Western Monarch

Official Number 73584

The Western Monarch was a full-rigged ship built by the Barrow Shipbuilding Company (Yard No.23). She was launched on the 21st August 1875 for the Royal Exchange Shipping Company (managers J Ratton & Co), one of three ships built at different yards for this company in that year. Two of these, the Western Monarch and Northern Monarch, were of similar size, the Eastern Monarch being larger. All three were involved in carrying emigrants to Australia and New Zealand. The Western Monarch had an iron hull, two decks, a fo'csle of 34 ft. and a poop deck of 45 feet.

Source 2 reports that the first voyage of the Western Monarch was from London to Port Chalmers, carrying emigrants (this doesn't seem to tie-in with the record of emigrants being landed at Brisbane in March 1876).  The ship made the passage in 85 days from Gravesend to her anchorage. On the second voyage the ship carried 372 emigrants in 76 days to Bluff, New Zealand. On her third voyage, the Western Monarch made the passage to Wellington in 85 days. The ship's master for these first three voyages was Capt. Watson.

Voyages recorded in various sources on the Internet are:

London, (departed 09/12/75) to Brisbane (arrived 27/03/1876)
London, Plymouth (departed 30/10/1878), landed 372 passengers at Bluff, NZ on 20/01/1879
Disembarked passengers at Napier, NZ on 02/01/1880
Plymouth (departed 28/04/82) arrived Maryborough, Queensland, on 06/08/1882
Liverpool (departed 17/07/83) arrived Brisbane, 12/10/1883

The Western Monarch was sold to Robert Thomas & Co., of Criccieth & Liverpool, in 1888. In 1899 she was sold to L.Lydersen of Tvedestrand, Norway (a relative of whom owned two Whitehaven-built ships, the Illawarra and the Wasdale). The Western Monarch was still sailing at the start of the First World War. It appears that the Western Monarch was converted to a barge, renamed Derg, during the War. Iin 1957 she was still in commission in Limerick Harbour, carrying grain for Rank Flour Mills Ltd - the oldest surviving ship built by Barrow Shipbuilding Company.
 

Further Information :

1. The vessel is mentioned in the book "White Wings" Vol 1.
2. "The Voyages to Queensland of the Western Monarch" by Pennie Manderson ( includes information from various contemporary newspapers, passenger lists for - Brisbane 1876 – Maryborough 1882 – Brisbane 1883. The diary kept by Thomas Warner from the 1882 Voyage): Book available from Pennie Manderson, 87 Tooley Street, Maryborough 4650 Queensland, Australia.
3. As with many emigrant ships, there is a great deal of information, including passenger lists, from genealogists on the Internet. Use "western monarch"+ship in the Google or AltaVista search engines to find the most references.

1. "Portrait of a Shipbuilder: Barrow-Built Vessels since 1873", ed. Nigel Harris ISBN 0 947971 32 7 (published 1989)
2. "A History of Local Sailing Ships" by H.Peck, an article in "The Proceedings of the Barrow Naturalists Field Club" Vol.7 (1951).
3. Lloyds Register of Shipping 1880 (signal code WTHV).
4. Gwynnedd Maritime Database - Robert Thomas & Co.
5. Info from Tony Salter-Ellis, BAE Systems, Editor, Marine Publications.