Victory (1847 ship)

Among the Wellington-bound passengers was Charles Borlase, one of Wellington's early mayors. The ship's captain was William Lennox Mullens and had sailed from Deal on 6 March 1848. She first arrived in Port Chalmers on 8 July 1848 and then sailed to Wellington, arriving on 16 August 1848. A journey of 163 days. The ship then sailed to Sydney in September/October.^[4]

This journey to New Zealand was eventful. Mr L Langland, a passenger, had kept a diary of the journey. The ship left Gravesend on 3 March and had run into bad weather in the English Channel, sheltering at Cowes for ten days. The captain's treatment of the crew was poor and the relationship between both deteriorated. A seaman named Robinson, respected by the crew, kept matters under control. He was a good sailor and popular with the passengers. The captain was described as very reserved man who kept to himself and was aloof from the crew. Just before the ship reached the Bay of Biscay, the crew, with Robinson's help, refused to obey an unreasonable order from the captain. The captain was unable to obtain the support of the passengers and relented. Robinson took charge from then on whenever the weather was rough, with the captain having little to do with the running of the ship. On arriving in Dunedin, Robinson was arrested and charged with assault. He and three crew members were imprisoned for a short period, eventually being released to join the crew of a visiting whaler.^[5]

Captain Mullens met a tragic end. The ship was chartered to carry Chinese coolies from Cumsingmoon to Callao, Peru. She sailed from China on 6 December 1851, with more than 350 on board and a general cargo. The ship normally carried just over 100 migrants, so the conditions would have been poor. Mistreatment of coolie migrants was common, and mutinies by them were becoming more frequent at the time of this voyage.^[6]

Between 2 pm and 3 pm on 10 December 1851, while near Pulo Supato in the South China Sea, the coolies, led by Ah-mang, commandeered the ship. They killed Captain Mullens, Second Mate James Aransono, cook Edward Bailey, and seaman Henry Watt. The remaining crew were disarmed. Chief Mate William Vagg, who had survived, was compelled by the coolies to steer the ship. He first sailed for Point Kamao (the southernmost point of Vietnam), but the coolies, on finding the area uninhabited, directed him to sail to Koon Chin or Ko-nana, Cochin China. That proved too difficult, so he was forced to steer for the island of Pulo Ubi, about 20 km (12 mi) south of Point Kamao, where they anchored. Pulo Ubi and Point Kamao were considered part of Cambodia at that time. About 50 coolies left the boat at Pulo Ubi after destroying its papers and log books, as well as taking most of its cargo. The boat then sailed to another island to the east of Pulo Ubi, where the remainder of the coolies left.

During the voyage, fights had broken out among the coolies, and on at least one occasion, some tried to set fire to the boat. A number were killed or murdered, including Ah-mang, and a number were thrown overboard alive. The crew had made a couple of attempts to escape, but these were unsuccessful. After the coolies left, Vagg sailed for Singapore, arriving there on about 29 January 1852.^[7][8]

Thirty of the coolies from Victory were located at Kamao and captured by the rajah. He had them deported to Pulo Ubi. The remainder were reported to be at Hoonding in Cambodia, and it was rumoured that the king was going to banish them. The Singapore papers reported that the naval commander-in-chief at Singapore was going to order HMS Cleopatra, under Captain Thomas L Massie, and SV Semiramis, an East India Company frigate, to call at these places on their way to China.^[9] These boats left Singapore on 17 March.^[10]