Magical Mystery Tour: The Rediscovered Life of Thomas Fellows WALTON (1833-1884)

[spades]

I appreciate dessert! Quite a bit really.

Anyway, where did we get to? Oh yes.

Arrival of the 57th Regiment in Auckland

On Papers Past I found articles which described the arrival of the first detachment of the regiment on 25 January 1861 aboard the troopship Star Queen from Bombay, followed by the regimental headquarters aboard the Castilian on 11 February and the remainder on the Prince Arthur on 27 May 1861 via Launceston, Tasmania.

Which vessel Thomas WALTON arrived on is impossible to determine since he doesn't appear in Discharged in New Zealand. The New Zealand Society of genealogists have just published this title in 'pdf format on CD-ROM and I've had my copy barely a week. I've discovered that it is a goldmine of information, the authors having cross-referenced shipping indexes so individuals can be linked to a ship in most cases.

Why Thomas WALTON doesn't appear in this book remains a mystery.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 2 February 1861, Page 3
ARRIVAL AT AUCKLAND OF THE TROOP SHIP STAR QUEEN.
A ship was signalled, outside Tiri Tiri, at an early hour on Monday morning, and as the wind was fresh and fair, we were speedily informed that she was a trooper, that her name was the Star Queen, and that she came from Bombay, which port she left on the evening of the 23rd November, and has therefore made a good, as well as a pleasant, passage of fifty-one days. The Star Queen is a ship of 835 tons register, is commanded by Captain BARBER, and is only six months out from England, whence, in eighty-four days, she conveyed detachments of the 56th and 72nd regiments to Bombay. There were five soldiers died from dysentery, that fatal complaint to our soldiers and seamen in the Eastern seas, on the passage; in other respects, the ship was generally healthy. The mystery with respect to the Indian regiment has at length been solved. Notwithstanding the explicit extracts of letters to officers here, and despite the more remarkable letter in our Post Office to the officer commanding the Rifles, the Star Queen brings neither the 13th, 23rd, 35th, 60th, or 66th, all of which had been named, but the gallant old 57th, the glorious Diehards, a corps well-known to Australasian colonists, honoured and esteemed wherever they have served, and who, thirty years since took a leading part in the war which insured to Tasmania her speedy emancipation from the murderous attacks of her aboriginal savages. We are glad to welcome this, the first division, of the brave 57th to our shores. They are under the command of Major BUTLER; the other officers being Captain BROWN; Lieutenants BAYNTON, HASTED, THOMPSON, COX, and WALLER; Ensigns CLARKE, MURRAY, and CLAYTON; Assistant-Surgeon DAVIS; 16 sergeants, and 314 rank and file. She has a quantity of service ammunition on board. — New Zealander, January 16.
The Head Quarters of the regiment were to have sailed, from Bombay, three or four days after the departure of the Star Queen, on board the Castilian, a London ship of 1,060 tons register. They may, therefore, be looked for shortly. The remainder of the regiment, with the women and children, would speedily follow. If we may judge of the 57th regiment from the sample we beheld on board the Star Queen, we should say that the Indian Government have sent us a regiment in every respect equal to the work they have to expect. — Ibid.

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Wellington Independent, 12 February 1861, Page 2
The transport ship Castilian, 1065 tons, Captain HARRINGTON, with the headquarters of the 57th regiment under command of Major LOGAN, arrived in harbour on Monday, shortly after sunset, after a fifty-five days' passage from Bombay, whence she sailed on the evening of the 27th November. She has brought 411 non-commissioned officers and privates, and the following 10 officers — Major Robert A. LOGAN; Brevet Major Captain Charles William ST. CLAIR, Captain Thomas N. WOODHALL; Lieutenant William A. J. SHORT, George B. WAUGH, John PARKINSON, Charles M. CLARKE; Ensign Henry F. EMLY; Quarter Master Thomas MARTINDALE; Dr. William MCANDREW. Five deaths occurred during the passage, three privates of dysentery, one from liver complaint, and, on the 28th December, Captain H. Douglas M. SHUTE of fever, in other respects the health has been good and those now arrived are hale and hearty. There has been nothing of interest in the passage of the Castilian. She came south-about, sighting the Snares on the 15th inst. at 11 p.m., and afterwards experiencing light weather. Spoke the ship Bruce from Otago bound to Calcutta, on 16th December, in latitude 10° 58' south, longitude 89 ° 47' east [e.g. in the Bay of Bengal; Bombay, now Mumbai, is situated on the west coast of the continent and this statement implies that the Castilian travelled south down the coast towards Sri Lanka and then east across the Bay of Bengal. Did she stop at another port on India’s east coast before proceeding south to New Zealand?]*. The following are passengers by the Castilian, Mrs. LOGAN and two children, Mrs. MACANDREW, and Mrs. HARRINGTON. A draft of the 57th had arrived from England previous to the sailing of the Castilian. The regiment, with the women and children, left behind at Poona [approximately 150km south east of Mumbai], will shortly follow, under command of Brevet Major Captain James HASSARD: the name of the ship had not transpired, but the Royal Charlie, 480 tons, GARRICK: and Victory, 579 tons, STEPHENS, had both been spoken of.

