STRANGERS TO THE SEA 4
The GUIDING STAR
Fierce Competition On The Australian Run
ACTUAL TIMES ACHIEVED FROM LIVERPOOL TO MELBOURNE
1855 JAMES BAINES 63 Days to Hobson's Bay
" LIGHTNING 73 Days " " "
" RED JACKET 87 Days " " "
'Many emigrant ships, including the Guiding Star, promised a fast passage, and they did that by going as far as possible South to catch up with favourable winds eastward towards Australia". Competition was fierce between the Liverpool shipping companies and their favoured captains to attract those going out to the colonial goldfields, a contest that only grew fiercer with the passing of the peak Gold Rush years of 1851-1853 and the absolute number of passengers started to diminish.
The new owners of the Guiding Star had paid a high price for this near-new North American clipper ship. "This noble vessel ... has been chartered ... for the sum of £12,000― an unprecedented amount, even for the best kind of ships trading to the golden regions ..." (Illustrated London News, 1 October 1854). Messrs. Millers and Thompson were buying her reputation as a quick ship. "The Guiding Star has just returned from her first voyage to Australia and has proved herself one of the fastest ships afloat, having beaten all the vessels that sailed before her from ten to forty days. She attained the extraordinary speed of seventeen knots (or 19 miles) an hour, and ran in seven days two thousand miles." (Liverpool Mercury, 27 October 1854).
A fast ship needed a fast captain, someone like the Black Ball Line's '"Bully" Forbes, a noted ship driver', who went far south of the Cape of Good Hope, 'to shorten his route and gained the most favourable winds'. So 34 yo Captain William McClelland was 'most likely selected by Millers and Thompson specifically to make a fast passage to Melbourne'. As Master of the Admiral Grenfell, at less than 400 tons a much smaller ship than the 1,470 ton Guiding Star, he demonstrated boldness on record-breaking voyages to Brazil and New Zealand.
'As for his competency, reports regarding Admiral Grenfell from the Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 10 September 1853, indicated that McClelland was prepared to take the optimum great circle sailing route, touching on 54 degrees south, well beyond the highest latitude his contemporaries would risk in the Southern Ocean. In doing so claimed a record to New Zealand arriving off South Island in just 80 days ... On arrival in Wellington his entire crew deserted en-masse after what to them may have been a frightening voyage ... the Nelson Examiner only states that "although deserted by his entire crew, he brought on his vessel to this port, assisted only by his officers ..."' [emphasis added].
'It appears that Captain McClelland was a willing participant in the rivalry between Red Jacket and Lightning, and the new Black Ball Line ship James Baines ... The Hobart Town Courier 13 February 1855 reports [from received Liverpool papers]: "... The noted clipper ship, Guiding Star will sail about the end of the month ... She will be under the command of Captain McClelland, who is a most experienced navigator. In his last ship, the Admiral Grenfell, belonging to the same owners, he performed the unprecedented passage of eighty days from London to New Zealand, being equal to seventy days to Melbourne. There will be an interesting race between this ship and Red Jacket, Lightning and James Baines".'
'Here was the temptation for McClelland to beat the times of all three of them to Melbourne, and possibly overtake one of them in the process; and to establish his own reputation and that of the Golden Line as being at least equal, or superior, to the feted ships of the Black Ball and White Star lines.
(KN Mival, 2015, 'Re-assessing the Disappearance of the Clipper "Guiding Star", The Great Circle, Vol 37, No 2, pp 16-39. <jstor.org/stable/24583101>)
Late, Missing, Lost
"There has been considerable slackness in the arrival of vessels from the westward during the last two or three weeks, owing to so much calm weather and light winds prevailing on the coast; a sharp lookout is kept for some of the clipper ships now due from England ... some doubts are entertained for the safety of the Guiding Star, a noted American built clipper, belonging to the Golden Line of Liverpool shipping, she having left port in December last."
(Geelong Advertiser, Saturday 12 May 1855, p 2)
"All hope of the safety of the missing ship the Guiding Star, from Liverpool to this colony, has been abandoned, as no tidings of her have been received since last February, when she was reported to have been spoken at sea."
(Geelong Advertiser, Tuesday 21 August 1855, p 2)
"THE GUIDING STAR (To the Editor of the Age)
'Sir,―Can you give me any information with regard to the fate of the clipper ship Guiding Star, which left England now some months ago, and has never been heard of since she sailed: as I have some relations on board that vessel, and having received no tidings of her whatever as to their safety, I naturally feel very anxious about them. I now write to you hoping that either yourself or some of your readers may be able to give me some clue as to the fate of the above ship, and by giving this a space in your paper, you will oblige, Sir, Your most obedient servant,
JOHN WILSON, Collingwood, Aug 31st, 1855.'"
