Chapter 2 The Departure

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Chapter 2 The Departure 1853

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argery and Jeanie hugged one another and sobbed as the tug pulled the barque away from the Grimsby docks… far enough out into the mouth of the Humber and then into

the North Sea, so that the sails could be set to catch the wind, which was beginning to blow very strongly, as had been anticipated. Their elderly male escort stood by not knowing quite what to say or do to ease the situation. The girls’ husbands could be seen on the deck of the small ship, along with other people, waving until out of sight. Of course the men were apprehensive to be leaving their wives and starting out into unknown territory, but they also were very excited to be on the way at last…as any young male person would be The last four days while waiting for the right tide and wind had been almost intolerable, especially for the girls. Each day they had to appear at the docks, only to be told “conditions not right for today or tomorrow….maybe the day after”. Each day they had had to make their way through the throng of people, at the various docks along the waterfront. It was a mix of intending passengers and relatives to farewell them, as well as all the activities of a thriving Port.

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Hull, on the opposite side of the Humber River and Grimsby had grown rapidly in the past few years and more especially in Grimsby, since the Port Authority, in 1852, had built the new Royal Dock and Dock Tower, which was used to hydraulically open the dock gates and stood 300 feet tall, with a water storage tank on the top. It was quite a landmark in the town. Up until then, Hull had been used far more as it was the main landing place for passengers who arrived on the ships from across the North Sea. The land in Grimsby had had much work to be done on it as much of it was reclaimed swamp land. Because it was nearer to the mouth of the Humber River, advantages could be seen for trade and shipping and this would take pressure off the city of Hull. This is why they decided to persevere and construct the new facilities Imports and exports were now going on continually. Iron, timber, wheat, hemp and flax were imported but fishing was the largest industry, including whaling. Immigration was also a large part of its continued growth as facilities were always being improved to cater for the huge numbers of European migrants from France, Holland, Denmark and Germany, who used the Port as a stopping over place before either going across country by rail to Liverpool to embark on another much larger ship to Australia or America, or simply just transferring from Hull to another ship from Grimsby which could travel the longer distances required. Migrants arriving in Hull would travel by ferry across the Humber to get to Grimsby. Fortunately, after coming down from Leeds to take the ship, the two couples had been given accommodation at the home of James’ & Margery’s uncle, Charles Carter, who lived in the city. Because of the indifferent health of his wife, he had moved there recently and opened another office, to escape the stifling air of Liverpool and the depressing atmosphere of that city, with its numerous mills and factories. He had left his office in that tired and dirty city to be

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conducted by his son William while was taking on the challenges of the reasonably new and growing town of Grimsby and neighbouring town of Hull. Both of these towns were benefiting from the influx of the migrants from Europe and the fast growing rail system.

Grimsby Dock Tower

Grimsby Docks

Charles Carter was the ‘very close’ cousin of William White (on his mother’s side) who had played a large part in Margery & James’ life . Especially James, as Uncle Charles had taken him in and trained and guided him in his occupation, along with his own two sons, William and Charles. He also had one daughter, Margaret. Two years into James’ apprenticeship in the shoemaking business, Sarah had heard a strange noise coming from the workshop. She raced in from the front of the shop to find William lying on the floor with an anxious James standing over him. He died, after lingering for a couple of days, from a brain haemorrhage. They were all devastated, as his death was so untimely. They had relied on him so much. Nothing was going to be the same again. As strong a person as Sarah was, she could not cope with the loss. She hated the workshop and wanted nothing to do with it. There were too many memories of the man she had loved and with whom

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she had shared her life for the past 8 years. Stepson James was at a complete loss, also, as far as his work was concerned, until Uncle Charles (who was his Godfather and lived in Liverpool) told Sarah that he would take over responsibility for James and see that he continued his training in the shoemaking business. Charles had a feeling that James was not entirely happy at the thought of being a shoemaker and realised it gave him the opportunity to help the boy in whatever he wanted to do. He hoped, deep down, that the lad would show an interest in the same line of business that he was in. He had branched into architecture after starting in the building industry and had quite a long list of wealthy clients. Liverpool was growing at a rapid rate and the work seemed to be endless.. He also employed 4 other men as well as his 2 sons. Charles knew James loved to draw, had natural ability and a ‘good eye’, so that was a start. This was exactly what happened when James was given the opportunity to choose. After all, he really had only known about shoemaking and, as that was what William had wanted, James had been eager to please him. Architecture opened up a wonderful world for him and his imagination knew no bounds. He became a very good designer of commercial buildings. Charles was well pleased with him, over the years and never had any regrets at having stepped in when William died. For the past 4 years, James had worked in a branch of the business in Leeds and had become the senior of the other two employees in that office. Charles was going to leave the business to his 2 sons and James when he retired and was very distressed when he was told by his protégé that he wanted to leave and go to the New Colony. .James was now 28 years old and he had already been promised work with the new Government of Victoria. There were no risks as far as James was concerned. Jeanie was in favour of it, so that was the main thing. He just had to get away from this depressing environment in which he lived and worked.. It was no place to rear children.

