Background - The Slave ship - Wrecksite - The de Burgh's - Joe Matthews - The conservation report
Report
from The Inquirer Newspaper 28 July, 1841
Arrived — On the 21st instant, the James Matthews, Roberts, master,
from London, touching at the Cape of Good Hope. — Passengers, Messrs.
Burgh, Mrs Roberts, and Mr F. Luth.
We regret to say
that the James Matthews was wrecked on the night of the 23rd, after
having come to anchor. The following are all the particulars we have
been able to collect as to this unfortunate occurrence, and we should
be glad to see some inquiry made into the circumstances:-
On Wednesday the brig came to anchor in Owen’s Anchorage in 5 fathoms
water. On Thursday afternoon it came on to blow fresh, and about midnight
blew a heavy gale of wind; between the hours of 12 and 2 in the morning
the cable parted, when the second anchor was let go, which brought her
up for a short time; at last she drifted on Woodman’s Reef, where
she soon filled with water. Between 7 and 8 in the morning the masts
were cut away — the weather was so very thick that nothing could
be seen of her before 7 o’clock.
As soon as it was ascertained that she was in danger, Captain Scott went to assist in saving the crew, and a second whale-boat was despatched for the same purpose, when the passengers and crew were saved. On Thursday afternoon, a boat belonging to a man of the name of John Edwards went to the brig, and was obliged to hang astern, not being able to return to Fremantle. At the time the chain parted Edwards and his mate ran on deck to see about their boat — the boat had broken adrift.
Whether Edwards succeeded in getting into his boat is not known, but neither he nor his boat has been seen since. It is to be hoped that a considerable part of the cargo will be saved, if the weather should be moderate. The vessel is reported to be a total wreck. It seems to be the general opinion that if the second anchor had been down before the first parted, so that an equal strain had been on both chains, the vessel would have weathered the gale.
The wreck was located
on 22 July 1973 on the north side of Woodman Point in Cockburn Sound,
by members of the Underwater Explorers Club who were conducting an
underwater line search as part of their wreck research programme.
The Brigantine 'James Matthews'
Excerpt from the diary of Henry de Burgh
Details of the voyage of the James Matthews are contained in the diary
of Henry de Burgh, one of its four passengers. It is a revealing insight
into those times.
En route:
'In the evening of the same day we came closer under the Christina
to the same port and Robert and I accompanied the Captain on board
to supper. There were a great many nice people on board and I bear
with me still a tender recollection of the younger sister of two Misses
Carter who were emigrating with their brother.
There was a little dancing and some singing on deck and we adjourned to the brig late. The weather was so calm that the two ships kept the entire night within speaking distance of each other and the next morning after breakfast we renewed our visit to the Christina and passed the day on board making the agreeable to Miss Carter, playing chess, etc., etc.
Our
owner got very drunk and nearly upset us all going back to
the brig in the gig. The next day the gentlemen
of the Christina dined
with us, but I never saw Henrietta Carter again though I have since
seen her name in the Adelaide Observer as led to the Hymeneal altar
by some or another bullock feeder whose name I scorn to perpetuate.'
Chess pieces recovered from the 'James Mathew
The wreck on 22 July 1841:
…the sailor on watch rushed into the cabin
to say that the anchor had given way and the brig was drifting.
The second anchor was instantaneously let go, but did not take
hold, so we drifted with great rapidity...They then endeavoured
to make sail, but this failed...A few seconds more and the brig’s
keel struck with great force...The ship’s bows went down
and her stern settled on the rock...
...I saw a large chest of ours, containing among other valuables 200 sovereigns, consigned to the deep. We had now sunk to the uttermost the rocks would permit us...
I confess that I was
not unmoved at seeing the beautiful brig that had borne us so manfully
over
such a waste of space in such
a state
of dilapidation. (See Burgh, W.J. de and Henderson, G., 1979,
The last voyage of the James Matthews. Western Australian Museum,
Perth.)
Henry Burgh
The De Burgh's - Top
After the wreck Henry and his brother Robert, who had accompanied him
from England, purchased property near York. Henry returned to England
in 1846 and did not return.
Robert married Clara Welliton and together
with their three small children they left for the Ballarat goldfields
in 1852. They returned to Western Australia in the following year
to take up land on the Moore River later named Cowalla. Their family
grew in number, but in 1865 they lost three of their children to
diptheria and moved in to Caversham, where they remained for the
rest of their lives.
