David Moodie

Last Name:

Moodie

First Name:

David

Grave Plot No.:

133

Spatial:

Date of birth:

1813

year of death:

1855

date of death:

20 March 1855

Age at death:

Gender:

Male

Relationships:

Husband of Margaret Thompson Moodie and father of David Edward Moodie. Children of Thomas Mudie and Mary Gordon Nicoll

Full Epitaph:

Erected by a few friends/ To the memory of the late/ David Moodie/ Commander of the ship Calabar/ Who died on the 20th March 1855/ Aged 42 years

Occupation:

Ship's captain

Place of birth / origin:

Kilconquhar, Fife, Scotland

Places mentioned 1:

South Australia

Place of death:

Calcutta

Detailed information:

David Moodie was the captain of the transport Calabar that carried migrants from England to Australia.

Circa 1853 - The Colony of South Australia was on the verge of collapse and in desperate need of labourers, farmers, miners, servants, mechanics and tradesmen. The Governor of South Australia had commissioned agents to recruit and transport suitable individuals and families from around Britain. Their passage and keep would be paid and they would be indentured for an agreed period, typically two years. A traveller's account describes the journey:
We had travelled by carriage to Southampton docks to be accommodated in Government depots and to await passage to Port Adelaide. We lived in close proximity with hundreds of migrants, deliberately planned to prepare us for the cramped conditions onboard ship. Illness ran rife. The day of embarkation arrived and carrying our few possessions we were welcomed on board the ship Calabar by Captain David Moodie and Surgeon Superintendent Edward Kearney. The Calabar was a new 3 masted wooden ship which had been fitted out with improved placement of berths amidships, allowing much greater light, and two Marston’s patent ventilators delivering fresh air between decks. [Read the full account here: http://www.webtracegenealogy.com.au/services-1-1-1-2/]

Moodie is mentioned in other accounts of the immigrants to South Australia. See http://ttghistoricalsociety.org.au/history/pioneer-families/the-pilmore-... and http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/calabar1853.shtml.

His will is accessible at in the National Archives, UK [See http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D60094].

Any reason for importance:

Captain of an emigration ship to Australia

Buried by:

J.Henderson, jr. minister, St. Andrew's Church

Photo name/s: