City of Agra

Completed November 1860; Official No. 29149; Code Letters QDLG; Code Letters HPWB; Code Letters WNBR.

Owners: John Coupland & Bros, Liverpool; 1878 William B McGavin (London) Liverpool; 1879 John Blyth & Co, Liverpool; 1882 John Blyth & Co (William B McGavin, London) Liverpool; 1888 William Blyth (London) Liverpool; 1889 Martin Olsen, Porsgrund; 1898 AM Olsen, Porsgrund; 1899 JA Pettersen, Porsgrund; 1903 Acties ‘City of Agra’ (Pettersen & Ullenaess) Porsgrund.

Masters: 1864-69 Edward M Sleigh (died February 1869); 1871-72 William Elwood; 1872-89 Thomas Young; 1889-92 AL Lowarsen; 1892-1898 Jens Lydersen; 1899 S Olsen; 1901-05 K Condrup; 1905-07 L Hamre.

Miscellaneous: 10 April 1861 bound from West Hartlepool for Bombay William Cahill, seaman, fatally stabbed the boatswain John Collins. Cahill was committed to trial for manslaughter. January 1863 while the ship was berthed at Liverpool, John Walsh, 3rd mate, aged 24, went down the hold to check on a fire & suffocated from gas escaping from burning cotton; 9 November 1873 a crew member, Joseph Carrson aged 27, died at sea; 30 August 1880 from Norway to Melbourne two seamen, John Stanton & Frederick Batchelor, were washed overboard & drowned.

The crews of the clippers were extremely proud of their prowess at sailing & races were often held between these fine ships with huge sums of money being laid on which would reach home first.
In September 1867 the City of Agra unloaded her cargo at Shanghai Harbour & along with another clipper, Invincible, loaded tea for London. The crews of the two ships decided on a race. They negotiated the river, with the City of Agra staying in the lead into the China Sea & through the Gasper Straits. By the time they neared England the wind had changed to easterly & Invincible caught up with her opponent with both vessels having to beat their way up the English Channel. Near Dungeness both ships were rigged with every available scrap of canvas, the weight forcing the vessels to careen over until their lee rails were awash. They were about half a mile apart & neck & neck for the next few hours until two tugboats appeared. Hurried negotiations took place for the towage to London & as soon as an agreement was reached the royal & top-gallant sails were released & the two ships were being hauled along abreast of each other at a great speed. They reached the Downs at the mouth of the Thames & river pilots came aboard. Both ships anchored until the tide was in their favour & the following day they reached Gravesend with the jib-boom of the Invincible resting over the poop deck of the City of Agra. They had completed a race of 16,000 miles over 145 days.

10 June 1873 London for Melbourne Mr Wright, chief officer, was swept overboard; 4 September 1877 an apprentice, Henry Milthorpe, aged 15, fell down the hold & fractured his arm & his leg; from Portland for London in the South Atlantic on 26 February 1879 the master’s wife, Mrs Young, gave birth to a son; 17 August 1888 on the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope a seaman, Herbert Lewis, fell from the main royal yard into the sea & was drowned; 14 December 1899 anchored at Kaipara Heads, New Zealand about to set sail for London. The master, Olsen, had gone fishing & disappeared. His boat was later found buried in the sand on Fitzgerald’s Spit, about three miles from the vessel.

Voyages: 23 September 1864 left Liverpool for Bombay; September 1867 Shanghai for London with tea; 10 March 1874 left London, arrived Lyttelton 28 May 1874; 14 April 1876 left London with 316 immigrant passengers arrived Maryborough, Queensland 14 July 1876 & then Brisbane 20 July 1876; 3 November 1876 left Geelong, arrived London 9 February 1877; 28 July 1877 arrived Maryborough & then on to Brisbane; 21 May 1878 left Deal for Port Phillip; 25 May 1881 left Gravesend; September 1888 arrived Melbourne from Drammen with flooring boards; 3 February 1899 arrived Adelaide from Sundsvall.

Bound from New York for Bridgewater, Nova Scotia in ballast to load for Buenos Aires, during a dense fog & high seas, the City of Agra stranded on the southwest ledges off Cape Sable on 30 March 1907. Within two hours she had listed & she broke up the following day. With the guidance of Cunningham, the Light-keeper, the master & his crew of 13 reached a safe landing ashore in two boats. Nothing was saved from the vessel.

When she was wrecked, she was described as having a figurehead which was a very fine carving of a full sized woman.