(The Age, Saturday 1 September 1855, p 4)
"THE GUIDING STAR (To the Editor of the Age)
'Dear Sir,―Will you allow me to inform your correspondent, Mr John Wilson of Collingwood, that the Guiding Star was last spoken on the 12th Feb last, in lat. 16.6 south and long. 33.48 east, about 400 miles S.E. of the city of Bahia, or Saint Salvador, on the Brazilian coast. I am, dear Sir, Yours obediently
RICHARD WOOLLEY, Chamber of Commerce, 3rd Sep 1855.'"
(The Age, Tuesday 4 September 1855, p 4)
"THE GUIDING STAR (To the Editor of the Age)
'Sir,―Having noticed in your Shipping columns of Friday last, a request from a correspondent, wishing some tidings concerning the above-named vessel, I willingly give the following, which I took from a home paper. Although there is nothing material in the intelligence, still it may be something to know that they were all well for one month at least, whatever more ...
"We have received from Captain Kirk of the barque Chase, of this port, just arrived at Liverpool from Maceio, Brasil, several letters which were found in a bottle picked up on the shore near the latter port on the 24th March, by a slave of the Commendador Jose Paulino D'Albuquerque Sermesto, while on his way from his master's estate to St Antonio Grande. Dom Jose forwarded it to the President, by whom the enclosures were sent to the British vice-consul at Maceio. The letters contained in the bottle are signed 'Harriett M'Intyre', and 'Alick, Annie, and Maggie', Emigrants on board the clipper ship Guiding Star, from Liverpool to Melbourne, and are accompanied by a document addressed to the finder of the bottle, by 'your Scottish friends', requesting that its contents be posted in Scotland. As the addresses have unfortunately been destroyed, this cannot be done, and we have been requested by Captain Kirk to give publicity to the fact of such letters being found. The writers state that they enjoy excellent health, and speak highly of the comforts they enjoy on board ship. The bottle appears to have been thrown overboard in 9 degrees south latitude, on the 9th of February, a month after the vessel's departure from Liverpool. We shall very gladly send the letters to any party showing a right to them.―Greenock Advertiser."
I remain, yours obediently. NAUTICUS.'"
(The Shipping Gazette and Sydney General Trade List, Mon 10 Sept 1855, p 211)
No. XXXI
REPORT OF THE EMIGRATION OFFICER, LIVERPOOL, ON THE SHIP "GUIDING STAR"
Birkenhead Depot,
3rd November 1855.
SIR,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 31st ultimo respecting the Guiding Star, despatched from this Port on the 9th of January last with 481 emigrants which had not, on the 7th August, reached Melbourne, and desiring me to furnish the Board with a Report of her fittings, equipment, and seaworthiness, before she put to sea.
In reply, I beg to state that the Guiding Star was chartered on the 16th of November, 1854, from the firm of Messrs Miller and Thompson, of Liverpool, for the conveyance of emigrants to Melbourne, She was nearly new, having been built at St. John's, N.B., in 1853, and was classed A.1 at Lloyds' for seven years, the highest classification allowed for Colonial-built ships. Before she was chartered to the Commissioners she had made two voyages, one to New York in April, 1853, the other to Melbourne in February, 1854.
In compliance with the instructions contained in your letter of the 16th of November, the Guiding Star was surveyed in dry dock by the Government surveyors, underwent a thorough refit, and was reported to be a good sound ship, and in every respect adapted for the service.
Provisions were shipped according to the Charter Party for 400 statute adults, and 1790 gallons of water over and above the quantity required for passengers and crew.
The crew consisted of four officers and sixty men, of whom forty were able seamen. They were examined by me individually, and separately questioned as to their qualifications, and were exercised aloft by taking a reef in the topsails ... The captain had a Certificate of Competency, No. 2387, and was a man of steady habits, ability, and experience. The chief mate also held a Certificate of Competency, No. 70,617, and appeared to be a very efficient officer ...
With reference to the last paragraph of your letter, I beg to state that I have made enquiry respecting the voyages of ships sailing about the same time as the Guiding Star ...
The Cambridge sailed for Melbourne at the end of December, 1854, and by an extract from her Log, it appears that on the 4th of March, in lat. 43⁰ south, she fell in with ice in very thick weather; and from that time until the ship was in the meridian of the Cape, the captain was only able to get two observations.
