Argo (1806 Chittagong ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Argo (ship).

42.8805°S 147.3251°E / -42.8805; 147.3251

History
United Kingdom
Owner	Registered in Calcutta to Payne & Tyrce
Builder	Built at Chittagong,[1] India
Launched	1806[2]
Fate	Disappeared in 1814 off the coast of Tasmania
General characteristics
Tons burthen	137,[2] or 150 (bm)
Sail plan	Ship-rigged
Complement	Crew of 32
Armament	4 guns

Argo was a merchant ship built in 1806 at Chittagong, present-day Bangladesh. She was registered in Calcutta to Payne & Tyrce. She disappeared in 1814 off the coast of Tasmania after having been "run away with" by convicts.

Disappearance

Argo, Dixon, master, arrived at Port Jackson on 22 December 1813 with merchandise from Île de France. She departed, ostensibly for Île de France, on 14 April 1814.^[3]

In 1814 Argo illegally departed Hobart with thirteen or fourteen convicts on board. It was postulated that this was done with the agreement of the master of the ship, John Poor Dixon. At a special commission held on 3 May 1820, the harbour master of Hobart, Captain James Kelly, testified that Argo was never heard of again. It was presumed that she foundered at sea with the loss of all aboard.^[4]

Citations

1. Phipps (1840), p. 189.
2. Phipps (1840), p. 176.
3. "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891, p.16. 3 January 1891. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
4. Bateson (1972), p. 49.

References

• Bateson, Charles (1972). Australian Shipwrecks: including vessels wrecked en route to or from Australia, and some strandings. Vol. One: 1622–1850. Sydney: AH and AW Reed. ISBN 0-589-07112-2.
• Phipps, John (1840). A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time ... Scott.