George Martin (1778-1842)

Captain George Martin
George Martin was an experienced ship's captain.

He married Mary Brett in 1817 in London when he was 39 and she was 22. After marriage he often sailed with his wife. By 1835 Mary had given birth to 11 children in places including London, Rio de Janeiro, Valparaiso in Chile, Hobart, and Sydney. 3 of their 11 children did not survive infancy.

In 1821 George Martin was Master (Captain) of the "Jupiter". In September 1821 he sailed from Hobart to Sydney (Hobart Town Gazette, 8 September 1821). In November 1821 he sailed from Sydney to Hobart first for freight (Sydney Gazette, 10 November 1821), and then sailing back to England from Hobart with freight and passengers in January 1822 (Hobart Town Gazette, 19 January 1822).

In 1823 George Martin and his family settled in Hobart, Tasmania where he purchased 800 acres of land and joined the local Freemasons Lodge. This experiemnt in farming was not to last long. He next moved his family to Sydney where son Robert Terence was born in 1824 and daughter Isabella was born in 1826. In 1836 he became "one of the earliest colonists in South Australia" after sailing the "John Pirie" with settlers, livestock and supplies to help in the establishment of the new Colony.

On a list of subscribers for the building if the first church in Adelaide, Trinity Church, published in the South Australian Gazette of 8 July 1837, "Captain Martin of the schooner John Pirie" is listed as having pledged £1. The Governor of the Colony had pledged £5.

The voyage of the "John Pirie" in 1836
George Martin was a deeply religious man. He was involved in the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society where he will have become acquainted with George Fife Angas (1789-1879) who was the Society’s founding joint treasurer in 1833, and who was instrumental in founding the South Australian Company in 1835.

By 1836 George Martin was familiar with the sea route between Britain and Australia, and having spent time in both Hobart annd Sydney was also familiar with colonial conditions. He was appointed Master (Captain) of the ship the "John Pirie", owned by the South Australian Company, which was to be part of a "first fleet" of 5 ships taking settlers to establish the new Colony of South Australia.

Martin with his wife Mary and some or all of their 8 surviving children joined the "John Pirie" in February 1836 on the Thames River, London. Some of George & Mary's children may also have been left behind in London with family.

The "John Pirie" departed London on 22 February, departed Gravesend on 23 February, was at the Downs in the English Channel on 25 February, at Falmouth from 4-18 March, and then at Darmouth from 2-16 April. (The date of departure from England that was printed in The Sydney Monitor of 18 June 1836 was 1 March 1836, but on 27 July had been corrected to 23 February, the date of leaving Gravesend.) The ship then sailed via Mauritius to Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. The ship was 1 of 5 taking passengers who worked for the South Australian Company as settlers to the new Colony of South Australia and arrived at Kangaroo Island on 16 August 1836. Whaleboats were then sent to meet the "John Pirie". Whale boats were hired and/or borrowed from the Kangaroo Island sealers and whalers to meet the newly arrived ships carrying emigrants to the Colony.

With a crew of 10 including Martin's 11 year old son Robert Terence Martin, and possibly 24 passengers including Martin's wife Mary and sons George and Thomas Henry, there were about 34 souls on board the ship when it left Dartmouth. (The number stated in "A Folder of Newspaper Clippings" available at the State Library of South Australia, SLSA Source 58, is lower at 29 - the Captain plus 28 others.) Mrs. Elizabeth Chandler died during the voyage.

