ARRIVAL OF THE MARTABAN
The New
Zealander October 11th 1856
The long looked for ship Martaban
made her appearance in our waters on Wednesday morning after a protracted passage of 115
days, having sailed from Gravesend on 16 June. Throughout, the passage proved to be a pleasant
one, the character of the weather being light and agreeable and the passengers happy and
contented with their ship, her commander and the accommodation and supplies provided for
them. In the northern hemisphere, on 13 July,
she exchanged numbers with the barque Admiral Collingwood from the Mauritius bound for London. Also with a Genoa brig bound for Rio de Janeiro. The captain reports that nothing of note occurred
throughout the passage. Passed close in sight
of the island of St Paul and to the south of but
did not sight Van Diemens Land. On 3rd
current he made the Three Kings about noon and coasted thence with light
northerly winds. She brings upwards of 100
passengers, many of them being assisted immigrants. Taken
as a whole, we have never seen a more orderly or more respectable body of passengers and
it speaks well both for them and for the Commander to hear the kindly terms in which they
make mention of each other. They enjoyed
perfect health throughout the passage and received an accession to their numbers during
its course, a birth having safely occurred on board. The
Martaban is a fine, roomy, lofty ship and the first constructed of iron that has as
yet visited this port. She was to be followed
in two or three days from the date of her departure by the Gipsy which may
therefore be hourly looked for; indeed Captain Lawrence expected to have found her here
before him. The Joseph Fletcher, under
command of Captain POOK, was about to sail in about a fortnight after the Martaban,
her old captain – FOSTER – comes out with his family to settle among us, and
several old colonists are also expected to take passage by her.