The Ocean Chief sailed for Van Diemen's Land on the 11th January, 1855, two days after the Guiding Star. From the 27th February, in lat. 47⁰ 13' south, to the 6th March, in lat. 48⁰ 13' south, icebergs were seen, strong winds prevailed, a heavy head sea and thick weather.
The Ralph Waller, which arrived at Melbourne, 7th April, 1855, from Liverpool, had been in contact with an iceberg on the 22nd of March, 1855, lat. 48⁰ south, long. 106 east, had fifteen feet water in the hold, which was got under after seventy-nine hours pumping. Leak was partially stopped by lowering a sail over the bows. Part of cargo thrown overboard.
The Guiding Star was last spoken on the 15th of February, in lat. 26 south, long. 34 west, and has not since been heard of. Taking into consideration the date at which the ship left Liverpool and the latitude in which she was last spoken, and comparing her probable course with the ships I have mentioned, which sailed about the same time, it is not unlikely that she encountered the same masses of ice, and met with the same thick and tempestuous weather. If the ship came into contact with the ice during the night or suddenly, going at the rate of ten to eleven knots, which the Log of the Ocean Chief shows that she was making for nine or ten days, it may naturally be inferred that she was lost from that cause ...
I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant,
(Signed) C.F. SCHOMBERG.
(Sourced from the British Archive by Jan Lettens, The Wreck Site, <www.wrecksite.eu>, 03/04/2025)
Down To The Southern Ice
SIGHTINGS OF THE GUIDING STAR:
+ 9 January Guiding Star departed from Liverpool with 481 emigrants and 62 crew.
+ 28 January Guiding Star seen by ship Speedy in 19⁰ 47 N - 25⁰ 36 W, North Atlantic Ocean.
+ 9 February Guiding Star sighted by Captain Hall of American ship Kate Hastings in 10⁰ S - 30⁰ W, South Atlantic Ocean.
+ 12 February Guiding Star reported by Lloyd's List being in 16.06⁰ S - 33.48⁰ W, South of Equator.
+ 15 February Guiding Star was last sighted in 26⁰ 47' S and 34⁰ 40' W, by Captain Dimon of the American ship Mercury bound for New Bedford. The Guiding Star appeared in good condition and was heading South in the Southern Ocean. Captain McClelland reported to Captain Dimon that he would stand as far to the southward as possible before running to eastward.
'SOUTHERN OCEAN ICE AND THE LOSS OF THE GUIDING STAR'
"Although Guiding Star's charter agreement prohibited William McClelland from sailing beyond 53⁰S, this limit was quite unrealistic through the southern summer of 1854-55. Vast tracts of ice were accumulating in the South Atlantic and South Indian Oceans, and these extended far more to the north than was normal. The dangers were only realised after a number of outward-bound vessels arrived in Australia with stories of hair-raising encounters with ice. Typical of the accounts was one given [by] Captain Hewitt of the ship Cambridge. Heading south, with the intention of making 55⁰S his maximum latitude, Hewitt was astonished to encounter ice on the morning of 4th March 1855 in latitude 43⁰S (the latitude of Hobart) and longitude 16⁰W. He reduced sail and turned his vessel to the east, but within a few hours was 'literally surrounded by icebergs'. Hewitt said that he 'counted fifty, but there were many more from 300 feet high to 20 feet high'. The icebergs formed something like a bay and, in weather 'as thick as a hedge', Cambridge was sailed clear only with difficulty. The sailing vessel Salem had a similar lucky escape after encountering the field a few days later.
"The field was first discovered by the auxiliary screw-steamer Great Britain, which steamed for a distance of fifty miles, along its northern face in December 1854. Variously described as a single immense iceberg, an ice-island or a connected mass of icebergs, it was sighted by at least twenty-one ships between December 1854 and April 1855. During this time it drifted from 44⁰S, 28⁰W, to 40⁰S, 20⁰W. It was reported to be roughly C-shaped, with the bay formed by the 'C' being perhaps forty miles wide and several miles deep. Opinions differ as to the size of the field itself, but it was enormous. The George Marshall encountered it on 20th February in 42⁰S, and sailed along it for a distance of 300 miles. The field slowly rotated in an anti-clockwise direction, and by early March the bay was open the the northwest. In this orientation it had the capacity to snare vessels bound for the Antipodes, as Captain Hewitt discovered. The height of the field was estimated at 300 feet, but it was nowhere near as lofty as the massive 960 feet high iceberg observed in 53⁰14'S, 14⁰41'E on 23rd March by the Dutch ship Agneta.
