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for 3,000 miles up the eastern coast of the sub-continent and stretched as many miles inland.
The Sea Queen, a barque of 404 tons, was but one of the many ships that had brought settlers
and convicts to this far-off foreign land since 17S8. Since then the white population had
increased to just over 400,000, most of whom resided in the scatter of settlements clinging to
the souteastern fringes of the coast of New South Wales.
As the wintry darkness of the Australian night obscured the land, and the little lights of oil-lamps,
lanterns and fiery braziers began to pin-point the windy night, the master of the Sea Queen, RG
Wood, must have viewed the scene with some satisfaction. It was the second voyage his
barque had safely made to Australia: this one had begun in February in the bitter chifl of an
English winter. On 25 March the snip had anchored off Adelaide.
The Sea Queen had then ferried some cargo and passengers from Adelaide to Launceston in
Van Qiemen's Land (Tasmania) and back again, eventually leaving Adelaide for Port Phillip on
28 June.
The Honeycombe family are listed in the South Australian Register as being among the 92
passengers, at) 'intermediate' passengers (as opposed to 'steerage1 and apart from two 'cabin'
passengers), who sailed en the Sea Queen from Adelaide.
(TO
—".
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Ballarat East, 1862
Ml Morgan and Bouldercombe gold fields, Queensland.
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