1829-30 — Brig Kamehameha lost, Honolulu HI, Dec 2, for Erromango Island –250-~300
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-10-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
Brig Kamehameha
–~300 Alexander, William De Witt. A Brief History of the Hawaiian People. 1891, p. 203.
— 250 Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 71.
— 250 Schmitt, Robert C. “Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii.” P. 80.
Brig Becket
— ~139 Alexander, William De Witt. A Brief History of the Hawaiian People. 1891, p. 203.
Narrative Information
Alexander: “Boki’s [Oahu Governor] Fatal expedition. – Boki had been lavish in his presents to his partisans; his debts began to press hard upon him, and sandal-wood had become scarce. In November, 1829, an adventurer from Port Jackson reported that an island had been discovered in the South Pacific, which abounded in sandal-wood, and offered to guide an expedition to it. Boki immediately took the bait, and, against the advice of his best friends, hastily fitted out the king’s brig ‘Kamehameha’ and the ‘Becket.’ Kaahumanu was absent at the time on Kauai. Boki took command of the ‘Kamehameha,’ with about three hundred men, while Manuia, his confidential agent, had charge of the ‘Becket,’ with one hundred and seventy-nine men. Almost the whole company of opposers that he had collected went on this wild expedition. They sailed December 2d, 1829, touching at the island of Rotuma, where Boki remained four days, and took on board a large number of natives to assist in cutting sandal-wood. The ‘Becket’ lay there ten days longer, and then followed on her way to their destination, which was the island of Eromango, in the New Hebrides.
“Nothing more was ever seen or heard of Boki’s vessel, the ‘Kamehameha,’ and her fate is still a mystery.
“The ‘Becket’ remained at Eromango five weeks, but the hostility of the inhabitants, and sickness among the people on board, defeated the object of the expedition. Many of them fell victims to the deadly climate, among who was Manuia.
“The survivors set sail for home, touching again at Rotuma, where they left twenty of their sick. They suffered dreadfully during the voyage from disease and privation, and when the arrived at Honolulu on the 3d of August, 1830, out of the whole company only twenty remained, eight of whom were foreigners.” (Alexander, William De Witt. A Brief History of the Hawaiian People. NY, Cincinnati, Chicago: American Book Company, 1891, p. 203-204.)
Schmitt: “The greatest marine disaster in Island history–and third highest in loss of life among all types of catastrophe–was the disappearance of the Kamehameha in 1829 or 1830. The High Chief Boki, Governor of Oahu, had fitted out two brigs, the Kamehameha and Becket, and sailed from Honolulu on December 2, 1829 in quest of the sandalwood islands. The two vessels stopped at Rotuma, then sailed for Erromanga in the New Hebrides. The Kamehameha never arrived; possibly the ship and its 250 occupants went down in a storm. The 180 on the Becket finally gave up looking for their companion craft and turned homeward, but by the time they reached Honolulu on August 3, 1830 all but 20 of their number had succumbed to disease or starvation.”[1] (Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, p. 71.)
Sources
Alexander, William De Witt. A Brief History of the Hawaiian People. NY, Cincinnati, Chicago: American Book Company, 1891. Google digitized. Accessed 10-5-2012 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=rQ8bAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Schmitt, Robert C. Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii. 2-2-2009, 86 pages. Accessed 9-20-2012 at: Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii – eVols – University of Hawaii. Accessed at: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fevols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10524%2F150%2FJL03074.pdf%3Fsequence%3D2&ei=UPSvVK2bLoO4yQTO74L4DA&usg=AFQjCNHER9A57xAr6d0m9mJcnsc4F2Z8Gg&bvm=bv.83339334,d.aWw
Schmitt, Robert C. “Catastrophic Mortality in Hawaii.” Pages 66-86. Accessed 3-10-2024 at: https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/adb83189-0281-4c84-adc0-c86f3d50a20b/content
[1] Cites: Kuykendall, Ralph S. and A. Grove Day. Hawaii: A History, revised edition. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1961, pp. 97-98; Gavan Daws, “The High Chief Boki,” The Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 75, No. 1 (March, 1966), pp. 80-81.