Chris Korte's New Zealand Genealogy Project
1865 Voyage to NZ of Dona Anita
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Details of the Barque "Dona Anita" and the 1865 voyage from England to New Zealand. Johan Heinrich Friedrich Christoph KORTE, or Christopher Korte as he was known in New Zealand, sailed from England to Nelson, New Zealand on this voyage.
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The Dona Anita
The "Dona Anita" was a Barque of 500 tons. Her owner was Seymour, Peacock & Company. An advertisement in the Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 1861 states she was 13 years old, thus built about 1848.
The "Dona Anita" made several voyages from England to New Zealand:
- Arrived Nelson 22 February 1861, 28 passengers.
- Arrived Lyttelton 14 July 1863, voyage 105 days, 45 passengers.
- Arrived Bluff 9 December 1864, voyage 119 days, 107 passengers.
- Arrived Nelson 19 February 1866, voyage 107 days, 58 passengers.
- Arrived Nelson 27 August 1867, voyage 221 days, 28 passengers.
The 1865-66 Voyage
In 1865 Johan Heinrich Friedrich Christoph KORTE, following sponsorship from New Zealand, departed from what is now Germany for his voyage to New Zealand. He first travelled to England.He sailed from Gravesend on the Thames Estuary for New Zealand on the "Dona Anita" on 4 November 1865. He was a steerage passenger. The "Dona Anita" took 103 days to make the journey and arrived in Nelson on 19 February 1866. The "Dona Anita" was commanded by Captain Sharman. The ship brought 58 passengers (46 adults and 12 children) and a cargo to Nelson.
The Immigration Commissioners paid £172 for transport of passengers, and a £21 gratuity to the Captain and Surgeon of the "Dona Anita". The ship subsequently sailed to Lyttelton on 5 May, took on a cargo valued at £27,500, mainly wool, and returned to London.
The Colonist, a Neson newspaper, on 20 Feb 1866 had the following paragraph reporting the voyage.
ARRIVAL OF THE BARQUE DONA ANITA FROM LONDON
The barque Dona Anita, Captain Sharman, arrived at anchorage yesterday, after a rapid passage from the Downs of 103 days. She left the Docks on Nov 5, and cleared the Downs on the 7th, and arrived at Nelson as above, having been about three days off the land. She brings a large number of passengers and a full cargo for Nelson.
Following the ship's arrival, various Nelson firms advertised items of general merchandise for sale from the cargo - seed potatoes, wines, beers, ciders, liquors, drapery, hosiery, clothing, blankets, tea, gunpowder, cooking ingrediants (for example, cornflour, salt, macaroni, vinegar), jams, linseed oil, pitch, pills and ointments, buckets, beds, sash weights, iron tanks, and stationary. The manifest also listed 50 tons of coal amongst the numerous cargo for settlers and firms.
Page last updated 3 Feb 2019.