The ‘Register of Emigrant Labourers Applying for a Free Passage to South Australia’ lists those considering life in the new colony and generally indicates on which ship those deciding to proceed were embarked. However uncertainty arises from clerical errors, last minute changes, and desertions. Together with the South Australian Company’s other officers and servants, the John Pirie’s crew was considered to be an addition to the colony’s population, so those eligible are named in the ‘Register of Emigrant Labourers’ as well as the Directors’ Minutes, which recorded all engagements. An anonymous log of the voyage and Captain Martin’s letters to George Fife Angas (1789-1879) from the Downs and Dartmouth, and later to his wife Mary from Hobart, throw further light on the personnel on board. Also Samuel Stephens’ diary records William C Staple as being one of the crew on the occasion of his marriage to Mary Ann Powell at Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island. Not mentioned otherwise, George Martin Jr, aged 6, was taught to read and write on board by mate Henry Simpson. Although it is impossible to be sure of who was on board the "John Pirie" a list conplied from those sources follows.

10 crewmen of the "John Pirie"


 * ( 1) MARTIN, George - Master (Captain), 57


 * ( 2) DAVIS, Thomas - 1st Mate, 36


 * ( 3) SIMPSON, Henry - 2nd Mate, 32


 * ( 4) CLARK, George Baker - Seaman, 38


 * ( 5) SINKSON, William - Seaman, 40


 * ( 6) STAPLE, William C - Seaman (replacement)


 * ( 7) THOMPSON, Frederick - Seaman, 20


 * ( 8) MARTIN, Robert Terence - Apprentice Seaman - son of Captain, 11

. ..
 * ( 9) UNKNOWN REPLACEMENT
 * (10) UNKNOWN REPLACEMENT
 * CANTILLION, James - Seaman, 25 (deserted Dartmouth 10 April & replaced)


 * GRANSMORE, John - Cook, Seaman 32 (deserted Dartmouth 10 April & replaced)


 * WOOD, William - Seaman, 25 (deserted Dartmouth 3 April & replaced)

Emigrants


 * ( 1) ALFORD, Henry - labourer, 20, employee of S.A.Co.


 * ( 2) BROWN, John - farm labourer, 28, employee of S.A.Co.


 * ( 3) CHANDLER, Charles - ploughman, 30, employee of S.A.Co.


 * ( 4) CHANDLER, Mrs. Elizabeth, 28 - wife of Charles - died during voyage


 * (5-8) 4 children of Mr & Mrs Chandler


 * ( 9) JONES, James - labourer, 24, employee of S.A.Co.


 * (10) JONES, Joseph - labourer, 20, employee of S.A.Co.


 * (11) JONES, Mrs. Harriet (nee Wallace), 22 - wife of Joseph Jones


 * (12) NASH, John - carpenter, 22, employee of S.A.Co.


 * (13) NEVILL, Samuel - bricklayer, 30, employee of S.A.Co.


 * (14) NEVILL, Harriet (nee Masters), 26 - wife of Samuel


 * (15) POWELL, Charles - gardener, employee of S.A.Co.


 * (16) POWELL, Mrs. - wife of Mr. Powell
 * (17) 1 child of Mr & Mrs Powell


 * (18) POWELL, James - brother of Charles, employee of S.A.Co.


 * (19) POWELL, Mary Ann - domestic servant, 15, sister of Charles, employee of S.A.Co.


 * (20) TINDALL, Thomas - smith, 22, employee of S.A.Co.


 * (21) WALDRON, Thomas - agriculturalist, 22, employee of S.A.Co.

. ..
 * SESSONS, Stephen - labourer, 20, employee of S.A.Co. (deserted Dartmouth 3 April & not replaced)

Other family of Captin George Martin known to have been aboard the "John Pirie"


 * (22) MARTIN, Mrs. Mary, 40 - wife


 * (23) MARTIN, George Jnr., 6 - son


 * (24) MARTIN, Thomas Henry (baby), youngest of surviving 8 children.
 * (It is also possible that there were other of George Martin's children aboard.)

The first wedding in South Australia was held aboard the "John Pirie", offshore from the new settlement of Kingscote, on 28 August 1836 by Captain George Martin 12 days after the ship arrived at Kangaroo Island. The wedding was between Samuel Stephens, 30, and Charlotte Beare, 56, sister of the South Australian Company's Superintendent of buildings, neither of whom had arrived on borad the "John Pirie". The marriage provoked considerable gossip, as Charlotte was much older then her husband.

