Cunard

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=185 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="040b9c00dduajq.jpg"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="70" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 76 WIDTH="66"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="76" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="66" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>A friendly Web Utility</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://mindit.netmind.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://mindit.netmind.com/"><U><B><IMG SRC="184a24a0.png" border=0 width="162" height="74" ALT="Link to Mind-it - Keep informed when your favourite site or specific pages are updated. CLICK HERE!" 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Unicorn </I>  (1840)      Halifax - Boston Branch Packet</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>The following includes helpful extracts from</B>:</FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/techdt01.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/techdt01.html"><U><B>History of Technology in Nova Scotia </B></U></A></FONT><B>with special attention given to</B> <B>Communications and Transportation.</B></div> <bR> <div> Read the news reports relating to steam, including the <I><B>Sirius</B></I> overtaking the packet brig <I><B>Tyrian</B></I>, in 1838...... You see, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="arial" ><B>Falmouth's heritage IS wrapped up with ports which have done something to open their doors to us all, thanks to the 'net.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Together with the electronic version of the </B><I><B>Pennsylvania Gazette</B></I><B>, </B><B><U>there cannot much better examples for British, and especially Cornish, museums and libraries to mirror,</U></B><B> by way of digitising and creating access to their collections.   My thanks go out to these sites for the encouragement by demonstrating what IS possible on the Web!</B></div> <bR> <div>   </div> <div> <B>1787</B> November 21: <B>Birth of S. Cunard  </B></div> <div> Samuel Cunard, oldest son of Abraham and Margaret Cunard, was born on Brunswick Street in Halifax on this day. The Cunard family was descended from one Thomas Kunders, a German Quaker, who had emigrated from Europe to Philadelphia in 1683, in search of religious freedom. In subsequent generations and various records, spelling variations such as Cunrad, Conrad, and Cunard appear in the family name. Abraham Cunard moved to Halifax in 1780. </div> <bR> <div> Having contracted branch packet services between Bermuda and Halifax for the Admiralty, which operated the Falmouth packet service since 1823, Cunard wasted no time in gathering Boston bankers and, as reported in the <I>Falmouth Packet</I> newspaper; <I>"Mr. </I><I><B>Sam Cunard</B></I><I> sailed as passenger on [HMPB] </I><I><B>Star,</B></I><I> Lt. Christopher Smith, with a large party of 28 from Halifax, to loud cheers when sailing on 8 December, </I><I><B>1838</B></I><I>,  and made safe passage in only 16 days.  A dinner and presentation was made for the Captain in Falmouth.</I>"</div> <bR> <div> <B>His arrival started the last chapter of Falmouth's history as a postal  packet station.</B></div> <bR> <div> A £50,000  contract was for a fortnightly service of steamers between Liverpool, Halifax and Boston for 8 months a year. It was awarded to Samuel Cunard, in London on May 4th, 1839. Cunard's  <I>British & North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company</I>, operated it's first mail-carrying voyage with the 1,100 ton wooden paddle steamer <I><B>Britannia</B></I><I>.</I> It sailed from Liverpool for Halifax and Boston on <U>July 4th</U>, 1840, and arrived at Halifax in 12 days 10 hours. The <I><B>Acadia</B></I><B> </B>sailed on August 4th.</div> <bR> <div> <I>Sherborne Mercury</I> (SM)  Monday May 23, <B>1838</B>:</div> <div> By the Steam packet <I><B>Sirius</B></I>, 18 days from New York, we have [news]papers and letters from that city to the 1st of May inclusive. </div> <div> [<I>Sirius </I>and <I>Junot</I> were steam paddle ships, employed as 'steam packets' on the Dublin-Falmouth-Plymouth-Portsmouth-London route, and operated by the St. George Steam Packet Co., of Dublin.] </div> <bR> <div> The<I> West Briton</I> [WB] of Friday May 25th, <B>1838:</B> [Falmouth] On Saturday last [19th], at one o'clock, the <I><B>Sirius </B></I>steamer arrived from New York, whence she sailed on the 1st instant, having been 19 days on her outward voyage, and 18 days on her return.  She and the <I>Great Western</I> both arrived at New York on St. George's Day; the 23rd ult., the latter only a few hours after the former. </div> <div> [On her return]<B> The </B><I><B>Sirius</B></I><B> fell in with the </B><I><B>Tyrian</B></I><B> packet from Halifax, 800 miles to the Westward, and brought home her mails.</B></div> <div> Saturday; Wind SSW-W, Arr. <I>Sirius</I> Str., Roberts from New York, <I>Junot </I>Str., Moriarty, and <I>Concordia </I>Str., from London. </div> <div> Sunday; Sailed the<I> Sirius </I>Steamer & <I>Royal Tar</I> Str. for London, and the <I>Concordia</I>, Read, for Waterford. {S. Ireland]</div> <bR> <bR> <div> SM Monday May 28th, 1838: [Qf. '<I>The Times</I>']</div> <div> The <I><B>Great Western</B></I><I> </I>steamship arrived in the Bristol Channel at 10 o'clock on Tuesday [May 22nd] - after a passage of 14 days 17 hours.[consumption of 1 ton of coal per hour.]  "<I>A glorious triumph of science and enterprise</I>".  </div> <div> A letter dated <B>Montreal, May 4th, 1838</B>: From Sandy Hook [New York], 5 p.m. 7th May. </div> <div> 68 cabin passengers @ 35 Guineas each, the greatest number of passengers ever to come across the Atlantic in one ship, and, upwards of 20,000 Post Office letters, a cargo consisting of cotton for our new factory [manufacturing industry], indigo, silks and miscellaneous articles.  On her passage home, she spoke with, on 7th May, the <I>Wellington</I> packet ship, off Sandy Hook.  Mr. G. Pearne, Engineer of the <I>Great Western</I>, died in New York [4th May] in consequence of being scalded while blowing off steam, when the vessel arrived at New York.  He was a man of fortune, and volunteered to come over in the ship, in consequence of having superintended the construction of her machinery.</div> <bR> <div> Royal Cornwall Gazette (RCG) 1 June,<B>1838</B>: Great Western Railway.</div> <div> We have much pleasure in announcing the intended opening of the London end of this important work, on 4th June. The fares are fixed and exceedingly low, and the trains will make four journeys, to and from Maidenhead daily. [West of London]</div> <bR> <div> <B>The mails to Holyhead, Manchester, </B><B><U>Liverpool </U></B><B>and Carlisle, are now sent by the London and Birmingham Railway.</B>  The coaches are drawn to Euston-Square, and there placed on trucks, and so run on the railway, retaining their coachmen, guards, passengers, etc., and only receiving horses when they reach the present end of the railway (Denbigh Hall) to proceed on their respective destinations.  T<B>he general rate of traveling of the First Class of coaches on the Liverpool to Manchester Railway is now 30 miles an hour;</B> and within the last fortnight the whole 30 miles have been performed in 47 minutes. [RCG qf. <I>Liverpool Times</I>]</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>1838</B>: September 13.  Steam Rumour Reaches Halifax</div> <div> "We have heard, and from good authority, that the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have recommended to the Treasury Board the employment of Steam Vessels in the early part of next year, for the conveyance of Mails from Falmouth (England) to this Port (Halifax)." </div> <div> [This item, here quoted whole, appeared in The <I>Yarmouth Herald </I>of 24 September 1838; it was reprinted from the <I>Halifax Gazette</I> of 13 September 1838.] </div> <bR> <div> <B>1838</B> September 14.   Whitehall Gets the Message</div> <div> The <I><B>Tyrian </B></I>episode (above) made a strong impression. On this day, a formal announcement from Whitehall included this: "He is deeply impressed with the importance of the subject and His Lordship hopes that an arrangement may be effected at an early period, by which the desired improvements in communication between this country (Great Britain) and British North American Provinces will be accomplished." </div> <div> In November 1838, the British public were amazed to see an Admiralty advertisement, the first of the kind ever printed, calling for tenders for establishment of a regular mail service across the Atlantic by steamships of not less than 300 horsepower 230 kilowatts each, to operate between England, Halifax, and New York. <B>Judge Haliburton immediately sent this news to Samuel Cunard in Halifax, who boldly seized the opportunity. </B></div> <div> [Excerpted from the book <I>First Things in Acadia</I> by John Quinpool, published in Halifax in 1936.] </div> <div> [qf. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>The </B></FONT><B>History of Technology in Nova Scotia</B> with special attention given to <B>Communications and Transportation </B>Chapter 2, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist02.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist02.html"><U><B>1 January 1830 to 31 December 1849</B></U></A><A HREF="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist02.