Sebim 1852, Chebucto 1852, Margaret 1851-52, Highland Lass 1852, Gertrude 1856

Spray 1857, Breadalbane 1857-58, Ellen Lewis 1859-60

Sebim

The following is excerpted from several sources, including Doane family letters and the Journal of Jacob Norton Crowell, and newspaper articles by a writer named "Occasional" from the Acadian Recorder of February 4^th 1927 and February 12^th 1927.

The first ship built by Warren Doane in his shipyard on the shores of Barrington Harbour was the brigantine Sebim. Of the many ships built by Capt. Doane the Sebim is the best remembered, for she was a symbol of adventure not only for her builder, but for the young men who bought her as a way to the gold fields of Australia.

Captain Doane's savings of £160 put aside from his wages as a young seaman, and later as a mate and master of ships, and the interest on a one-fourth share of the schooner Voyager, were the capital with which he undertook to construct a brigantine of III [!] registered tons, which when completed would cost over £1,100. To help finance his undertaking he stocked his workshop with a supply of groceries which he sold to his workmen, and with which he paid them in part, as he did for the timber he bought in Oak Park and in Clyde River.

In the fall of 1848, after deciding on the dimensions for his brigantine, Capt. Doane made a working model. During the winter of 1849 he went up the Barrington River with a number of hired men and cut the pine he needed a few miles from the shores of Great Lakes, or as the old Micmacs called it, Sebim. He floated the logs down the river, then rafted them to his shipyard. In April he went to Morris Island in Argyle Harbour and cut 53 hardwood trees which he had bought "standing" from Mr. McLaren. He brought these to Barrington in the old brig Caroline.

The timber ready, the construction of the Sebim went along swiftly, and one evening in August 1849 she slipped down the ways into Barrington Harbour. With all his savings invested in the Sebim, Capt. Doane contracted to take cargo [fish?] to Kingston, Jamaica for John Whitman.

All went well for the Sebim until south of Bermuda, where she ran into a hurricane, and was laid to, to weather the storm. As the gale lessened at daybreak one of her crew sighted what appeared to be a dismasted vessel. A sail was set and the Sebim turned toward the low object lying in the water. When she was as close as she could get to the wreck she was hove to; a boat was lowered from her deck and rowed to the wreck, and as the sea lifted it alongside the ship, the men leaped from the wreck into the water and were dragged to safety by their rescuers. At last, as they thought all were saved, they returned to the Sebim. When they were about to hoist in their boat there appeared on the deck of the wrecked brig, two men, who were frantically trying to find a way to reach the Sebim. The wreck was a Spanish brig laden with "campeachy" wood and cigars bound from Havana to Barcelona, and all on board with the exception of two Portuguese, were Spaniards. When the two men appeared on the deck of the brig, Capt, Doane made signs to the Spaniards that they must return to their vessel to save their men. But, they were not so inclined. Using one of the Portuguese sailors as their interpreter they told Capt. Doane that these two had gone below to search for money, and that they would not risk their lives to save them. But, Capt. Doane insisted that if they were to remain on the Sebim, they must rescue their comrades. Still loath to leave the Sebim, the Spaniards got back in the boat and made a feeble attempt to reach the side of the wreck, before pulling back to the Sebim. As they were about to re-board, it was noticed that the two men were attempting to stretch a tarpaulin over the battered side of a boat on the wreck. While they watched, the men got the boat to the side of the ship and when the wreck rolled her leeward rail under the waves, they pushed off, sprang into it and pulled for the Sebim. Capt. Doane held the Sebim off and carefully edged her in until the boat lay under her lee and the sea washed it against the side of the Sebim, a rope was thrown to the men and they were dragged to safety. When they stood on the deck, eleven lives had been saved.

