Mary Ann

[shipstamps]

To commemorate the return of the Pitcairn islanders to their home after almost three years on Norfolk Island an attractive stamp has been issued recently showing the migrants' schooner Mary Ann, in which the advance party sailed (from Norfolk Island) in 1859. The Crown Agents say that a great deal of historical research had to be done before a suitable design could be produced.
This research quite unexpectedly revealed an interesting story of smuggling and a flight from justice in the true tradition of the South Seas. It also posed a problem as to what the vessel should be called because the Mary Ann was really, to quote from the announcement of her sale, "The clipper-yacht schooner Louisa, 77 tons register, built at Cowes, Isle of Wight, for Her Majesty's Government, of the very best materials, and regardless of expense, coppered and copper-fastened throughout (copper hause pipe), well-found, and notoriously the swiftest craft in Australia." The copper "hause pipe" mentioned in the advertisement is presumably not a misprint but an old English spelling.
The Louisa had an owner-captain called Stewart, one of a family of brothers who later gained notoriety in Tahiti and Samoa in using the vessel for smuggling wines and spirits into the colony of New South Wales. Warned that he was about to be apprehended, Stewart fled from Sydney and boarded the Louisa at a remote rendezvous, changed her name to Mary Ann, and his own to Wilson, and made for Norfolk Island where he arrived just as the advance party were wondering how to get back to Pitcairn. As Stewart, or Wilson, intended to sell the vessel in Callao and Pitcairn lay in his direct route, he was only too glad to take the migrants there for £300.
SG31 Sea Breezes 2/62

[aukepalmhof]

The following comes from the newspaper “Courier” of Hobart, Tasmania of 21 February 1859:

The following is the evidence of Mr. Charles Nicholson, late master of the Colonial Government schooner BEACON:
Witness was for some time in the service of the Hobart Town Government, as master of the BEACON. Some short time since the brigantine LOUISA came to Hobart Town, and witness was at that place at the time of her arrival there. Witness was employed on board the LOUISA, being engaged as mate by Captain King, for a trading voyage to the (Pacific) Islands. Witness shipped in the LOUISA accordingly, and sailed from Hobart Town on Saturday, the 23rd of October (1858) last. The LOUISA at that time had some cargo on board, some tierces of tobacco having been transhipped on board from another vessel after witness had joined. Witness sailed from Hobart Town, under the command of Captain Logan, as Captain King intended to leave; on account, as it was stated of ill-health.
The Custom House officers, however, would not allow Logan to clear out the vessel in his own name. Mr D’Arch, of the Customs there would not sanction such an arrangement unless all the ship’s papers and documents were made out afresh in Logan’s own name.
Captain King accordingly sailed from Hobart Town in the LOUISA in reality as a passenger, the actual command being in the hands of Mr. Logan, formerly chief mate.
Witness found Logan on board the LOUISA when witness joined at Hobart Town. Does not know for how long. The LOUISA after leaving Hobart Town first fell in with a schooner called the PILOT, bound to Melbourne. Captain King was put on board the schooner and the LOUISA afterwards sailed on and went to Jarvis Bay. She anchored in that bay, and remained there about eleven hours. She anchored late in the evening, and got away on the following morning. The LOUISA had no communication with any vessel (after parting from the PILOT) before she came into Jervis Bay, where she communicated with a small fore and aft schooner called the SPEC. The nature of that communication was the reception on board the LOUISA of Mr. William Stewart, who had with him in the SPEC a quantity of ship’s stores, also placed on board the LOUISA. The LOUISA landed noting at Jervis Bay. And did not hold any communication with the shore at all.
The LOUISA, when Mr. William Stewart and the stores were on board, went away to Howe’s Island. During the passage of the LOUISA to Howe’s Island she fell in with only one vessel the ALALIN (ALADDIN) a whaler from Hobart Town. Captain Macarthur in command of that vessel came on board and was told the LOUISA was the MARY ANN, from Hobart Town, bound for the Feegees (Fiji Islands).
The name of MARY ANN was as witness thinks the name that Mr W. Stewart purposed to call the LOUISA if he met other vessels.
After the LOUISA had made Howe’s Island, witness who was on board of her all the time found the MARTHA ketch (ketch rigged) there.
On board the MARTHA was the other Mr. Stewart having there with him his wife and two children, and some more ship’s stores.

