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Currently I have been looking at the ships connected to my 4x great-uncle Joseph Wood (1803 – 1855) of Maldon, Essex. I am aware of four ships he sailed on during his seafaring life HMS Enterprise, Barque Westminster, HMS Volcano and Wanderer, my aim is to track down all the ships associated with my family history and it’s a slow process but a very interesting one as you can learn so much about your ancestors if you know the journeys they took.
I have no dates of when Joseph Wood was on-board Barque Westminster but it would have been between 1838 and no later than 1850
Below are the details regarding this ship:
She was built-in 1837 most probably by the James Laing yard at Southwich, Sunderland, England for Duncan Dunbar at London. The yard of Laing built many East Indiamen.
Tonnage 610.3, dim. 117.0 x 27.3 x 20.8ft.
According to Lloyds register she was 513 22/94 tons (old measurement rules) and 611 tons (new rules).
Launched under the name WESTMINSTER.
Ship rigged, carried a female bust as figurehead.
She was registered in London on 08 March 1838 under No 70.
Owners given then as Duncan Dunbar, London shipowner, 44/64th shares.
Philip Laing, Sunderland, shipowner 20/64th shares, (the fact that Philip Laing was a part owner for the first 12 years, helps to confirm the builder.)
Her first voyage was from Gravesend when she sailed on 25 March 1838 with 250 emigrants to Sydney, during the voyage 10 persons died. Arrival date 26 June.
Her second voyage with assisted immigrants to Australia, was when she sailed under command of Capt. S.A. Mollison on 18 August 1839 from London and arrived at Melbourne on 13 December 1839.
In 1841 she made an other voyage with emigrants to Sydney when she on 17 April 1841 sailed from Plymouth, arrived Sydney 30 July 1841. The 246 immigrants arrived in good health, only five deaths having occurred during the passage. She was that voyage under command of Capt. Forbes Mitchie.
1841 She was repaired after damages, and sheathed in felt and copper.
In 1843 she was an emigrant ship to New Zealand.
The Lives of my Ancestors 
Thanks for the info on the Westminster. My ancestors were aboard from London to New York City, arriving there 10 Dec 1849. They were from Plymouth, Devon but were incorrectly listed on the passenger list as native country Ireland.
Hi Diane, your very welcome. I hope the research helped. Thank you very kindly for your comment too 😊
Hi, I did have one thought. I checked my notes, and there were only 24 passengers on board that trip to New York. Would that be unusual? Or might they have been carrying more cargo?
To be honest, I am not sure. But it is very likely that they were carrying cargo. Possibly even mail.
Hi Stephen and Diane,
Some of my ancestors came out to Sydney on the Westminster’s maiden voyage, so thanks for your page Stephen. Diane it seems the Westminster was used several times as a tea clipper, so as Stephen suggests they may have had cargo and mail.
Thank you for your message Mandy 😉
Hello Stephen, I stumbled across your blog while researching the ‘Westminster’. I am in the process of writing a historical fiction based on my great grandfather x 2 – Thomas Blanch. Thomas and a section of the family were ‘assisted migrants’ from Kent. They came to Australia on the ‘Westminster’ in 1838. They left Gravesend on 29th March and arrived Sydney on 26th June – a fast voyage. The chances are that Joseph Wood was on the Westminster for that voyage.I would like your permission to use Joseph as a character in the novel. He would be a sailor – possibly give him a more senior position. Naturally I will acknowledge your blog site as the source of my info.
I am willing to give you a copy of the draft chapter for comment.
There are three parts to the book: England; journey to Australia; settlement in NSW.
At this stage I am still working on the English section including the ‘Swing Riots’.
Hi Milton, sorry for my delay in writing back. I think what you are planning is absolutely amazing. Please feel free to use Joseph Wood as a character. 😃
I write myself, so I admire anyone writing about their family history.
I will help promote the book for you too, and I will buy a copy for sure.
My email address is:
stephenrobertkuta@hotmail.com
Feel free to send an email, and I will do anything I can to help with your adventure.
Hi Milton. My ancestor William Thomas and his family also came out to Australia on the Westminster in 1838. Feel free to include him in your book. I will also happily buy a copy.
Hello Stephen, Thank you for sharing your research. My DENNISS ancestor was on the first bounty migrant voyage of the ‘Westminster’ to Sydney arriving 1838. Maybe he got to know Milton’s ancestor on the voyage, and perhaps your Joseph Wood. The ‘Westminster’ first appears in Lloyd’s Register of Ships online in 1838 as a Barque (entry W126), and first destined voyage was London to China. The 1839 Lloyd’s repeats the China destination before the migrant voyage to Australia – maybe plans changed? Perhaps of more interest is the 1840 beaching of ‘Westminster’ and another East Indiaman ‘Claudine’, at Palm Bay Margate during a sudden northerly gale on the night of 21-22 November 1840 “as a means of securing her cargoes” (the crews were safely taken off.) This event was captured in an etching by artist William Henry Bartlett which became the basis for a stamp for St Helena issued in 1973. References: Royal Museums Greenwich https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/110591.html, and https://shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8871&start=0#!lightbox%5Bgallery%5D/0/. The St Helena stamp incorrectly shows the year of the storm as 1849 – this was the year that ‘Claudine’ was broken up.
Hi Kevin, thank you for your comment and sharing the information regarding the date of the storm. It is much appreciated. Next week I will note this in the post for others to see.
So it is much appreciated.
Very cool, and a lovely thought if our family met each other on this voyage 😊
Hello thank you for this info – love the stamp. My people arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on the 1st April 1843 on the Westminster. Someone has written our history but my line has been left off so am retracing steps and updating info.
Hello, I have been trying to find information on the Westminster My great grandfather arrived in Melbourne on 13th December 1839 and have finally found it. Thank you. Carol Rigby
Hi! My ancestors were on this ship in 1848 from Plymouth to Port Adelaide in South Australia.
They were agricultural farmers from Hampshire in England. They had a reasonable voyage considering and 107 days non stop due to the new yellow metal bow that made the ship able to streamline through the seas so no need to stop!
What does everyone think about this voyage length and non stop in 1848!
Sad that the only picture of this ship is on the british stamp!
Kia ora my ancestors came on the Westminster in 1842 from Plymouth England and landed in Auckland 31st Mar 1843 They were Edward Bridges Walker born in Ireland and his wife Anne Purcell. He was the grave digger in Auckland NZ. They had twins on the ship – think one may have died on board?