History of the Black Ball Line
This is one of a series of WWW Pages that cover the story of the "Black Ball Line" - the famous shipping line built fom scratch by James Baines and his partners.
James Baines was born in 1823 in Upper Duke Street, Liverpool, where his mother kept a confectioner's shop. His uncle was a shipbroker, for whom James went to work. In 1852, a Canadian built three-decker made her maiden voyage from Mobile to Liverpool with a cargo of cotton. She was bought for a bargain price in Liverpool by Paddy McGee, a shady character who quickly onsold the vessel to James Baines. James had noticed that in spite of her ample beam, the hollow bows at her waistline were built for speed. This ship was to become one of the most famous vessels of all time - the Marco Polo !
Baines refitted this new ship for the top class emigrant trade, sparing no expense.
The Marco Polo carried thousands of passengers to Australia in the gold rush days. She was built of Canadian softwood in 1851 by J. Smith at St. John, New Brunswick in Canada for export to Britain, and was described as square as a brick fore and aft, with a bow like a savage bulldog, a big thick lump of a black ship with a tremendous beam. Not very flattering perhaps, but of all the clippers, it was the Marco Polo which captured the imagination of the world. She sailed on 4 July 1852 under the command of Captain "Bully" Forbes who adopted Towson's recommendations and took the Great Circle Route.
On that first fateful voyage, more than 52 lives were lost, most of them babies dying from an epidemic of measles. The speed of this voyage and the exciting route taken by Captain Forbes plus his remarkable turnround of the vessel in 24 days - created the image that was only to be enhanced by her continuing feats for the next 12 years - earning her the tremendous respect, love and special place in the hearts of Australians and the people of Liverpool. She was the first ship to circumnavigate the world in less than 6 months.
In total, Smith built 37 ships, but the yard suffered a series of setbacks including a terrible fire in 1855. He later tried to work with iron, but the metal was of unsuitable quality for shipbuilding and the venture failed. Smith died on March 5th in 1876 in Woodstock, New Brunswick; nobody really noticed the passing of this remarkable builder of the " fastest ship in the world ".
Other ships built in Canada became almost as famous as the Marco Polo. The Sovereign of the Seas was originally built by Donald Mackay as his fourth ship for the Californian gold rush. In 1853, Mackay sailed on her himself to the Mersey, where this superb clipper was spotted by James Baines, who chartered her immediately. Mackay had made the crossing himself on the vessel, which was captained by his brother, to watch and measure her performance. She sailed for Melbourne with 65 passengers from Liverpool and a cargo worth one million pounds and arrived in 77 days. Although only chartered for this one single voyage, the effects of the success story influenced long distance sea transport in a way hardly surpassed since.
Immediately after the voyage, James Baines placed an order, much against the advice of his friends and business associates, on the Mackay yard for FOUR Clippers . It was not only the largest order for sailing craft that had ever been received by an American builder, but it called for ships exceeding in size and speed those of any other line then in existence. These vessels dwarfed even the Marco Polo, which at only some 1750 tons was considerably smaller than these giants. The result was the most romantic and fastest quartet of sailing ships that ever sailed under the one flag - in this case, the red flag and the black ball of James Baines' Liverpool based fleet of clippers and packets called The Black Ball Line. Apart from the distinctive red and black house flag, Baines' Black Ball ships could easily be identified by their combination of black hull, stark white masts, black yards and black mastheads.
In spite of the romance that has adhered to other ships, there is little doubt that the fastest clipper of them all, was in fact the Champion of the Seas - especially, when one takes into account the cargo she carried, the weather she encountered, her consistency and the water line that she bore as a result of the weight in her holds; at least, that is my personal opinion. This remarkable vessel carried 12000 square yards of sail.
The famous voyage of the Champion of the Seas sped her to Melbourne from the Mersey in 73 days, leaving Liverpool in October 1854. She made the passage home in 87 days. She actually made three voyages across the world in a period of less than twelve months - an amazing achievement considering the calm and light winds on her second voyage to Australia and the turnaround time at the end of each voyage in port.
What was the secret formula ? The design was based on an idea developed by John Willis Griffiths .... who proposed a knifelike, concave entrance, melting into an easy run to the midship section, where instead of forward, he located the extreme breadth of beam. Thence the fullness of breadth melted again into the after end lines almost as fine as those forward. In place of the codfish underbody, he gave his innovation a dead rise amidships. The fast softwood ships built by Donald Mackay were not durable, their hulls absorbing water and becoming strained by hard usage much more readily than those of their teak and oak sisters that operated in the cargo trade from London to Australia.
