British Peer (ship)

The "British Peer" was a 1428-ton, convert|247.5|ft|m long, convert|36.4|ft|m wide and convert|22.5|ft|m deep, three-masted iron sailing ship, built at the Harland and Wolff yards in Belfast, Ireland, in 1865 for the for the British Shipowners Company. In 1883 she was bought by the Nourse Line. Originally she was the fastest vessel in fleet until the "British Ambassador" was commissioned. [cite book|accessdate=2008-02-25|year=1984|publisher=Naval Institute Press|title=Merchant Sailing Ships, 1850-1875: Heyday of Sail|isbn=0870219510|author=David Roy Macgregor|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=xzM7AAAAMAAJ] Alterations to increase her tonnage by lengthening her hull by convert|32|ft|m in 1878 completely spoiled her sailing powers however as she was never as fast again. Excluding her master she carried a crew of 22.

The "British Peer", like other Nourse Line ships, was involved in the indentured labour trade. On 23 April 1892, she carried 527 Indian indentured labourers to Fiji. Two months late, on 11 June 1892, she arrived in Suriname with Indian indentured labourers. She also repatriated 450 Indians who had completed their indenture from St Lucia to India in September 1894.

The "British Peer" had first visited South Africa in 1886 while on a voyage carrying indentured labourers. In November 1894 she again stopped in at the Cape of Good Hope, carrying a cargo of salt and 471 Indian indentured labourers. On 8 December 1896, she struck a reef in Saldanha Bay, South Africa and was destroyed with only four survivors. A Court of Enquiry, on 7 January 1897, found that “the loss of the ship was occasioned by reckless navigation on the part of the master”.Citequote The wreck of the "British Peer" itself still lies in about convert|9|m|ft of water in Saldanha Bay.

See also

*Indian Indenture Ships to Fiji
*Indian indenture system

References

External links

* [http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/pcards/0/0/1/doc/pc001055.shtml BRITISH PEER WRECK picture ]
* [http://genforum.genealogy.com/grenada/messages/60.html Genealogy.com]
* [http://www.route27sa.com/dunegrave.html The Grave in the Dunes]

Bibliography

cite book
last = Lubbock
first = Basil
title = Coolie ships and oil sailors
publisher = Brown, Son & Ferguson
year = 1981
id = ISBN 0-85174-111-8