February 11 1861 was a Monday, so the Castilian arrived at Auckland only the day before this issue of the Wellington Independent was published.

The Castilian must have travelled south past the west coast of Australia to catch the trade winds in the Roaring Forties which pushed her east until she sighted The Snares, a group of small islands located well to the south of Stewart Island. She then travelled up the coast to Auckland. Presumably the Star Queen followed the same route.

Can anyone help with these questions?

Where is Tiri Tiri, where the Star Queen was first sighted?
Why was the regiment's women and children left at Poona (now Pune)?
What was the regiment doing in India?

Spades

Correction: See reply #184 by Koromo. The correct location of ship was hundreds of kilometers south, in the Indian Ocean. It pays to read the lat/long more carefully than I did. 10° 58' S, not 10° 58' N.

[spades]

In the event, the rest of the regiment with women and children arrived at Auckland from Bombay via Launceston, Tasmania on 27 May 1861 on board the steamship Prince Arthur of the Indian Navy, as reported in the Daily Southern Cross of 28 May 1861.

Daily Southern Cross, 28 May 1861, Page 2.
The Prince Arthur, steamship, Captain WALKER, of H. M. Indian Navy, from Bombay, fetched her anchorage here yesterday evening about 7 o’clock. She has on board a detachment of the 57th Regiment, under the command of Brevet-Major HASSARD. The detachment consists of 147 non-commissioned officers and men, 42 soldiers' wives, and 69 children. The officers of the 57th are. — Brevet-Major HASSARD, Captain Sir Robert DOUGLAS, Bart, Captain C. J. CLARKE, Lieuts. ACHESON, M'CLINTOCK and A. C. MANNERS. The ladies are — Mrs HASSARD, and Mrs. MARTINDALE (wife of Quarter-master MARTINDALE) and 4 children. Two men, two women, and one child died on board of dysentery; there were seven births at sea. This detachment of the 57th embarked on board the hired transport ship Victory, at Bombay, on the 5th March; but, in consequence of small-pox appealing in the crew, the troops were transferred, on the 18th March, to the Prince Arthur, which sailed on the same day. The troops enjoyed excellent health throughout, every precaution being taken by Captain Walker and his officers to render their condition comfortable. The Prince Arthur is a noble vessel, and does credit to the Indian Navy. She was purchased by her Majesty's Government during the Indian Mutiny, and used then and since as a troop-ship. She is 1200 tons register, with auxiliary screw, driven by engines of 120 horse-power, enabling her to steam at the rate of seven miles an hour. She is 245 feet over-all. Her 'tween decks are spacious and roomy, and everything about her is neat and trim to an unusual degree. The voyage from Bombay was excellent, when the time spent at the various ports of call is deducted, and also when it is stated that Capt. Walker had orders to sail all the voyage and not to steam. The Prince Arthur left Bombay on the 18th March, and experienced light and baffling winds for the most of the voyage. She touched at Point de Galle, where she remained for three days; and came to anchor for a day at Quilon. On the 9th May the ship anchored at George Town, some distance from Launceston, where she remained for seven days. Major HASSARD and the officers of the 57th, and Capt. Walker and the officers of the Prince Arthur, were partakers of the hospitalities of her Majesty's heges, while off Launceston. A entertainment and ball was given by the inhabitants of Launceston in honor of the newly arrived Governor, Sir Henry YOUNG, Bart., and they invited all the officers en route for New Zealand, military and naval, with those of the Garrison, to meet his Excellency. The gentlemen on board the Prince Arthur speak in the highest terms of the gaiety of the party, the beauty of the ladies, and the more than ordinary hospitality of which they were the recipients. It was with regret, therefore, that the gallant officers on board the Prince Arthur took their departure from the hospitable shores of Tasmania. A strong south-easterly gale was encountered when the ship cleared Bass's Straits. New Zealand was sighted on the 57th day after leaving Bombay. The Three Kings were sighted and passed between two and three o'clock, am., on last Saturday morning; the ship taking the passage between the islands and the mainland. She lay off in the gulf for a day, becalmed; and wind still failing, at half-past 2 a.m. yesterday, Captain WALKER ordered steam to be got up, and steamed into the harbour in the evening. The Prince Arthur is pierced for six guns, but has only two guns on board, as she is not intended for warlike operations. The troops were under the medical supervision of Dr. FETTIS, surgeon in charge of the Prince Arthur, who deserves great praise for his care and attention. The other officers of the ship are First Lieutenant TEMPLAR, and Messrs. FLEMING, ASH, and TOLPUT. The ship's company consists of 195 men. The stay of the Prince Arthur will be short. After refitting a little she is under orders to return to Bombay. This is the second ship of the Indian Navy that the Imperial Government has placed at the service of New Zealand. The Elphintson, of 18 guns, did good service during the first New Zealand war; and the recollection of that fact should increase the warmth of Captain WALKER'S reception among us. One fact is patent — the solicitude not only of the Home Government, but also of that of India, in the affairs of New Zealand. This detachment of the 57th is to proceed to Taranaki, with the women and children, to join the head-quarters of the regiment stationed there. It is seldom we see such a specimen of naval architecture as the Prince Arthur in the Waitemata. We must not omit mentioning that through the courtesy of Captain WALKER and the officers of the 57th we have been enabled to publish a summary of the English mail, per Jeddo, in anticipation of our regular files. The latest date, by the Prince Arthur, from Sydney, is the 16th inst.

