Letter from H. Rooke to his niece Frederica, 19 September 1860

MLMSS 8010

fonds

19 September 1860

918317

0.01 metres of textual material (1 folder)

The British Merchant was a wooden ship of 913 tons captained by Alexander Duthie. It was built at Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1857. While lying at Smith’s Wharf in Sydney Harbour loading a cargo of hides and coconut oil for London, the ship was destroyed by fire on 2 September 1860. When fire hoses proved ineffective she was towed to Cremorne Point and allowed to burn to the water line.

Autograph letter signed by H Rooke, written from Sydney. The letter includes an eyewitness account of the destruction of the British Merchant. In addition, the letter provides interesting references to the Maori Wars and the rise of Garibaldi in Italy.