Robert Russell served aboard
the Aurora (ship # 75184) from May 10, 1902 until March 22, 1905.
Note:
There were two different Auroras: the first one (ship # 75184)
was a 244 foot, 823 ton, iron-hulled vessel built (by the
Gourlay Brothers) in Dundee
in 1876 and owned in 1880 by James Murdie, Dundee; and the
second (ship # 75196) was a 165 foot, 386 ton wood-hulled vessel
built in Dundee in 1877 and owned in 1880 by William Stephen,
Marine Parade, Dundee. It is likely that both were used in the
seal and whale fishery.
- from
The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime
Directory for 1880
From
The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime
Directory for 1880
See also
Lloyd's Register, 1887-88
The S.Y. Aurora
(that was built in 1877) was one
of the ships of the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company fleet
out of Dundee, Scotland. Sixteen ships sailed from Dundee every
January for the early seal-fishery in Newfoundland. Some of
these ships also engaged in the whale fishery once the the ice
began to open in more northern Arctic waters. From 1876
to 1910, the Aurora made annual crossings of the Atlantic from
Dundee to St. John's, Newfoundland to take part in the seal and
whale hunts in the Arctic waters between Baffin Island and
Greenland. Robert Russell served aboard the Aurora from
May 10, 1902 until March 22, 1905.
See the
Listing for the Aurora
in the Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1904.
Robert Russell's Certificate of
Discharge, 1901-1904, showing him boarding the Aurora on May 10,
1902
See
original document | See
other documents
of Captain Robert Russell
Section and Deck Plan of the S.Y. Aurora
from Douglas Mawson: Home
of the Blizzard, William Heinemann, London,
1915
S. Y. Aurora
Photo by Xavier Mertz c 1913, Courtesy State Library
New South Wales, Australia
A Voyage to the Arctic in the Whaler
Aurora was written by David Moore Lindsay describing his
experiences aboard the Aurora on a voyage in 1884. Although Robert
Russell sailed twenty years
later, he would have had similar experiences...
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore
Lindsay
January 30,
A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
February 20th, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
North Atlantic Ocean, London Admiralty, 1869
Shows British cable of 1865 and 1866
(Valencia to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia), and French cable of 1869
(Brest to Duxbury Mass.).
St. John's Newfoundland, c. 1900
Fogo was one of the important sealing centres in
Newfoundland.
Courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies
Archives (Coll - 137, 13.13.001),
Memorial University of Newfoundland Library, St. John's, Newfoundland.
March 10th, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
After a refit at St
John's they went on to Davis Strait (between Baffin Island and
Greenland) and the sealing and whaling grounds, returning home in the autumn with
oil and whalebone. The peak catch season for whaling off the coast of
Newfoundland was in 1904. This was a dangerous endeavour as the
hunt took place amongst the ice floes. Many sealing and whaling vessels
were caught in the floes and crushed by the ice.
Newfoundland Sealing Steamers Leaving for
the Icefields
The Aurora among ice floes
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
The Aurora in the ice
On the ice flow
At the Newfoundland Sealfishery, c. 1904
Whitecoats on the ice
After the whitecoats were killed, they were sometimes piled on the ice
and picked up later.
The ship's flag was placed on the ice to mark the ownership of the pile.
Photo by Holloway. Courtesy of the Centre for
Newfoundland Studies Archives (Coll - 137, 907-W),
Memorial University of Newfoundland Library, St. John's, Newfoundland.
Sealers towing pelts
Essential sealing equipment included gaffs for killing the seals and
rope for hauling them back to the ship.
Courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives (Coll - 137,
907-U), Memorial University of Newfoundland Library, St. John's, Newfoundland.
Sealers towing pelts to the ship
The commercial spring seal hunt was one of Newfoundland and Labrador's
most dangerous and demanding industries in the 19th century. Those who
participated in it had to work in the hazardous and inhospitable
conditions of the North Atlantic ice fields. Sealers spent up to 12
consecutive hours on the ice, often walking long distances across
unstable ice pans.
Photographer unknown. Reproduced by permission of the
Archives and Manuscripts Division (Coll. 137 25.01.010),
Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University, St. John's, NL.
March 16th,
A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
March 17th, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
March 22nd,
A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
St. John's Newfoundland -
Unloading the Seal Pelts
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
See
The 19th Century Steamer Seal Fishery for more
information on the Newfoundland Seal Hunt.
St. John's Harbour in Spring
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
May 8th, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
May 13th, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
Map of Baffin Island showing Hudson Strait,
Cape Chidley, Labrador and Frobisher Bay (lower right) c. 1900
Department of the Interior, Canada,
Explorations in Northern Canada
Map showing Hudson Strait,
Cape Chidley, Labrador and Frobisher Bay (centre) c. 1860
May 14th, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
June 18th, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
June 22nd,
A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
Map of Baffin Island showing Lancaster Sound
and Cape Horsburgh, North Devon Island (upper left) c. 1900
Map showing Lancaster Sound
and Cape Horsburgh, North Devon Island (upper left), J. Arrowsmith,
1860
S. Y. Aurora
July 3rd, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
Before breakfast a bear was seen in the water
and shot by McLean
July 3, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
July 10, A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
The ice floe edge, Whaling Barque Harmony of
Hull, William John Huggins, 1781-1845
Log of the S.S. Aurora in Lancaster
Sound, July 19, 1884, From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
Davis Strait Whale Fisher, John Boydell,
1720-1804
Peche De La Baleine, Ambrose Louis Garneray,
1783-1857
Dangers of the Whale Fishery
Aug 9, From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
Whalebone
Photo courtesy of The Forgotten Story of Inuit
Whalers
Whale fin and blubber aboard the ship
Photo courtesy of The
Forgotten Story of Inuit Whalers
The Aurora at Cape York
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
At Proven, Hans Henri, Esquimaux Dog-Driver, with his
son and daughter, c 1875
Repro ID: P39584 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Aug 29 & 30, From
A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
Aug 30, From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
Sept 8, From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
Sept 20, From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore Lindsay
From A Voyage to the Arctic in
the Whaler Aurora, by David Moore
Lindsay, 1911
Old Polynia
There’s a noble fleet of
whalers a-sailing from Dundee,
Manned by British sailors to take them o’er the sea.
On a western ocean passage we started on the trip.
We flew along just like a song in our gallant whaling ship.
‘Twas the second Sunday morning, just after leaving port,
We met a heavy Sou’west gale that washed away our boat.
It washed away our quarterdeck, our stanchions just as well,
And so we sent the whole shebang a-floating in the gale.
CHORUS :
For the wind was on her
quarter and the engine’s working free.
There’s not another whaler that sails the Arctic Sea
Can beat the Old Polina, you need not try, my sons,
For we challenged all both great and small from Dundee to St.
John’s.
Art Jackman set his canvas, Fairweather got up steam,
But Captain Guy, the daring boy, came plunging through the stream.
And Mullins in the Husky tried to beat the blooming lot,
But to beat the Old Polina was something he could not.
CHORUS
There’s the noble Terra
Nova, a model without doubt.
The Arctic and Aurora they talk so much about.
Art Jackman’s model mailboat, the terror of the sea,
Tried to beat the Old Polina on a passage from Dundee.
CHORUS
And now we’re back in
old St. John’s where rum is very cheap.
So we’ll drink a health to Captain Guy who brought us o’er the deep.
A health to all our sweethearts and to our wives so fair.
Not another ship could make the trip but the Polina I declare.
Marine Chronometer c. 1815
The Russell Family |
Robert Russell & Agnes Hunter |
The Russell Family in London, England
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