Timaru's Deal Boatmen from Kent

Take your mind to a town called Deal in Kent, the UK. It become one of the busiest ports in England but it was very close to the notorious Goodwin Sands, known for both shelter and danger.

Boats were launched off the beach by skilled boat men to load and unload goods to ships. These Deal boatmen were internationally famous for their skilled seamanship and bravery.

Once the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were over, there was a crack down on the smuggling trade and the steam ships took over from sail, the deal boatmen had very little work. Things got pretty dire. So as you can imagine when the Superintendent of Canterbury Fitzgerald offered paid passage for the boatmen to emigrate to New Zealand there were many who were prepared to go on an adventure, take a risk to better the lives and futures for their families. (There is a huge statue of Fitzgerald outside the Canterbury Museum, at one point the town of Geraldine was named after him).

 

 

13 men and their families left Deal in 1858 (about 50 in total). A further 7 men and families managed to find their own funding to go too.

They climbed onboard the Mystery for an 80 day voyage. They took a Lugger boat (called fox) with them to establish a fishing industry in New Zealand.

Henry Le Cren established a landing service in Timaru.

 

Captain Henry Cain and his wife first came to Timaru in 1857. He was employed by Le Cren to establish a store in Timaru.

In 1859 Le Cren took on the professional Deal Boatmen; John Wilds, Morris Cory, Robert Bowbyes, Henry Clayson, William John Roberts and John J. Bowles.

 

Check out Deal Street where they used to live in cob cottages. This area used to be known as Dealmans Town. And close by they helped Samuel Barkley build a cob cottage in the 1860’s that still stands today at 20 Avenue Rd.

Less than a year after they arrived. Henry Clayson drowned. His position was replaced by Phillip Foster. And not long after another tragedy struck. The crew thought a schooner Wellington was in distress during a gale. The sea was too rough for a life boat, so they boarded a small two oar boat. A wave capsized the boat and two boatmen drowned, Morris Cory and Robert Bowbyes. Their burials were the first recorded at the Timaru Cemetery.

Check out the history sign at Heritage Place on George Street. There is a photo of Bugler John Wilds Jnr as a child holding the hand of his grandfather John Wilds, one of the Deal boatmen who came to Timaru in 1859, at the Wilds' home in North Street on the site of the present Timaru Boys' High School, circa 1899.

 

At the Timaru Cemetery you will find the graves of Morris Clayson Cory died 1860 aged 30 years, and Elizabeth Thompson aged 85 years, died 1913. They arrived aboard the Mystery March 20 1859. They had four children Catherine and Morris. Their third son, Henry died the same year he was born. Their fourth son was also named Henry.

 

Deep rooted poverty had driven the Deal families to immigrate for a brighter future. They worked hard, they were skilled and sacrificed their life for strangers. They had large families and have many decedents.

Fun fact about Deal, It was the first English soil on which James Cook set foot in 1771 on returning from his first voyage to Australia!

 

- Source Timaru to go, Journey from Deal to New Zealand, by Jerry Vyse 2009

The Lyttleton Times reports the tragedy as follows:

SEVER GALE AT TIMARU – LOSS OF LIFE At the close of last week the schooner Wellington, under the master, Elmsley, narrowly escaped being wrecked off Timaru. [The Wellingon was advertised as a fast sailing clipper schooner of 46 tons which sailed for Timaru fortnightly.] The vessel had discharged most of her cargo on Friday week, on which day, about noon, a furious gale set in from the south east, accompanied with snow. Both anchors were let go, and every precaution taken for the safety of the vessel by those on board. The sea was running in high and making a clean breach of the vessel, carrying away port stanchions and bulwarks, breaking up the boat and cook’s galley. Towards evening she parted her best anchor, though held by a cable much stronger than those usually carried by vessels of her size. It was found, on recovering theanchor that the chain had simply parted in two places, and 25 fathoms of it were lost. The hatches were battened down, and the men stood to all night, escaping to the rigging as the sea broke over them. All night too, the people on shore were on the look out with lights and a lifeboat ready to come to the rescue of the crew, in case of the second anchor parting. Fortunately, the anchor bore the test; on the following day the wind shifted to the southward and began to moderate, but the sea was still running high. Up to Sunday noon the weather gradually improved, when an attempt was made to come up to anchorage, but the sea was too high for the vessel to bring up, when she hauled on downwind and stood out to sea again. This movement was observed on the shore by the people on look out, and was by them construed, supposing the anchor had failed, and the vessel was in distress, the Deal boatmen manned the surfboat and came out bravely to the rescue; but the sea was too rough for them, and swamped the boat; of the crew (six in number), two were drowned, Messrs M. Corie and Boubins, both married men, and the former the father of five children. A third party named Bowles, was severely beaten on the beach, and only slight hopes were entertained of his recovery when the Wellington left, on Tuesday night.

 

From the Lyttleton Times, 31 Oct 1860: A most praiseworthy effort is being made to raise fund for the relief of the widows and orphans of the two boatmen who were drowned at Timaru, when humanely going to the rescue of the Wellington’s crew during the late gale. Lists are lying at the Inn, the merchant’s shop, at the bank, and at the office of this paper.