SS Ferret
Encyclopedia
SS Ferret was an iron screw steamship of 460 tons built in Glasgow
(Scotland
) in 1871 by J & G Thomson, Glasgow.
The ship was built for G & J Burns of Glasgow for use in the River Clyde
ferry service. In 1873, Dingwall & Skye Railway Co Ltd
bought it for use in the construction of the Tay Rail Bridge
. Later, as part of a merger, it was acquired by Highland Railway Co. of Inverness
.
In 1880 the ship was stolen as part of a conspiracy in which it disappeared from its home in Scotland
and mysteriously reappeared several months later in Australia
under a new name. It remained in Australia for the remainder of its working life.
in October 1880, several men approached the owners seeking to charter the ship for a Mediterranean
pleasure cruise. The men were James Stewart Henderson, alias Smith, alias Bernard; Edward Rashleigh Carlyon, alias Wright, alias Leigh; and Joseph Walker, alias Wallace. Henderson presented himself as the leader and managed to convince the owners that he had substantial financial credentials, and that the cruise was for his wife who was unwell. He claimed to be a relative of W.H. Smith, First Lord of the Admiralty. A six-month lease was agreed, and bills for the first month's charter paid, later to be found worthless. Henderson operated a fraudulent London shipbroking office named Henderson & Co. to support the scam.
Provisioning for the voyage began immediately, and crew and officers were hurriedly recruited. Walker and Carlyon were appointed Purser
and Chief officer
respectively. A man named Watkins was recruited as Sailing master and another man, Griffin, as Chief engineer.
The conspirators bought and loaded provisions and premium wine worth ₤500, and ₤1,400 worth of "stores, plate and coal", again all paid for with bills later found to be worthless. The ship sailed from Glasgow to Cardiff, and another Welsh port where they bunkered 260 tons of coal. Henderson's wife came aboard at Cardiff. Ferret then sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar, ostensibly for the "Mediterranean cruise", ensuring that shore-stations clearly saw the "All Well" signal. However, during the night with lights out, it passed back through the Straits, apparently unobserved—the ruse being that people would assume its disappearance meant the ship had been lost with all hands somewhere within the Mediterranean Sea
.
While at sea in the Atlantic, Henderson told the crew and officers he was on a secret mission, that he was a colonel in the United States Cavalry
, and that he needed to destroy all traces of his identity. He also told them he owned the ship and was entitled to do with it as he pleased, that he was immensely wealthy, and that anyone who did not cooperate with the scheme would be shot. Under his instructions, the ship was radically changed in appearance: the yellow funnel was painted black, previously blue lifeboats were painted white, and various items identifying the ship were tossed overboard. The wheelhouse and chartroom were dismantled and rebuilt on the aft-deck, further disguising the ship's profile. The ship was renamed Bantam, taking the name of another ship of similar tonnage on the Lloyd's Register
, and forged shipping documentation was created to support the false name. The crew were instructed to say the ship had sailed from Singapore if questioned. The ship next sailed to the Cape Verde Islands and then to Santos, Brazil, where it arrived on Boxing Day
1880. The crew took on a consignment cargo of coffee
for Marseilles. Henderson then sailed for Cape Town
, changing the ship's name en route, for the second time, to India. On arrival, he sold the coffee for ₤13,000. He then sailed for Port Phillip
in Victoria, Australia via Mauritius
and Albany, Western Australia
arriving at Victoria in April 1881. Henderson told Australian port authorities that he had come from Bermuda
.
Meanwhile, the owners, Highland Railway Co., had heard nothing of the ship and had advertised its disappearance widely. An observant wharf policeman on duty at Queenscliff
, Constable James Davidson, who had recently arrived from Scotland
, was at his post as the India steamed past. At the time, he happened to be reading a copy of The Scotsman
newspaper which included an article taken from the Glasgow Evening Citizen and which described the mysterious disappearance of the Ferret from the Clyde. The article read in part:
Seeing that the India fit the description well, Davidson noticed certain unusual behaviours coming from the ship, and noted that it had broken a number of port regulations. His suspicions raised, he kept it under observation and alerted his superiors. Customs officials seized the ship, and the faint appearance of another vessel's name under the lettering "India" soon confirmed the hoax.