Witness left the LOUISA off Howe’s Island, and proceeded in the MARTHA to Manning River. From the Manning River he afterwards came on the MARTHA to Sydney. The reason witness left the LOUISA was because Mr. Stewart told witness that he was going away on a cruise where nobody would find them, and that he might possibly be away for two or three years. Witness did not feel at all disposed to join in such cruise, and told him so. He agreed to allow witness to leave and could not very well have helped himself, for witness would not have stopped. Witness cannot tell where they meant to go. His own idea is that Mr. Stewart purposed to go to the North Pacific-to California, China or some such place. He asked witness whether he had any charts of the North Pacific. Witness did ask him where he was bound and he told witness he did not know; not liking, perhaps to tell witness because he was leaving. Up to the time that witness left the LOUISA, no tobacco had been taken out of her. The MARTHA brought no tobacco to the LOUISA but brought cases of spirits for ship consumption. The tobacco on board the LOUISA was all put on board at Hobart Town. It was done openly, everything seeming to be perfectly fair and above board.
Captain King left the LOUISA under the plea of sickness. It was at first not quite a sure thing that Logan would feel himself quite competent to take charge of the vessel; if he did not do so, Captain King intimated to witness that the command would be offered to him. Witness says that there was noting at all in the manner in which he was shipped which led him in any way to suppose that there was anything wrong.
When out at sea from what he saw, witness began to have some suspicions. After Captain King left, Captain Logan went by the letter of instructions. By these he was directed to go into Jervis Bay on the 6th November; if no vessel was then found in the bay he was to go out again to sea, and stand in again on the 8th.
This struck witness as something unusual and suspicious. Witness believes the SPEC was bound to Kiama. No spirits were brought down by her to the LOUISA when Mr. William Stewart came; only biscuits and beef. Before the LOUISA got to Howe’s Island she was rather short of spirits. Witness was a Howe’s Island quite confirmed in his previous suspicions when he saw Mr. James Stewart and wife coming there in the MARTHA.
Two boats came off from the island to the LOUISA before the MARTHA came up, and witness heard Mr Stewart say that the pigs were too dear there, and that he should buy some at Norfolk Island instead. Mr Logan and witness were the only two white men belonging to the LOUISA, the rest were men of colour, and (except the cook who was a Negro), all of them kanakas. Believes that the cook had been in the LOUISA for two voyages. The LOUISA had noting on board besides the tobacco but stone ballast. Witness was told that Mrs Stewart was the sister-in-law of Mr. W. Stewart.
Captain Logan was only appointed to the command of the LOUISA at Hobart Town, by Captain King. His name was not in the ship’s papers as Captain, and that was why Captain King sailed out from Hobart Town with him in the LOUISA.
Mr. William Stewart was in Hobart Town at the time the LOUISA was there, but he did not come on board whilst witness was there. He was coming on board on one occasion, but Captain King met him, and they both returned to the shore.

Indeed the LOUISA or MARY ANN sailed to Norfolk Island to buy her pigs.
02 December 1858 she left Norfolk Island on her way to Tahiti, she sailed via Pitcairn Island where she arrived on 17 January 1859.

Then the Pitcairn Postal web-site gives:

The story continues…. A number of the islanders who emigrated to Norfolk in 1856 became homesick and pined for their old home. They wanted nothing more than to return. This was compounded when instructions came from Australia through Governor Sir William Dennison who insisted the settlers were beholden to New South Wales.

The islanders maintained that an absolute condition of their leaving Pitcairn was that Norfolk should be ceded to them totally. Their protests fell on deaf ears and this small community, which had been living as one family for sixty years, separated. Albert Gazzard described the scene: “…one last mingling of their voices in song, pathetically and falteringly rendered, sobs choking their utterance and tears dimming their sight”.

The return took place over a 5-year period from 1859 to 1864. The 1859 date is significant as it is 150 years this year since the initial group returned. The group actually set sail in late 1858 but didn’t arrive in Pitcairn until 1859. The journey of 3,700 miles was extremely arduous with storms and persistent seasickness being experienced.

The Pitcairn Guide sums up the return to Pitcairn:

“Late in 1858 an opportunity to return home arose when MARY ANN, en route to Tahiti, offered passages and 16 of the Islanders led by Moses and Mayhew Young boarded her. Those who chose to stay behind voted to pay the costs of the journey from communal funds.

The Islanders returned home to find some of their homes vandalized and there was evidence of shipwrecked sailors having been on the Island. It was later discovered that these sailors were from the WILDWAVE that had been shipwrecked on the reef at Oeno island. Gardens were overgrown, cattle and other domestic animals were running wild and John Adams’s grave marker was missing. They arrived home in time to stop the French, who thought the Island was abandoned, from annexing their home.

In 1864, a second group from Norfolk returned home on the ST KILDA.
Along with the returning Pitcairners was Samuel Warren of Rhode Island. Samuel had married Agnes Christian, daughter of Thursday October II and Mary (Polly) Christian, just prior to departure. During the journey one of Thursday October II and Mary’s children was to die, leaving just 43 people on Pitcairn. It was a different Pitcairn now with only five families – the Youngs, Christians, McCoys, Buffetts and the American Warrens. Of these the male lines of the McCoys and Buffetts were to die out.

George Nobbs had become the leader of the Norfolk community and had he opposed the journey to Norfolk few would have gone. However when he had tried, to argue against returning, even his persuasion had not overcome the Pitcairners’ nostalgia.”

Till today the fate of the LOUISA or MARY ANN is not known.

Source: Sea Breezes 2/1962. Pitcairn Island Postal web-site