Osborne House - a general history

Completed September 1858; Official No. 19854; Code Letters MTQL.
Owners: 1858 Richard Young, Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire (J & G Harris, agents, Brisbane & Ipswich).
Masters: 1858-63 J Adamson; 1863 ML Cottrell; 1863-66 J Adamson; 1866-67 William Lowe (C.N. 75450); 1867-68 J Adamson; 1869 R Spencer.
Miscellaneous: 17 May 1866 before the Water Police Magistrate at Brisbane Henry Brown, seaman, stated that he had made a mistake carrying out an order & charged the master, William Lowe, with kicking & hitting him with his fist. Lowe was fined £1 & costs; 18 May 1866 before the Water Police Magistrate, seamen Joseph Letto, William Louttit, Frederick Gilley & Robert Grimshaw were all charged with embezzling cargo from the Osborne House. James Hamilton, Water Police constable, stated that he had searched the bunks of the prisoners & had found boots, a dress, forks, spoons & some flasks of powder, which were from the cargo of the ship, concealed between the partition of the woodwork of the bunks & the deck of the vessel. The master, Lowe, stated that on the 1 March he saw Robert Grimshaw carrying a case of ginger brandy. Lowe sent for him to come to his cabin & accused him of stealing the brandy suspecting that cargo had been broached on the voyage out. Grimshaw denied all knowledge of the affair so Lowe called for the police to search the bunks of the seamen. The prisoners Grimshaw & Letto denied the charge & Gilley & Louttit said that when some of the cargo was thrown overboard they had picked up some flasks of gun powder. Grimshaw was sentenced to two months hard labor on board the hulk Proserpine, Letto to a month, & Louttit to a week. On the intercession of the master, Gilley was discharged.
Voyages: 1858-62 Hartlepool for Aden; 1863 to 1867 in service as a wool clipper ship between Queensland & London; 7 December 1863 from Sunderland for Shanghai with a cargo of coal she put into Perth, Western Australia to repair damages sustained during a hurricane; 31 December 1863 from Melbourne for Guam; 14 November 1864 bound from Shanghai anchored at Deal; 9 January 1865 from Gravesend for Sunderland; arrived Brisbane 12 May 1866; June 1866 an advertisement stated that she could take a few cabin passengers from Brisbane to Ipswich at a fare of £50 each; 7 August 1866 an advertisement was placed in the local Brisbane paper asking for an advance or loan of £1600 for the Security of a Bottomry on the hull or freight to sail for London; 11 November arrived Gravesend from Laarvig.

The Osborne House left London on 26 November 1869 bound for North Shields & Alexandria but stranded at Sheringham, Norfolk on 30 November 1869. The crew of 12 were assisted to shore by the local fishermen using ropes. At the same time another of Richard Young’s vessels, the Hartlepool built steamer, Woodham, was ashore at Dantzic but she came off with no damage.

On 20 January 1870 the steam tug, Isle of Ely, took a party of labourers out to her but she remained fast. In the book A History of Wisbech River by Arthur Oldham in 1933 he writes that Richard Young, son of the owner, described the event as follows:

‘The Osborne House got into difficulties; she was a beast at staying, & drifted onto Sheringham Beach. Father was anxious to get her afloat again, & sent the tug from Wisbech, loaded with navvies. They were to cut a deep channel from the ship, far enough to float her out, & were to receive, if successful, a big bounty each, I believe £5; but it was a failure as the tides & a gale of wind finished her & she had to be abandoned.’

It was thought that she could be re-floated when the tides became more favourable but on 21 February 1870 there was a northerly gale with high seas & she became a total wreck.

Crew March/April 1867:

Austin, William, able seaman

Galleger, James, seaman

Jones, Robert, boatswain

Ray, Gabrial, seaman

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