The secret of the Marco Polo's great speed was said to have come by accident - indeed two accidents. When being launched, she leapt from the blocks on the slipway and became stuck on the other side of Marsh Creek in the mud where she stayed for two weeks. "She sat there like a motherly duck and not being snubbed in time, flew out of the blocks and embedded herself in the opposite bank - slowly leaning over to rest on her side " so goes one observer's story of the launch. An ignominious start to her career indeed. This caused her to "hog" in the centre of the keel - leaving the centre of the keel some six inches higher than the ends. Earlier, when under construction, her frames were blown down and then when being reassembled, the frames were said to have been put back in the wrong order.
For two decades, these incredibly fast and romantic ships captured the imagination; they became household names as so many people came to Australia on them, or knew somebody who had experienced these tremendously exciting journeys. Exciting, because of the way the sailors ( or their Captains like J.N. "Bully" Forbes" ) forced the pace, and asked these streamlined, lightweight, thoroughbred vessels to conquer even more hazardous seas and speeds, pressing them to the limit of their capability, safety and endurance. On their journey to Australia, they would not see landfall until they reached Cape Otway at the entrance to the Bass Strait - a remarkable piece of seamanship, navigation, tenacity and fortitude.
Their names make a fine catalogue and capture the spirit of daring and romance that their achievements epitomised ... Champion of the Seas, Marco Polo, Lightning, James Baines, Indian Queen, Red Jacket, Ben Nevis, Miles Barton, Guiding Star, Blue Jacket, Star of the East, Shalimar, White Star and others. Aren't they just great names !
Liverpool was the main clipper port. The main lines were James Baines' Black Ball, Pilkington and Wilson's White Star, James Beazely, Henry Fox, the Golden Line, the Red Cross Line and several others. By July 1852, forty two ships carrying 6000 passengers had already sailed, and there was a waiting list with a further 7000 names. Perhaps James Baines' Black Ball packets was the most spectacular of all these shipping lines. By 1860, the Black Ball Line had assembled an incredible complement of 86 ships and more than 300 officers and 3000 seamen. The ships carried surgeons, chaplains and sometimes even a brass band. In good weather, there was dancing on the poop after dinner and concerts put on by the passengers. The food for first class passengers was indeed sumptuous - often five course meals being served.
Captain James Nicol Forbes, "Bully" Forbes, "Hell or Melbourne" Forbes was by far the most famous and romantic skipper in an era of great names like MacDonald, Pryce, McKirdy, Newlands and Enright. The story goes that an ashen passenger came on deck to find the ship groaning before a gale, with several sails being obviously about to be carried away. Begging the Captain to reduce sail and save the ship, he received the classic response that the Captain intended to reach Melbourne in 60 days flat, or go to Hell in failing the attempt !
The "Hell or Melbourne" accolade reminds me of Horatio Nelson's famous line at the Battle of St. Vincent when he was heard to vow loudly " Westminster Abbey or victory ", meaning no doubt that he would win or end up dead in Westminster Abbey, trying to win - and he didn't care too much which but had a stronger preference for victory, to which end he intended to apply, devote and extend a considerable degree of force, will and prejudice. So too did Forbes prosecute his design to complete his voyages as fast as possible, at almost any cost, including the comfort of his passengers, the safety of his crew and eventually even the life of his ship.
Forbes was born in Aberdeen in 1821, the son of a prominent advocate. At the dejeuner before the sailing of the first Marco Polo voyage to Australia, he "judged from the appearance of her sticks and timbers that she would be obliged to go; and that they must not be surprised if they found the Marco Polo in the River Mersey that day six months". And so it was.
She made the maiden commercial voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne in 1852 in 72 days, creating a record, astounding the world with a run of 336 nautical miles a day. When Forbes arrived on this voyage, he found 50 vessels laying in Hobson's Bay, deserted by their crews - off to seek their fortunes on the goldfields. On arrival typhus fever was found on board. This was unusual for the Black Ball Line clippers which set new standards of hygiene and comfort. One wonders whether it is a true story ? Perhaps there is an element of truth in the words of the song ?