In the lull that followed the storm, the Sebim set her sails for Jamaica. Two days of fine weather passed and again she was caught in a heavy gale and was hove to, to ride out the storm. Then, as the second gale lessened, one of the Spaniards noticed at a distance, a dark object, sometimes seen above the water, sometimes hidden by the waves. Calling the captain, they saw what appeared to be like a woman's hand low in the water with three fingers uplifted; a few minutes, and what had appeared like a woman's hand, was seen to be a boat, men bent to their oars. The sails of the Sebim were unfurled and again she turned to the rescue of shipwrecked mariners. But, these were not strangers that she stood by to save, for when they were on her deck a great silence fell, for standing hand in hand were Captain Warren Doane, master of the Sebim, and his brother, Captain Seth Doane, master of the wrecked schooner Voyager.

Laden with a cargo of salt which shifted in her hold when the gale struck her and hove on her side, the Voyager was bound from the Turk's Island to Philadelphia. Captain Warren Doane, with a crew of men, later boarded his brother's ship and cut away the masts hoping to right her, but was forced to abandon her.

This eventful first voyage of the Sebim greatly increased Capt. Doane's capital, for he received one fourth of the insurance on his brother's abandoned vessel, a small reward for rescuing the Spaniards, and the Sebim's earnings for the voyage, which amounted in all to £285. About this time he also received £180 from the estate of his wife's grandfather, Obediah Wilson. This ready cash and his wish to place his brother in a captain's position, and his own desire to build ships, made Capt. Doane decide to give up the command of the Sebim to his brother, and to return home to put up the frame of a new vessel.

Under her new commander, the Sebim plied back and forth between Halifax, the West Indies, the United States, and various Canadian ports until June 1852. In that month she was sold to four of Capt. Warren Doane's brothers, Seth, Joseph, Arthur and Arnold, and seven of their friends, Jacob Norton Crowell, Daniel and William Sargent, Peter Coffin jnr., Donald MacDonald, and David and John Gabriel, who wanted her to take them to the gold fields in Australia. Advertising passage to Australia at £25 they soon had their passenger list completed and on July 12^th 1852 they lifted the sails of the Sebim for the far shores of Australia with forty-four persons aboard, ten of whom were women, including the wife and daughters of Sebim's commander Capt. Seth Doane.

The Sebim had smooth sailing until October 6^th, when off the coast of South Africa she was caught in a heavy gale and was dismasted and forced to go into Cape Town for repairs. Twenty days later on the 26^th October she dropped anchor in Melbourne, Australia, 107 days sail from the shores of Barrington.

Like some who sailed in her, the Sebim never returned to her home port. Having served her owners, she was sold at auction in Melbourne for £1,200. She was used by her new owners for trading between Australia, New Zealand, and the smaller Islands. Sixteen years after she was launched into the waters of Barrington Bay, she caught her keel on a reef near Christmas Island in the South Pacific and was a total wreck.

Montreal Gazette, July 31, 1852

EMIGRATION FROM NOVA SCOTIA - Another band of emigrants left our shores, on board the brig Sebim, last Tuesday, for Australia. The number of passengers by the Sebim, was 42, comprising 31 men, 6 women and 5 children. They belonged in different proportions to Halifax, Barrington, Liverpool, Amherst, Shubenacadie, Chester, Windsor, Cumberland, Stewiacke and Dartmouth. Advertisements of vessels about sailing from New York and Boston for Australia are in circulation through the Province, offering fresh opportunities to those who may be discontented with the heritage that is given them in this country to quit it, and take up their abode in a distant land. We fear some will have reason to repent, most sorely, before long, of their rashness in leaving home. Notwithstanding all the obstacles to getting rich that we have to contend with in this country, there are many examples abounding of people rapidly rising from poverty to affluence and independence, not only in this city, but in other parts of the Province.. . . .

