IOR/F/4/2391/128020

This item consists of copies of correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and consultations cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. The main correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden. It is the second in a series of three items on the wreck of the Mary Florence.

The item concerns the wreck of the Mary Florence off Cape Guardafui [Ras Asir] on 3 June 1850. The item contains descriptions of the wreck by Captain Short, who was commanding the vessel, and who attributes it to a lack of accuracy in his charts, a claim refuted by Haines.

The item also contains depositions from James Newton and Junius (or Julius) Middleton Parkin who were left stranded at Cape Guardafui together with Mrs Short and four other crew members, when the line connecting the wreck to the shore was cut. They describe the deaths of Mrs Short and three other crew members, and how they themselves with another seaman, Robert Roberts, were taken to Ulloolah [Caluula] and finally reached Aden in the Columbia and the Mahi. There is also a deposition from John McKinnon, who was with the main party that escaped from the wreck in the longboat, but was left behind at Cape Felix [Ras Filuk] and then joined the other three men at Ulloolah. The depositions and Haines’s reflection on the events emphasise the good conduct of the people the crew encountered, despite the plunder of the ship’s goods.

The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft No 91 of 1851’ and ‘Coll[ection] 10’.