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died on the voyage out and who was probably suffering from the same disease (tubercufosis?)
that killed them. One hopes he survived, having come so far and endured much.
Meanwhile, a group of passengers from the ship strolled upon the sea-beach, the other side of
the headland, and brought back pieces of coral, beautiful shells, bits of sponge and pretty
pebbles.
Were the Honeycombes among them? If only we knew what Mereweather thought of them and
they of him. Because he must have had some dealings with them: William, aged 53, was a
respectable craftsman, perhaps a master mason, and an intermediate passenger. Both men had
lived in Bristol, where Mereweather was bom. And now William and Mereweather were about
to set out on the second leg of their voyage.
79
The Sea Queen, another barque and smaller than the Lady McNaghten, had reached Adelaide
from Liverpool (having left on 27 January) on 25 March 1850. She then sailed for Launceston
in Tasmania on 11 April, arriving there on 20 April.
That island, still called Van Piemen's Land - it would not officially become Tasmania until 1856
- had been a penai colony since 1803; nearly 70,000 convicts were shipped there before
transportation ended in the eastern states in 1852. Launceston was in the north of the island,
some 40 miles up the navigable Tamar River. To get to Tasmania, the Sea Queen would have
had to traverse the stormy Bass Strait, by-passing King Island, a voyage of nine to fourteen
days.
The Launceston Examiner notes that the ship was a barque of 404 tons, that RJ Wood was the
master, and that apart from two unnamed passengers in the steerage, two (cabin) passengers
were Mr Nicholas Barker and Mr PB Cogiin. The ship's cargo was very light - a keg of cherry
brandy.
From 27 April advertisements appear in the Launceston Examinerior cargo and passengers and
the Sea Queen's sailing date is given as 10 May. She finally left Launceston on 15 May, with
Wood as master, and with Mr PB Cogiin, Mr Board and Mr JF Bennett as passengers. Her
cargo, apparently ordered by PB Cogiin, consisted of 1,175 posts and rails, 304 pieces of
quartering, 86 planks, 1,000 spokes, 17 beams, 5,000 shingles, 135,000 palings, 13 bags of
oats and 16 boxes of fruit. It seems that Mr Cogiin, who must have had a quantity of ready
money, was purchasing materials to fence a farm and build a home. Or else he was a merchant.
The Sea Queen returned to Adelaide on Wednesday 29 May, her arrival being noted in the
South Australian Registerthe following day. She must have had bad weather, for this trip took
two weeks.
The Register said on 30 May: The Sea Queen from Launceston. This barque, with a full cargo
of building materials and merchandise, and three passengers, arrived yesterday from
Launceston, May 15th.' This entry was expanded on another page under Shipping Intelligence -
'Arrived. Wednesday. May 29... The barque Sea Queen, 404 tons, Wood, master, from
Launceston 15th May. Passengers - Mr Board, Mr JF Bennett, and Mr PB Cogiin.'
So she was already docked at Port Adelaide when the Lady McNaghten arrived and remained
there for almost a month, a stretch of time possibly accounted for by the need for repairs or
because she had to be refitted for passengers. Before departure she was moored alongside the
Lady McNaghten,
The Mr Cogiin named in the Register as one of the three passengers from Launceston may have
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