The Wreck of the William Salthouse, 1841: Early trade between Canada and Australia

Abstract

Le William Salthouse a été le premier navire marchand à quitter le Dominion britannique du Canada avec une cargaison de marchandises à destination des colonies anglaises nouvellement établies en Australie. Le navire a péri le 27 novembre 1841 en essayant d’entrer dans le port de Phillip Heads à la fin d’un voyage qui l’avait mené de Montréal et Québec jusqu’à Melbourne.Les recherches historiques et archéologiques ont révélé qu’une grande partie de la cargaison de viande et de poisson salés était contenue dans des tonneaux, contenants qui étaient les plus utilisés pour l’expédition des marchandises en vrac durant la première moitié du dix-neuvième siècle. Des informations sur l’origine des marchandises, le poids et le contenu sont inscrits sur bon nombre des tonneaux. La cargaison contenait également de l’alcool en bouteilles et en tonneaux. Cet article établit un lien entre les témoignages archéologiques et historiques au sujet de la cargaison et le contexte économique et social dans lequel se déroulait le commerce entre le Canada et l’Australie à l’époque. Le William Salthouse nous permet ainsi de mieux comprendre à la fois Montréal, une ville portuaire établie de longue date, et Melbourne, alors au seuil d’une période de développement urbain soutenu

Tracing historical animal husbandry, meat trade, and food provisioning: A multi-isotopic approach to the analysis of shipwreck faunal remains from the William Salthouse, Port Phillip, Australia

“…Carrying a large commercial supply of barreled salt pork, beef, and fish from Montréal, Canada, the William Salthouse sank in 1841 while entering Port Phillip Bay near Melbourne, Australia (Staniforth 2000). Results are discussed in the context of previous historical faunal stable isotope work and demonstrate that animals transported in a single load of cargo could have relatively heterogeneous diets and probably had multiple origins.…”

“…In 1841, the William Salthouse, a British trading vessel, was sailing between two very different colonial centers, Montréal, Canada and Melbourne, Australia when it made a fatal maneuver. During its final approach the ship collided with a submerged rock and eventually scuttled on a sand bar near the entrance of Port Phillip Bay (Staniforth 1997; Figure 1).…”

“…Periodic shortages of foodstuffs and other goods in the fledgling settlement of Melbourne during the late 1830s and 1840s meant that high profits could be made by ship owners willing to dispatch vessels to this new colony in Australia (Staniforth 2000). Though acting illegally, in contravention of the British Navigations Act, this may have been the incentive behind Green and Company of Liverpool's decision to divert one of their vessels, the William Salthouse (under consignment to R.F.…”

“…The ship's cargo included at least 1086 'casks' of various sizes of which 375 contained salt pork and 176 contained salt beef. Branded, cut, and/or stenciled markings on the lids of salt beef and pork barrels (Figure 2) indicate that their contents were of 'prime' or 'prime mess' quality and were inspected between December 1840 and April of 1841 by inspectors in Montréal (Staniforth 2000). This does not, however, necessarily mean that the pigs and cattle processed and packaged into these barrels were raised in the immediate vicinity.…”

Stable-Isotope Bone Chemistry and Human/Animal Interactions in Historical Archaeology

“…From an alternative perspective, the textual record can provide an ideal context in which to test stable-isotope approaches to various archaeological questions in a relatively controlled way (Katzenberg, Saunders, and Abinyi 2000: 2). For instance, the highly specific information about the transport of meat products (Staniforth 2000) could provide an ideal context in which to test isotopic techniques for identifying livestock husbandry and trade.…”