The Master Mariner In-laws: Captains Goldsmith, Day and Axup

CAPTAIN HECTOR AXUP
CAPTAIN JAMES DAY
CAPTAIN EDWARD GOLDSMITH



Hobart Town
Lithograph by Mayer, A. fl. 1841
Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office: Allport Library

Photographer Thomas J. Nevin's father-in-law on marriage in 1871 was Captain James Day (1806-1882), father of his wife Elizabeth Rachel Day (1847-1914). Her younger sister Mary Sophia Day (1853-1942) married Captain Hector Axup (1843-1927) in 1878. Thomas Nevin's wife Elizabeth Rachel Day was named after Captain James Day's sister, Elizabeth Day (1802-1875), who married master mariner Captain Edward Goldsmith (1804-1869) in 1829 at St George, Liverpool, England.

Captain Hector Axup (1843-1927)
In the week of Captain James Day's passing, his son-in-law, Captain Hector Axup and daughters Mary Sophia Axup and Elizabeth Rachel Nevin, placed this short obituary in the Hobart Mercury, 21st November 1882:



Death notice for Captain James Day, Mercury, 21st November 1882

 TRANSCRIPT
DAY.- At his son-law's residence, H.C. Axup, Sloane-street, Battery Point, in the 78th year of his age, Captain James Day, for many years master mariner of this port, and brother-in-law of the late Captain Goldsmith.



Above: Captain Hector C. Axup ca. 1880s. Unattributed
Photo courtesy S. Baldwin 2007 ARR.

At the time of Captain James Day's death, Hector Axup was chief officer of the barque Natal Queen:



Mr. Axup of the Acacia and Natal Queen
The Mercury 11th December 1882

TRANSCRIPT
The barque Acacia has taken nearly half of her loading for Auckland, and will leave in a few days, for Spring Bay, where she will fill up with Okehampton stone. Mr. Axup, for a long while chief officer of the Acacia, has been appointed to a similar position in the barque Natal Queen. Mr. William Dart, who has been second mate of the Acacia for the last few years, succeeds Mr. Axup as mate.



The Acacia
Allen Green Collection
State Library Victoria



The Natal Queen ca. 1880
State Library of Tasmania Ref: PH30_1_5704



Above and below: the barque Natal Queen ca.1890
State Library of Tasmania
Built at Grangemouth in 1866 ; registered in Hobart 1873 ; wrecked in Adventure Bay 1909
Photographer: Williamson, William, 1861-1926
Ref: AUTAS001126071323; AUTAS001126071315



Captain Hector Charles Horatio Axup, who was for many years harbour pilot and leading tower assistant at George Town, Tasmania, married Captain James Day's younger daughter Mary Sophia Day (1853-1942) at the Wesleyan Chapel, Kangaroo Valley, Hobart, on 1st May 1878 where the family of Thomas J. Nevin resided. Captain James Day's elder daughter, Elizabeth Rachel Day (1847-1914), born in London and baptised at St. Mary Rotherhithe, Surrey with the first names of her aunt Elizabeth Goldsmith nee Day and her mother Rachael Day nee Pocock, married Thomas J. Nevin at the same chapel on 12th July 1871.

Captain James Day (1806-1882)
Captain Edward Goldsmith was a signatory witness to the marriage of his brother-in-law Captain James Day to Rachel Pocock (ca. 1812-1857) at St David's Church Hobart on January 6,1841:



St David's Hobarton
6th January 1841
James Day, 34yrs, Master Mariner
Rachel Pocock, 29 years, Spinster
Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Uniting Church of England and Ireland, William Bedford, Senior Chaplain,
In the presence of Edward Goldsmith and Margaret Fuller

Below: this signature was written by the registrar for Edward Goldsmith on the marriage certificate of James Day and Rachael Pocock, 1841. See his actual signature on cargo documents here.



