So first of all the old time stevedore had to load his ship in accordance with her own particular character and the wishes of her captain. Next he had to be an expert packer, especially with a wooden ship with a hold cut up by big oak frames and knees. No space was wasted. There is an old story told of a stevedore loading the little Tasmanian barque _Harriet McGregor_, who sang out to his mate on the wharf, “Sling us down a box of pickles, Bill!” Then the stevedore had all sorts of goods in a general cargo, some of which could not be stowed near each other, such as soda, which melts at sea and destroys cottons, etc. Also washed wool, leather, flour or wheat would be damaged if stowed with tallow and greasy wool. Other goods could only be stowed in the hatches, such as cases of glass, whilst wine and spirits had to be stowed aft to be out of the way of the crew.
Instances have been known also of ships coming home from Australia with their iron masts packed full of bullocks’ horns, shank and knuckle bones, which were more generally used for broken stowage.
An amusing case with regard to bullocks’ horns and knuckle bones happened on one of Carmichael’s ships, through the mate signing the bills of lading without examining them. He signed for so many horns, so many shank bones and so many knuckle bones loose. On arrival in London the consignee sent a lighter for the horns, and intimated that he wanted the shank bones delivered entirely separate from the knuckle bones. Carmichael’s got out of it by some very plain speaking, the mate’s receipts proving that a fraud had been attempted.
Bags of pearl shell were generally used in Sydney to fill up cargo near the hatches; and I find in July, 1868, that the _Jerusalem_, (Captain Largie) shipped 9 tons of mother-of-pearl shell at Melbourne in small casks and 3-foot cases.
Below are specimens of early cargoes home from Australia in the sixties, with port charges, pilotage dues, etc.
The ship _Omar Pasha_, Captain Thomas Henry, belonging to Messrs. G. Thompson, Sons & Co., of
Aberdeen, took in at Melbourne, in October, 1864:—
3550 bales of wool, 14,000 hides, 80 casks of tallow, 20 tons spelter, 4000 ounces of gold
and 12 cabin passengers. With the above she drew 19 ft. aft and 18 ft. 9 in. forward, her best trim at sea. The ballast of stones, spelter and hides was estimated at 430 tons. The wool was screwed in; and the dunnage, stones and horns, was 12 inches thick in the bottom and 15 inches in the bilges. Port charges were 1s. per ton; pilotage in £28 18s. 6d.; out £28 18s. 6d.