Sailing the British Empire : The Voyages of The Clarence, 1858-73

Passengers

The majority of the population that travelled to Australia was considered the "worthy poor." This class of people consisted of farmers and agricultural laborers.  Because of their economic status, the trip to Australia would have been too expensive for them to consider.However, the English and Australian governments provided assistance for the four month voyage.Between the years 1848-1859, assisted immigration to the state of Victoria (its captial being Melbourne), saw a peak of 86%. The governments had to offer an incentive for workers to find a new home in Australia. A cheaper fare, shorter voyage, and increasing connections to family and friends in America enticed a large number of emigrants.  The total cost of the trip depended on the size of the family traveling and their ages. Children were cheaper than adults. Agricultural workers received the best assistance. However, this caused problems because it was not always clear as to who was an agricultural laborer. Many people in the working class had various skills and often worked wherever they could find a job. Here, we see the passenger list for the Clarence on its voyage from London to Melbourne in 1871-1872 was kept by Ralph Gallilee Huggup, midshipman. The laboring poor were somewhat literate because they were taught to read the bible, newspapers, and periodicals. However, many could not write because that required an extra year at school. Children usually did not take this extra year to study because their families needed them to work.

Passenger Classes
The passenger classes in which one sailed were often consistent with the social classes on land. First class passengers, also referred to as "saloon" passengers, had the best accommodations aboard ship. These passengers were considered wealthy, respectable, and of a good social order. Traveling by first class was expensive; it was not unsual for a ticket to cost three times as much as the steerage passengers' fares. Purchasing a saloon ticket would have been a worthy investment for those that could afford it. Accommodations included better food served by stewards, better ventilation, more availability to entertainment, and private cabins. These factors contributed to the overall health of passengers.  Sources estimate that of all emigrants to Australia, less than ten percent afforded a cabin.
Conversely, the conditions in steerage were quite deplorable. Passengers were loaded together underneath the deck. The layout of the steerage generally included bunks that lined the sides of the ship and tables in the center of the floor. The bunks had little to no privacy from one another and were separated from the general area by a curtain. Passengers were placed very deliberately within the steerage. Passengers were very deliberately placed within the steerage to preserve integrity and prevent trouble. They were organized by their background and by gender. Single men and single women were stayed at opposite ends of the ship, separated by the families in the middle. Steerage passengers were kept busy in an attempt to prevent boredom, and consequently, mischief.


Citations
Duncan, Sinclair Thomson. Journal of a Voyage to Australia by the Cape of Good Hope, Six Months In Melbourne, And Return to England by Cape Horn: Including Scenes And Sayings On Sea And Land. New and enl. ed. Edinburgh: Gemmell, 1884.

Hassam, Andrew. "Introduction." No Privacy for Writing: Shipboard Diaries, 1852-1879. Carlton South, Vic.: Melbourne UP, 1995. Xiii-xv. Print.

Pearson, Michael N.  "Studying the Indian Ocean World." In Himanshu Prabha Ray and Edward A. Alpers, eds., Cross Currents and Community Networks: The History of the Indian Ocean World. New Delhi: Oxford UP, 2007. 19-22. Print.

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