Royal Admiral (1828 ship)

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Royal Admiral (1828 ship)

The Royal Admiral was a British merchant ship built in 1828 in King's Lynn, England by William Bottomly. It was a 414-ton timber three-masted barque used for trade, transport of convicts, and later emigrants.

Key facts
- Built: 1828, King's Lynn, England
- Owner/Builder: William Bottomly
- Size: about 414 tons burthen; length around 113 feet 4 inches; beam about 28 feet 7 inches
- Propulsion: sail (barque)

Career highlights
- Early trading: Served as a merchant ship, initially trading with India.
- Convict voyages to Australia (Port Jackson, Sydney):
1) 1830 voyage: Left Portsmouth on 5 July, arrived Sydney on 8 November with 193 male convicts; 4 deaths. Commander: David Fotheringham; surgeon: S. Rutherford.
2) 1833 voyage: Left Dublin on 4–5 June, arrived Sydney on 26 October with 220 male convicts; 5 deaths. Commander: David Fotheringham; surgeon: Andrew Henderson.
3) 1834 voyage: Left Dublin on 27 September, arrived Sydney on 22 January 1835 with 203 male convicts; 2 deaths. Commander: David Fotheringham; surgeon: J. Osborne.
4) 1842 voyage: Left London on 7 May, arrived Hobart on 24 September with 204 female convicts; 2 deaths. Master: William T. Fell.
- Settlers voyage: In 1837 she carried 112 pioneering settlers to Port Adelaide, South Australia, arriving 18 January 1838. A notable passenger was Henry Inman, who later founded the South Australian Police.
- Emigrant and cargo voyages: In 1839–1840 she carried free emigrants and passengers, sailing from Ireland and Britain to Australia, returning to Sydney with emigrants and cargo, and later sailing back to London with cargo. By the end of 1840 she was back in Port Adelaide with more emigrants and cargo.
- 1842 voyage details include a return to Hobart Town with more emigrants and cargo on the way to Britain.

Fate
- Wrecked on the coast of India on 26 July 1844 while sailing from Newport to Aden. The ship foundered near Colaba lighthouse; some materials were saved, but the vessel and its cargo were lost. Lloyd’s Register in 1844 lists the master as G. Weakner, owner Bottomly, with trade Newport–Aden and a note of “Wrecked.”

In summary, Royal Admiral served as a bustling multi-role ship in the 1830s and early 1840s, transporting convicts, settlers, and emigrants between Britain, Ireland, Australia, and other destinations, before it was wrecked off India in 1844.