| [Index] |
| Sophia Matilda BALLS (1813 - 1866) |
| Children | Self + Spouses | Parents | Grandparents | Greatgrandparents |
|
Marianne Mary Ann CRAMP (1834 - 1923) Frances Harriet CRAMP (1835 - 1929) John James CRAMP (1837 - 1905) Sophia Matilda Emily CRAMP (1840 - 1901) Caroline CRAMP (1840 - 1920) Harriette CRAMP (1842 - 1911) |
Sophia Matilda BALLS (1813 - 1866) + John CRAMP (1809 - 1873) |
James BALLS | ||
| Elizabeth (BALLS) | ||||
| b. abt 1813 at Boston, Lincolnshire, England |
| m. 22 Sep 1833 John CRAMP (1809 - 1873) at St Marylebone, Middlesex, England |
| d. 12 Jul 1866 at At sea aged 53 |
| Parents: |
| James BALLS |
| Elizabeth (BALLS) |
| Events in Sophia Matilda BALLS (1813 - 1866)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| abt 1813 | Sophia Matilda BALLS was born | Boston, Lincolnshire, England | |||
| 22 Sep 1833 | 20 | Married John CRAMP (aged 23) | St Marylebone, Middlesex, England | ||
| 1834 | 21 | Birth of daughter Marianne Mary Ann CRAMP | St George the Martyr, Middlesex, England | ||
| abt 1835 | 22 | Birth of daughter Frances Harriet CRAMP | St George the Martyr, Middlesex, England | ||
| abt Dec 1837 | 24 | Birth of son John James CRAMP | St George the Martyr, Middlesex, England | Note 1 | |
| 07 May 1840 | 27 | Birth of daughter Sophia Matilda Emily CRAMP | St George the Martyr, Middlesex, England | Note 2 | |
| abt Dec 1840 | 27 | Birth of daughter Caroline CRAMP | St George the Martyr, Middlesex, England | Note 3 | |
| abt Sep 1842 | 29 | Birth of daughter Harriette CRAMP | St George the Martyr, Middlesex, England | Note 4 | |
| 1857 | 44 | Immigration | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | per 'Glen Isla' | 18 |
| 12 Jul 1866 | 53 | Sophia Matilda BALLS died | At sea | Note 5 | 18 |
| Personal Notes: |
|
WRECK OF THE STEAMER
CAWARRA. IT is our painful duty to again record one of those terrible catastrophes which from time to time break in upon the community, blanching the cheek, and making the stoutest heart to tremble. Shipwreck at all times is to he regretted, but when attended with loss of life, as on this occasion, is fearful to contemplate. The Cawarra, one of tho finest steamers in the colonies, with a largo and valuable cargo, and over fifty souls on hoard, started on her voyage for Brisbane and Rockhampton on the afternoon of the 11th instant and within twenty-four hours, at one fell swoop, ship cargo, and it is feared, both passengers and crew, have passed away, and that too within sight of hundreds of persons willing but, alas, unable to render the slightest aid. The first intimation of the disaster was received by telegram, by the Government, yesterday afternoon, at 3.30 p.m., and was to tho following effect, and dated from Newcastle: " that the steamer Cawarra had struck on the Oyster Bank, and broken in two." This was followed by another, announcing that the vessel was breaking up, a number of passengers were seen clinging to the poop, and that the lifeboat was going to their rescue, but it was feared she would not be able to reach them. The third and last message stated that the lifeboat went off but found not a vestige of the wreck. It was .supposed she must have gone down almost immedi- ately, and it was feared that all hands were lost. Unfortunately, telegraphic communication with Newcastle is interrupted, so that no further particulars can be obtained at present, and all is conjecture as to the reason for her being near Newcastle at all; a slight accident to the machinery, the heavy gale that blow with fearful violence throughout the night on which she sailed, and many other causes might necessitate her seeking a port of refuge, but it is to be feared the true cause will ever remain a mystery. Cap- tain Chatfield, her commander, was a gentleman of first class reputation as a seaman, and has for many years been intimately connected with steamships, and was specially noted for his great care and attention when at sea, and was highly respected by a numerous circle of friends. The Cawarra was the property of the A. S. N. Co., and arrived from England about two years ago; she has since been a regular trader between this port and Brisbane. The following is a list of the passengers:-For Brisbane, steerage-Alexander Brash, John Marsden, , George Seaward, Michael McLennan, and 7 Chinese. For Rockhampton : Cabin-Mrs. Cramp and child, Miss Anderson, Mr. A. Anderson, Mr. Machefer. Steerage-Mr. and Mrs. John Paterson, Samuel King, and 6 Chinese. The list of crew are :-Captain Henry Chatfield, late of the Boomerang (s.) ; chief officer, Mr. McDowell, who commanded the steamer Florence Irving on her passage from England to Sydney; second officer, Mr. Burrows, leaves a wife and six. children; chief engineer, Mr. Fountain; second engi- neer, Mr. Harkencross ; stewardess, Miss Kate Crozier ; fore cabin steward, John Darwen ; Stephen Goddard, pantryman-, - Murray, fireman; John McDiarmid, cook. The only other names which we were able to ascertain up till a late hour lost evening, were William Hunter and William Williams (better known as Lavender Bill), seamen. The steward, a Mr. Newlands, was unable to proceed by her on this trip, in consequence of having received an injury to his foot ; the second steward, therefore, assumed the post of chief. We may mention here that on the last trip of the Star of Aus- tralia, supposed to have foundered, Mr. Newlands who was a steward on board of her, remained behind, thus twice escaping the fate which has overtaken his shipmates. The cargo, which in this instance was an unusually large one, in consequence of no boat having left for Rockhampton for some time previous, will be found in our shipping columns. THE CAWARRA ENQUIRY. THE enquiry into the cause of the loss of the steamship Cawarra seems to have been as unsatisfactory in its results as that which was made into the loss of the London. The Commissioners appointed by the Governor of New South Wales have sat for about six weeks, have taken volu minous evidence, and on the 