A Life at Sea!
Coming from a family of
seafarers with both his grandfather, his father's grandfather, four
grand-uncles and about a dozen cousins being master mariners the subject of
this week's blog was destined for a life at sea.
WILLIAM CARGILL
William was the second son
of Captain John Cargill of Aberdeen Scotland and his wife, Mary (nee Duthie).
Amongst his many accomplishments at sea, his father had the honour of
commanding the Royal Yacht to Aberdeen when Queen Victoria made her first visit
to Balmoral in September 1848.
William, at the age of 13,
accompanied his father during his winter vacation, on the City of London
steamship in November 1854 when a terrible storm burst in the harbour of
Balaclava where many vessels are destroyed on the rocks. The City of London,
under steam, slipped her cable and stood out to sea escaping the battering
without any loss. William was not put off by this disastrous event and three
years later entered his naval career. He commenced with time on board the
British Merchant commandeered by his cousin, Captain Alexander Duthie, remaining
with her until she was totally destroyed by fire in September 1860 at Smiths
Wharf Millers Point.
National Army Museum - out of copyright
By 1862 at the age of 21
William was the Chief Officer of the vessel Dunrobin Castle and made two
voyages aboard her. He passed his exams as Extra Master and eventually
transferred to the Ben Lomond and he commandeered her when he was just 25 years
of age.
Coming to these shores, he
married Jessie Moodie, the daughter of the late Captain Robert Moodie of the Marine
Board of NSW and the original Managing Trustee of the Presbyterian Cemetery of
the Necropolis in 1868. Interestingly in his service of the City of Sydney he
was the commanding officer of the ship that transported the very first
continental cricket teams from Sydney to Melbourne and vice versa.
William Cargill subsequently
commandeered the Windsor Castle, owned by Donaldson, Rose and Company of
Aberdeen whose employ he left in 1874. He then took command of the R.M.S.
Australia, built in Glasgow, by John Elder and Company, for the Sydney-San
Francisco mail service. The ship continued making regular trips until the
expiration of the contract in 1885, Cargill having left the company in 1883.
During the seven years he commandeered the ship he proved himself most
successful and was held in high esteem by his crew and the travelling public which largely contributed to the success of these steamers as passenger vessels.
Captain Cargill had invested
in commercial enterprises in Sydney and remained ashore for some years to
oversee them but financial troubles during the 1890's caused him to return to
the sea to commandeer more steamers.
William Cargill was taken
ill during his final voyage and upon arrival in Sydney in early 1902 resigned
the command. He regained strength but typhoid fever he had contracted from a
passenger took hold and he died at his home in Neutral Bay in July 1902. A
large funeral gathering took place in Rookwood attended by many respected
people from his profession.
Captain William Cargill left
a widow and his three children to mourn his loss. His wife Jessie, died in April 1911and was known throughout Sydney for her charitable work especially with the Sydney
Hospital.
Their eldest son, John
Sydney, held a distinguished career with the Public Service with the title of
Solicitor for the Railways. At his funeral in 1932 he was remembered as the hardworking volunteer for the University of Sydney's Sports Union.
Their youngest son, William
Duthie, graduated as a Doctor from the University of Sydney in 1898 and
practiced in Sydney before a stint in Carcoar.. He married there and then
returned to Sydney where he set up a practice in the northern suburbs. He died
in 1914 from Typhoid, like his father.
Agnes Moodie Cargill the
couple's only daughter died in Neutral Bay, unmarried in 1960.
They all lie together in the family plot in the Old Presbyterian area of the Necropolis near to Jessie's father Robert Moodie.
A few years ago, I decided to
take a good look at the area of Strathfield and its grand homes. I discovered
that William Cargill resided with his family at 13 Albyn Road on land he
purchased in 1880. He named his new home “Lanilohia” and lived there until 1891.
His wife’s father, Captain Robert Moodie bought the block of land next door, 11
Albyn Road, also in 1880 and built a home there, residing until his death in
1899. Captain Cargills’ former home sold in September 2021 for $4.950M and both
homes could command slightly more than that figure if put up for sale now.
Captain Willima Cargill certainly packed a great deal of adventure on the high seas into his relatively short life.
References for today’s blog
were taken from Ancestry.com, Wikipedia, Google postings on individual homes
listed, SMH notice dated 29th July 1902.
If you have any comments or
insights regarding the person or persons listed in my blog today don’t hesitate to
comment below or at the Facebook group page which can be found by searching
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Until next week
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