Captain James Day was born in Yorkshire (1806-1882), went to sea in 1819 at 13 yrs old, was First Mate on the Waterloo (1832) with Captain Goldsmith in command, and Master of the Highlander and the Lady Palmerston dating from 1853-55. He settled in Hobart in 1854 (Liverpool St) but his wife Rachael Pocock, mother of his two daughters Elizabeth Rachel (b.London 1847) and Mary Sophia Day (b. Hobart 1853), died of consumption in 1857. Captain James Day served as Chief Officer, Navigator and First Mate on whalers and merchant traders from the 1830s to his last years, including the Bombay (1830), the Orelia (1830), the Lion (1831), the Waterloo (1832), the Pryde (1850), the Panama (1850), the Swordfish (1852), the Star and the Electra (1868). According the obituary published on the death of his younger daughter Mary Sophia (Day) Axup (1853-1941), he owned his own vessel and traded locally within Australian waters in later years, residing with elder daughter Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin and her husband photographer Thomas J. Nevin at their studio and residence, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart in 1874-5, and later with Mary Sophia at her house in Sloane Street, Battery Point, Hobart, where he died in 1882.

DEATH
Name: James Day
Death Age: 78
Birth Date: abt 1804
Death Date: 14 Nov 1882
Death Place: Hobart, Tasmania
Registration Date: 1882
Registration Place: Hobart, Australia
Registration Number: 491 Archives Office Tasmania



Electra: James Day, aged 60, Mate, 1868. Source: State Records Authority of New South Wales: Shipping Master's Office; Passengers Arriving 1855 - 1922; NRS13278, [X138-139] reel 436. Transcribed by Alice Norton. https://mariners.records.nsw.gov.au/1868/04/media/058ele.gif

FIRST MATE JAMES DAY
Voyages 1829-1832

1829
Day J Carpenter
Georgiana 22 Aug 1829
Hobart Bombay
CUS33/1/1 p135

1830
After the wreck of the James which arrived at Swan River, Captain Goldsmith in command, James Day sailed as crew to Hobart on board the convict transport, the Bombay. His sister Elizabeth and her husband Captain Edward Goldsmith and their new-born son, Richard Sydney Goldsmith sailed with him as passengers.

Day James Seaman
Bombay 22 Aug 1830
Hobart Sydney
CUS33/1/1 p253

Day James Mr Chief Mate
Orelia 6 Oct 1830
Hobart Western Australia
CUS33/1/1 p266

1831
Day James Mr Chief Officer
Lion 24 Apr 1831
Hobart London
CUS33/1/1 p334

1832
On this voyage of the brig Waterloo, Captain Edward Goldsmith in command, his brother-in-law James Day was first mate.

James Day J 1st Mate
Waterloo 15 Aug 1832
Hobart Sydney
CUS33/1/1 p474





FULL LIST of CREW & PASSENGERS
Archives Office Tasmania
Waterloo, 1832; Edward Goldsmith master, James Day 1st mate
Arrivals Passengers 1833-35
stors.tas.gov.au/CUS30-1-1

In 1875 when Captain James Day re-applied in Hobart for his Master's Certificate of Service, he gave his son-in-law's photography studio address, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobarton, as his residence, the studio of Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin. Two documents giving these details are held at the State Library of Tasmania:



Captain James Day, Master, Certificate of Service and Testimonial
TAHO Card Index. Photos © KLW NFC 2013 ARR



The Lady Palmerston Captain James Day, master
TAHO Ref: PH301912 Beattie.

Captain Edward Goldsmith (1804-1869)
Elizabeth Goldsmith nee Day (1802-1875) - or "Mrs Captain Goldsmith" as she was known in Hobart - and her brother Captain James Day were both born in the city of York (Yorkshire, UK), but when Elizabeth Day married Captain Edward Goldsmith on 24th Jun 1829 at St George, Derby Square, Liverpool, Lancashire, she was registered as a "spinster of Liverpool" and he was registered as "Master Mariner Batchelor of Rotherhithe ". He was born at Chalk, Kent in 1804 but resided from an early age with his father Richard Goldsmith snr at his victualling houses, The China Hall and the Ship on Launch at Rotherhithe, Surrey, while undergoing training at East India House. He was in Liverpool in 1829 under contract to shipping agents in preparation for his command of the James to Western Australia (departed UK 29th December 1829).