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist02.html"><U> </U></A>]</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I>Falmouth Packet</I> (FP) 11 July,1840: </div> <div> <I><B>Britannia</B></I>, Capt Woodruff, commander - sailed from Liverpool on Saturday <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0033" FACE="Arial" ><B>4th July 1840</B></FONT>, with 70 passengers.  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0033" FACE="Arial" ><B>The First CUNARD sailing .</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Samuel Cunard was the principal subscriber, with £55,000 (of £270,000), in the British & North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company , and from the early days the company was popularly known as the CUNARD LINE. The first mail sailing was taken by the 1100 ton wooden paddle steamer <I><B>Britannia</B></I> which left Liverpool for Halifax and Boston, on July 4th, 1840, and, on her maiden voyage, reached Halifax in 12 days 10 hours. The <I><B>Acadia f</B></I>ollowed on August 4th, 1840.</div> <div> [Bosnor, N.R.P. North Atlantic Seaway (1955) ]</div> <bR> <bR> <div> FP 2 May,<B>1840</B>: (Quoting <I>The Colonial Gazette</I>).  The first steam branch packet to serve between Halifax & Boston with mails to be carried by Cunard's vessels from Liverpool to Halifax </div> <div> <I><B>Unicorn</B></I>, 700 tons, 300 HP with 31 ft wide paddle wheels. </div> <bR> <div> <B>1842</B> January 20.  C. Dickens Arrives on <I><B>Britannia</B></I></div> <div> On this day, the Cunard steamship <I>Britannia</I> arrived at Halifax, on its way from Liverpool to Boston. <B>Charles Dickens</B> was on board. He wrote: "...The town [<B>Halifax</B>] is built on the side of a hill, the highest point being commanded by a strong fortress, not yet quite finished. Several streets of good breadth and appearance extend from its summit to the water-side, and are intersected by cross streets running parallel with the river. The houses are chiefly of wood. The market is abundantly supplied; and provisions are exceedingly cheap. The weather being unusually mild at that time for the season of the year, there was no sleighing: but there were plenty of those vehicles in yards and by-places, and some of them, from the gorgeous quality of their decorations, might have "gone on" without alteration as triumphal cars in a melodrama at Astley's. The day was uncommonly fine; the air bracing and healthful; the whole aspect of the town cheerful, thriving, and industrious. We lay there seven hours, to deliver and exchange the mails. At length, having collected all our bags and all our passengers (including two or three choice spirits, who, having indulged too freely in oysters and champagne, were found lying insensible on their backs in unfrequented streets), the engines were again put in motion, and we stood off for Boston..." </div> <div> [ Complete text of chapter 2 of American Notes, by Charles Dickens, which contains his description of the voyage from Liverpool to Halifax and on to Boston.] </div> <div> [qf. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>The </B></FONT><B>History of Technology in Nova Scotia</B> with special attention given to <B>Communications and Transportation </B>Chapter 2, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist02.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist02.html"><U><B>1 January 1830 to 31 December 1849</B></U></A><A HREF="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist02.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist02.html"><U> </U></A>]</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> By <B>1847</B>, all the rival British North Atlantic steamship lines, none of which were subsidised, had faded out.  Then, when the Cunard mail contract expired, <B>a new contract,</B> valued at £150,000, called for a <B>weekly </B>service during<B> eight months </B>and <B>f</B><B>ortnightly </B>during the remainder.  Sailings were to be <B>via Halifax to Boston and New York alternately</B>, the first New York sailing being taken by the <I><B>Hibernia</B></I>, which docked there in December 1847.  The feeder service (summer only) between Pictou and Quebec was withdrawn.  <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >[Bosnor, N.R.P. North<I> Atlantic Seaway</I> (1955) ]</FONT></div> <bR> <div> 11July,<B>1848</B>: Rules for Navigation lights </div> <div> To be fitted by the British and North American Royal Mail Company, the British General Steam Packet Company, Glasgow & Liverpool Steam Packet Co., Chester & Holyhead Co., P & O Steam Packet Co., West India Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.   </div> <div> [No reference to Cunard Steam Navigation Company, although they no doubt implemented the <B>new rules regarding coloured lights.]</B></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>