Henderson and his accomplices tried to escape but were soon apprehended, charged, and brought to trial by jury in Melbourne
before Justice Williams. Henderson, Carlyon, and Walker were each charged with conspiracy on the high seas, attempt to defraud the ship's owners, and customs and other maritime offenses, including changing the name and official number of a ship. Chief Engineer Griffin, who had been recruited in Glasgow, provided much of the evidence that convicted the three.
Watkins, the sailing master, had left the ship in Capetown after which Wright had taken over the sailing duties. The three defendants fabricated a story that Watkins had led Peruvian arms smuggling racket, and that he told them to attempt to sell the ship. The court rejected the story and found the three men guilty.
Henderson and Walker each received seven years and Carlyon received three and a half years in gaol. Police investigations later found that Henderson had been offered £8500 for the ship through Melbourne shipbrokers Duthie & Co. but had declined and asked for £10,000. His intention had been to sail it to Sydney
to sell.
The Melbourne press reported extensively on the details of the trial. The Age
and The Argus
both provided daily accounts of the proceedings, and The Argus published depositions from key witnesses.
in November 1883 and taken over by Adelaide Steamship Company
the same year. SS Ferret was employed for general cargo work in the Port Adelaide
-Spencer Gulf
trade and on the southern Australian coast for many years. It made weekly round trips from Port Adelaide
to Port Lincoln
, Moonta
, Wallaroo
and Cowell
, carrying passengers and cargo.
In November 1903 it was involved in an incident in which it ran aground on Walrus Rock near Long Point, Spencer Gulf
. About eight hours later, after sixty tons of cargo had been unloaded, it was successfully refloated. A Marine Board enquiry was held, receiving evidence from the master, Captain G.T. Joss who was cautioned.
It was wrecked on 14 November 1920 after running onto a beach during a storm at Reef Head near Cape Spencer
on the South Australia
n Yorke Peninsula
.All 21 crew were rescued after walking 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) overland to Stenhouse Bay. The ship was under the command of a Captain Blair.
Coincidentally, the same beach had been the site of a wreck in January 1904, 17 years previous. A stricken Norwegian barque, Ethel, had run onto the beach and the SS Ferret had been the first vessel to arrive to report and assist with the rescue of its crew and passengers.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
(Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) in 1871 by J & G Thomson, Glasgow.
The ship was built for G & J Burns of Glasgow for use in the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
ferry service. In 1873, Dingwall & Skye Railway Co Ltd
Dingwall and Skye Railway
The Dingwall and Skye Railway was authorised on 5 July 1865 with the aim of providing a route to Skye and the Herbrides. However due to local objections, another Act of Parliament was required before work could commence. This was passed on 29 May 1868...
bought it for use in the construction of the Tay Rail Bridge
Tay Rail Bridge
The Tay Bridge is a railway bridge approximately two and a quarter miles long that spans the Firth of Tay in Scotland, between the city of Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife ....
. Later, as part of a merger, it was acquired by Highland Railway Co. of Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
.
In 1880 the ship was stolen as part of a conspiracy in which it disappeared from its home in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and mysteriously reappeared several months later in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
under a new name. It remained in Australia for the remainder of its working life.
Theft
While the ship was laid up in GreenockGreenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
in October 1880, several men approached the owners seeking to charter the ship for a Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
pleasure cruise. The men were James Stewart Henderson, alias Smith, alias Bernard; Edward Rashleigh Carlyon, alias Wright, alias Leigh; and Joseph Walker, alias Wallace. Henderson presented himself as the leader and managed to convince the owners that he had substantial financial credentials, and that the cruise was for his wife who was unwell. He claimed to be a relative of W.H. Smith, First Lord of the Admiralty. A six-month lease was agreed, and bills for the first month's charter paid, later to be found worthless. Henderson operated a fraudulent London shipbroking office named Henderson & Co. to support the scam.
Provisioning for the voyage began immediately, and crew and officers were hurriedly recruited. Walker and Carlyon were appointed Purser
Purser
The purser joined the warrant officer ranks of the Royal Navy in the early fourteenth century and existed as a Naval rank until 1852. The development of the warrant officer system began in 1040 when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain...
and Chief officer
Chief officer
A chief officer can refer to any of various leaders:In the military, it can refer to certain non-commissioned members:*Chief Petty Officer*Chief Warrant OfficerMarine occupation:*Chief Mate...
respectively. A man named Watkins was recruited as Sailing master and another man, Griffin, as Chief engineer.
