D is for Departure & Disembarking

Today, we focus on the letter D, which stands for Disembarking. This post focuses again on my 4th great-grandparents, Reuben Wheeler and his wife Elizabeth (née Thomas), and their two young children Selina (my 3rd great-grandmother) and George, who arrived on the Himalaya.  We have already explored the Bounty Scheme that brought the Wheeler family to Australia, but what happened immediately before and after they arrived?

For 118 days, nearly four months, the Himalaya had been the Wheelers' entire world.ⁱ Even before their voyage began, there had been challenges. The ship had originally been scheduled to depart on 27 September 1841, according to an Australian newspaper.ⁱⁱ However, rough weather and contrary winds in October (notably around the 11th and 23rd) forced the Himalaya to turn back to Deal and later to the Downs.^iiiivv These delays meant the ship reached Plymouth later than expected, leaving the Wheelers to adjust their plans multiple times before finally boarding.

For many immigrants of the time, their transfer to and from shore was a jarring experience. Typically, passengers would carefully descend or ascend rope ladders or transfer platforms, clutching whatever personal belongings they could manage.

In 1841, passengers would typically not board large oceangoing vessels directly from a pier, even in London. They would have been transported to the ship via smaller boats (lighters or tenders) while the main vessel was anchored in deeper water, such as Plymouth Sound or the Cattewater estuary. The Himalaya would likely have been anchored in Plymouth Sound, a deep-water bay that served as a key departure point for ocean-going vessels.

After their long voyage, the Wheelers finally arrived in Australia on February 26, 1842. But their challenges were far from over. Before 1851, immigrant ships arriving in Victoria, Australia, anchored in Hobson’s Bay, as they were too large to cross the mud bar at the mouth of the Yarra River. Passengers were then transferred to shore using smaller, shallow-bottomed boats called lighters. Families with young children or elderly members faced particular challenges, navigating the precarious move from the towering immigrant ship to the small, rocking lighter. The wind might have whipped across Hobson's Bay, adding to the already tense atmosphere of arrival. Boatmen would call out, competing for passengers, while immigrants like the Wheelers would have been acutely aware that this moment marked their definitive departure from their old life and the beginning of their uncertain new adventure in Australia.

Cox, H. L. (Henry L., Bourchier, T., McHugh, P. H., & Great Britain. Hydrographic Department. (1866). Victoria-Australia, Port Phillip. Hobson Bay and River Yarra leading to Melbourne [cartographic material] / surveyed by H.L. Cox ; assisted by Thos. Bourchier & P.H. McHugh, 1864 ; engraved by J. & C. Walker. London: Published by the Admiralty. Admiralty Map of Published 1865 -State Library of Victoria https://find.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/61SLV_INST/1sev8ar/alma9913647073607636

The above map is a British Admiralty nautical chart depicting the configuration of Port Phillip, including Hobson’s Bay and the Yarra River leading to Melbourne. It details the coastline's slopes, water depths, and built soundings on shore.

As one contemporary observer described the experience:

“We have to pass through the purgatory of Hobson's Bay, through boatmen, lightermen, wharfingers — all clutching at our very life with their unheard-of demands ; and escaping them, we fell into the hands of the Melbourne tradesmen.”^vi

The Wheelers would have climbed down into a lighter, which then ferried them to the beach. From there, they likely had to walk, as hiring a boat to travel further up the Yarra was costly. Fares were regulated by a Waterman's Licence and enforced by the Water Police Office.

According to the Port Phillip Gazette (March 26, 1842), fares for such services ranged from 1 shilling 6 pence per person for groups of two to six passengers.^vii It is unclear whether the immigration scheme covered this cost, or if passengers had to pay themselves.

Many passengers alighted at Sandridge, and assisted immigrants like the Wheelers may have been more likely to come ashore here than on the Yarra, possibly due to lower costs.^viii This practice would have been common in the 1840s when the Wheelers arrived, as the Railway Pier (later known as Station Pier) wasn't constructed until 1854. The Wheelers' experience of stepping onto Australian soil for the first time at Sandridge would have been shared by countless other immigrants, marking the beginning of their new lives in the colony.

Useful Links for Background

This April, as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (#AtoZChallenge), where I’m sharing my ancestor's travel stories—one letter at a time. From long voyages by sea to overland treks, each post will focus on the journeys themselves—the routes they took, the challenges they faced, and the experiences along the way.

WikiTree Links:

• WikiTree profile for Reuben Wheeler

• WikiTree profile for Elizabeth (Thomas) Wheeler

• WikiTree profile for Selina (Wheeler) Jones aka Crump

• WikiTree profile for George Wheeler

Related Posts

To see information concerning the Himalaya see my previous post in this series B is for Bounty Scheme. 

Blog Post Meta Data

The URL for this post is https://ancestralresearchjournal.blogspot.com/2025/04/d-is-for-departure-disembarking.html originally published 4 April 2025.

Author 2025, Sandra Williamson

Sources:

i   From 31 October 1841 to 26 February 1842, there are 118 days.

ii   1841 'Commercial and Marine.', Port Phillip Gazette (Vic. : 1838 - 1845), 27 October, p. 3. , viewed 17 Mar 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225011626

iii "SHIP NEWS." Standard, 12 Oct. 1841. British Library Newspapers, link-gale-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/apps/doc/R3212169883/BNCN?u=slv&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=6a2f6bc7. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

“...DEAL, Oct. 11.- It blew very hard last night from SSW, during the which a Swedish brig was totally wrecked on the Goodwin Sand-seven of the crew reported to be save. The York Packet, for New Zealand lost an anchor and cable during the night, and has been supplied. The vessel on the Goodwin Sand is reported to be Carl Robert, from Hull-three of the crew drowned … Put back, Himalya, for Port Phillip ….”

iv  "SHIP NEWS." Standard, 12 Oct. 1841. British Library Newspapers, link-gale-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/apps/doc/R3212169883/BNCN?u=slv&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=6a2f6bc7. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

“...DEAL, Oct. 11.- It blew very hard last night from SSW, during the which a Swedish brig was totally wrecked on the Goodwin Sand-seven of the crew reported to be save. The York Packet, for New Zealand lost an anchor and cable during the night, and has been supplied. The vessel on the Goodwin Sand is reported to be Carl Robert, from Hull-three of the crew drowned … Put back, Himalya, for Port Phillip ….”

v  "Marine Intelligence." Newcastle Journal, 23 Oct. 1841, p. 3. British Library Newspapers, link-gale-com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/apps/doc/GR3216159473/BNCN?u=slv&sid=bookmark-BNCN&xid=c5952447. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

“We have had but trifling arrivals today; and no sailings The Himalaya, Burns, of this port, has put back to the Downs. Several vessels have been dtained, outward bound in the Channel for the last few days by contrary winds.”

vi  Howitt, William, 1858, ”Land, labour, and gold; or, Two years in Victoria. With visits to Sydney and Van Diemen's Land p.169 (accessed https://archive.org/embed/landlabourgoldor00howirich : 27 March 2025)

vii  1842 'Advertising', Port Phillip Gazette (Vic. : 1838 - 1845), 26 March, p. 1. , viewed 27 Mar 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225008716

viii  Barnard, Jill. Jetties and Piers – A Background History of Maritime Infrastructure in Victoria. Vol. Part Two Thematic history of maritime infrastructure. The Heritage Council of Victoria, 2008. (accessed https://livinghistories.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Jetties-ONL-Part-2-Chp-1_3.pdf : 27 March 2025)