Records seem, I am told to indicate that Forbes trumped up some charges of insubordination against his crew and had them jailed until he was ready to leave. This is somewhat akin to the sentiments in the song about his fabricating stories of illness on board. It seems like the legend is replacing the man. His return trip to the Mersey took only 76 days. Amazing. Hearing about the ship coming up the river, James Baines refused to believe that it was really the Marco Polo, returned after a round trip of only 5 months and 21 days, until he saw the pennant flying proudly from the mast " The Fastest Ship in the World". On board was 340 ounces of Victorian gold for Queen Victoria. Thousands of people came to see the ship as she lay in the Salthouse Dock to stare in wonder at her towering white masts and massive, black hull.
Her second voyage, again under captain Forbes took 73 days out and 95 days to return. Her third voyage to Australia, this time under Captain MacDonald took 72 days to Melbourne and 78 days home.
A Melbourne shipping notice of 1854 advertises a sailing to Liverpool of the Marco Polo, with passengers, gold and cargo; the ship had been armed and fitted with bullion safes under Captain Wild, having just successfully landed 700 passengers in good health. Her previous three passages including detention at port time from Liverpool to Melbourne return had been accomplished in 17 months and 25 days.
From the time of his first command of an old brig trading to the Argentine, "Bully" Forbes drove his crew, ship and passengers almost to breaking point to achieve several fast passages until he came to the notice of Black Ball Line officials. This was in 1849, when he was given command of the new ship Wilson Kennedy, built in Quebec for Martin Brothers of Liverpool. He pressed his new ship to its limits on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic to Liverpool - fast enough to impress and attract the attention of Baines and his backers. Forbes was given the command of the Cleopatra and then the Maria. Both were pretty ordinary ships, but Forbes was so successful with them, crowding on sail until the last moment on the Australian run that he was given the Marco Polo and then the Lightning and Schomberg.
In 1854, "Bully" Forbes went to Boston to supervise the outfitting of the Lightning - which James Baines had bought for 30,000 pounds. Not counting her stunsails on their long booms, some thirty separate sails drove her hollow bows, including a moonsail sat above the skysail on her main mast, 160 feet above her deck. The semi-elliptical stern was embellished with gilt carving and at her bow the full length figure of a woman with flowing hair and swirling white robes held a golden thunderbolt defiantly toward the sea.
From Boston Light to Eagle Island off the coast of Ireland Lightning took only 10 days, with one 24 cycle seeing 436 nautical miles being sailed. This record has never been beaten by a sailing vessel, and thirty years were to pass before even an ocean liner could achieve such a speedy crossing of the Atlantic. Lightning ran 2188 nautical miles or 3500 kilometres in only 7 days - an amazing achievement. The entire journey from Boston to Liverpool took just 13 days and 19.5 hours. On her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne under "Bully" Forbes, she completed the return trip in just 160 days - including three weeks turnround time in Melbourne, discharge of passengers and loading of a return cargo. In sailing days, the journey actually took 77 days out to Melbourne, and a ripping 63 days back. The story is that this was partly accomplished by "Bully" Forbes padlocking the halyards to prevent faint-hearted mates from reducing sail. Eventually, in Geelong, she was destroyed by fire on 31 October 1869 while loading wool for a return sprint to Liverpool.
Four well documented voyages took place under the famous commander Captain Anthony Enright. When Baines gave his ship the Schomberg to Forbes he gave command of the Lightning to Enright.
In May 1854, Forbes with his equally infamous mate named Bragg, completed the round trip from Liverpool to Melbourne and back in an elapsed time of 5 months, 8 days and 21 hours - 77 days out and 63 days return plus 20 days in port. This was the notorious voyage that brought back 1.000,000 pounds worth of gold and in which there were stories of "Bully" standing guard on deck, pistols drawn, to prevent the crew from releasing the royal halyards and to show the frightened passengers who had formed a deputation to slow the ship down, that he meant business. Other anecdotes relate him personally climbing way out on the boom when the lower stunsail was set to survey the run of the ship as she raced and flew before the Westerlies in the Roaring Forties. Another version of this famous story, which is probably true, has him way out along the swinging boom of a lower stunsail, far beyond the bulwarks, perched for some time, surveying his vessel as she ploughed through mountainous seas.
