Voyage of the Mermaid

In a week's time, on the 16th February, it will be 160 years since the clipper Mermaid sailed into Lyttelton Harbour. My Burke family were amongst the passengers- Martin Burke who was born in Co Mayo, Ireland; Ann Burke née Philp from Fifeshire in Scotland; and their toddler daughter, Mary Burke, who was born in the Parish of Inchture in Scotland.

My third cousin Maggie Gaffney, a fellow Burke descendant, has been  developing a website about the voyage of the Mermaid out to New Zealand. She's been following the diaries kept by two passengers, and releasing excerpts as the days of the voyage have gone on. On 12 November 1863, the ship was put under tug, and began its voyage down the Thames from London.  By 15 November, all aboard had left Dover, and could see the lights on the coast of France.

Three months later, on 8 February 1864, the ship lay south of Tasmania, and the sailors were well occupied cleaning the ship, including its hull, getting ready for its arrival in New Zealand.

In just a week's time now, the Mermaid will put into Lyttelton Harbour, and a group of descendants are having a Burke Family Gathering to mark the occasion.