The wrecksite: - Top
The wreck lies buried in sand approximately 100 metres from shore.
The water depth varies between 2 and 3 metres, and the sand basin in
which the wreck lies is surrounded by a bank of sea-grass. The highest
section of the wreck consisted of a mound of slates and a bundle of
large iron lengths resembling railway lines. Beneath these are the
ballast stones which lie on top of the ceiling timbers.
The
wreck site from the air looking south east (top) and north west
(lower). showing the Cement jetty and water pollution. The wreck is
midway between the jetty and the point.
Sea
grass
Visibility
on the site is usually poor due to the proximity of the site
to a cement works jetty. Barges deposit loads of lime sands
at the end of the jetty for dredging into the factory. Consequently
a fine milky suspension cloud repeatedly moves over the site,
sometimes reducing visibility to less than 30 cm. A south-westerly
breeze is necessary to clear the site entirely. The site
is protected against swell and rough wave conditions during
all weather with the exception of a north-westerly wind.
Excavation:
Maritime archaeologists and volunteers under the archaeological
direction of Graeme Henderson of the Western Australian Maritime
Museum carried out four seasons of excavation on the wreck
site between 1974 and 1976 initially using airlifts and later
water dredges, a three dimensional ‘bed frame’ recording
grid and photogrammetric recording. Preservation conditions
were good on the site and a significant amount of the hull
and cargo remained.
The entire remaining hull structure was excavated and all of the loose artefacts that lay within the hull structure were raised, conserved and some are now on display at the Shipwreck Galleries of the WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle.
While
research into the ship’s rigging and cordage has been published,
most of the research and publication has concentrated on the
hull, as an important representative of the slave trade.
The finds:
A significant proportion of the final cargo of James Matthews appears
to have been intended for the construction of one or more farmhouse
buildings including items such as roofing slates, window-panes and
door hinges. By far the largest single component of the cargo was 7
000 roofing slates.
Part of the cache of the 7,000 roofing slates
Builders’ or carpenters’ tools
were found together with bundles of iron rods, believed
to be intended for blacksmithing purposes. Eight iron
wagon axles, four iron horse harness traces (some complete
with ring and swivel), nine wool carding combs, quarters
of a grindstone, together with glass window panes and
heavy iron door hinges were also recovered.
While Henry de Burgh mentions the presence of ploughs
in his diary and writes that during the sinking the ‘decks
had been cleared off and the ship lightened of everything
possible, among which our ploughs, instruments and all
heavy luggage, which was on deck ready to be landed in
the morning’, no evidence of these ploughs was
found during the archaeological excavation.
The timbers:
The entire hull was cleared over three seasons from 1974
through to 1977. The keelson was exposed, and then the
adjacent inner planking was uncovered. Dredging proceeded
up the ceiling to the bulwarks of the port side about
midships, where the scuppers and chain plates were exposed,
as well as what may be part of the coaming of the main
hatch. The remains of iron griddings, which may have
been deck gratings, were also recorded in this area.
The outer planking is sheathed with copper, and the timbers
are fastened with copper, iron, and wooden treenails.
A thin pine inner skin covers a section of the inner
planking.
The
remains were recorded in three dimensions using stereo cameras
on a tower and a grid frame that allowed tape measurements in
an x, y and z (vertical) axis. The site plan shown here was the
result.
After the excavation the timbers were covered over and the materials
raised sent to the conservation laboratory in Fremantle where they
were readied for study and exhibition.
Graeme
Henderson's team produced this site plan.
The 3 dimensional site recording methodology
Typical slaveship - Top
Discovery: Top
The wreck was located on 22 July, 1973 on the north side of Woodman’s
Point in Cockburn Sound, by members of the Underwater Explorers Club
who
were
conducting an underwater line search as part of their wreck research program.
Construction:
Graeme Henderson's research showed that James
Matthews was a snow-brig of 107 tons, registered at the Port of London. The vessel
was 80.2 feet
in length, with a breadth of 21 feet and a depth of 11.5 feet (approximately
24.5 m x 6.5 m x 3.5 m). It had one deck, two masts, a square stern, male
bust figurehead and no galleries.