Sydney Shipping Gazette, Volume 9, Number 446 (16 Oct. 1852) p. 289

Chebucto in ballast
from Halifax, Nova Scotia 3rd July 1852, arrived Port Phillip, 9th October 1852

The Chebucto—Another instance of the wide-spreading attractiveness of our gold fields shows itself in the arrival of this vessel from Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a large number of passengers, all anxious to turn gold diggers. The Chebucto was to be followed in a few days after leaving by the brig Sebim, with passengers for this port direct. — Argus

Following are lists of passengers for six ships which sailed from Nova Scotia to Australia and New Zealand between 1851 and 1859. Some of the passengers were under the leadership of the Reverend Norman McLeod. The list(s) only contain the names of "head of household" with the number of adults accompanying.

MARGARET, pioneer barque from Cape Breton, with emigrants for Adelaide, SA, under the leadership of the Rev. Norman McLeod, sailed from St. Ann's on 28^th October 1851, and arrived at her destination on the 10^th April 1852
Margaret, barque, 236 tons, Captain Thomas Matson, from St. Ann's, NS 1st November 1851 and the Cape, 17th February 1852, arrived Port Adelaide 10th April 1852.
Captain Matson's family accompanied him on the voyage and the family settled in the Semaphore area.

Name	+ No. adults	Where From
Anderson, H.F.	1	Aberdeen
Campbell, Donald	7	St. Ann's
Dingwell, Kenneth	1	-do-
Fraser, John Esq.	7	-do-
McGregor, Donald	8	-do- Glen.
McGregor, John	8	-do-
Matheson, Rod'k	1	-do-
McGregor, Rod'k	2	-do-
McGregor, James	3	-do-
McInnes, --		-do-
McInnes, Alexander	3	-do-
McInnes, James		-do-
McKay, John	14	Baddeck
McKay, Rod'k		-do-
McRae, Miss Martha (2)	7	Middle River
McKay, Roderick Snr.	11	Baddeck
McLeod, Donald	9	St. Ann's
McLeod, John D.	10	-do-
McLeod, George	3	-do-
McLeod, Rev. Norman	8	-do-
Kerr, John	1	-do-
McLeod, Thomas	1	-do-
McLeod, John	1	-do-
Ross, Ronald Esq.	10	-do-
Ross, Ronald Esq.	5	-do-
Sutherland, Hector	9	-do-

Brig HIGHLAND LASS - Big Bras d'Or, NS 1852-05-17 to Adelaide, SA 1852-10-23 with 188 passengers

HIGHLAND LASS, brig, sailed from Big Bras d'Or on the 17^th May 1852; arrived in Adelaide, SA, 23^rd October 1852; Captain Jordan. Murdock McKenzie took charge at Capetown.

Brig GERTRUDE - Cape Breton, NS 1856-06-24 to Auckland, NZ 1856-12-25 with 176 passengers

GERTRUDE, brig, 217 tons, Alex. Rose master, sailed from St, Ann's, Cape Breton for Auckland on 24^th June 1856, and arrived there on 25^th December 1856.

Brigantine SPRAY - Cape Breton, NS 1857-01-13 to Auckland, NZ 1857-06-25 with 65 passengers

SPRAY, brigantine, 99 tons; John Duncan master; sailed from Big Bras d'Or, Cape Breton, for Auckland, on January 13^th 1857, and arrived there on 25^th June the same year.

Barque BREADALBANE - Cape Breton, NS 1857-12-26 to Auckland, NZ 1858-05-23 with 129 passengers

BREADALBANE, barque, sailed from Big Bras d'Or, Cape Breton, for Aucklandon the 26^th of December 1857, and arrived there on the 23^rd May 1858. John James master.

Barque ELLEN LEWIS - Cape Breton, NS 1859-12-07 to Auckland, NZ 1860-05-14 with 188 passengers

ELLEN LEWIS, barque, 336 tons, James Ross, master, sailed from St. Ann's, Cape Breton, for Auckland on 7^th December 1859 and arrived there on 14^th May 1860. Owned by the Hon. William Ross and others.

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