Bound for South Australia 1836Crossing the Line

Week 16

"Stereographic Map. Orthographic Map. on the Plane of the Equator" copper engraved map by Woodman & Mutlow, published by Harrison &

Co. in The Geographical Magazine ...., 1793 (map dated 1783)

OverviewBetween February and July 1836 nine ships left Britain bound for the newly created province of South Australia. On-board the ships were passengers who over many long months braved the perils of the ocean, including some of the most treacherous seas in the world to begin a new life on the other side of the world.

This resource uses the stories from these nine ships as recorded by the passengers and crew in their personal journals.

Contents

• Introduction• Journal entries• Inquiry Questions• Glossary of terms

Introduction In week 12, when the Duke of York crossed the Equator, Captain Morgan did not permit a crossing the line ceremony to be held onboard. It was a different story for those onboard the Rapid, crossing the Equator on Wednesday 8th July. The “usual absurd ceremony” was held onboard to initiate the ‘uninitiated’ passengers who had never crossed the Equator before. Little detail is given in Dr John Woodforde’s diary, and we can only imagine what events occurred. These ceremonies are thought to have originated long ago and up until the 19th century were often a brutal event. Ships crossing the Equator today still hold ceremonies to mark the occasion.

Dr John Woodforde, on board the Rapid wrote:

On Wednesday 8th. June we crossed the Equator and the usual absurd ceremony was performed on all the uninitiated except myself – my state of health and giving the Ship’s Company a sovereign exempted me –

Journal entriesWednesday 8 June 1836

Inquiry Questions • What is a ‘crossing the line’ ceremony and how did it originate?

• Who takes part in these ceremonies and who is exempt from participating?

• Do all ships hold celebrations when crossing the Equator?

• How have these ceremonies changed over time? What causes these changes to occur?

Glossary of Terms sovereign• A form of British currency, the gold sovereign has been minted to exacting specifications since

1817. Each sovereign contains exactly 7.3224 grams of gold (22 carats). It was worth nominally one pound.

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