In 1854, Baines placed another order - this time for the Schomberg - 43000 pounds worth of racing thoroughbred clipper, planked in three separate skins and capable of carrying a massive 16000 square yards ( 3.3 acres ) of sail. The ship was all luxury, with a cow on board for fresh milk, pigs and cabins with baths. Famous for flying his modesty from the mast, Forbes sailed for Melbourne in October 1855 with a pennant displaying " Sixty Days to Melbourne" from the halliards.
Oh dear; the vessel was found to be a bit of a dog, being sluggish in racing weather. Two days after sighting land in Australia, she ran aground on the night of Boxing Day and the morning of the 27 December 1855 on a sandspit, off Curdies Inlet, 40 miles west of Cape Otway, near Peterborough. Forbes is said to have been in the saloon losing at cards, refusing to respond to the mate, Henry Keen's information that they were close under land. Forbes is remembered for his classic outburst "Let her go to hell and tell me when she is on the beach". A passing ship on its way from Warrnambool, the SS Queen, picked up the passengers and landed them in Melbourne.She went to pieces on January 6 1856 scattering her timbers for miles along the coast.
There is also, a rumour that Forbes was infatuated with a young female passenger, and this distraction was enough to take his mind off the mission in hand.
The presiding magistrate dismissed all of the complaints against Forbes as being "frivolous". A mass meeting of passengers charged him with a series of offences including being " ungentlemanly, discourteous, grossly immoral ", also with "gross negligence", and with, as an agent of James Baines and Company of Liverpool, " failing to fulfil the contract with the passengers ".
He also faced charges at a trial under the Merchant Shipping Act for neglect of duty in January 1856 but was acquitted on the grounds that the sandbank was unchartered. The same inquiry found him not guilty of
1. Not altering the course of the ship and thereby causing the destruction thereof
2. Not keeping the ship from the shore
3. Not keeping diligent watch on deck
4. Not having the anchor ready to let go in approaching the shore
5. Not letting the anchor go to prevent the vessel striking the shore
6. Standing in too close to the shore, whereby the ship was destroyed.
That was the beginning of the end for "Bully" Forbes' extraordinary career with the Black Ball Line.
After staying in Melbourne for a few more months he took charge of the Hastings, only to lose her 2 years later. From 1864 to 1866 he was master of the General Wyndham owned by Gibbs, Bright & Co ( soon to be amalgamated with the Black Ball Line ) before fading into obscurity and dying in Westbourne Street, Liverpool on June 4 1874 at the age of 52. His gravestone in Smithdown Road cemetery bears the following inscription
" Master of the Famous MARCO POLO ".
All were built as passenger ships and some with the foresight to return carrying wool, with specially strong spars, masts and rigging to withstand high winds, speeds and harsh conditions. They were magnificent ships, towering above their contempories, both in masting and sail carrying capacity, and also in the height of the deckline above the water. They were able to carry sail longer, lifting over the seas rather than ploughing through them. It was said that you could dance on the poop deck at 15 knots in a howling gale without getting wet.
The Champion of the Seas claimed the major title when she ran 467 nautical miles or 750 kilometres from noon to noon 11-12 December 1854 on the way from Liverpool to Melbourne. Her log for the 12th December shows that she ran the unprecedented and still unequalled distance of 465 (sic) nautical miles. Since during this run to the eastward, the ship covered 10 degrees and 44 minutes of longitude, it was made in a trifle under 23 hours and 20 minutes of real time. I'm not sure quite how Einstein or Stephen Hawking would interpret this, but to me ( a pedestrian mathematician ), this equates to an average speed of almost exactly 20 knots. When I went to school, to reach an average over a reasonable sample period, say 23 to 24 hours, there would have to be perhaps a considerable divergence or deviation on both sides of the average. Therefore, her top speed at times must have been a considerable amount over and higher than 20 knots. Wow ! The passengers would have needed seat belts ! The Champion of the Seas was once clocked at 22 knots.
As the Captain on the voyage was the unblemished and high principled Captain Newlands who kept accurate and immaculate records, and as he submitted his logs for scrutiny, and as many professional navigators had full access to all of his charts and records, one can only concede that the Champion of the Seas was indeed exactly that - THE CHAMPION OF THE SEAS.
She was a vessel of 2447 tons, built by Donald Mackay in his East Boston yard in 1854. She had a flush deck; the dining room was very commodious and the berths airy and comfortable. The after saloon was elegantly fitted up with rosewood panelling and guilt mouldings.
