Arniston (East Indiaman) facts for kids
Repulse, an East Indiaman from the same period and similar in size to Arniston
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Quick facts for kids History |
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.svg){kind=small} .svg){kind=small} Great Britain |
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| Owner |
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| Builder | William Barnard, Deptford |
| Launched | 1794 |
| Fate | Wrecked, 30 May 1815 at Waenhuiskrans, South Africa |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | East Indiaman |
| Tons burthen | 1468, or 14338⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
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| Beam | 43 ft 3+1⁄2 in (13.2 m) |
| Depth of hold | 17 ft 6 in (5.3 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Complement | 120–140 men |
| Armament |
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Arniston was a large sailing ship known as an East Indiaman. These ships were built for the British East India Company (EIC). Arniston made eight long journeys for the company.
Tragically, she was wrecked on May 30, 1815, during a big storm. This happened near Cape Agulhas, South Africa. Out of 378 people on board, only six survived. The ship was carrying wounded soldiers from the Kandyan Wars in Ceylon back to England.
A big problem was that Arniston did not have a marine chronometer. This was a new tool that helped ships find their exact location at sea. Without it, the ship had to use older, less reliable ways to navigate. This led to a terrible mistake: the captain thought they had passed Cape Point, but they were actually near Cape Agulhas. When he turned north for St Helena, the ship sailed straight into danger.
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What Was an East Indiaman?
East Indiamen were special ships that worked for the British East India Company. This company had a unique right from Queen Elizabeth I to control all English trade between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.
Arniston was built by William Barnard in Deptford, England, and launched in 1794. She was likely named after a famous person, Lord Arniston.
These ships were very strong and well-armed. Arniston had 58 guns, making her as powerful as a Royal Navy ship of the line. A "ship of the line" was a warship strong enough to fight in a battle line. This is why East Indiamen were sometimes mistaken for warships. They needed these guns to protect their valuable cargo from pirates and enemy ships during their long journeys. East Indiamen like Arniston were slow but could carry a lot of goods.
Long Journeys (1794–1813)
Arniston completed eight voyages from Great Britain to places in the Far East. For her first five trips, she was managed by John Wedderburn. For the next three, Robert Hudson managed her.
On one trip from China, Arniston hit an unknown rock near Pulau Legundi, south of Sumatra. Luckily, the ship was not damaged. This event was only noted to warn other ships about the hidden danger.
Most of Arnistons first eight voyages were peaceful, except for one exciting event.
A Close Call with a French Privateer
During her third voyage in 1800, Arniston had just arrived at Benkulen. A French privateer ship called Confiance, which had 26 guns, suddenly attacked her. Arniston quickly cut her anchor and chased the French ship. She fired many broadsides (all guns on one side) at Confiance. However, the French ship was faster and managed to get away. Later that year, Confiance captured another East Indiaman, the Kent.
Sailing Around Australia
On her fifth voyage in 1804, Arniston was part of a group of nine East Indiamen sailing to China. They were escorted by a warship, HMS Athenienne.
Instead of going through the usual Indian Ocean route, the fleet sailed south of Western Australia and through Bass Strait. They did this for two reasons: to avoid French ships in the Indian Ocean and to help map the Bass Strait better. When they arrived at Norfolk Island, the colonists there were scared, thinking a French fleet had arrived!
After these many voyages, the British government rented Arniston to carry soldiers to the Cape and India.
The Final Voyage and Wreck (1815)
Captain George Simpson left England on June 8, 1814. In Ceylon, Arniston took on wounded soldiers from the 73rd Regiment. These soldiers were being sent home to England after fighting in the Kandyan Wars.
The Missing Chronometer
A major problem for this voyage was that Arniston did not have a marine chronometer. This was a new and very helpful tool for navigation. It was not very expensive at the time. Captain Simpson could not afford one himself, and the ship's owners refused to buy one. They even threatened to replace him if he didn't sail without it.
Arniston left Port de Galle on April 4, 1815, with six other East Indiamen. They were escorted by two warships. Arniston had 378 people on board, including many sick soldiers and sailors, plus 14 women and 25 children.
Every day, the other ships would share their longitude (their east-west position) calculated by their chronometers. This way, Arniston could also know her position as long as she stayed with the group.
Lost in the Storm
On May 26, while sailing around the southern tip of Africa, Arniston got separated from the convoy in bad weather. Her sails were damaged. Without the daily longitude updates from the other ships, Arniston had to use older, less accurate navigation methods. It was hard to figure out their position because of strong ocean currents and bad weather. They couldn't use celestial navigation (using stars and sun) for several days.
On May 29, land was spotted to the north. The captain thought it was the Cape of Good Hope. The ship sailed west, then turned north to head for St Helena. However, the land they saw was actually Cape Agulhas. The ship had not moved as far west as they thought. The captain also did not check the water depth, which would have shown they were over the Agulhas Bank. This would have confirmed their real location.
So, instead of being 100 miles west of the Cape of Good Hope, the ship was very close to the reef at Waenhuiskrans. The anchors could not hold the heavy ship in the storm. Around 4 p.m. on May 30, Lieutenant Brice told Captain Simpson to try to run the ship aground to save lives. Eight minutes later, around 8 p.m., the ship hit rocks about half a mile from shore. It quickly started to break apart in the waves.
Only six men survived the wreck. They were the ship's carpenter and five sailors. They struggled greatly to reach the shore through the huge waves. The next morning, only a small part of the ship was still visible. The ship and almost everyone on board were lost because of the lack of a chronometer. An officer from the same convoy later wrote that the ship and all lives were lost due to "short-sighted economy."
What Happened Next
The six survivors buried the bodies they found on the beach. They then walked east, thinking they were going towards Cape Town. After four and a half days, they realized their mistake and returned to the wreck site. They survived on a barrel of oatmeal while trying to fix a small boat from the ship. A farmer's son found them six days later, on June 14, while he was hunting.
- Among the victims were Captain George Simpson and Lord and Lady Molesworth.
- The six survivors were Dr. Gunter (boatswain), John Barrett (carpenter), Charles Stewart Scott (carpenter's mate), William Grung, Gibbs, and Robinson.
A memorial was built on the beach by the wife of Colonel Andrew Geils. Her four young sons were lost in the tragedy while returning home from visiting him in Ceylon. The memorial has a sad message:
Erected by their disconsolate parents to the memory of Thomas, aged 13 years, William Noble, aged 10, Andrew, aged 8 and Alexander McGregor Murray, aged 7 (the four eldest sons of Lieut Colonel Andrew Giels of H.M. 73rd Regiment) who, with Lord and Lady Molesworth unfortunately perished in the Arniston Transport, wrecked on this shore on 30th May, 1815.
Over time, the nearby village of Waenhuiskrans became so linked to the shipwreck that it is now also called Arniston. The town of Bredasdorp has a museum dedicated to the wreck. The Arniston disaster also led to the decision to build a lighthouse at Cape Agulhas in 1847–1848.
Many years later, in 1852, the 73rd Regiment again suffered many losses on this coast. The ship HMS Birkenhead was wrecked about 50 miles away at Gansbaai.
Exploring the Wreck Site
The wreck of the Arniston lies in about 6 meters (20 feet) of water. An archaeology team from the University of Cape Town (UCT) explored it in 1982. They were allowed to survey the site and do a small excavation. They found several items, which were given to the Bredasdorp Shipwreck Museum.
Images for kids
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Repulse, an East Indiaman from the same period and similar in size to Arniston
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Flag of the British East India Company (1707)
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Flag of the British East India Company (1801)
