Camden, Calvert & King - First Fleet

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Question

Did Camden, Calvert & King, the contractors for the Second and Third Fleets, have an interest in the Charlotte, a First Fleet ship?

Principal Owner

The principal owner of the Charlotte was William Matthews, a merchant of 6 Green Lettice Lane, Cannon Street, listed in the business directories from 1780 to 1791.

Lloyd’s Register for 1789 says that the Charlotte was owned by Matthews & Co. William Matthews was a ship owner. On his way northwards through the Pacific, Thomas Gilbert named a small island to the south of Vanuatu, Matthews’s Rock, after the Charlotte’s owner, and an island in the north of the Gilberts, Mathews’s Island, also in honour of the owner. He named several features on that island after the Charlotte, and the north point of the island was called Point William. (Thomas Gilbert, Voyage from New South Wales to Canton in the Year 1788. . ., London: J. Debrett, 1789, p.32)

Matthews’ wife was Charlotte Marlar. The ship was evidently named after her, and Gilbert named the Marlar Islands in the Gilbert Group after her family.

There is no doubt that the Matthews who was the owner of the Charlotte in 1787 was William Matthews, the merchant.

Subsidiary Owners

However, Lloyd’s Register lists the owners as “Matthews & Co”, which means that there were other investors in the ship.

Camden, Calvert & King?

There are two reasons for arguing that Camden, Calvert & King might have had an interest in this ship:

  • On 28 June 1788, on his way north through the islands of the north Pacific, Captain Gilbert named a group of islands Calvert’s Islands, with the extremities being named Point Camden and Point King. (Gilbert, p.42)

This can only mean that Gilbert had a strong link to Camden, Calvert & King already. There is no evidence that he had sailed any of their ships prior to this date.

Ships’ captains named newly-discovered islands after themselves, the owners of their ships, crew members (particularly those who had discovered these features) and their patrons.

  • When Calvert acquired the Neptune for the Second Fleet, he appointed Thomas Gilbert as the master. This confirms that there was a pre-existing link between the two men.

Prior Business Dealings

There is some evidence, albeit slight at this stage, that Camden, Calvert & King had had dealings with William Matthews before 1786. 17 August 1777 – William Matthews subscribed to the insurance policy of the Clark, a prize to the Hawke (a Camden, Calvert & King privateer) for 100 pounds from Falmouth to London. (TNA C106/192)