The conspirators bought and loaded provisions and premium wine worth ₤500, and ₤1,400 worth of "stores, plate and coal", again all paid for with bills later found to be worthless. The ship sailed from Glasgow to Cardiff, and another Welsh port where they bunkered 260 tons of coal. Henderson's wife came aboard at Cardiff. Ferret then sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar, ostensibly for the "Mediterranean cruise", ensuring that shore-stations clearly saw the "All Well" signal. However, during the night with lights out, it passed back through the Straits, apparently unobserved—the ruse being that people would assume its disappearance meant the ship had been lost with all hands somewhere within the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
.
While at sea in the Atlantic, Henderson told the crew and officers he was on a secret mission, that he was a colonel in the United States Cavalry
United States Cavalry
The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, is the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army. The role of the U.S. Cavalry is reconnaissance, security and mounted assault. Cavalry has served as a part of the Army forces in every war in which the United States has participated...
, and that he needed to destroy all traces of his identity. He also told them he owned the ship and was entitled to do with it as he pleased, that he was immensely wealthy, and that anyone who did not cooperate with the scheme would be shot. Under his instructions, the ship was radically changed in appearance: the yellow funnel was painted black, previously blue lifeboats were painted white, and various items identifying the ship were tossed overboard. The wheelhouse and chartroom were dismantled and rebuilt on the aft-deck, further disguising the ship's profile. The ship was renamed Bantam, taking the name of another ship of similar tonnage on the Lloyd's Register
Lloyd's Register
The Lloyd's Register Group is a maritime classification society and independent risk management organisation providing risk assessment and mitigation services and management systems certification. Historically, as Lloyd's Register of Shipping, it was a specifically maritime organisation...
, and forged shipping documentation was created to support the false name. The crew were instructed to say the ship had sailed from Singapore if questioned. The ship next sailed to the Cape Verde Islands and then to Santos, Brazil, where it arrived on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
1880. The crew took on a consignment cargo of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
for Marseilles. Henderson then sailed for Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, changing the ship's name en route, for the second time, to India. On arrival, he sold the coffee for ₤13,000. He then sailed for Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
in Victoria, Australia via Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and Albany, Western Australia
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
arriving at Victoria in April 1881. Henderson told Australian port authorities that he had come from Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
.
Meanwhile, the owners, Highland Railway Co., had heard nothing of the ship and had advertised its disappearance widely. An observant wharf policeman on duty at Queenscliff
Queenscliff, Victoria
Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe...
, Constable James Davidson, who had recently arrived from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, was at his post as the India steamed past. At the time, he happened to be reading a copy of The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
newspaper which included an article taken from the Glasgow Evening Citizen and which described the mysterious disappearance of the Ferret from the Clyde. The article read in part:
Vessel Lost, Stolen, or Strayed from the Clyde. Under this singular heading the Glasgow Evening Citizen of Saturday prints a curious narrative, of which the following is a summary of the principal statements:"About the middle of October last a gentleman giving the name of Walker called on a leading firm of ship store merchants in Glasgow, represented that he was acting as broker for a gentleman of means who was going on a long yachting cruise, and desired to favour the firm with the contract for the provisioning of the vessel. References were asked, and found to be satisfactory. It was stated that the vessel had been chartered from the Highland Railway Company. It was also given out, more by ambiguous allusion than by direct assertion, that the person for whom Mr. Walker appeared was named Smith, and a relative of the late First Lord of the Admiralty. The goods were therefore supplied, including it is rumoured, a large stock of the highest class wines from London. The vessel was then lying at Greenock undergoing an overhaul at the hands of Messrs. Steel and Co., to make her more suitable for the new work and waters in which she was to be engaged for the next six months. The name of the vessel is (or was) the Ferret; and, to give an idea of her appearance, it may be mentioned that she is a screw steamer, 170 feet long, 23 feet broad, and 12 feet deep, having a gross measurement of 347 tons. She is fitted with compound inverted engines of 90 h.p., having two cylinders of 23 inches and 40 inches diameter. Both vessel and engines were constructed by Messrs. J. and G. Thomson, of Glasgow, in 1871..."
