Waterloo
Waterloo was a British merchant ship built in Bristol in 1815 that later carried convicts to Australia before wrecking in Table Bay in 1842.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Waterloo was a merchant sailing ship constructed at Bristol, England, in 1815. Although the supplied subject is not a contemporary consumer brand, it is the historically documented vessel identified by the canonical Wikipedia title “Waterloo (1815 ship).” Its career combined commercial trading, a licensed voyage connected with the British East India Company, and repeated convict-transport assignments linking Britain and Ireland with Australia. The vessel entered Lloyd’s Register in 1815 under the command of James Ray, with a listed trade between London and Jamaica. During her first commercial voyage, Waterloo sailed to Madeira and Jamaica. On the return passage toward England, the mate and two crew members mutinied, seized Captain Ray, and reportedly intended to kill him. Their attempt ended when the revenue cutter Diligence approached after observing that Waterloo was heading toward shore. The cutter’s crew intervened, rescued the captain, and brought the crisis to an end. After returning to port, the ship was sold to Henry Moor or Moore. She subsequently operated between London and Bengal under a licence associated with the British East India Company. Under Captain Henry Richard Wilkinson, she left the Downs in July 1820, reached Bengal and Madras, and returned to England in September 1821 after calling at the Cape of Good Hope and Saint Helena. Waterloo then entered the British convict-transport system. Between 1829 and 1838 she completed six voyages carrying male convicts from England or Ireland to Sydney and Hobart Town. The voyages varied in duration and mortality. Her first voyage left London in March 1829 with 180 male convicts and recorded two deaths before arrival in Sydney. Later voyages departed from Dublin, Sheerness, Portsmouth, and Cork. The ship carried between 200 and 224 convicts on the documented voyages, with additional soldiers, officers, women, and children on at least one passage. Across these journeys, she transported prisoners to New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land under several masters and surgeons. Waterloo’s final voyage began at Sheerness on 1 June 1842. She was bound for Van Diemen’s Land with 219 prisoners, 30 soldiers of the 99th Regiment, five women, thirteen children, and her crew. The ship had aging and reportedly unsound timbers. Because many people aboard were suffering from scurvy, surgeon Henry Kelsall persuaded Captain Henry Ager to stop at the Cape of Good Hope for fresh provisions. Waterloo entered Table Bay on 24 August and anchored in a position that became dangerous when a severe northwesterly storm developed. The disaster unfolded between 26 and 28 August. Heavy weather damaged the ship’s upper masts, and both anchors eventually failed. The first mate was criticised for not ordering the fallen masts and rigging to be cut away. As the storm intensified, the surgeon ordered the prisoners released from their irons. Waterloo was driven ashore and rapidly broken apart by the sea. Contemporary accounts state that 189 people died in approximately two hours, including 143 convicts, soldiers, members of the crew, and members of soldiers’ families. There were 113 survivors, including prisoners, guards, officers, sailors, and Captain Ager. The survivors were later transferred onward, with 72 of Waterloo’s prisoners reaching Hobart aboard Cape Packet in November 1842. The subsequent inquiry was informal and limited because there was no coroner’s court. Captain Ager was censured for being ashore during the crisis, while the first mate was criticised for failing to clear the damaged rigging. The inquiry also drew attention to the vessel’s rotten timbers and unseaworthy condition. Waterloo therefore survives in maritime and Australian convict-history records less as a commercial brand than as a documented merchant and prison transport ship whose career ended in one of the deadliest wrecks in Table Bay.
