Inflexible

Official No. 63539.

Owners: Adamson, Robinson & Co, London.

Masters: 1869-71 William Lyall (C.N. 4254 Dundee 1852).

Advertised in Auckland as ‘A Magnificent Iron Clipper Ship’ she had saloon berths, second & third class (for single men) accommodation for passengers. Her owners had originally intended her for the India & China trade but decided instead to trade to & from Auckland, New Zealand. While in London she had her poop extended to give more room for saloon passengers.

Miscellaneous: James Kitney, able seaman, was charged with being drunk & disorderly aboard the Inflexible in May 1870. He refused to go to his bunk & was using bad language so the master, William Lyall, had him arrested. He was sentenced to a week in prison with hard labour; May 1870 James Booker, seaman & acting boatswain, charged the master, William Lyall, to striking him on the body & leg with a stick. Lyall pleaded guilty but under provocation & charged Booker with being drunk & disorderly. He stated that Booker had asked him for money which was refused. After half an hour or so Booker again asked for money & was refused. Lyall then ordered him to the forecastle. Booker refused so Lyall procured a stick & struck him across the legs upon which Booker fell down the main hatch. On calling out that his legs were broken he received no sympathy from the master or the crew so he got up & used abusive language so Lyall hit him again. Witnesses more or less agreed with the master. The outcome was that the Court thought that Lyall did not act correctly but neither did Booker so one more or less cancelled the other out.

Voyages: 1869-70 Hartlepool for New Zealand; 22 December 1869 sailed from Gravesend arriving Auckland 3 April 1870 with 39 passengers; from Cardiff for Singapore with a cargo of coal she had touched ground at Pulo Liat in the Carmata passage before arriving at Singapore on 20 March 1871 with damage from the grounding.

Bound from Calcutta for Boston with Indian produce the Inflexible was spoken to by the Hengist on 14 July 1871 in 4N/91E. The two vessels remained in company for a few days before the Hengist sailed for London where she arrived on 22 October.  The Inflexible was never seen again. She was marked as lost in Lloyd’s Register of 1872/73.