Penrhyn Castle
- Type: Steel Barque
- Tonnage: 1349
- Dimensions: 237.7/36.2/21.2
- Built: 1890 Bristol
- O.N. 98072
- Bought 1890
- Fate: Missing 1915. Bahia Blanca to Freemantle
Owned by Penrhyn Castle Co Ltd, 5 Bryntirion Terrace, Criccieth and managed by Robert Thomas and Co. In 1893 the office moved to 49 High Street Criccieth and in 1901 the joint owners Robert Thomas and Robert Rees Thomas (his son) had moved to 26, Chapel Street, Liverpool.
166
shareholders inc. Purchase price of vessel £16,600. William
Bayne Bangor, W.Williams Manchester House Criccieth, William Morris
Exchange Ruabon, Capt' Hugh Parry shipbroker Portmadoc,Capt Owen
Morris Portmadoc, Capt Evan Jones, Portmadoc, David Lloyd George M.P.
Criccieth etc etc. (AE)
- 1890 Built by Charles Hill at Bristol.
- 1890 11th
April. Home Trade articles opened for "run" to Newport to
load first Cargo. Several Criccieth men amongst the "run"crew.
- Following from DB after inspection of articles in PRO..............
- 1890 17th April (Foreign)Articles opened - at Newport? Master was Evan Jones of Pwllheli. No Criccieth crew members.
- Voyage Newport to Hamburg Master Evan Jones.
Articles opened Newport, 17 April 1890, closed
Hamburg 31 March 1891
Crew showing Criccieth or Port Madoc as place
of birth
Richard Williams aged 20 (PM)
Carl Person, J Hobbs, Ed Power, Edward Warren,
Henry Temple, A Camserson
(various places of birth, none C or PM) all
deserted in Buenos Aires
2 further crewmembers, names illegible, but
Greek and German, also deserted
in Buenos Aires. Oscar Waarsh of Wales, and
John Lassen plus 1 illegible Norwegan deserted in Iquique
Papers deposited Buenos Aires 18 June 1890 - 13
August 1890
Iquique 29 September 1890 - 7 November
1890
Hamburg 30 March 1891 - 31 March 1891
- 1891 March
31st Articles closed at Hamburg.
- JS has checked all the crew agreements from 1890 to 1894 (MUN and PRO). Her Grandfather was apprentice on the Penrhyn Castle during this period. The following is a list of all men from our area who sailed on the vessel during this period.
Richard Evans b Nevin 1860
William Griffith b Portmadoc 1873
Hugh Hughes b Criccieth 1853
John Hughes b Carnarvon 1861
John Hughes b Criccieth 1866
Evan Jones b Pwheli 1847
Peter Jones b Nevin 1869
Robert Jones b Carnarvon 1865
Robert Owens b Bangor 1842
Ellis M Roberts b Criccieth 1871
Evan Roberts b Pwheli 1848
Evan Roberts b Nevin 1847
Thomas Roberts b Nevin 1874
Oscar Waarsh b Wales 1871
John Williams b Nevin 1872
Richard Williams b Port Madoc 1870
Thomas Williams b Bangor 1871
The period from 1900 is covered in Claude Woolard's excellent book "The Last of the Cape Horners". It also contains several photos and drawings.
21st July 1900 Depart London for Cape Town (65 days) with coal, machinery and stores for the Boer War (N.B one of the shareholders was David Lloyd George M.P. who spoke out fiercely against the war!) . Then ballast to Caleta Buena in Chile to load nitrates for Hamburg arriving July 1901
1901 Hamburg - Puget Sound with generals arriving Jan 1902. After discharging at Seattle, loaded canned fruit for Durban. Sailed from there in ballast, arriving Newcastle NSW on 13th September where she loaded coal for Taltal, Chile arriving there December 1902. Departed Antofagasta with nitrates Feb? 1903.
Arrived Dunkirk June 1st 1903. Then part cargo of sugar to Liverpool arriving 25th June.
9th Sept 1903 Sailed Liverpool for Melbourne with generals arriving new year. After discharge ballast to Williamstown to load grain for Callao . Several of the crew deserted to go to the goldfields at Ballarat. Loaded nitrates at the Guano Islands. Took four months to load. Arrived back Antwerp 3rd March 1905. Captain relieved of command.
May 1905. Capt. W.Higgins. Europe to Antofagasta with heavy cargo of railway track, chain, machinery etc Lost main t'gallant mast in Trades. Vessel too "stiff" due to badly stowed cargo. Unable to round Cape Horn. Much damage - crew demanded that the vessel be turned around so she went to Montiveideo where the cargo was restowed and damage repaired. She then made a fair passage to Chile. (This is a well documented episode - in Woolard's, Villiers and Lubuck's books. They probably got their information from Capt. G.I.Griffiths who was third mate on her at this time. He wrote an article in "Sea Breezes" in 1951 about the voyage.) After discharge, nitrates from Iqique departing on the 26th February 1906 and arriving at London in May.
23rd June 1906 London to Newcastle NSW then ballast to Lobos de Tierra to load nitrates arriving back at Antwerp on the 24th of November 1907.
1908- Oct 1909 Capetown-East London - Newcastle NSW - Gatico - Iqique - London. Capt. Davies takes over command.
1909-May 1911 London - Sydney NSW - Melbourne - Newcastle NSW - Valpariso - Mejillones - Aberdeen. Capt Hugh Griffiths takes over command.
May 1911 - 15th February 1912 Aberdeen - Sydney NSW(six crew desert) - Queenstown (Cobh) arriving 15th February 1912.
May - 1912 - 1914 Capt Robert Jones of Caernarvon. Sunderland - Port Nolloth - Newcastle NSW - Santa Island WCSA - Dublin arriving 12 th December 1913
March 9th 1914. Depart Liverpool with generals and gunpowder for Melbourne. Got into trouble in Biscay in a tremenendous gale. All decks swept clear... binnacle, boats, wheelhouse etc and other damage. Limped back to Falmouth where she spent 5 weeks under repair. After discharging at Melbourne (where crew was put in jail for mutiny/drunkeness) went to Williamstown to load grain for Capetown. then sailed in ballast for Bahia Blanca were Capt Jones was relieved by Capt Hugh Griffiths.
On 20th April 1915 the PENRHYN CASTLE sailed with wheat from Bahia Blanca for Fremantle, but failed to reach her destination. No trace of her was ever found and in September of that year was presumed missing and lost.
MASTERS from the Welsh Mariners Database:
William Davies of Bodean
John Evans of Dinas
Thomas J. Evans of Criccieth
Hugh Griffiths of Barmouth
Robert Jones of Caernarfon
John Williams of Nefyn
The period 1914 to when she went missing, by Claude Woolard above, doesn't quite fit in with Aled Eame's account of her being stopped by the warship DRESDEN.. the German Captain let her on her way when he found out that Capt. T.J.Evans of Criccieth had his wife and child onboard. The child mentioned is still alive and lives in Criccieth. She said that her father was in command of a powered vessel when stopped by the DRESDEN.
Sources
NM
Greenwich:Crew articles for 1895 and
1905 . Checked. In 1895 not sailing to Australia
MUN: Crew Articles for 1890 (Home Trade
"run" from builders to Newport), 1892-94, 1896-1897 Checked.
PRO Kew: Crew Articles / Official Logs
1890-1891
MUN: Memorial University St Johns Newfoundland
- DB: Debbie Beavis
- AE: Aled Eames
- LB: Lars Bruzelius
- BL: Basil Lubbock
- AV: Alan Villiers
- GH: Graeme Haig (Australia)
- JS: Julie Stone
- CW: Claude Woolard
