One of the founding ships of Adelaide, Sth Australia. More details to come....
Read her story here.
As quoted (almost) verbatim from Mike Subritzky's excellent book, 'Subritzky Shipping (A Heritage of Sail)'.
The one vessel that singularly holds pride of place in the Subritzky family history would have to be the auxiliary schooner 'Greyhound'. Built in 1899, she was one of the last of the old-time trading schooners to operate out of the Port of Auckland.
Oral history handed down says that the contract for her construction was drawn up on a handwritten sheet of paper and that a handshake between messrs Lane and Brown and Capt. Johannes Anton Subritzky. She was later paid for in cash at a cost of two thousand gold sovereigns which were carried on board the near completed vessel in a leather doctor's bag by one of Johannes Anton's sons when he accompanied his father for the final inspection prior to launching.
The vessel was launched from Lane and Browns shipyards at Whangaroa without fuss and sailed by members of the family down to the Port of Auckland for registration. The launching date of the vessel was in June 1899; the exact date is not known. She did several trips as a sailing ship before her engine was fitted. (Official listing of Maiden voyage 24 June 1899).
The 'Greyhound' was 95 feet 2 inches in length with a beam of 21 feet 2 inches, and had a draught of 6 feet 9 inches; her gross registered tonnage was 107.5 tons. The framing for the vessel was of Pohutakawa and seasoned heart of Kauri was used throughout in the remainder of her construction. She was copper fastened throughout, and all sheathing was of Muntz Metal. Her hull shape was a 'deep vee' with a rounded chine.
In the middle of June 1899 the 'Greyhound' was tied up at the railway wharf (in Auckland) and a 60 horsepower engine was fitted by W.A. Ryan & Company who were the liocal agents for the Union Oil Engine Company of San Francisco. On the 27th of June 1899 (the date being Capt. Johannes Anton and Betsy Subritzkys' 49th wedding anniversary) the 'Greyhound' underwent her engine trials in Auckland Harbour. It was a most festive occasion and a large number of invitations had been extended to all the leading lights of Auckland. {details deleted}
At twelve thirty that same afternoon the 'Greyhound' came in alongside at Queen Street Wharf and landed the official guests. Her engine was then inspected by Government engineers and certified.
The 'St Pauli' was a virtually new vessel at the time she left Europe for New Zealand, a three-masted ship-of-war of some 380 tons built in 1841 and converted for the lucrative emigrant business. At this point only one of her voyages is significant to these records, for she carried one of two shiploads of emigrants for Nelson, on the NW tip of the South Island of New Zealand. In particular, she carried the Subritzky, Körber and Spanhake families and thus begins a journey in time and space that continues today in New Zealand and Australia.
Paid Passage was a deal costing the equivalent of 300 English Pounds, in which was included passage, ship-board rations, and at least 50 acres of land at their destination, purchased from the New Zealand Company Agent, one Johann Niholas Beit. What happened on the voyage, and subsequently is detailed in the Subritzky family history, by Mike Subritzky.
At the time of the voyage of the 'St. Pauli' there was a trickle of emigration from German to Australia, in particular to what is now South Australia, but there were also centers in Hobart, Tasmania, the less successful one in Nelson, and one in Samoa.
This trickle soon became a flood as economic and political conditions in the European homelands forced people off the land. A large part of the emigration was to the Americas, but quite a few went on to Australasia and Southern Africa.
The voyage of the 'Skiold' by Mike Subritzky
The following is a thumbnail sketch on the voyage to New Zealand of the sailing ship 'Skiold' using archival information drawn from the Nelson Public Library, the Alexander Turnbull Library and the Nelson Examiner.
The 'Skiold' (500 tons), a Danish barque, brought the second migration of German settlers to the Nelson region of New Zealand. This second shipload of German settlers fared far better than the first, as their voyage had been set up and 'bankrolled' by a German nobleman, Count Kuno Rantzau-Breitenburg. He ensured that the passengers on this second voyage to New Zealand were to be given 'kind and fair treatment' unlike those of the earlier 'St. Pauli' voyage. These German settlers founded the village of 'Ranzau' (in honour of Count Rantzau-Breitenburg) at Waimea East, however due to ill feeling towards all things German during the Great War (1914 -1918) the name of the village was changed to 'Hope'.
The 'Skiold' sailed from Hamburg in the Kingdom of Hanover (now part of modern Germany) on the 21 April 1844 under the command of Captain C. Claussen and followed virtually the exact same route as the 'St. Pauli', including a seven day layover in the port of Bahia in South America. The ship sailed with a qualified surgeon aboard, Doctor Franz B. Braun and also a Doctor (Dr F. Qualmaan). There were 141 passengers on board and a crew of about 20.
Six of the passengers were berthed in the cabin and 135 in steerage. There were 2 deaths during the voyage and 2 births, and the 'Skiold' sailed into Nelson harbour on the the 1 September 1844. She was later wrecked on the coast of England in 1849 on a return voyage from Singapore.