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Sorry, last one...

Southern Cross, 4 June 1861, Page 4
The Prince Arthur, s s., of H. M. Indian Navy, Capt. WALKER, sailed from the Waitemata yesterday for New Plymouth, with the officers and men of the 57th on board, whose arrival we noticed on Tuesday. The authorities thought it desirable, as the Prince Arthur is not a chartered vessel, to keep the troops on board until she conveyed them to their destination and thus avoid the inconveniences and expense incident to a re shipment from the Manukau. It is also rumoured that the remainder of the 40th Regiment will be brought to Auckland in the Prince Arthur, on her return trip, and that her programme has been so far changed as to render a call at Sydney necessary on her Indian voyage. — Ibid. (e.g. “S. Cross, May 31.”)

The women and children must have disembarked at Auckland. Presumably there was military accomodation available for them there.

[kiwihalfpint]

Where is Tiri Tiri, where the Star Queen was first sighted?

Tiri Tiri or known as Tiritiri ....... if I am wrong please correct me someone.

http://www.rootschat.com/links/0c5k/

and the history:

http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/history

[spades]

Thanks KHP,

You've solved a little puzzle for me. I had thought that the Star Queen had travelled up the west coast of New Zealand to Auckland but if that's Tiritiri they clearly came up the east coast.

In which case, the Castilian probably followed the same route while the Prince Arthur must have came around the top of the North Island.

To travel to the Taranaki I assume the vessels came south, went through Cook Strait and then up to New Plymouth.

What do you think (not a rhetorical question ) 

Spades

[kiwihalfpint]

To travel to the Taranaki I assume the vessels came south, went through Cook Strait and then up to New Plymouth.

What do you think (not a rhetorical question ) 

Spades

Could have - but lets wait to see what the others have to say on it.

[Janette]

deleted again

[Wiggy]

There's another account of a family of the 57th aboard that ship in 1861!

http://www.stagpoole.net.nz/bartholomewstagpoole.html   

Well it is interesting - and I'm trying to contribute - and in doing so, laying the odd red herring!



If the Prince Arthur "sailed between the islands and the mainland and lay in the gulf",  are they referring to the big gulf/bay in northern NZ, or is there a gulf between the N and S islands?   my geography is letting me down here.

Wiggy