| TK's staging site |
|
By tk Civil War P 76. only those who had entered this port as part of the complement." But Constable Alexander Minto from the Williamstown water police noticed a boat at Shenandoah's gangway, and four men hastening down to jump in this boat, he chased it to shore, nabbed two of the occupants near the railway station, and found the other two lurking in a nearby toilet. All were goaled, and one suprisingly like the description of " Charley the cook." The next day, the executive council was again called to review this latest evidence, and a further letter arrived from Waddell indicating he had been told his ship was seized, and he wanted to know on whose authority. Governor Darling also wanted to know what was going on! Thomas H. Fellows of the Crown Court posted a public statement: "I am of the opinion that the Government have not the power which they claim. A ship of war commissioned by a foreign government is exempt from the jurisdiction of the courts of other countries." The Governor wanted Waddell chided, and demanded that Shenandoah sail by the 19th. of February, two days in advance of this deadline, after loading 250 tons of coal, the ship was prepared for sea. Forty men were gathered on the beach at Sandridge, the original name for the port at Melbourne, which these days carries the name of Port Melbourne, three boats were seen to load these men, and row out to the Raider. The US Consul forever watchful, rushed off a letter of complaint about illegal recruiting to the Governor, but the Crown Law office was shut for the day, and he could not get any action. He tried the police, outside our jurisdiction, they said, not one to give in easily, Blanchard dashed off to see the attorney general, George Higinbotham at Parliament House, he too, refused to help, but advised seeing Mr. Sturt, a county magistrate, but no, he would not issue an affidavit, and told Blanchard to file a charge with the Williamstown water police, across the bay. Blanchard now documented the story narrated by Forbes who had first made the report about the 40 men going off to Shenandoah, sent it off to the attorney general, grabbed Forbes to go with him to try and get the Williamstown water police to act, en route, Forbes had second thoughts, thinking about his personal safety, he pulled out. Blanchard without his witness went back to his office, fuming at all the inaction to his complaint. Now, a George Robbins, a stevedore, turned up at Blanchard's office, and indicated he had seen boatloads of men plus their baggage crossing by boat to the Shenandoah, and that he could name some of these men. Blanchard was now too tired to act, but entreated Robbins to report his information to the Williamstown Civil War P 77. water police, he returned to his boat, and started to row the distance from Sandridge to Williamstown, close by Shenandoah, he came on a boat manned by two murky characters he knew, Jack Riley and Robert Muir, they overhauled him, and threatened him if he passed on his information to the police. Robbins hit one of the thugs on the head with an oar, and smashed the second one's fingers, then raced them to the water police. Too late, Shenandoah at 1600 ( 4 PM ) was off, steaming down the bay making for the open sea. When well clear of land, a number of strange faces emerged from various hiding places, as 45 new crew members, all claiming to be natives of the Southern Confederacy came on deck. The local papers in Melbourne had a field day, Robbins story made the headlines, announcing Waddell had shipped 40 to 80 British subjects, Muir and Riley were charged, confessed, and were given brief gaol terms. Then "Charley the cook, and his three mates went on trial in mid March, but in fact it was Shenandoah on trial, early on, the defence counsel asked the prosecution to prove that the Confederate States and the United States were actually at war. Blanchard was subpoenaed to testify that the Confederate States were in fact a government, the US Consul, livid at being summoned to the court, reminded the Governor that his Government had allowed Shenandoah to enter the port because she was a belligerent, and now they expected him to provide proof. The Governor ducked for cover, all a mistake, he proclaimed. The rowdy court room obviously favoured an acquittal, all four had already spent 30 days in custody, Davidson ( Charley ) and one of his mates were sentenced to 10 days in gaol, one was released as he was an American, and the fourth let off, he was but 17 years of age. The farce was over, and the case considered closed, but Waddell and his Officers were considered as liars, this slur went no further, by the time this story reached Richmond, the Coinfederate Government was no longer in existence, the Civil War was over. Now Shenandoah sailed freely into the Pacific, no sign of any Union warship to bar her progress. Wyoming had been ordered home from Batavia, and Iroquois still struggled across the Indian Ocean towrads Singapore. When news of her stay in Melbourne did finally reach Washington in March, Welles ordered Wyoming to go after her, he thought the Raider would cruise the South Pacific or the coast of Chile, his predictions about where the various Southern Raiders might next move to, had never been anywhere near the facts, he lived up to Civil War P 78. his usual form, wrong once more. Waddell had elected to sail north towards the Okhotsk Sea off the eastern coast of Siberia, where the American whaling fleet was known to operate. No sign of a prize for the next month, when just short of the Equator, the ship was close to Drunnond Island where whalers came to refresh their water supplies, a Malay seaman indicated there had been no whalers for several months. A few days later, the ship learned from a Hawaiian schooner Pelin, that five whalers had recently been seen at Ponape, Waddell raced for this area, hoping to catch this fleet before it sailed north. April Fool's Day found Shenandoah raising the jungle peak of Totolom at Ponape, the lookout reported four sail in the harbour, a boat was coming towards them. It held Thomas Hardrocke, an Englishman who as a convict, had escaped from Australia, married one of the local native girls, and made his home on the island. The Raider entered the harbour firing a 12 pounder as she anchored, four vessels flew their flags, three American, the last Hawaiian, four prize crews were sent away. The papers of Edward Carey from San Francisco, Hector of New Bedford, Pearl of New London, and Harvest from Oahu, were all collected. The last ship showed a bill of sale to Hawaiian owners, but she carried US flags in her hold, had American registry, a Yankee master, and all the mates from the previous voyage were still listed. Waddell declared her to be American, and all four were condemned. Whaling charts showing the track taken by whalers were found, wonderful information, Waddell no longer had to search willy nilly for whaling ships, he had the key to their fertile whaling grounds, and the courses they took to arrive there. Master's Mate Hunt, and the Englishman Hardrocke, were sent ashore to see the local native chief about disposing of the four captured ships. Hardrocke said the chief had recently poisoned his wife so he might remarry, but when Waddell later made her acquaintance, he described her as: The Queen was downright ugly, the first really ugly woman I have ever seen." The King was offered the right to remove anything his tribe wanted from the four captured ships before they were burned, if he would retain all the prisoners, a deal was struck, Waddell was now presented with the Royal Princess, it took some diplomatic skill to get out of that one.
|