The second wedding in South Australia was also held aboard the "John Pirie", offshore from the new settlement of Kingscote by Captain George Martin. The wedding was between William C Staple and 15 year old Mary Ann Powell.

After George Martin in a whaleboat helped to survey the coast of South Australia to help to find a position to establish the first settlement on the mainland of South Australia, Holdast Bay, at the site of the present day suburb of Adelaide of Glenelg, was decided upon by Surveyor Colonel William Light. Most of the colonists and their livestock and supplies were then landed there, and they then began to build what became the city of Adelaide, today's capital of the state of South Australia

Before the main settlement was moved from Kingscote at Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island to Holdfast Bay on the mainland, however, Captain George Martin and the "John Pirie" had departed Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island on 27 September 1836 arriving in Hobart on 8 October 1836 "in ballast". "In Ballast" is an empty ship looking for a cargo. In Hobart it was commented that Captain Martin would be remembered by its residents as master of the "Jupiter" from "some years ago".

Then on 5 November the "John Pirie" departed Hobart, put back on 6th due to adverse conditions, and left again on the 8th, carrying for the new Colony of South Australia: 30 sheep, 2 horses 2 bullocks, 9 packs furniture, 1 ton hay, 20,000 shingles, 30,000 feet timber, 2 casks crockery, 1 ton sugar, 1 box starch, 1 box currants, 7 boxes glass, lead pump and pipes, 1 jar linseed oil, 1 case turpentine, 9 bundles leather, 1 bale slops 2 hhds. stout, 6 casks ale,  2 pieces junk, 1i bundle canvass, 1 cask rosin, 3 iron pots, 1 bag hops, 4 bundles oakum, 1 box tin, 1 cask rosin, 3 boxes candles, 1 box pickles, 2 tons sugar, 6 cases wine, 4 half chests, and 4 chests tea, 6 boxes soap, 1 box containining 2 cats, 6 boxes glass, 2 pieces lead, 1 piece solder, 6 pieces lead pipe, 1 pump, 4 soldering irons, 3 tins oil, 6 frying pans, 1 sieve, I tin cannister, 1 tea tray, 1 package groceries, 1 box glass ware, 1 box whiting, 10 hides, 1 box soap, 6 kegs nails, 32 bags biscuit, 2 boxes raisins, 1 bag coffee, 2 hinds Cape wine, 1 hbd. Geneva, 1 hbd. brandy, 1 package cigars, 14 baskets tobacco, 1 case port wine, all shipped by William M Orr, to order. The "John Pirie" arrived back at Nepean Bay on 27 November 1836.

On 27 December the "John Pirie" again departed "in ballast" for Hobart arriving on 4 January 1837. On its next trip the ship arrived in Hobart on 13 March 1837 "in ballast" and then proceeded to Launceston arriving there on 18 March 1837 "in ballast". The "John Pirie" is again reported arriving in Hobart "in ballast" with Captain George Martin on 26 September 1837. Then on 14 November 1837 the "John Pirie" with "Martin, master" was reported as arriving in Port Adelaide from Hobart Town "with stock and general cargo". These many trips to and fro Tasmania were to pick up necessary supplies for the new Colony of South Australia.

In the interim, while Robert Terence Martin and George Martin Jnr. remained with their father, George Martin's wife Mary, their baby son Thomas Henry, and any other of their children that may have come out aboard the "John Pirie", departed from Hobart for England. It is not known if Mary was returning to England to collect children who had been left behind (if any), or for some other reason. Mary then returned to South Australia with 6 children on board the "Hartley" arriving in Port Adelaide on 20 October 1837. These children were Marian, 16, Georgiana, 15, Isabella, 8 (she was 10), Mary, 6, Stewart, 4, and Thomas Henry, 1½.

