13
COROMANDEL LIFE
SUMMER 2014
“TheVoyage of theBuffalo”
HMS Buffalo
Drawn by Bingham Hutchinson, Emigrant Passenger 1836.
Reproduced with the permission of The Alexander Turnball Library.
Our breakfast being over, then to work we do repair;
Our work it is all pointed out, for every man his share;
There’s roughters and refiners, and there’s jolly sawyers too,
To lop and trim those lofty spars, to load the Buffalo.
When twelve o’clock is drawing nigh, ‘All off!’ again’s the cry,
Then every man lays down his axe, and through the wood does hie;
Our cook has got a dinner that will make all faces shine,
With pork and murphies smoking hot on which we tars do dine.
‘Grog ho!’ is the next cheerful cry, we drink it up with glee;
We light our pipes when time is up and, smoking, go away
Unto the woods to finish well the spars that we began,
And when the afternoon’s expired, then home comes every man.
And when we have our supper got, our barter we prepare,
With shirts and blankets in our hands, to the natives’ huts we steer;
For toki, pigs and murphies we exchange our traps, you know,
For to suit us rakish blades of the saucy Buffalo.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays, at four o’clock we strike,
Each man to wash and mend his clothes whilst he has got daylight;
e’ve extra grog on Saturdays, to cheer up every man;
There’s happy days on board the Buff ashore in New Zealand.
Our ship she is well loaded, and for England we are bound,
Where plenty of good rum, my lads, and pretty girls abound;
Farewell to Tonga - Maoris and wahines also,
They will oft-times wish to see again the happy Buffalo.
And now, my jovial shipmates, I will finish my new song,
I hope it is not tedious, nor any way too long;
Long life unto our Captain, and our officers all round,
May we all see many happy days, now we are homeward bound.
Come all you jolly seamen bold, and listen to my song,
I’d have you pay attention, and I’ll not detain you long,
Concerning of a voyage to New Zealand we did go,
For to cut some lofty spars, to load the Buffalo.
Chorus: Cheer up, my lively lads, to New Zealand we will go,
For to cut some lofty spars to load the Buffalo.
The Buffalo’s a happy ship, from Portsmouth she set sail,
With South Australian emigrants, we had a pleasant gale;
For six long months in Holdfast Bay, our hands did work on shore,
Building houses for those emigrants, which grieved our hearts full sore.
In Sydney we did sport and play with lasses there so fine,
To the Angel and the Crown we went, where we drank grog and wine;
We kept it up both day and night, until we went away,
We spent our money freely, and we always paid our way.
When at New Zealand we arrived, our hands were sent on shore,
Our tents were then all pitch’d well, and provided with good stores;
At six o’clock we all rouse out, then such a precious row,
Come quick and get your grog, my boys, unto the woods you go.
With saws and axes in our hands, then through the bush we steer,
And when we see a lofty tree, unto it we draw near,
With saws and axes we begin to lay the tree quite low,
With cheerful heart strikes every man to load the Buffalo.
Now eight o’clock is drawing nigh, ‘All off! All off!’ ‘s the sound,
All thro’ the trees it echoes loud, and makes the woods resound,
Then every man lays down his axe, and thro’ the bush we come,
To get their jolly breakfast, every man does nimbly run.
In 1836 the ship left Chatham, England, carrying a load of colonists, not convicts, for
Australia. This was a historic voyage, for these people founded the colony of South
Australia. The vessel then continued across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, where
the crew was put ashore to work. They cut a load of kauri pine for spars to carry
back to England. The 2nd Master, of the ship was T.F. Cheesman, who kept a diary
of the voyage. Into this diary he pasted a printed broadside ballad, which he later
said was both composed and printed on board ship. He did not say that he wrote
it. The diary was donated by Cheesman’s son to the Alexander Turnbull Library,
Wellington, NZ.
