The Black Ball L
ine was founded in 1852 by James Baines & Thomas MacKay, Liverpool as a regular packet service to Australia at the time of the gold rush using clipper ships.
Clipper Ships were commercial vessels built with speed as their foremost consideration and cargo carrying secondary. This meant the hull must be very sharp. In their pure form only built between 1845-1875.
“If a clipper was beautiful at rest, under sail she became alive, flying before a gale, skimming before the trade winds or ghosting through calms” . ( Sam Jefferson Clipper Ships and the Golden Age of Sail )
Land Orders
Eventually the ships were used to bring immigrants from England to Australia. Queensland separated from New South Wales on December 1 1859. The Queensland Government instituted a system of immigration known as the land order system to supplement that carried out under the control of the Emigration Commissioners. Every adult immigrant who came to Queensland was to be granted a land order for 18 acres and after 2 years a further for 12 acres. These were valued at £18 and £12 respectively.
Ship owners and the use of Land Orders
A shipowner who brought free passengers or assisted passengers to Queensland at his own expense was to be given a land order for £18 for each adult immigrant carried. By paying shipowners in land orders rather than cash, this saved the young colony cash. In 1860 McKay, Baines and Co who operated the Black Ball Line entered in to agreement with the Qld colony to provide immigrants. The pioneer vessel was the Wansfell that arrived in Moreton Bay on 10th of November 1861 with 300 immigrants. It was said that for a while it was not unusual to have more than 2 Black Line ships in Moreton Bay at the one time.
The end of the Land Orders and the end of the line
Eventually, there were problems relating to the issuing of land orders. In 1869 6 Black Ball Line ships arrived , but the order to cease immigration this way was made on 31 December 1869 ( while my great grandfather was already on the Storm King when this happened). The termination took effect on 30 June 1870