Colonial Trader :
The James Matthews left London for Fremantle on 28 March 1841 with
a cargo of 7 000 slates, farming implements, general cargo, 3 passengers
and a crew of 15. One of the passengers, Henry de Burgh, left a comprehensive
diary covering the voyage to Australia and his later experiences on
the land. Much of the cargo belonged to de Burgh, who had been involved
in the organization of the enterprise in England and had an interest
in the vessel. When the brig was wrecked he suffered a considerable
personal loss, including a case of guns and rifles, and a chest containing
200 sovereigns.
James Matthews a Former Slaver: - Top
The slave trade generally consisted of a ‘triangular run’,
with ships travelling from Europe with trade goods, to West Africa
where slaves were purchased from local slave traders, to the Americas,
where the African slaves were sold, and new cargoes on loaded for the
return voyage back to Europe. On 25 April 1837 one slave-ship, the
brig Don Francisco was seized as a prize near the island of Dominica
by Her Majesty’s Brigantine Griffon. At that time the Don Francisco
had 433 slaves on board and was in a near sinking state.
Packing
a cargo of slaves
Henderson found that the Don Francisco was owned by the notorious slave
dealer Francisco Felis da Souza, who arrived in West Africa from Brazil
around 1800. He traded in humans, and goods out of the Portuguese controlled
fort at Whydah on the coast of what is now Benin. His fortune dwindled
though declining trade, and the loss of the Don Francisco and another
slaver the Florida with their cargo of slaves would have had considerable
effect on the state of his financial affairs.
Francisco
Felis de Souza
Don Francisco was condemned as a slaver by the British and Portuguese
Mixed Commission Court on 21 November 1837. During the court proceedings
it was revealed that da Souza had earlier purchased the vessel from
a Frenchman, Gabriel Giron, who was apparently a slave dealer also.
The Lloyd’s Surveyor thought the vessel was French built. Subsequent
to its condemnation, Don Francisco was sold, repaired and entered into
general trading under British registration and re-named James Matthews.
This should not have happened. In 1836 a Bill was presented to the
British Parliament requiring that slave ships, immediately after condemnation,
should be broken up entirely, and sold in separate parts. This was
to defeat the re-purchasing of vessels for re-employment in the slave
trade. In 1837, when the Act came into effect there were 24 prizes
at Sierra Leone. The schooner Gazita, which was one of the 24, was
cut in two and sold; the remaining 23 were hauled out and burned.
The
stacking plan for slaves abaord the James Matthews
The effect of this and other similar legislation must have been to
severely limit the chances of survival of any representative of this
type of ship. It was fortuitous that the James Matthews was not broken
up after condemnation.
Vessels built for the slave trade needed to meet special constructional
requirements, such as a shallow draft, fine lines for speed and various
internal fittings to provide for the slaves. Slave ships were famous
for their excellent sailing qualities and some of their internal features
were so obviously intended for a specific trade that legislation was
passed providing that vessels of this design could be detained as a
prize even without the actual presence of slaves on board.
Freeing slaves from the nightmare below decks
Joe Matthews and the James Matthews - Top
Texan Joe Matthew’s father had earlier purchased part of the de
Burgh property Cowalla and Joe came to wonder about the interesting links
to the de Burghs and to the little ship. He visited the exhibitions at
the Museum and got to meet all the staff, many of whom were involved
in the earlier James Matthews exhibitions.
His interest was such that he provided a grant to the WA Maritime Museum
to study the wreck and to see if the timbers could be raised. A study
was commenced under the leadership of Dr M. McCarthy, involving many
staff of the museum’s conservation facility, notably Ms Vicki Richards,
a specialist in the assessment and treatment of ‘composites’ i.e.
wood/metal objects.
When it became apparent that the costs of raising, preserving and presenting
the hull was prohibitive, the programme soon evolved into a major in-situ
preservation study.
Vicki Richard’s study- Top
The results of this on-site conservation pre-disturbance survey which
was conducted over the summer of 2000/2001 indicates that the exposed
hull remains of the James Matthews are in relatively poor condition
but most of the wreck remains are buried and these structural timbers
are in a good state of preservation. The rate of degradation would
have accelerated dramatically with the significant decrease in sediment
coverage over the past few years.
Therefore, a synergistic maritime archaeological and conservation management
plan must be devised to significantly reduce the continued deterioration
of this historic shipwreck site. Click
here to read Vicki’s report
(471k
download). This
report does not include images, maps or sketches of the site.
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