The New Zealand Company was a 19th-century English company that played a key role in the colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principles of systematic colonisation devised by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of a new-model English society in the southern hemisphere. Under Wakefield's model, the colony would attract capitalists who would then have a ready supply of labour—migrant labourers who could not initially afford to be property owners, but who would have the expectation of one day buying land with their savings.
The New Zealand Company established settlements at Wellington, Nelson, Wanganui and Dunedin and also became involved in the settling of New Plymouth and Christchurch. It reached the peak of efficiency about 1841, encountered financial problems from 1843 from which it never recovered, and wound up in 1858.
This list details the various ships used by the Company in establishing its settlements in New Zealand at Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth up to 1843.
Adelaide The Adelaide was a 640-ton teak sailing ship built in Calcutta in 1832.Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, Cox and Wyman, 1840 The owner was Joseph Somes of London. In 1839 it sailed to New Zealand under Captain William Campbell. It was among a group of ships carrying settlers which were to rendezvous at Port Hardy on d'Urville Island on 10 January 1840. They were sent after the Oriental. The others in the group were the Aurora, Duke of Roxburgh, and Bengal Merchant, plus a freight vessel, the Glenbervie. At the rendezvous they were told of their final destination. The Adelaide had 176 settlers on board. She sailed from London on 18 September 1839 and arrived at Port Nicholson on 7 March 1840. She arrived at about 4pm in the company of the Tory and Glenbervie.Log of Logs, Ian Nicholson, Sunstrip Printers, Australia, Chapter IV, Early Wellington, Louis E Ward, Whitcombes and Tombes, 1928, Auckland, page 33
She made three voyages bringing convicts arriving on 8 August 1849 (300 to Port Phillip, Tasmania), 16 April 1855 (260 to Western Australia), and 13 May 1863 (210 to Gibraltar, Australia).Convict records – Adelaide Voyages to Australia, retrieved 14 July 2017
Amelia Thompson The Amelia Thompson was a 477-ton copper sheathed barque built by Philip Laing Esq. at Deptford, Sunderland in 1833 and owned by J Pirie of London. She was named after the wife and daughter of Alderman Thompson.Ship launches at Sunderland, Newcastle Journal, 3 August 1833
On 25 April 1836 the Amelia Thompson sailed from London for Launceston, Tasmania with 172 immigrants, a large number of which were single females.Advertisement, Norwich Mercury, 13 February 8136 She sailed to Sydney in 1838.
She sailed for Wellington under Captain William Dawson on 25 March 1841, stopping at Bahia (Salvador), Brazil on the way. Subsequently she sailed for New Plymouth and arrived on 3 September 1841 becoming the second immigrant ship there. She sat off shore for five weeks because the captain feared Ngamotu's reputation as a dangerous shipping area. Her 187 passengers were taken ashore by Dicky Barrett and his men over the course of two weeks, each small boatload taking five hours to row from the vessel to the shore. The ship's precious food cargo, including flour and salted meat, was finally brought ashore for New Plymouth's starving residents on 30 September.The Amelia Thompson, White Wings Vol II. Founding Of The Provinces And Old-Time Shipping. Passenger Ships From 1840 To 1885, Henry Brett, The Brett Printing Company, 1928, Auckland, pages 51–52
On 4 December 1841 she sailed from Wellington for China.Sailed, Port Nicholson Shipping List, The New Zealand Journal, page 131, 28 May 1842 Some time later, while at Batavia to have her bottom cleaned, Captain Dawson found her back was broken. On returning to London he was told by the insurance agent it had broken when she was being launched. In 1842 the Amelia Thompson was engaged as a transport during First Opium War.
The Amelia Thompson sank on the morning of 23 May 1843 while sailing from Australia. She was about 80 miles east by south of Madras. She had been thrown on to her beam ends by a heavy squall. Seven seamen were drowned; Captain Dawson and the remaining crew members were rescued after 2 days.The Times, London, 14 September 1843, page7
Arab
The Arab was a 485-ton copper sheathed ship (originally 415-ton) built at Stockton in 1840 and owned by J Irving.
She was engaged in 1841 by the New Zealand Company to sail to Port Nicholson from Cornhill on 1 June, London on 3 June, and Dartmouth on 15 June under Captain John Summers. She arrived at Port Nicholson on 16 October with 200 settlers.Shipping intelligence, New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, 20 October 1841, Page 2 She left Port Nicholson in either December 1841 or January 1842.
In 1844 to 1846 the Arab was engaged on the London – Bombay route under Captain G Forster.Shipping trade to China and our Eastern possessions, The Shipping Gazette and Sydney General Trade List, NSW, 2 November 1844, Page 215
She may have been lost in a storm on 26 August 1847 in the Indian Ocean south of Indonesia and west of Australia at latitude 16 south longitude 99 east.New South Wales, New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 149, 3 November 1847, page 2
Arrow The Arrow was a 212-ton snow-brig built at Stockton in 1840 and owned by J Irvine.Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, Cox and Wyman printers, 1842
Hired by the New Zealand Company as store ship. she arrived at Tasman Bay in October 1841 with the Whitby and Will Watch as part of the expedition to survey a second settlement for the Company at Nelson. On 1 November 1841 she was also the first sailing ship to enter Nelson harbour. Arrow Rock located by the old harbour entrance and south of Haulashore Island is named after her.
