Family History Stories

Richard joined the South Seas whaler Foxhound in September 1818 as a 17 year old apprentice. During the eight month whaling cruise, Richard spent time anchored in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands where whaling ships stopped to refresh and to trade with Maori. Richard spent a month back in Sydney before leaving again on Foxhound, this time bound for England to deliver their cargo of 250 tons of sperm oil to the lucrative London market.

Foxhound never returned to the South Seas, so Richard Cheers joined another whaling ship Vansittart that had also recently returned from the South Seas, and he was onboard when she sailed from Gravesend in company with Rambler on January 4 1820. Vansittart’s Captain (Thomas Hunt) and 2nd Officer (Henry Price) had previously been crewmates on Foxhound with Richard.

Richard arrived back in Sydney on Vansittart on August 11 1820 and spent 19 days in port before sailing for the fisheries on August 30. On this voyage, Vansittart visited New Zealand in October 1820 for 10 days, in May 1821 when two crew (John Lydiard and Luke Wade) jumped ship, again in January 1822, and on April 14 that same year.

Two bodies were recovered and buried before Vansittart sailed back to Sydney in early May 1822. After six weeks back in New South Wales, Richard left again on Vansittart on June 18 first for the fisheries, and then to New Zealand. Vansittart sailed for England on November 23 1822 but Richard may have transferred to St Michael while in the Bay of Islands, as he next left Sydney for the Bay of Islands on St Michael in May 1823. After delivering the Wesleyan mission contingent to their new home in Whangaroa in the north of New Zealand, St Michael continued on her trading voyage to Tonga.

Richard next appears in the crew list of Alfred when she arrived in Sydney on July 14 1824 under Captain Laughton from London and Madeira, via Hobart Town carrying investment sundries. After three months in Sydney, Richard sailed on Alfred for the fishery in October 1824 under the command of the very experienced captain Eber Bunker a famous name in early South Seas shipping. They took on 1000 barrels of sperm oil, and visited Santa Cruz Island but when they arrived back in Sydney on 11 May 1825, the ship was in distress having lost her rudder and all her topmasts in a severe hurricane. There was nine feet of water in the ship's hold. It’s not known what happened to Richard Cheers after this, however in the Sydney Gazette on 03 April 1827 Richard’s next of kin were called on to attend the Supreme Court on 01 May 1827 to say why Richard’s goods, chattels, rights and credits should not be granted to his sister Harriet Walsh.

It was during the visit in April that Richard and five of his crewmates rowed ashore to a Maori settlement to pick up a load of potatoes. When it came time to return to the ship, the waves were such that the boat capsized tipping everyone and everything into the water. A young Maori girl who had been going back to the ship with them swam for help. Richard managed to climb onto the upturned hull where he remained clinging on for between 7 and 9 hours before help arrived. When local Maori were alerted to what had happened by the girl who had swam for help, they immediately took to their wakas and paddles to the scene of the accident. There they found Richard Cheers barely alive and ferried him back to Vansittart. No other survivors were found. Captain Hunt, who had spent the night at the Mission settlement, only learned of the deaths of five of his crewmen the following day when one of his boats reached him with the terrible news.