Follow
The Lancashire Witch was one of the many vessels built at Quebec. She was a full-rigged ship of 1574 tons, and was eleven years off the stocks when she commenced trading to New Zealand. She was owned by Firnie and Co., of Liverpool, and in 1863 was chartered by the Shaw, Savill Co. The Lancashire Witch made her first passage to Lyttelton in 1863, and the 420 immigrants who embarked at London experienced a very trying and anxious time. Shortly after her departure scarlet fever broke out, and before reaching Lyttelton three adults and 23 children died and were buried at sea. Captain West, who was in command, called at the Cape for fresh provisions. Owing to the disease on board neither saloon nor steerage passengers were permitted to land. Notwithstanding the diversion to Capetown the ship made the passage to Timaru in 93 days, where some of the passengers were landed. She then proceeded to Lyttelton, and on arrival was immediately placed in quarantine. When the ship was admitted to pratique the passengers again suffered, as no proper arrangements had been made by the authorities for their reception. A small party were landed at Camp Bay, and found the place deserted and no provisions provided, consequently the remainder of the immigrants refused to go ashore. The fifteen men who landed found their way to Rhodes Bay, and later reached Lyttelton in a famished condition. The delay in landing the passengers naturally caused great dissatisfaction. There were no less than nine births during the voyage. Source: White Wings (Volume I) by Henry Brett (1924) https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bre01Whit-t1-body-d11...
Sailed from London, arrived Lyttleton 13 October 1863 with 329 Government assisted passengers. There were 9 births and 26 deaths on board. 3 passengers wrote diaries - Price and Carr -steerage and Shepherd - cabin. Source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ourstuff/Lancashi...