Joseph Weller
The schooner Joseph Weller has its own special place in early New Zealand shipping history.
She was built by a group of men who were left on Stewart Island by Captain William Stewart of the Prince of Denmark in 1826. The men had come from Kororareka in the Bay of Islands, but when Stewart never returned for them as promised, they set about building their own ship. The Weller Brothers who had whaling stations on the Otago coast, agreed to purchase the vessel in 1832, and Joseph Weller was launched at Port Pegasus in the autumn of 1833.
Her first voyage was to Sydney under Captain Morris. Her cargo was flax, timber, and the party of shipbuilders who were keen to return to Bay of Islands. Joseph Weller remained in Sydney until 17 February, when she left again loaded with stores for the whaling stations. There were still very few ships along the Otago coast, but while Joseph Weller was there in 1834, a large unidentified ship washed up 20 miles north of the Weller Brothers station.
On 18 August, Joseph Weller arrived back in Sydney, with a new group of passengers on board, Cloudy Bay resident John Guard, and twelve of his men. The men were desperate to get help to rescue John Guard’s wife and their two children who had been kidnapped by Maori after the Harriet had wrecked on the west coast of the North Island.
A month later, Joseph Weller was back in Otago under Captain Snowden. This time her turn around was almost immediate, as she sailed again within a week with a letter from Captain Hayward for the authorities in Sydney to say they were all waiting to be killed by Maori in Otago who had just returned from a raid to Cloudy Bay. Also on board was the ship’s owner Edward Weller. When Edward returned at the end of September he took with him passengers Philipson and William Shaw, and Joseph Weller had a new captain, Stitt.
In February 1835, Joseph Weller sailed from New Zealand to Sydney again, with a new trans Tasman cargo, dried fish. The Weller Brothers in typically entrepreneurial fashion saw an opportunity for this new commodity. Captain Camroux was next at the helm of Joseph Weller when she sailed back to Otago in May. They stayed in New Zealand for two months. Sadly, just after the schooner Joseph Weller sailed for Sydney, her namesake Joseph Weller died at Otago, aged 33.
Two more captains, Rapsey and Gaunson, were master of Joseph Weller for her final voyages as part of the Weller Brothers whaling venture. In April 1836 she was sold in Sydney for coastal trade in Australia.
She was built by a group of men who were left on Stewart Island by Captain William Stewart of the Prince of Denmark in 1826. The men had come from Kororareka in the Bay of Islands, but when Stewart never returned for them as promised, they set about building their own ship. The Weller Brothers who had whaling stations on the Otago coast, agreed to purchase the vessel in 1832, and Joseph Weller was launched at Port Pegasus in the autumn of 1833.
Her first voyage was to Sydney under Captain Morris. Her cargo was flax, timber, and the party of shipbuilders who were keen to return to Bay of Islands. Joseph Weller remained in Sydney until 17 February, when she left again loaded with stores for the whaling stations. There were still very few ships along the Otago coast, but while Joseph Weller was there in 1834, a large unidentified ship washed up 20 miles north of the Weller Brothers station.
On 18 August, Joseph Weller arrived back in Sydney, with a new group of passengers on board, Cloudy Bay resident John Guard, and twelve of his men. The men were desperate to get help to rescue John Guard’s wife and their two children who had been kidnapped by Maori after the Harriet had wrecked on the west coast of the North Island.
A month later, Joseph Weller was back in Otago under Captain Snowden. This time her turn around was almost immediate, as she sailed again within a week with a letter from Captain Hayward for the authorities in Sydney to say they were all waiting to be killed by Maori in Otago who had just returned from a raid to Cloudy Bay. Also on board was the ship’s owner Edward Weller. When Edward returned at the end of September he took with him passengers Philipson and William Shaw, and Joseph Weller had a new captain, Stitt.
In February 1835, Joseph Weller sailed from New Zealand to Sydney again, with a new trans Tasman cargo, dried fish. The Weller Brothers in typically entrepreneurial fashion saw an opportunity for this new commodity. Captain Camroux was next at the helm of Joseph Weller when she sailed back to Otago in May. They stayed in New Zealand for two months. Sadly, just after the schooner Joseph Weller sailed for Sydney, her namesake Joseph Weller died at Otago, aged 33.
Two more captains, Rapsey and Gaunson, were master of Joseph Weller for her final voyages as part of the Weller Brothers whaling venture. In April 1836 she was sold in Sydney for coastal trade in Australia.