Hannah Nicholson

Official Number 41488

The Hannah Nicholson was a barque built by Lumley Kennedy & Co.at Whitehaven, launched in 1858. She sailed from Whitehaven on the 1st April of that year, bound for Melbourne. Her first passage was made under the command of Capt.W.Rooke, and the vessel carried her owner, William Nicholson. The barque arrived at Melbourne on the 23rd July 1858. She was to spend the rest of her career in Australia and New Zealand, and in particular in the trade to Port Louis, Mauritius, and to New Caledonia.

From 1873 the Hannah Nicholson was registered at Adelaide, owned by J.Bickers. That year she left Port Louis bound for Adelaide with a cargo of sugar. On arrival at Portland the master, Capt.Leask, was found dead. He had fired shots at the crew and had gone mad, eventually locking himself in his cabin, where his dead body was found with a note stating that he had been murdered by the crew.

The Hannah Nicholson was registered at Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1910. The vessel ended her career in 1826, according to the website of the South Australian Maritime Museum, which has her figurehead.

Sources :

1. "Shipbuilding at Whitehaven - a Checklist" by Harry Fancy, pub. Whitehaven Museum (1984).
2. Photo available at Picture Australia.
3. See the website of the National Library of Australia for newspaper reports, including the death of Capt.Leask in 1873.
   
4. Mercantile Navy List 1867: Hannah Nicholson, barque, 252 tons, official number 41488, signal letters TDSR, owned by William Nicholson, of Melbourne, Victoria, and registered at that port.
   
5. Mercantile Navy List 1880: Hannah Nicholson, barque, 353 tons, built at Whitehaven in 1858, official number 41488, signal letters TDSR, owned by John Bickers, of Port Adelaide, and registered at Adelaide, South Australia.
   
6. Online register details from 1879 to 1900 are available at the Mystic Seaport Library website.

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