Edward Goldsmith-Elizabeth Day marriage 24 June 1829
Source: Marriages at St George Derby Square in the City of Liverpool
Marriages recorded in the Register for the years 1813 - 1837
https://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Liverpool/Liverpool-Central/stgeorge/marriages_1813-1837.html

Eldest son Richard Sydney Goldsmith was born on 19th May 1830 at the Swan River, Western Australia, ten days after their arrival on the James. They were stranded at Swan River when the James was wrecked by storms, so they proceeded to Hobart and Sydney where they christened Richard Sydney at St. Philips on 11th November 1830. Once back in London, they registered his birth and baptism again at St. Mary Rotherhithe where later, in 1847, Captain James Day and his wife Rachael Pocock would register the birth and baptism of their eldest daughter Elizabeth Rachel, Richard Goldsmith jnr's first cousin.



Richard Sydney Goldsmith christening record (1830-1854)
Source: NSW Registry of BDM

Richard Sydney Goldsmith died from fever aged 25 yrs on 15th August, 1854 at his father's house, 19 Davey-street, Hobart. He was a cashier at the Union Bank, Hobart, at the time of death.



Richard Sydney Goldsmith (1830-1854)
Obituary, The Courier Hobart 5 August 1854

Finally arriving in Sydney after the nightmarish experience of the voyage on the James to Swan River, W. A. in 1830, Captain Goldsmith, his wife and new-born son sailed for London on the Norval, Goldsmith in command. This notice appeared in the Sydney Gazette, 26 April 1831:



Departure of the Norval from Sydney for London,
Captain Goldsmith, master, with Mrs Goldsmith and child
Sydney Gazette, 26 April 1831.

TRANSCRIPT
Shipping Intelligence
DEPARTURES
For London, on Sunday last, the brig Norval, Captain Goldsmith, with a cargo of Colonial produce. Passengers, Mrs Goldsmith and child; and Mr. J. Wigley, and 2 children.
Mrs Elizabeth Goldsmith, sister of Captain James Day and wife of Captain Edward Goldsmith, sailed with her husband from London to the Australian colonies dating from the year of their marriage, 1829. She appears on several passenger lists, sometimes with children, sometimes alone, and usually with her husband at the helm. It also appears that she went shopping in London for fashions to be sent as cargo to the merchants of Hobart, viz. this shipment of bonnets in 1839:



The deference to women of status in 1830s Tasmania dictated that Captain Goldsmith's wife, Elizabeth Goldsmith nee Day, be spoken of only as "Mrs Captain Goldsmith", as John Johnson wrote in this advertisement for his sale of bonnets, The Mercury October 11, 1839:

TRANSCRIPT
BONNET
The undersigned has now ready for Sale, an assortment of Dunstable, Tuscan, and fancy Silk Bonnets
THE GIRL'S and LADIES' Silk Bonnets were selected under the immediate superintendence of Mrs. Captain Goldsmith, shortly before the Wave left England. A Guarantee of the latest and newest fashion! John Johnson, 59, Liverpool-street, Oct. 11, 1839.
The ladies of Hobart Town were wearing these styles ca. 1838



Creator: Bock, Thomas, 1793-1855
ADRI: AUTAS001124066499
ADRI: AUTAS001124066606
Source: Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts



Note: DUNSTABLE BONNET, THE. English, Jig. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody is unique to London publishers Charles and Samuel Thompson's 1765 country dance collection. The first straw bonnet was said to have been made in Dunstable, a market town in Bedfordshire, England, which in any case became associated in the 18th century with finely made straw bonnets. Source:https://tunearch.org/wiki/Dunstable_Bonnet_(The)Source for notated version:Printed sources: Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2), 1765; No. 157.

