Ship of Death
The Tragedy of the ‘Emigrant’
The Voyage * The Quarantine * The Aftermath
ABOUT THE EMIGRANT
‘I little thought we were about to proceed on so disastrous a voyage.’
The Emigrant left Plymouth on 17 April 1850, carrying 276 assisted emigrants from Ireland and England to Moreton Bay.
It was the second government-sponsored ship to sail directly to Moreton Bay.
Typhus broke out on the voyage, and by the time the barque had reached Moreton Bay, it had killed 20 of the passengers and crew. The ship was diverted to the newly-proclaimed quarantine station at Dunwich, Stradbroke Island, where a further 26 passengers and crew, the ship's surgeon-superintendent, and a Brisbane doctor who had gone to assist at the quarantine hospital, perished.
The story of the Emigrant – its voyage and quarantine and the stories of some of the people affected by the tragedy – is told in Jane Smith's book Ship of Death: The Tragedy of the Emigrant.
This website contains more details – some that are included in the book and some extra facts and statistics.
The story of the Emigrant is a story of many heroes. The book and this website pay tribute to them.
the book
Shortlisted for the 2021 Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book Prize.
'Jane Smith, excellent historian that she is ... has added a rich vein to our understanding of the personal, individual legends of early white settlement in Queensland.' - Kerry O'Brien
‘A vivid, beautifully researched account of a human tragedy told with compassion and an eye for novelistic detail.’ - Amazon customer
Impeccably researched and poignantly told, Ship of Death unfurls the true saga of the ill-fated voyage, quarantine and aftermath. For the first time, this stunning book reveals the human stories of some key players in the drama – their backgrounds, their suffering, and their fates – and in doing so, brings to life a remarkable journey common to many of Australia’s early settlers.
Their stories are tales of hardship, resilience, courage and despair.