History
Waterloo was built at Bristol in 1815 and entered Lloyd’s Register during the same year. Her initial recorded trade was London–Jamaica, with James Ray serving as master. On her first voyage, she travelled to Madeira and Jamaica. During the return voyage, the mate and two crew members mutinied, seized Ray, and allegedly prepared to kill him. The revenue cutter Diligence intervened after observing the ship’s dangerous course toward shore, saving the captain and restoring control. Following the voyage, Waterloo was sold to Henry Moor or Moore. She was then employed between London and Bengal under a licence connected with the British East India Company. Captain Henry Richard Wilkinson commanded the voyage that departed the Downs on 15 July 1820. Waterloo reached Car Nicobar, Calcutta, and Madras before returning through the Cape of Good Hope and Saint Helena to the Downs in September 1821. The ship’s most significant period began in 1829, when she became a convict transport. Her first such voyage departed London on 14 March 1829 and reached Sydney on 9 July with 180 male convicts; two died during the passage. A second voyage left Dublin in December 1830 with 200 male convicts and arrived in Sydney in April 1831, with one death. On the third voyage, Waterloo departed Sheerness in March 1833 with 214 male convicts and arrived in Sydney in August after eleven deaths. Her fourth voyage ran from Portsmouth to Hobart Town in 1834–1835 with 224 male convicts and no recorded convict deaths. Waterloo made two further convict voyages before her loss. She sailed from Cork in May 1836 with 224 male convicts and reached Sydney in September, recording two deaths. On the sixth voyage, she left Sheerness in October 1837 and reached Sydney in February 1838. That voyage included 224 male convicts, two officers, 29 soldiers, eight women, and eleven children; no convict deaths were recorded, and the ship stopped at the Cape for provisions. The final voyage began at Sheerness on 1 June 1842, bound for Van Diemen’s Land. Waterloo carried 219 prisoners, 30 soldiers of the 99th Regiment, five women, thirteen children, and her crew. The vessel was old and had unsound timbers. Surgeon Henry Kelsall urged Captain Henry Ager to stop at the Cape because scurvy was affecting people aboard. Waterloo entered Table Bay on 24 August and anchored in a location exposed to seasonal northwesterly storms. A gale began on 26 August and intensified over the following two days. The top-gallant masts fell, both anchors dragged or failed, and distress signals were raised. The ship’s officers disagreed or failed to act decisively over the removal of the fallen masts and rigging. As conditions worsened, Dr Kelsall ordered the prisoners released from their irons. Waterloo was eventually driven onto the shore, heeled over, and broken into fragments. The wreck killed 189 people in roughly two hours. Among the dead were 143 convicts, fifteen soldiers, members of soldiers’ families, and numerous crew members. Captain Ager, Chief Mate Jackson, other officers, some sailors, guards, and 76 convicts survived. There was no formal coroner’s court, so the investigation was limited. Its findings placed responsibility partly on the captain’s absence and the first mate’s failure to clear the rigging, while also recognising the ship’s poor structural condition. The surviving prisoners were later transferred to another vessel; 72 Waterloo prisoners, together with three from Cape Town, arrived in Hobart aboard Cape Packet in November 1842. Waterloo’s documented career consequently spans British merchant shipping, imperial trade, convict transportation, and maritime-disaster history.
- 1842
Wrecked in Table Bay
[1]Waterloo was destroyed after being driven ashore during a severe storm in Table Bay on 28 August. The disaster caused 189 deaths.
- 1837
Sixth convict voyage
[1]The ship departed Sheerness with 224 male convicts and additional military personnel and families, arriving in Sydney in February 1838 without recorded convict deaths.
- 1836
Cork–Sydney convict voyage
[1]Waterloo carried 224 male convicts from Cork to Sydney and recorded two convict deaths during the voyage.
- 1834
Portsmouth–Hobart convict voyage
[1]The vessel transported 224 male convicts from Portsmouth to Hobart Town, arriving in March 1835 without recorded convict deaths.
- 1833
Third convict voyage
[1]Waterloo left Sheerness with 214 male convicts and arrived in Sydney in August after eleven convict deaths.
- 1830
Dublin–Sydney convict voyage
[1]The ship departed Dublin with 200 male convicts and reached Sydney in April 1831, recording one death en route.
- 1829
First convict voyage
[1]Waterloo carried 180 male convicts from London to Sydney, arriving in July with two convict deaths recorded during the passage.
- 1820
Licensed East India voyage begins
[1]Under Captain Henry Richard Wilkinson, Waterloo sailed from the Downs for Bengal and Madras under a licence associated with the British East India Company.
- 1815
Built and entered into service
[1]Waterloo was built at Bristol and entered Lloyd’s Register with James Ray as master and London–Jamaica as her recorded trade.
- 1815
Mutiny during the return voyage
[1]The mate and two crew members seized Captain Ray while Waterloo was returning from Madeira and Jamaica. The revenue cutter Diligence intervened and rescued him.
Products and positioning
A nineteenth-century British merchant vessel used successively for commercial ocean trade, licensed East India Company traffic, and government convict transportation.
Merchant and convict-transport sailing ship · 1815
Waterloo
A British-built merchant sailing vessel that operated first in Atlantic commercial trade, then under an East India Company licence between Britain and India, and finally as a government convict transport. Between 1829 and 1838 she completed six documented convict voyages to Sydney and Hobart Town. Her last voyage ended in the Table Bay wreck of 1842.
Brand decisions
1842
Decision to call at the Cape of Good HopeOtherBackground
Many people aboard were suffering from scurvy during Waterloo’s final convict voyage to Van Diemen’s Land.
Action taken
Surgeon Henry Kelsall persuaded Captain Henry Ager to stop at the Cape for fresh provisions. Waterloo entered Table Bay on 24 August and anchored there.
Aftermath
The ship remained in an exposed anchorage as a severe northwesterly storm developed. Her anchors failed, and she was wrecked on 28 August with 189 deaths.
Recent events
Sources2 sources
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