On his arrival home Captain Fowler transferred to Walker’s new barque, the _Henry Reed_, of 495 tons, and finally commanded the _Alfred Hawley_, another new barque of 420 tons. Captain Fowler retired early from the sea and settled down in his native town, Scarborough, where he took a great interest in municipal and local affairs, becoming in turn Alderman and Mayor, and lived to a good old age, being greatly respected and esteemed by his fellow townsmen.
In the early sixties Walker kept three ships in the Launceston trade, the _Durnstan_, _Fugitive_ and first _Westbury_, all small wooden barques. He also had ships in the Queensland trade; most of his ships were built by Pile, of Sunderland, as the following list of his later ships will show:—
+-------+--------------+-------------+-------+---------------------+ | Date | Ship. | Description.| Tons. | Builders. | | Built.| | | | | +-------+--------------+-------------+-------+---------------------+ | 1863 | _Arab Steed_ | wood barque | 635 | Pile, of Sunderland.| | 1866 | _Araunah_ | „ „ | 448 | Gardner „ | | 1867 | _Westbury_ | iron „ | 493 | Pile „ | | 1868 | _Decapolis_ | „ „ | 632 | „ „ | | 1869 | _Berean_ | comp. „ | 526 | „ „ | | 1870 | _Corinth_ | „ „ | 614 | „ „ | | 1873 | _Barossa_ | iron ship | 968 | „ „ | | 1876 | _Lanoma_ | „ barque | 665 | Austin „ | +-------+-------------+--------------+-------+---------------------+
The best known, as well as the fastest, of all Walker’s barques was the beautiful little _Berean_. She was built by Pile, of Sunderland, on similar lines to the tea clippers _Maitland_ and _Undine_, and was launched in August, 1869. She was a 19-year A1 ship, and so fine was the shipwright’s workmanship that when she was 18 years old and due for remetalling, Mr. Spencer, Lloyd’s senior surveyor, who was superintending the work, asked Captain Wyrill when she was last caulked, to which he got the reply:—-“On the stocks before launching.” Mr. Spencer could hardly believe this surprising statement; he had the seams of the topsides put to the severest test, but was obliged to admit that they could not be improved, his opinion being shared by the master caulker. And the _Berean_ continued to the end of her career without being recaulked; even after years of carrying heavy ice cargoes when owned by Norwegians, it was not deemed necessary to touch her seams.