00:00The year was 1865. It was a boom of migration worldwide, with novel places discovered and
00:07new settlements created. Without planes like we have now, a ship was the only way to escape
00:14from the old life and journey towards a new, hopefully brighter future. So a voyage like
00:19that was quite a regular thing to do. More than 500 immigrants safely reached Queensland,
00:25and the ship was supposed to head back to London some time later. It was indeed a long
00:29journey, but not many people were willing to return to England. After all, they had
00:35chosen to come to Australia to create a brand new life, so it was only natural that the
00:40ship would come back nearly empty. However, the return trip was still quite lucrative,
00:46thanks to the cargo the ship would carry. The amount of produce ready to be shipped
00:51was substantial, primarily consisting of wool soaked in arsenic, tallow, and hides.
00:57It was two birds with one stone. Not only could the crew wait out the winter, warm in
01:02Australia while England endured bitter cold, but they also wouldn't waste their time.
01:08With the sheer volume of produce to be loaded, it would take them around 3 months to accomplish
01:13this task. Reports were circulating that the fiery star
01:17was almost done loading up, but it turned out that the assessment was a bit too optimistic.
01:23To pass the time, Captain Ewell thought it would be a good idea to reach out to the Acclimatization
01:28Society and offer to help transport any animals they wanted to send to England on the fiery
01:34star. He already had some emus and kangaroos on board, but there was still room.
01:40The Society held a vote, and they were totally on board, pun intended, with Captain Ewell's
01:46idea. They figured sending some talagallis would be a great plan. Even though a few of
01:51these birds were already in England, the French Society needed a couple, and they could get
01:56them shipped there through England. Little did the crew know that all this cargo,
02:01all the produce they were willing to sell in England, would ultimately lead to the ship's
02:06destruction. Not only was the fiery star lost, but most of the people on board did not survive
02:12to complete the voyage. March 23rd. That was the day when the Ship
02:18Manifest was finally published. A manifest is a list that details the cargo, passengers,
02:23and crew of a ship, plane, or vehicle, primarily for customs officials. This document helps
02:29those involved in the transport verify that everyone and everything that was loaded is
02:35still on board when the vehicle reaches its destination. Once it's published, it means
02:40the ship is almost ready to depart. There were three possible ways of passenger
02:46accommodation. First, there was the saloon, the antiquated name for first class. Next,
02:52there was the second cabin, which is, logically, second class. Finally, there was the steerage,
02:58the cheapest form of passenger accommodation on a ship.
03:02Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries, many people traveled from their homelands,
03:07often to North America and Australia, looking for a fresh start. Most of them were poor
03:13and had limited funds for travel. In total, there were 8 people in the saloon, another
03:188 in the second cabin, and only 21 steerage passengers. Out of the 37 passengers, only
03:25one, John Omand, would make it out alive. He bought a ticket for the steerage. So, unlike
03:31the Titanic situation, in this case, the class didn't really matter.
03:37The crew members list wasn't as detailed as the passengers. It was known that, in total,
03:42there were around 55 people in the crew, from able-bodied seamen to crew members simply
03:47called boys. But there's something telling me that the crew wasn't really that important
03:52for the captain. In reality, all that mattered to him was to make as much money as possible,
03:59shipping tons of dangerous, flammable cargo. Out of over 50 crew members, only 17 survived
04:06that voyage. But there was actually one more crew member who actually survived it all,
04:11just because they weren't let in. Sarah Johnson disguised herself as a man and planned
04:17to sneak onto the ship. However, something about her looks made the captain get suspicious,
04:23so he called the police and made Sarah leave the ship as he didn't want any immoral behavior
04:28to take place. Well, he saved her life. For him, it was the last voyage.
04:35The captain, W. Hunter Ewell, was quite a celebrity, apparently. He already had a record
04:41of the safe landing of immigrants in the previous year, so there seemingly was no reason to
04:46worry. The trip promised to be safe.
04:50Clipper Fiery Star left Morton Bay bound for London. The passengers took their places.
04:55The cargo had already been loaded. The full list is astonishing. In addition to all the
05:01wool, tallow, cotton, hides, and horns, there were also 6 cases of arrowroot and various
05:07other packages. And we can't forget the animals the captain took aboard, too.
05:13The Fiery Star was far away, yet still observable to the east as it headed toward the Pacific
05:19Ocean. This was the last information available until May 26, when news of its destruction
05:25emerged from Brisbane. Chief Officer William Sargent's log reveals that the Fiery Star
05:31took 12 days to reach the southern tip of New Zealand, passing on April 11, 1865. The
05:38trip was going well until heavy seas ruined two longboats on April 17.
05:45On this day, a strong odor of smoke alerted the captain. When he checked, he found the
05:51lower hull completely filled with smoke from a fire fueled by the ship's flammable cargo.
05:56The hatches were quickly closed to try to contain the flames, but by the next day, the
06:01heat and toxic smoke had forced passengers out of their cabins.
06:06George Maber was one of the lucky survivors. He was the ship's engineer, and he recalled
06:12the chaotic events on April 20, as Captain Ewell and most of the crew and passengers
06:17tried to evacuate in rough weather. At around 6 p.m., the ship took on water, and without
06:23much warning, Captain Ewell, four crew members, and a few female passengers hopped into a
06:28lifeboat and headed out. The next boat, managed by the second mate, Mr. Adio, was a gig, followed
06:35by a crowded jolly boat. Lastly, there was a waste boat, which was barely seaworthy,
06:41with two men constantly bailing water to keep it afloat. The plan was for the boats to stay
06:46close to the Fiery Star overnight and head for the Chatham Islands the next morning.
06:51But by dawn on April 21, all four boats had vanished without a trace. On the burning ship,
06:58there were 17 crew members and passenger John Oman, who banded together under Chief Officer
07:04William Sargent's leadership.
07:07For five days and nights, George Maber pumped water on the fire without rest. He volunteered
07:13to go down the forehatch with a rope around him and a handkerchief over his mouth. He
07:18discovered that the foremast had been burned through for about seven inches, and the portside
07:23was severely damaged, resembling an empty shell. Exhausted, he returned for fresh air,
07:30but later descended again with Quartermaster Marshall to access a water tank. They couldn't
07:35open the lid, and as George crawled over the hides, he felt himself sinking. When they
07:40reached the deck, they collapsed from exhaustion. The cargo had been destroyed by smoke and
07:46fire, and the heat on the deck was intolerable. The crew survived on limited rations and caged
07:52chickens, using every spare piece of wood, including pig stives, for the pumps. Distressed
07:58pigs ran wild in the heat. A raft was constructed, but was too weak for the open sea. Sleep was
08:05elusive, and the crew had lost everything, with only hopes of reaching land or meeting
08:10another ship.
08:13Finally, the Dauntless appeared and sent a lifeboat to the Fiery Star. Captain Moore
08:18boarded the Fiery Star on May 12, and after assessing the situation, he agreed that the
08:24crew could do no more. They boarded the Dauntless at 4 p.m., witnessing the Fiery Star succumb
08:30to flames by 1130 p.m. It was a narrow escape.
08:36That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like
08:41and share it with your friends. Or if you want more, just click on these videos and
08:44stay on the Bright Side!
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