Schooner Parramatta

Most of us know that HMAS Parramatta was the first ship commissioned into the Commonwealth Naval Forces but earlier ships have also held that name; perhaps the first ship to have been called Parramatta was an armed trading schooner built in the colony in 1806.  This ship was owned by John Macarthur and became the cause of the dismissal of Governor Bligh.  In 1807 the ship had sailed to Tahiti with an escaped convict on board; when the Governor discovered a convict had escaped, he demanded that the ship-owners’ bond (of $200,000 in today’s money) be forfeited.  Macarthur refused to pay and instead told the crew when they returned to Sydney that he could no longer afford to employ them: they were left on-board with no food and they appealed to the governor for support.  Governor Bligh summonsed Macarthur to explain his actions but instead Macarthur led an insurrection to take control of the Colony; so the Parramatta was instrumental in bringing down Governor Bligh.

The ship’s other claim to fame took place early the next year; the ship was on its way to Fiji for sandalwood when it was discovered that there was insufficient food to continue the voyage.  Putting into the Bay of Islands in New Zealand, the captain negotiated with local Maori people for supplies, which resulted in plenty of food and water being loaded on the ship. But, rather than pay as agreed, Captain Glenn had the Maori thrown overboard, some to their death, and sailed away.  The ship sailed into a major storm and was wrecked on Cape Brett and the Maori killed the crew, because of their behaviour in the Bay of Islands.