The 1837 Fleet and the Wider Maritime Trade
In the spring of 1837, eleven vessels appeared in the Kāpiti shipping record: Persian, Dublin Packet, Roslyn Castle, Marianne, Isabella, Caroline, Sea Witch, Louisa, Samuel Cunard, Bee and Taiaroa. Their masters, as recorded in the Whale Song history, were Hopton, Clayton, Richards, Mansford, Maughan, Cherry, Newson, Hayward, an unnamed master, Gluvins and Hempleman.
These arrivals belonged to a far wider movement of whaling ships, coastal traders and Sydney-backed ventures passing through Cook Strait. The complete maritime register now brings together the ships and their recorded appearances across the nineteenth century, with separate entries for repeat visits.
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