | Eliza | 24 | Cornwall | Cook |
Wilson | Annie | 23 | Antrim | General Servant |
|
Copyright Denise & Peter 1999, 2000
National Archives Reference IMCH 4/83