Seeing that the India fit the description well, Davidson noticed certain unusual behaviours coming from the ship, and noted that it had broken a number of port regulations. His suspicions raised, he kept it under observation and alerted his superiors. Customs officials seized the ship, and the faint appearance of another vessel's name under the lettering "India" soon confirmed the hoax.
Henderson and his accomplices tried to escape but were soon apprehended, charged, and brought to trial by jury in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
before Justice Williams. Henderson, Carlyon, and Walker were each charged with conspiracy on the high seas, attempt to defraud the ship's owners, and customs and other maritime offenses, including changing the name and official number of a ship. Chief Engineer Griffin, who had been recruited in Glasgow, provided much of the evidence that convicted the three.
Watkins, the sailing master, had left the ship in Capetown after which Wright had taken over the sailing duties. The three defendants fabricated a story that Watkins had led Peruvian arms smuggling racket, and that he told them to attempt to sell the ship. The court rejected the story and found the three men guilty.
Henderson and Walker each received seven years and Carlyon received three and a half years in gaol. Police investigations later found that Henderson had been offered £8500 for the ship through Melbourne shipbrokers Duthie & Co. but had declined and asked for £10,000. His intention had been to sail it to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to sell.
The Melbourne press reported extensively on the details of the trial. The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
and The Argus
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
both provided daily accounts of the proceedings, and The Argus published depositions from key witnesses.
Later years
On instructions from the Highland Railway Co. the ship was sold to William Whinham, of Adelaide in 1881. It was registered as the Ferret in Port AdelaidePort Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...
in November 1883 and taken over by Adelaide Steamship Company
Adelaide Steamship Company
The Adelaide Steamship Company was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods between Adelaide and Melbourne and profit from the need for an efficient and comfortable passenger service...
the same year. SS Ferret was employed for general cargo work in the Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...
-Spencer Gulf
Spencer Gulf
The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost of two large inlets on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. The Gulf is 322 km long and 129 km wide at its mouth. The western shore of the Gulf is the Eyre Peninsula, while the eastern side is the...
trade and on the southern Australian coast for many years. It made weekly round trips from Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...
to Port Lincoln
Port Lincoln, South Australia
- Transport :Port Lincoln is the port for the isolated narrow gauge Eyre Peninsular Railway.There is also a subsidiary port at Proper Bay which may be restored to use for iron ore traffic. The export of iron ore through Port Lincoln has been approved by the South Australian Government. Port...
, Moonta
Moonta, South Australia
Moonta is a town located on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, 165 kilometres north-northwest of the state capital of Adelaide. It is one of three towns known as the Copper Coast or "Little Cornwall" for their shared copper mining history....
, Wallaroo
Wallaroo, South Australia
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall", the other two being Kadina ...
and Cowell
Cowell, South Australia
Cowell is a coastal town on Franklin Harbour on the eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia on the Lincoln Highway 111 km south from the major town of Whyalla...
, carrying passengers and cargo.
In November 1903 it was involved in an incident in which it ran aground on Walrus Rock near Long Point, Spencer Gulf
Spencer Gulf
The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost of two large inlets on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. The Gulf is 322 km long and 129 km wide at its mouth. The western shore of the Gulf is the Eyre Peninsula, while the eastern side is the...
. About eight hours later, after sixty tons of cargo had been unloaded, it was successfully refloated. A Marine Board enquiry was held, receiving evidence from the master, Captain G.T. Joss who was cautioned.
It was wrecked on 14 November 1920 after running onto a beach during a storm at Reef Head near Cape Spencer
Cape Spencer (South Australia)
Cape Spencer is a headland in Innes National Park, South Australia. It was named by Matthew Flinders after the 2nd Earl Spencer. The current concrete lighthouse was built in the 1970s to replace a small automatic beacon erected in 1950. The Cape has views to Kangaroo Island on a clear day and is...
on the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n Yorke Peninsula
Yorke Peninsula
The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located north-west and west of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. It has geographic coordinates of...
.All 21 crew were rescued after walking 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) overland to Stenhouse Bay. The ship was under the command of a Captain Blair.
Coincidentally, the same beach had been the site of a wreck in January 1904, 17 years previous. A stricken Norwegian barque, Ethel, had run onto the beach and the SS Ferret had been the first vessel to arrive to report and assist with the rescue of its crew and passengers.