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Jeanie had had 2 miscarriages in their short married life and James felt that the continual pall of smoke over Leeds from all the factories and the terrible weather that they experienced would not have helped a healthy pregnancy. .According to all the advertisements, there were far more opportunities in the New Colony for young families who were prepared to work hard. The skies were blue and the air was clean. It sounded wonderful and there was no hesitation in deciding to go. The trio on the Grimsby dock eventually decided that, as they could not see the ship any longer, they had better move out of this busy area as quickly as possible The barque looked so tiny on that great expanse of water, especially after comparing it to some other large ships at the docks awaiting departure. …after all it was only 264 tons and there were only 15 passengers on board, as well as a crew of 14 and the cargo of much needed goods for Australia. They all silently hoped it would make the journey without mishap. However, Margery told herself that cousin Jonas would not have recommended it, if there had been any danger. The two girls were to again spend the night with Charles and his wife, who was confined to bed, at the moment, even though she had shown great improvement since moving to Grimsby. Living close to the sea on the East Coast had obviously helped her, much to Charles’ relief. Work for Charles was also at a much slower pace and far more pleasant. This suited him very much in his advancing years. Next morning, as James had previously arranged for the girls, they were to return to Leeds. Jeanie was going to remain in her mother and father’s care while Margery had arranged to spend a week with her friend Ellen Moore and then go on up to Kilmarnock, in

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Scotland to stay with Sarah and her new family.. She would find work there to help sustain her while waiting for Edmund to send for her to come to Australia. Hopefully, after only a short while, she would go and join him. She was missing him already…they had only been married for such a short time. As they had all said their goodbyes, the men had reassured their wives, once again, that everything was going to be alright. This was the beginning of a new life for them all. Jeanie was certainly more optimistic than Margery. After all, James had a position to go to but Edmund’s life was quite uncertain. She knew he did have his trade behind him and felt there would be plenty of work but she also felt he was quite an adventurer and liked a challenge. Gold mining, she sensed, had sparked his imagination! She hoped he would keep a cool head in whatever he chose to do. Margery could not sleep, that night and turned things over and over in her mind. Her main concern, however, was for the safety of the little ship. If she had known how small it was, beforehand, she may have had second thoughts about her husband’s leaving. It was a long, long way to the New Colony of Australia and there was a lot of water in between.

What would the future hold for them all?

She eventually slept, mainly from exhaustion, as the past few days had been very busy and frustrating. The number of times they had had to thread their way through the throngs of people and cargo on the docks to get to the ship’s office was very emotionally tiring.. Sailing dates were purely up to the natural elements…as one would say “in the lap of the Gods”. No one was allowed on board until the day before departure, because according to law they would have to be fed, so there were always a lot of people just waiting around.

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As a consequence of nervous energy also, the men had gone over and over their luggage and questioned whether they would really need this or that. On all occasions, eventually they would leave things as they had originally been. Thankfully, they did not have to be concerned with provisions. They could see other groups of people anxiously checking things over in their food barrels and being persuaded to buy salted beef or herrings or the like and in some cases, other unnecessary goods from the ‘leeches’ who seemed to be found in every port….after being told they would not be allowed on board if they did not have it ! Everyone who travelled had to provide their own bedding and that in itself took up lots of room ! Edmund’s first cousin, Jonas, was a career seaman. He was 4 years older than Edmund, having been born in 1825 to the elder brother of Edmund’s father. When Edmund had asked his advice on which ship to sail on to Australia, he had no hesitation in suggesting the barque “Anthracite”. He was now the First Mate to Captain Harris on that ship and he had completely fallen in love with “her”. She had recently done a few trips to America and as luck would have it now, they were to do a trip to Australia. The fee offered for taking the special cargo of badly needed goods, from the Yorkshire Factories to the New Colony, could not be refused… or so the owners had said. “The main advantage is” said Jonas, “that you will not have to be herded together with a lot of people, and you will have your own cabin and all your meals provided, for around 50 pounds, which is the same as you would have to pay on any other ship. Captain Harris said he has the facilities to take 15 or 16 people as passengers on this journey and I can put forward your names. I am sure he will be comforted to know of people who have good references….. with which I may perhaps provide him”

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Jonas had laughed heartily at that remark and Edmund had joined in. His cousin was quite a jokester and he had always admired and looked up to him. The advice about the ship was most welcome and it offered Edmund and James a seemingly easy opportunity to get on their way…a little sooner than they had anticipated. Finances were a consideration but it was agreed that the charges could be afforded (with the help of the money from Sarah). The journey would take a little over 3 months, all being well. The opportunities on offer in the New Land made them both very optimistic for the future. It was also going to be a great advantage to have someone on board, for the whole journey, whom they knew and who was as knowledgeable about the world as Jonas was. As the little ship went further and further away from the English coastline, Jonas joined the young men on deck. He had been quite engrossed in his job up ‘till that point in time as it was his job to see to the provisioning of the ship and the loading of the cargo etc. He could now relax a little and his presence helped Edmund and James to overcome the sadness that they were both feeling. Edmund Spencer Blakey and James Carter White, at last, were on the way to Australia.

Across the Humber towards Hull Painting by John Ward.

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