Captain Edward Goldsmith was a master mariner responsible for the conveyance of general cargo, luxury merchandise, colonial produce and passengers between London, Sydney and Hobart from the early 1830s until the mid 1850s, usually completing one voyage per year with an eight-month turnaround. He was a Director of the Hobart Town and Launceston Marine Insurance Company, established in 1836. With his agents Bilton and Meaburn he purchased land at Secheron Bay, Battery Point, Hobart to build a patent slip and dry dock. His closest friends in Hobart included Governor Sir John Franklin, merchant and shipping agent Thomas Chapman, and hop plantation pioneer William Sharland. The Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land admitted him as a member, and he was awarded a silver cup for his contributions to shipping in 1849. Captain Edward Goldsmith assisted in the funding of gold exploration in the island's north in the 1850s, and notably for Tasmanians, he was the builder of the twin vehicular steam ferry the SS Kangaroo in 1854, operating from land leased from the government at his patent slip and dock yard, known as Goldsmith's Yard, at the Queen's Domain in Hobart.



Directors of the Hobart Town and Launceston Marine Insurance Compnay
Askin Morrison. Edward Goldsmith. Henry Hopkins, Thomas Giblin, John Foster
Colonial Times, Hobart, 8th June 1855

Captain Goldsmith and the "SS Kangaroo"



This ferry carrying horse and carriage was most likely the vehicular ferry SS Kangaroo, an early photo , unattributed, held at the University of Tasmania Special Collections.



Captain C. HOOPER, 2nd Master of the Kangaroo
Item Number:PH30/1/4172
Start Date:01 Jan 1880
Source:Archives Office of Tasmania



At top: the photo of the Kangaroo was taken by James Chandler,whose aunt Martha Genge became Thomas Nevin's father John Nevin's second wife in 1879. Martha Genge's sister was Mary Chandler nee Genge, James Chandler's mother. See this entry for James Chandler's photo of his mother and aunt taken ca. 1920.



SS Kangaroo, ca. 1900 W. J. Little, Photo
TAHO Archives Tasmania
Refs: PH3015623

In this article published in the Mercury 23rd June 1882, the writer describes the plant for a patent slip imported and built with prison labour in the early 1850s by Captain Goldsmith: the intention was to build a reliable means of transport for passengers and horse-drawn vehicles between Hobart and Kangaroo Point (Bellerive):



Credit to Captain Goldsmith
Mercury, 23rd June 1882
To Captain Goldsmith, who came to the colonies in charge of one of the London traders, the credit of introducing patent slips into Hobart is due ...
The Kangaroo and Captain Goldsmith were mentioned again in this excerpt from the Shipping News, Launceston Examiner, 21 January 1886:



The Kangaroo built by Captain Goldsmith 1854
Launceston Examiner 21 January 1886

TRANSCRIPT
The twin steamer Kangaroo was built in the year 1854 under the immediate supervision of the late Governor Sir William Denison, R.E. by the late Captain Goldsmith, formerly of the London traders Waverley and John Izat, at the Imperial expenditure, regardless of cost....
More about (the late) Captain Goldsmith and the Kangaroo appeared in this article titled SHIPBUILDING IN TASMANIA, published in The Mercury 23 June 1882. Read the article here.



The Famous Twins or SS Kangaroo ca. 1900, built by Captain Edward Goldsmith 1855, for the Hobart-Bellerive service
Source: Pictorial Portrayal of Tasmania’s Past, Beatties Studios, Winnings Newsagency 2011.
Photo copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2014

Captain Edward Goldsmith: Arrivals and Departures
The following records were sourced from Port Officers' Logs, eg. MB2/39/1/1 P443 held at the State Library Tasmania; from NSW State Records Office (Reels 1271/1272); and from newspaper Shipping notices. The information here is incomplete, and does not include voyages exclusively to Port Jackson, NSW, for example, voyages on the barque Parrock Hall, 1844-1845.