"While Guiding Star may have been crushed after becoming trapped in the field, she could just as easily have come to grief elsewhere. Ice was so widely scattered across the Southern Ocean in early 1855 that virtually any location below the fortieth parallel and between 30⁰W and 135⁰E is possible. And in addition to being strewn with icebergs, this area was experiencing storms of great violence. The Hobart-bound Ocean Chief, which would have entered the region at much the same time (Ocean Chief sailed from Liverpool on 11th January 1855, two days after Guiding Star), ran her easting down at approximately 47⁰S, encountering heavy seas, severe gales and snow squalls, often with icebergs in sight on both sides and regularly having sails blown to ribbons. Her log recorded one occasion when she was 'rolling most horrible', and another when she was 'pitching violently'. Ocean Chief's 385 emigrants were described as 'robust' on arrival at Hobart on 25th March and certainly deserved the label."
(Charles Clark, 2008, 'Southern Ocean Ice and the Loss of the "Guiding Star"', New Zealand Marine News, vol 55, no 3, pp 129-134)
The anonymous dead
1. "Guiding Star of the Golden Line under Captain William McClelland sailed yesterday afternoon at 3 pm for Melbourne with 485 government passengers and 1060 tons cargo". (Liverpool Daily Times, 10 January 1855)
2. "The Colonial Land and Emigration Office reported in its annual submission to Parliament on 30 April 1855 that Guiding Star had departed with 118 Male Adults; 210 Female Adults; and as children under 14 : 58 boys and 95 girls ; a total of 481, or 404½ statutory adults". (Return of Ships and Emigrants, 'up to 30th April 1855').
Unfortunately, copies of the Assisted Passenger Lists were not normally retained by the Emigration Officer at Liverpool or the Emigrants Depot at Birkenhead. The only formal records of passengers embarked was kept on board the consigning vessel. It travelled with the ship and was lodged with the Immigration Officer at the port of disembarkation, after it had been updated to show the numbers of births and deaths on the voyage. This means that the names and background details of the emigrants on the Guiding Star were lost with the ship.
A full list of the officers and crew has survived because the registered crew agreement of 20 December 1854, and the noted changes in crew on 9 January 1854 (the date of sailing), were filed in Liverpool. We therefore know who the ship's company of captain plus 60 actually were. They comprised Master William McClelland, Superintendent Surgeon John Thornton, First Mate Thomas Carey, Second Mate John Robertson, Third Mate John Cawley, Fourth Mate William Griffiths, and 5 Quartermasters (who steered the ship), 1 Boatswain and Mate, 1 Carpenter and Mate, 1 Joiner, 1 Sailmaker, 1 Painter, 34 Seamen, 6 Apprentices, 2 Cooks and Assistant, 1 Steward.
However, of the 481 passengers counted by the Emigration Commissioners, only 25 have been identified for the public record. Presumably letters from grieving relatives and friends were sent to and received by officials but these were not listed or kept at either end of the emigration chain (perhaps because nobody could confirm or deny the fate of specific individuals).
- Mr John (66 yo) and Mrs Bridget (51 yo) DOWLING and sons Michael (29 yo), Edmund (22 yo), James (15 yo), along with cousin Judith AHERN
- Mr William (51 yo Mason) and Mrs Catherine (43 yo) GRIMMOND and daughters Barbara (17 yo), Catherine (16 yo), Elizabeth (6 yo), Isabella (?), and son (?), daughter, (6 yo), daughter (5 yo), all from Newburgh, Fifeshire, Scotland.
- Alick, Annie, Harriet and Maggie McINTYRE from Scotland (who threw a message in a bottle into the sea off Brazil 9 February, retrieved 25 March).
- Mr James (24 yo) and Mrs Rebecca (21 yo) MILLER, newly wed couple from Eday, Stronsay, Scotland.
- Mr Richard and Mrs Mary PAGET and 2 infant daughters, from Haworth, West Yorkshire, England.
This was not to be. 542 people went down with the Guiding Star, 456 of them without even the dignity of the emigration authorities or the shipping company knowing their names. There should have been an inquiry. It was the worst maritime disaster in colonial Australia's history, exceeding the Cataraqui's crushing loss of 400 souls in 1840. But the 'powers that be' were unanimous in accepting there was 'nothing untoward here'. Nobody saw any reason to look beyond the ready-made excuse of unusually large flows of drifting ice. A tragedy, certainly, though it would probably be less trouble for everyone if the multiples of anonymous dead were to simply stay that way.
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