A Royal Marine Light Infantryman who deserted in 1879

[overlandermatt]

I thought I would post a question here continuing my interest in an ancestor that deserted while in Australia in 1879.

He was aboard HMS Sapphire for 3+years up to Jan 14 1879 then he deserts. Local papers have provided a few details about this but he is returned on Feb 21.
22 Feb – 5 Mar he is on HMS Wolverine for just a few days and presumably he then spends 42 days in gaol as there is no ship mentioned.
16 Apr – 7 Jul he is on HMS Danau
8 Jul – 30 Jun he is on HMS Wolverine again
1 Jul – 8 Jan 1881 on HMS Raleigh for return to Plymouth

Does anyone have any information on where gaol time would have been served? Presumably a naval facility?

I wonder how a trip to Australia would have been viewed by sailors in those days? Presumably it was not the desirable destination it is these days... How long would that typically have taken? I'm assuming 6 months given the return on HMS Raleigh.

I'm not sure what else I can find out about these ships at the Australia Station. If anyone can suggest any resources that would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

[judb]

As you have said there is nothing on his military record re the days 6 March 1879 to 16 April 1879, although he was listed as being on HMS Danae from 16 April to 7 July.  Both Wolverine and Danae were Royal Navy ships but both were seconded to the Australia Station (the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Wolverine_(1863)
Danae was a steam corvette, (not to be confused with a WW1 ship of the same name)
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/199358196

Interestingly, Wolverine had only returned into Sydney from a south seas cruise on July 3, 1879, having left Sydney on March 19, 1879; Benjamin had deserted from HMS Sapphire in January.  Benjamin is supposedly attached to HMS Wolverine from 22 February to  March, during which time, according to the newspaper reports, Wolverine was in the South Pacific. (A bit tricky to return to your ship if it's not there  , however perhaps that's the reason for him to be on the Danae)
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/239285434?searchTerm=wolverine

I suspect that he may have been held in the brig of either the Wolverine or the Danae for the 42 days imprisonment and this not on his record as he was not a serving marine for the days of imprisonment.

All bit convoluted!

Judith
If anyone else is interested his RN records can be accessed through
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7775167

[overlandermatt]

Judith. Many thanks for unearthing this nugget. What an interesting cruise he missed out on!

I've only just come across the 'Trove' which seems to have all manner of interesting articles. Out of interest, was it common for the papers to report movements of ships in Australia? Perhaps there is other information about HMS Sapphire from 1875 onwards?

Very interesting!

Thanks again.

[judb]

Shipping was reported in most port city newspapers. It was the link to the rest of the world and especially to England until the telegraph arrived.

Yes Trove is a wonderful resource.

Judith

[overlandermatt]

Thanks again. That was really helpful and I've started searching the Trove for more information.

Your comments about port cities is of interest - would there generally be reports from UK and colonial ports detailing what ships were coming and going? Just wondering how I would go about investigating the movement of different ships over the years...

I didn't expect that I would find out much info on the ships so this is really good.

Thanks.

[judb]

Yes, as I said, in the early days all communication from outside Australia was by documents carried by ships.
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/overland-telegraph
In the early days of the colony of New South Wales, communication with Britain – the place that many settlers considered their homeland – could take years. Ships carrying letters between England and Sydney took up to eight months one way and a reliable mail service was really only available to government officials.
The overland telegraph was completed in 1872 and connected with the newly finished Java-to-Darwin submarine cable.  Australia was now connected to the world. News that had taken months to reach England could now be transmitted within hours.

So you can see why shipping was important administratively as well as for personal correspondence and goods.
Shipping notices sometimes included lists of passengers and goods carried.

Judith

[overlandermatt]

Thanks Judith. It's been very interesting to see where he went in just a couple of years and tales of insurrection, cannibalism and protecting colonial territories.

Interesting times that I can hopefully find out a lot more about.