How a motley crew of merchant seamen walked 600 miles to save 7000 gallons of rum
By the bestselling author of The Ship That Never Was
When, in 1796, Calcutta-based Scottish merchants Campbell & Clark dispatched an Indian ship hurriedly renamed the Sydney Cove to the colony of New South Wales, they were hoping to make their fortune. The ship's speculative cargo was comprised of all kinds of goods to entice the new colony's inhabitants, including 7000 gallons of rum. The merchants were planning to sell the liquor to the Rum Corp, which ruled the fledgling colony with an iron grip, despite the recent arrival of Governor John Hunter.
But when the Sydney Cove went down north of Van Diemen's Land, cargo master William Clark and sixteen other crew members were compelled to walk 600 miles to Sydney Town to get help to save the rest of the crew and the precious goods. Assisted by at least six Indigenous...
