Arrival of the Buckinghamshire

In March 1874 Joseph(1) and his second wife, Mary Ann, sailed from London on board the "Buckinghamshire" on their voyage of emigration to New Zealand. The journey has been vividly described by his grandaughter, Judith Cranefield, in "The Voyage" which was based on the diary of a fellow passenger, Henry Bennewith. On 6 June 1874 a report of the arrival of the ship at Port Chalmers, South Island, appeared in the Otago Witness, at that a time, a weekly newspaper.

Arrival of the Buckinghamshire As soon as tide served on Friday, 20th [of May], the ship Buckinghamshire was towed in from the Heads and anchored off Carey's Bay. There was no stopping by the way, the ship having a thorough clean bill of health, and the tenor to that effect of her way bill received the most conclusive endorsement by the appearance of the very large number of immigrants whom she has brought here. The Buckinghamshire is a fine ship of 1466 tons register, commanded by Captain Robert Harland, a veteran seaman, who is not a total stranger to these waters, having paid Dunedin a visit after the second year of the foundation of the Province. The ship he now commands is owned by Messrs G Marshall and Sons, of London, and is chartered for the present voyage by Messrs Shaw, Saville and Co, and comes here consigned to Messrs Matheson Bros. She is a handsome iron vessel, suitable in every respect for the conveyance of immigrants, having lofty, well lighted, and well ventilated 'tween decks, and a roomy main deck. She is pierced for side scuttles in the 'tween decks, and is capitally appointed throughout. Her dimensions are length overall, 238ft.; beam, 37ft.; depth of hold 28ft. She brings a large cargo, much of it being dead weight, which accounts for her trim. She lies rather deep in the water, her draft being 22ft. aft. She has 505 immigrants on board, classified as follows:- Adults -Males, 234: Females, 114 Children aged from 1 - 12 yrs Males, 69: Females, 66. Infants - Males, 12: Females , 10. The number of statute adults is 4151/2. Dr Ingram Welsh is the Surgeon Superintendent in charge of the immigrants, and Mrs Foster is the matron. We may observe that the latter was appointed to the post after the ship sailed. Thirty females were under her special control - not all spinsters, three of them being widows with families. The single men numbered 178, and appeared hale and hearty and inclined to put their shoulders to the wheel in the new country they have come to. Work, work, give us work, was the cry, and a shout of exhalation arose when they were informed that no hands ready to work need be idle here. All the immigrants were favourably spoken of by the captain, doctor, and matron. And indeed we were very favourably impressed by them ourselves. They appeared to be above the average of respectability, and were clean and tidy in person. The compartments too were particularly clean and admirably ventilated and lighted. The ship in fact, was well found, and well kept in every particular. There was plenty of hospital room, commodious galleys, and a good water condenser by Chaplin. Of course, the married people's compartment was fitted up in the usual atrocious manner with open bunks. The herding system was carried out in its entirety. The immigrants, however, enjoyed capital health on the way. There were on 4 deaths: one of them was almost a still-born child. Of the others, Mrs Dowling died of heart disease on the 30th of April; Mrs Liddington's little girl died of diarrhoea, on the 6th inst.; and Mrs Scotts little boy, aged 2yrs, died of hydrocephalus on a later date. We have to thank Captain Harland and Dr Welsh for their attention and courtesy. The former reports that the ship left the Downs on March 11th, and passed Start Point on the 12th, that being her departure. Westerly winds prevailed to 40 north, where a N.E. wind, that imperceptibly, merged into the N.E. Trade was picked up. The Trade gave out in 5. N on the 31st of March, and the equator was crossed on the 3rd of April in long 34.30 W., the ship being then 23 days from the Downs. Variable easterly winds prevailed in the equatorial doldrums belt, the S.E. Trade was met with on the Line, and held to 26 S., where it gave out on the 11th of April. After that variable winds prevailed. The Meridian of Greenwich was crossed on the 23rd of April, in lat. 41 1/2, and that of the Cape in lat 42 South, on the 27th of April, on the 47th day out. There were no westerlies to speak of, excepting for about one week, during which the barometer ruled exceedingly low, once marking 28.50. This was from the 9th to the 14th of May, but the weather was not correspondingly bad. The wind was, however, westerly, one day blowing a gale, the next falling to nearly a calm. On the 27th of May land was sighted at the Snares, and on the afternoon of the 28th the ship arrived at Otago Heads and anchored. We have much pleasure in alluding to the good feeling between the passengers, and the captain, doctor and crew of the ship. The passengers were loud in their praise in the uniformly kind, considerate attentions of the two gentlemen to whom the conducting of the ship's affairs were entrusted. Transcribed by Marlene Foley