6th Novem ber gave as the result of their investiga tions that they were "of opinion that the " catastrophe was one of those lamentable " occurrences which befall at times the " best ships and the most experienced " commanders, and which human efforts " are powerless to avert." This is the concluding paragraph of the report; and the whole of the preceding part of it, and that comprises only some forty lines of news paper print, is taken up with the mere recital of the fact of the Cawarra's departure from Sydney on the evening of one day, and her dis astrous wreck on the forenoon of the fol lowing day. There is not a word in the report either in contradiction or affirma tion of the statement freely made at the time, and which is still believed by many, that the vessel was overladen, and that her loss was to be attributed rather to that than to the severity of the weather; in deed, for all practical purposes, the Com mission might as well not have been ap pointed. Was it not the duty of the Com mission to have satisfied the public mind as to the truth or untruth of the state ment, that the ship had been allowed to put to sea in an unsafe condition owing to her being too heavily laden ? Silence on the subject certainly implies that there may be some truth in the statement, and that the Commissioners, from motives which are not apparent, have either not sifted the matter as thoroughly as they might, or, having done so, decline to even express an opinion upon it. After the abortive result of the Com missioners' investigations, we are not sur prised that the report should have been received with much dissatisfaction; and we find that dissatisfaction evinced in the course of a lengthened debate in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on Tuesday last. Dr. Lang then moved — " that the report of the Commission " appointed to inquire into the circum " stances of the wreck of the late steam " ship Cawarra, and to Teport, is un " satisfactory," and he quoted portions of the evidence, particularly* that given by a gentleman who would be ad mitted to be an impartial witness —Mr. Dalgleish—lp show that the Cawarra was more deeply laden Jjua hex carrying capacity would permit her to be. Mr. Dalgleish had stated that the vessel was laden to her paddle centres, and being asked, " Have you any doubt that that was " a great deal too deep to be safe ? " he replied, "It must be obvious that if I hal " not thought it wrong I should never have " spoken to the Manager of the Company, " and the Marine Superintendent, about it "at the time. I called their attention to " the matter because I believed she was " too deep." Dr. Lang calls attention to the fact that the witnesses, with one or two exceptions, were almost all the employes of the company who owned the Cawarra, and said that although he did not wish to accuse such persons of dishonest evi dence or prevarication, it was well known that men's interests strongly affected their views in such cases. He called attention also to the evidence of Mr. Ronald, who superintended the building of the Cawarra, as showing that 398 tons might be taken as the standard cargo of the ship, and 11 feet as her proper draft, whereas it appeared from the evidence of Mr. Jaf fray and Mr. Clark that she had when she left Sydney 450 tons of coal and cargo on board, and was drawing 6 indies more than Mr. Ronald said she should draw to go to sea in anything like stormy weather. But if it be admitted, as we think it must be, by unprejudiced persons, thatthe Cawarra was overladen, and that her loss is partly attributable to that fact, we do not hold with those who would throw the whole blame upon the company. Public com panies, as a rule, have wonderfully elastic consciences, and seem to have a prescriptive right to certain action, which, when taken by individuals, brings upon them deserved censure and punishment. The blame, we think, ought to rest in a great measure upon the Government in permitting such carelessness to exist What is a Government for but to control the actions of public bodies when they affect the interests of the State or of individuals? It is a notorious fact that steamers and other vessels have left Sydney laden far beyond their capacity. Such a practice has been going on for some time under the cognizance of the Government, and not until a fine ship and fifty or sixty valuable lives are lost is any notice taken of it. To throw the blame on the company seems to us like shifting it on to a compara tively irresponsible body. There is not one of the shareholders, we believe, who would not decline the responsibility and refer to the management. The management again might excuse themselves by saying they were following the practice of the port, namely, to cram into a ship all the cargo that was offered. Our space will not permit us to go through the debate and the reasons-given in the course oi it for and against the report being considered unsatisfactory. The result was that Dr. Lang's motion was not put, the " previous question " being negatived, and that the House contented itself with declining to express an opinion upon the question brought before it. That the general public will affirm what an hon. member affirmed in the course of the dis cussion—that the report of the Commis sion is no report at all —we fully believe. It is satisfactory, however, to know that the Government of New South Wales are about to adopt precautions to prevent, as much as possible, the recurrence of such a disaster in future, and that one of those precautions will probably be the adoption of a load water line, and the appointment of an Inspector to see that vessels are npt laden beyond their oapacity. We would suggest the necessity for similar precautions being taken in the ports of this colony. |
| Source References: |
| 18. Type: E-mail Message, Abbr: e-mails general pool, Title: e-mails general pool |
| - Reference = Pip Bucknell 28 Oct 2010 (Death) |
| - Reference = Pip Bucknell 27 Oct 2010 (Immigration) |