HM Brig The Lady Nelson 1
The Lady Nelson was a tiny 60 ton brig that contributed an enormous amount to the exploration and the sustenance of the fledgling Australian colonies. In fact, sailors mockingly called her "His Majesty's Tinderbox" as she sailed up the Thames on her maiden voyage. The Lady Nelson was built in 1799 at Deptford in London. She was a lot different from other ships in that she had a center-board keel. She was chosed for exploration because here three centre-boards allowed her a lesser draught in shallow water. The French were rumoured to be setting up voyages of discovery to Australia to claim land for France. The commander of the Lady Nelson was Lieutenant James Grant.
Lady Nelson Leaves England
On January 13th 1800 the Lady Nelson was hauled out of Deadman's Dock into the Thames River with only 2 guns. On January 16 she sailed to Gravesend and when she reached the Downs a heavy gales was blowing. After a few days the Lady Nelson took refuge in Ramsgate, then sailed to Spithead, off the Isle of Wight, and then into Portsmouth. In Portsmouth she was given four more guns and ordered to join a fleet with HMS Anson, HMS Porpoise(going to Port Jackson too). On March 16, 1800 the signal for sailing was given, and on the 18th they left port.
The Lady Nelson found it hard to keep up the bigger ships and the Brunswick was ordered to tow her. But it began to blow very hard and Grant let the tow hawser go and lost sight of the fleet the next day. On 25th they sighted a sail and the Frigate HMS Hussar, a convoy ship to the West India Fleet, fired a shot and demanded the Lady Nelson to show her colors. On the first of April, another gale raged for days and after they found themselves drifting south of Madeira, they sailed for Las Palmas. On the 8th they crossed the Tropic of Cancer and on Sunday the 13th of April, they anchored in Port Praya, St. Iago where they replenished supplies and fixed a broken keel. Two boys deserted but were eventually caught and returned to the ship.
Port Praya to Cape Town
The Lady Julian left Port Praya on April 27 and as the ship neared the equator they had heavy rainy squalls and nasty seas. As they neared Rio di Janeiro they decided that they did not need to go into port because they had enough bread and water. So they veered off for South Africa. On the 23rd they meet a spanish brig that had been a prize captured by a South African privateer. The prize was a 70 ton ship filled with beeswax, hides, tallow, and tobacco. They sailed together to Cape of Good Hope. On the 7th July they sighted land. The Lady Nelson sailed to Table Bay and had two new keels fitted. Then she sailed for Simon's Bay where she found HMS Porpoise, also bound for New South Wales. A ship called the Wellesly arrived from England with despatches. Grant was ordered by the Admiralty to sail to Sydney through Bass Strait instead of sailing around Tasmania. George Bass had only just discovered the strait the year before. Grant was also ordered to explore the areas around Bass Strait.
Cape of Good Hope to Australia
The Lady Nelson left Cape Town on the 7th October 1800 and soon after bad weather set in which moderated after a number of days. They also encountered some very cold weather with snow at times. On November 1, they sailed past Amsterdam Island and as they approached the coast of Australia, a strict look-out was ordered from the masthead by day and night. On December 1, they sighted a spermecetti whale, some seals and the next day a horse fly landed on the mainsail. Land was near. On the 3rd December, 1800 land was sighted. They were just off the border between South Australia and Victoria.
The Lady Nelson Resources
Go onto the next part of the voyage of the Lady Nelson to Sydney. Lady Nelson sails on to Sydney
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