Drama aboard the "John Pirie" leads to a death
Mrs. Elizabeth Chandler died aboard the "John Pirie" in July 1836. Elizabeth Chandler was the wife of Charles Chandler, a ploughman from East Acton, Middlesex. Also aboard ship were her 4 young children. The story of her death is documented in the log of an unidentified seaman. He recorded that Mrs. Chadler had a ‘most violent temper which could cause her to be shockingly wicked’. On 2 June Mrs. Chandler and Mrs. Powell (wife of the gardener Powell, also from Acton) were engaged in a heated brawl in which the log-keeper claimed ‘the most disgusting, aggravating language was used by both ladies’. Charles Chandler tried in vain to pacify his wife but, with a bundle of clothes in her arms she made towards the ship’s rail threatening to drown herself. Captain George Martin caught hold of her just in time.

Early next morning the helmsman sounded the alarm for a man overboard. Elizabeth Chandler had again, in the log-keepers notes, ‘come up on deck with the bundle of clothes still in her arms, and in a terrible rage suddenly threw the bundle overboard that no other woman her husband might take should have the satisfaction of wearing them after her. After giving a momentary glance at her husband she sprang overboard to the horror and amazement of all who beheld the sight’.

Rescued after 10 minutes in the water, ‘in almost a lifeless state, Mrs Chandler was given the usual remedies for recovering the apparently drown’d’. Throughout July the log-keeper nursed his patient faithfully, tending her wounds and ‘took a pint of blood as advisable’. One night, however, she became ‘quite delirious and the smell from her breath uncommonly strong.’ On the following morning, Elizabeth Chandler died. All passengers were mustered on deck to see her body committed to the deep, ‘sewn in three or four old sacks with a weight of iron made fast to her feet’.

George Martin's tragic death
Just prior to his death in Adelaide in 1842, George Martin had been imprisoned in Adelaide Gaol for being an insolvent debtor.

“LAMENTABLE SUICIDE. — Thursday morning, we regret to hear, that Captain Martin, one of the earliest colonists of South Australia, put an end to his existence, at the rooms he lately occupied in Currie Street, as a store for agricultural produce. The dreadful deed was accomplished by means of a pistol, the bullet from which entered below the chin and passed out the back of the head. The first person on the spot, after the fatal event, was Mr Solomon, who was residing at the next door, but who found the victim all but dead at the time he reached the spot. The awful deed is attributed to depression of spirits, under which Mr Martin has been laboring for some time, occasioned by a reverse of fortune, and more immediately to a verdict for £20, which had been obtained against him in the Resident Magistrate’s Court on the previous day. His widow and large family are left totally unprovided for, and without any present means of support. An inquest was held last evening : verdict “Temporary Insanity.” A subscription for the widow and children is being got up, with the view of enabling them to commence some little business.” The Register, 26 February 1842.

His widow and friends were very bitter at those whom they believed had precipitated this deed, and had no qualms about expressing their thoughts in an inscription on Captain Martin’s gravestone. This epitaph was then censored by the Trustees of the West Terrace Cemetery.

“All inscriptions intended to be placed on headstones had in the first instance to be submitted to the trustees, who, if they approved, would signify to that effect in writing. This regulation led to complications, and on one occasion resulted in strife, for in August, 1842, a stone had been erected with the consent of only two of the trustees bearing the following inscription: — ‘Sacred to the memory of Captain ? , who departed this life February 24, 1842, aged fifty eight years,’ underneath being the words — ‘ His death was accelerated by disappointment.’ ‘ They have spoken against me with a lying tongue, and fought against me without a cause.’ After a little wrangling the stone was ordered to be removed. But the controversy did not end here, for in 1847 a letter was received by the trustees from a gentleman (presumably a lawyer) complaining on behalf of a relative that the tombstone had been removed, and after holding a special meeting to consider their position it was decided to put up another stone at the cost of the trustees, minus inscription, except such as might be approved of by them.” The Register, 12 September 1891.