Her Captains were Messrs Newland, M'Kirdy, and J.M. Outridge. She was sold to Cassell & Co in 1866 and then on to T. Harrison in 1873, she eventually foundered according to most stories at Cape Horn on the 31st of January in 1877 - all the passengers were saved by the English barque Windsor. Another story confirms that she was lost in the North Atlantic, and was then abandoned in a sinking condition. Both stories cannot be true.
The Black Ball Line of British and Australian Ex-Royal mail Packets and Eagle Line of Other Black Ball Line ships scheduled to sail in 1859 according to some newspaper advertisements which I have, included Lightning, Champion of the Seas, Marco Polo, Eagle, Ocean Chief, British Trident, Gypsey Bride. Cairngorm, Great Tasmania, Commodore Perry, Meteor and Montmorency. An advertisement of the day explains that the above celebrated steam and sailing clippers, formed the only lines to be honoured by a visit from the Queen, and were well known for their rapid passages, punctuality in sailing and splendid accommodation unsurpassed by any ships in the world. The same advertisement proclaims that the vessels would continue to sail regularly between Liverpool and Melbourne thus affording to passengers and shippers the most unrivalled advantages. The commanders of these vessels were noted to be men of experience and renowned for their kindness and attention to passengers. The cabins were advertised to be most superior, the saloons being elegantly furnished with every requisite to insure comfort; passengers were supplied with beds and bedding.
The James Baines was lost in a fire on the 22 April 1858 in Huskisson Dock in Liverpool. Her remains became the Landing Stage at the Pier Head - so many of us have therefore boarded her hundreds of times without knowing it - every time we caught a ferry to Birkenhead, New Brighton, Isle of Man, Liscard or Wallasey. At the time, the loss of this magnificent ship was considered a national disaster.
The White Star, originally built and named as Blue Jacket, was another fast wood ship of 2340 tons, built by W. & R. Wright at St. John, New Brunswick in 1854 - her name was promptly changed to White Star and she became the flag ship of the White Star Line. Pilkington and Wilson owned 43 shares in the White Star and 21 shares were held by Richard Wright. The Captains of the White Star were W.R. Brown, J.R. Brown and T.C. Kerr. The vessel was sold to Hutchinson & Co of Liverpool in 1866. She was sold again to Merchants Trading Co of Liverpool in 1868. On Christmas Eve 1883, she was wrecked on Tuskar Rock on a run from Calcutta to Liverpool.
Cairngorm became famous as the first of the British tea clippers to wrest from the Americans the prestigious Blue Riband in the race from China. In 1860, Baines bought the Cairngorm for the Black Ball Line, and the command was given to Captain Robert Cairncross - who later settled in Queensland. She took 88 days in her first voyage to Sydney with a complement of immigrants, returning in only 72 days. In her next trip from London she did the journey in 77 days, again returning with a cargo of wool. After the third voyage, Captain Cairncross was transferred to the larger Queen of the Colonies which had been regularly sailing to Brisbane and other Queensland ports, with immigrant passengers. In 1862, the Cairngorm under Captain James Mathew Banks sailed for Moreton Bay with 353 immigrants who had embarked at Glasgow and Liverpool. The span of ports out of Britain and into Australia was expanding.
Packets in conjunction with the celebrated auxiliary steam clippers Great Britain and Royal Charter were appointed to sail punctually from Liverpool on the 5th and 15th of each month. It says so in some emigrant promotional material which I have found. In 1859 as an example, these ships included Donald Mackay under Captain Pryee ( to sail 5th April ), Peter Maxwell under Captain Marshall ( to sail 15th April ), Saldanha under Captain Flynn ( to sail 5th May ) and Royal Charter under Captain Taylor ( to sail 15th May ). Generally, the Black Ball Liners sailed on the 5th of the month and the White Star vessels on the 20th day of the month.
James Baines probably made a business error when he amalgamated his Black Ball Line with Gibbs, Bright & Co who had already abandoned sail for steam. Then, his downfall was sealed by the failure of Barnard's Bank. With the pressure of his faltering entry into steam, the success of the iron built new ships, his wife's death in 1872 and the ever mounting repair bills on his now battered and water-logged softwood fleet, he sold his last ship, the Seraphina and was then cheated by his partners in a venture with a ship called the Three Brothers. He became dependent on the charity of his friends before dying penniless of dropsy and cirrhosis of the liver, aged 66 on 8th March 1899 in a common Liverpool lodging house.
Compiled by A.J. Snelson Sydney March 1995
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