1829
Voyage to Western Australia on the James, shipwrecked days after arrival on 8th May 1830 in a storm at the Swan River. Elizabeth Goldsmith gave birth to their son Richard Sydney Goldsmith on the 20th May. A major investigation into the journey and wreck was conducted by the Colonial Office. Captain Goldsmith, his wife Elizabeth and new-born son left the Swan River as passengers on board the Bombay, arriving in Hobart in late July, departing for Sydney on the Elizabeth. Read more about their nightmarish voyage on the James (1830) in this post.



Mr. Goldsmith, master of the brig James, wrecked at Swan River
Hobart Courier Saturday, July 31st 1830.

1830
Departed Goldsmith Child Passenger on the Elizabeth 15 Aug 1830 Hobart to Port Jackson
Ship to colony Bombay Child of Captain and Mrs CUS33/1/1 p258
Departed Goldsmith Mrs Passenger on the Elizabeth 15 Aug 1830 Hobart to Port Jackson
Ship to colony Bombay CUS33/1/1 p258
Departed Goldsmith Captain Passenger on the Bombay 22 Aug 1830 Hobart to Sydney CUS33/1/1 p253

1832
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Waterloo 5 Aug 1832 MB2/39/1/1 P276
Departed Hobart Goldsmith E Master Waterloo 15 Aug 1832 Hobart to Sydney CUS33/1/1 p474

1833
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Wave 14 Nov 1833 MB2/39/1/1 P443

1835
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Wave 9 Mar 1835 MB2/39/1/2 P245

1836
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master Wave 6 Dec 1836 MB2/39/1/3 P73

1838
Arrived in Hobart from Portsmouth on the barque Wave 17 July 1838
Goldsmith Ship's Master Wave 17 July 1838 MB2/39/1/4 P100

1839
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Wave 25 Sep 1839 MB2/39/1/4 P351

1842
Arrived in Hobart from London, Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Janet Izat 26 Oct 1842 MB2/39/1/6 P355

1843
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Janet Izat 16 Dec 1843 MB2/39/1/7 P313

1844
Arrived Goldsmith Capt on the Louisa 13 Dec 1844 CSO92/1/13 P110 (as passenger)

1846
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Mr Rattler 11 Nov 1846 CSO92/1/16 P96
Goldsmith Ship's Master Rattler 12 Nov 1846 MB2/39/1/9 P45

1847
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Rattler 11 Nov 1847 MB2/39/1/9 P374

While in Hobart, Captain Goldsmith of the Rattler was a Committee member at the 10th Anniversary of the Hobart Regatta, December 1, 1847. This beautifully printed program on silk is featured on TAHO's Flickr account:



1848
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Rattler 5 Dec 1848 MB2/39/1/10 P374

1849
Arrived in Hobart from London on the Rattler, 27 November 1849 Goldsmith Ship's Master
Rattler 27 Nov 1849 MB2/39/1/11 P381
Arrived Goldsmith Mrs on the Rattler from London 27 Nov 1849 MB2/39/1/11 P381

VOYAGES on the RATTLER, Captain Edward Goldsmith, Master:
1846: arrived Hobart from London, 14th November 1846, departed 21st January 1847.
1847: arrived Hobart from London, 11th November 1847, departed 29th January 1848.
1848: arrived Hobart from London, 4th December 1848, departed 25th February 1849.
1849: arrived Hobart from London, 27th November 1849, departed 26th February 1850.
1850: arrived Hobart from London, 13th December 1850, departed 19th March 1851.

Port Officers' Forms: examples
Series MB2/39 documenting Captain Goldsmith:



Captain Goldsmith, arrival of the Wave 17 July 1838



Captain Goldsmith, arrival of the Wave, 23 September 1839



Arrival of the Rattler, Captain Goldsmith 27 November 1849
Examples of Port Officers' Forms
Series MB2/39 documenting Captain Goldsmith:
State Library of Tasmania



J.J. Crew 1874 State Library of Victoria Collection
"The Quay, Hobart Town from a photograph"

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