Prince of Wales (ship)

The "Prince of Wales" was a First Fleet transport ship of 333 tons (350?), built on the River Thames in 1786. She was 31.4 meters in length. She was built by the firm Christopher Watson and co. of Rotherhithe, who are also thought to have built HMS "Sirius" in 1786. [cite book |title=The Sirius:Past and Present|author=Henderson G, Stanbury M|year=1988 |publisher=Collins|location=Sydney|isbn=0-7322-2447-0|pages=p. 40] She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying one male and forty-nine female convicts, and arrived at Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia, on 26 January 1788. She left Port Jackson on 14 August 1788, and arrived back in London, via Rio de Janeiro, on 30 April 1789. The master was John Mason, who died of scurvy on the return voyage. The "Prince of Wales" was used in England until 1797 and then its registration was signed over to Fort Royal at Martinique.

References

Further reading

*Gillen, Mollie, "The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet", Sydney, Library of Australian History, 1989.
*Bateson, Charles, "The Convict Ships, 1787–1868", Sydney, 1974

ee also

HMS "Prince of Wales", for ships of the Royal Navy that bore the same name.