Albion (1798 whaler)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
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| Name: | Albion |
| Namesake: | Albion— an archaic name for Great Britain |
| Owner: |
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| Builder: | Frances Barnard, Son & Roberts, Deptford |
| Launched: | 25 October 1798 |
| Fate: | Last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1825 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 362 (bm) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 26 |
| Armament: | 8 × 6-pounder guns + 2 × 18-pounder carronades |
Albion was a full rigged whaler built at Deptford, England, and launched in 1798. She made five whaling voyages to the seas around New South Wales and New Zealand. The government chartered her in 1803 to transport stores and cattle, to Risdon Cove on the River Derwent, Tasmania.
On her first voyage, Albion, Eber Bunker, master, left Britain on 20 February 1799, bound for New South Wales. There is some ambiguity about whether she was carrying convicts or not.Albion arrived in Port Jackson (Sydney), on 29 June 1799, with a cargo of salted pork after a voyage of 3 months and 15 days.
Albion left Port Jackson in September bound for the whale fisheries around New South Wales (NSW) and New Zealand (NZ). She then took 600 barrels of sperm oil off New South Wales and New Zealand between September 1799 and August 1800. At some point Albion sailed to Tahiti at the request of Governor Philip Gidley King. When she returned to Port Jackson she reported having seen "immense numbers of whales".
Albion returned to Britain on 26 March 1802 with a cargo of 155 barrels of whale oil. Shortly before she arrived she reportedly rescued a ship on 19 March at 42°N 30°W / 42°N 30°W, i.e., north of the Azores.
In July 1802 Albion again sailed for Port Jackson. The next month the Honourable the Court of Directors of the East India Company announced that they had licensed 19 vessels, Albion, Charming Kitty, and Flirt among them, to sail east of the Cape of Good Hope to engage in whaling in the "Southern Whale Fishery".Albion was at Boa Vista, Cape Verde, on 5 October. In January 1803 she was "all well" at the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.
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