employment   conditions   of   assigned   servants,   and   laid   the   foundation   of the “ticket of leave” system for deserving prisoners. The   journey   took   six   months,   in   a   wooden   vessel   some   150ft   (50m) long.   King,   although   a   passenger,   was   a   trained   Naval   Officer.   Massey although   a   convict   and   a   crewman   was   a   trained   and   experienced   soldier. It   is   not   hard   to   imagine   their   paths   crossed   on   more   than   one   occasion. In   view   of   the   rapid   preferment   Massey   later   received,   starting   with   his conditional   pardon   in   1800,   it   is   logical   that   King   was   likely   to   have formed opinions as to his character on the voyage out.

A Voyage Round the World, in the Gorgon Man of War

It   is   our   luck   to   have   a   rare   record   of   Thomas   Massey’s   long   voyage   to Australia.   Command   of   Gorgon   was   given   to   Captain   John   Parker.   Mary Ann   Parker,   his   wife,   sailed   with   him   to   Sydney   and   records   the   voyage   in her   1795   book   A   Voyage   Round   the   World,   in   the   Gorgon   Man   of   War. [Parker (1795)] She   writes:   “despite   the   first   fortnight   spent   receiving   a   good   seasoning and   buffeting   in   the   Channel,   it   was   a   good   trip   South.”   Gorgon   stopped first   at   Tenerife   for   nine   days   to   resupply.   Thomas   by   now,   was   becoming just   one   of   the   crew   and   enjoyed   his   share   of   work   and   the   ribbing   and skylarking that constituted the crew at play. Thomas   had   always   had   an   eye   for   the   ladies   and   found   the   Captain’s wife   and   Mrs   King   worthy   of   a   quick   glance   whenever   possible   as   they strolled    the    deck.    He    soon    learned    that    Mrs.    Parker    was    a    most competent    individual,    with    a    cool    judgement    and    a    quick    mind.    He discovered   she   was   fluent   in   Spanish   and   even   heard   her   act   as   an interpreter from time to time. On   29   April   they   crossed   the   line   and   Thomas   found   himself   a   victim   of a   sort   of   baptism   against   which   his   convict   origin   offered   no   protection. As Mary Ann Parker writes: On    the    29th    we    crossed    the    line,    and    paid    the    usual    forfeit    to   Amphitrite    and      Neptune.   Those   sailors   who   had   crossed   the   line   before   burlesqued   the   newcomers     as   much   as   possible,   calling   themselves   Neptune   and     Amphytrite   with   their   aquatic attendants. They   have   the   privilege   to   make   themselves   merry   ;   and      those   who      have never   been   in   South   latitudes   purchase   their   freedom   by   a   small   quantity   of   liquor. But   the   sailor   or   soldier   who   has   none   to   give   is   the   object   of   their   mirth   ;   and   the more restive he, the more keen they are to proceed to business. A   large   tub   of   salt   water,   with   a   seat   over   it   is   placed   in   the   fore-part   of   the   ship,   on     which   the   new   comer   is   reluctantly   put—   the   seat   is   drawn   from   under   him   and when   rising   from   the   tub,   several   pails   of   water   are   thrown   over   him—he   is   then pushed   forward   amongst   his   laughing   shipmates,   and   is   as   busy   as   the   rest   to   get     others in  the  same  predicament. The   next   re-supply   stop   was   St.   Jago   in   the   Cape   Verde   Islands   just   off the    western    coast    of    Senegal,    itself    the    most    westerly    territory    of continental    Africa.    Here    Thomas    learned    from    the    gossip    that    soon circulated   amongst   the   crew   that   even   the   might   of   the   British   Navy deemed   it   wise   to   restrict   shore   visits   to   St.   Jago.   The   islands   had   been colonised   by   the   Portuguese.   They   were   a   major   operating   centre   for   the slave trade … … ...

The heavens open - an unforgettable welcome to a new land

On   the   night   of   19   September   1791   at   8pm   Gorgon   was   just   past   the northern   headland   of   what   is   now   Jervis   Bay   when   they   were   hit   by   a “tremendous   thunder   squall   attended   with   most   dreadful   lightening   and constant heavy rain”. About    half    past    eight    the    ship    was    hit    by    lightening.    Mary    Ann describes the event in detail. …   “the   lightning   struck   the   pole   of   the   main-top-gallant-mast,   shivered   it   and   the head   of   the   mast   entirely   to   pieces   ;   thence   it   communicated   to   the   main-top-mast, under   the   hounds,   and   split   it   exactly   in   the   middle,   above   one   third   down   the   mast; it   next   took   the   main-mast   by   the   main-yard,   on   the   larboard   side   and   in   a   spherical direction   struck   it   in   six   different   places;   the   shock   electrified   every   person   on   the quarter-deck;   those   who   were   unfortunately   near   the   main-mast   were   knocked   down, but recovered in a few minutes.” Hit   by   a   fireball:   …   “this   [the   lightening]   continued   until   about   half   past   ten,   when a   most   awful   spectacle   presented   itself   to   the   view   of   those   on   deck;   whilst   we   who were   below   felt   a   sudden   shock,   which   gave   us   every   reason   to   fear   that   the   ship   had struck   against   a   rock;   from   which   dreadful   apprehension   we   were   however   relieved upon   being   informed   that   it   was   occasioned   by   a   ball   of   fire   which   fell   at   that moment.   The   lightning   also   broke   over   the   ship   in   every   direction   :   it   was   allowed, to   be   a   dismal   resemblance   of   a   besieged   garrison;   and,   if   I   might   hazard   an   opinion, I   should   think   it   was   [resembled]   the   effect   of   an   earthquake.   The   sea   ran   high,   and seemed   to   foam   with   anger   at   the   feeble   resistance   which   our   lone   bark   occasioned.     At   midnight   the   wind   shifted   to   the   westward,   which   brought   on   fine   clear   weather, and   I   found   myself   once   more   at   leisure   to   anticipate   the   satisfaction   which   our arrival would diffuse throughout the colony.”

Thomas Massey arrived in Sydney September 1791

Just   where   Thomas   was,   when   the   lightening   and   fire   ball   hit   the   ship, and   what   thoughts   ran   through   his   head,   will   never   be   known,   but   he would   have   been   awestruck,   part   relieved,   part   anxious,   as,   “in   fine   clear weather”,   Gorgon   slid   through   the   gap   in   the   sandstone   cliffs   into   Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) one of the finest harbours in the world. The   Gorgon   arrived   in   Sydney   Cove   on   the   21   September   1791.   At   the time   the   colony   was   suffering   extreme   privation,   made   worse   by   the   non- arrival   of      Guardian,   wrecked   at   the   Cape   of   Good   Hope.   While   3   bulls,   6 cows,   3   rams   and   9   ewes   died   on   the   passage,   recent   deaths   aside,   the crew,   the   convicts   and   the   several   passengers   all   arrived   alive   and   well; due in no small part to the excellence of Captain Parker’s command. This   is   in   sharp   contrast   to   other   ships   arriving   at   the   time.   Many convicts    were    transported    using    private    contractors,    many    of    whom reduced   rations   to   the   bare   minimum   to   increase   profit.   Contractors   were paid    a    fixed    rate    per    head    by    the    government    for    each    individual transported whether they arrived in the colony or not. Mary   Ann   Parker   wrote,   that   her   husband’s   distress   and   disgust   at   the state   of   some   of   the   arrivals   would   remain   forever   in   her   memory.   He   had told   her   “I   visited   the   hospital   and   was   surrounded   by   mere   skeletons   of men—   in   bed   and   on   every   side   lay   the   dying   and   the   dead.   Horrid spectacle!”