She had sailed to New Zealand under Captain Geare on 27 May 1841 from The Downs, England. Arriving at Port Nicholson, Wellington on 28 August after a 93-day journey, she was described as having made the fastest voyage at that time. She also brought the first news of the death of the United States President General William Henry Harrison to the colony.New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume 04, Issue 73, 4 September 1841, Page 2 After participating in the exploration and survey of Nelson she returned to Wellington on 23 November and then sailed to Sydney.
According to Lloyds register she was restored in 1853 and owned by Hendry & Co. H Silvers was her master. By 1867 she was still in existence in London owned by Brenan and mastered by T Peake.
Aurora
Aurora sailed for New Zealand in 1839 under Captain Theophilus Heale. She was among a group of ships carrying settlers that were to rendezvous at Port Hardy on Durville Island on 10 January 1840. They were sent after Oriental. The others in the group were Adelaide, Duke of Roxburgh, and , plus a freight vessel, Glenbervie. At the rendezvous they were told of their final destination. Aurora was carrying 148 settlers.
She was the first sailing ship wrecked while trying to leave Kaipara Harbour in April 1840. She was carrying a load of kauri spars, and the mail from Wellington for England.
Balley The Balley was a 161-ton a single deck schooner built at Shoreham by James Britton Balley in 1832. Her home port was Derry from 1834 to 1838 and London from 1841 to 1843.Ships built at Shoreham, retrieved 26 July 2017
She sailed the London to Terceira route under Captain F Orfeur from 1832 to 1835 and Liverpool Naples from 1836 to 1839.
On 23 December 1840 she sailed under Captain Sinclair from London to Wellington, arriving on 21 July 1841.New Zealand Company Ships, Early Wellington, Louis E Ward, Whitcombes and Tombes, 1928, Auckland, page 467Lloyd's Register of Shipping, Wyman and sons, 1841Table of Shipping Arrived at Port Nicholson from the 10th of April, 1841, to the 2nd of April, 1842, New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume II, Issue 129, 2 April 1842, Supplement She sailed from Wellington to Napier arriving back in Wellington on 6 November 1841 with cargo.Imports, New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume II, Issue 87, 6 November 1841, page 2
In 1843 she sailed from London to Africa under Captain Foster and from London to Cape of Good Hope in 1850 under Captain J Laws.
Bella Marina The Bella Marina was a 564-ton (originally 480 ton) frigate built sailing ship built in 1840 at Maryport with a yellow metal hull installed in 1847.
She sailed under Captain Thomas Ashbridge from Gravesend on 26 January 1844 for Wellington, Nelson and New Plymouth.Advertisement, The New Zealand Journal, Volume 4 Publisher H. H. Chambers, 1843, page 312 She arrived at New Plymouth via Hobart on 27 May and Wellington on 31 May. She stopped at Hobart to drop off the Catholic Bishop for Tasmania, Bishop Wilson.Colonial Times, Hobart, 14 May 1844, Page 3, English intelligence
At the time of her arrival in Port Nicholson, the New Zealand Company was in serious financial trouble. At Nelson 100 of its employees had been made redundant and trade in Port Nicholson was severely depressed. The impact meant that there were more people trying to leave than she could take.South Australian Register, 9 November 1844, Page 4, New Zealand She returned to England, arriving on 30 January 1845, having sailed from Port Nicholson on 15 October fully laden with a cargo of 385 tons whale oil and 19 tons of bones. Among the cargo was an experimental shipment of staves and furniture woods, which it was hoped would provide another source of revenue for the colony.The Australian, Sydney, 29 November 1844, Page 2, New ZealandBella Marina, New Zealand Spectator and Cooks Strait Guardian, Volume I, Issue 1, 12 October 1844, page 2
In 1845 she sailed for Bombay under Ashbridge.The Australian, Sydney, 12 July 1845, Page 2, Shipping intelligence
In 1849 she was on the Liverpool – Calcutta route under Captain Wood.Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, Cox and Wyman, printers, 1849 In 1857 she was reported as sailing from Liverpool to Galle where she arrived on 28 September.The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 November 1857, page 4, Galle Harbour, Ceylon
There was a 1000-ton clipper ship named Bella Marina under Captain Henry Elliot that sailed in New Zealand and Australian waters in the 1860s. Whether this was a refurbished version of the previous or advertising puffery is unknown. The advertisement referred to her as being so long and favourably known of these (Australian) coasts.Geelong Advertiser, 26 August 1862, Page 2, Port Phillip Heads In 1862 she was at San Francisco and sailed to Australia via Puget Sound, arriving at Port Phillip on 24 August. The Argus, Melbourne referred to her as being 564 tons when she departed for Otago on 16 September as did other publications.The Argus, Melbourne, 17 September 1862, Page 4, Shipping intelligence
She returned to Australia in November, en route to California.The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November 1862, Page 6, Newcastle Instead she sailed for Wellington on 15 December with 700 tons of coal.The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News, 17 December 1862, Page 2, Shipping From there she sailed to San Francisco, arriving on 24 March 1863. She then sailed to Puget Sound to pick up a cargo of timber for New Zealand, arriving at Port Phillip, Australia from Vancouver Island, Canada on 6 December with 330,000 feet of timber.The Age, Melbourne, 8 December 1863, Page 4, shipping