A pirate tale and a miraculous rescue at sea
I had often heard the story of the ship that bought my maternal family to Melbourne - that it had been attacked by pirates and then destroyed by fire.
By Elaine Alexander
My great, great grandmother, Charlotte Tait, was born in 1818 near Edinburgh, Scotland, the daughter of a brewer’s servant.
She was a domestic servant and the promise of better work opportunities in Port Phillip encouraged her to travel, with her brother and sister, as an assisted emigrant to Australia in 1841 on sailing ship “The India”.
I had often heard the story of the ship that bought my maternal family to Melbourne - that it had been attacked by pirates and then destroyed by fire.
I had never taken this story seriously until I decided to research my family history.
Charlotte told the family of “The India” being accosted by a pirate and slave ship and the women and children hid below deck as the pirates were told only convicts were onboard.
The pirates were, not long after, caught by a British warship and Charlotte gave evidence at their trial in Rio De Janeiro.
Soon after this scare the ship caught fire when two crew dropped a candle as they were collecting rum.
It quickly burnt and sank and the 200 plus people on board had to leap into the sea, without any possessions and little clothing.
Seventeen people died including Charlotte’s brother, Andrew.
Miraculously, by a twist of fate, a French whaler was nearby and rescued 198 people in their lifeboats.
“The India” had previously not sighted another ship since it left port!
The destitute passengers were taken to Rio De Janeiro where money was collected to provide them with housing, food and clothing until a ship was found to bring them to Melbourne later in 1841.
Charlotte had a son to an infamous “cad” who later staged a duel with his wife’s lover but left her and died in a shipwreck in northern Queensland. She then married another passenger from “The India” but was widowed after five years. With four young children she managed her late husband’s blacksmith and stables business in Geelong for several years before moving nearer to her siblings in Skipton.
She bore two more children to an unknown father whilst surviving the primitive living conditions on the goldfields. She acted as a midwife for many women, including her daughters and the wife of the man who first discovered gold at Ballarat which created the 1850s Victorian gold rush. Despite the hardships she lived to an amazing 93 years!
