Brew Family Ships

The second of three Captain Cooks to serve as pilot vessels, she weighed 396 gross register tons and 172 net. She was built in 1893 Morts Dock & Engineering Co. of Balmain, Sydney, Australia, had a length of 155.8 feet, a width of 25.2 feet, and a depth of 13 feet, had 1 deck, and 3 cylinder engines which could attain 85hp. Registered in the port of Sydney, she belonged to the N.S.W. Government.

Albert Brew came to Sydney as a result of the Tahiti-Greycliffe Disaster to replace his brother-in-law and served on Cook II as a Sydney Harbour Pilot from 1928-1939. The first ship he piloted in Sydney was the 1760 grt steel screw steamer S.S. Niagara, on 12 January 1928. During his time on Cook II, he also piloted the infamous R.M.S. Tahiti.

Cook II was replaced by Captain Cook III in 1939 and renamed S.S. Captain Phillip, being employed during the Second World War as training vessel for the Army Water Transport Section. Her end came when she was towed 17 miles E.S.E. of Sydney and sunk with 4 charges of gelignite on 3 October 1948, at Lat. 34° Long. 151°.

Further information on Cook II is located on this site through this link. Her log books and records of her Pilots are held by N.S.W. State Records in their city office in the Rocks, and at their Kingswood Office.

The third of three pilot vessels of the same name, Captain Cook was built 1939 by Morts Dock & Engineering Co., of Balmain, N.S.W., Australia, for the N.S.W. Maritime Services Board. Morts Dock won a tender in 1936 with the price of £75,000

Cook III was to become Morts' ship no. 46, engine no. 447, and boiler no. 811. She was registered in the Port of Sydney and had a tonnage of 524 gross and 214 net. She had a length of 165.7 feet, a width of 26.6 feet, and a depth of 15.2 feet. She was built with 1 deck, and had a 3 cylinder engine capable of 165hp which could attain some 12 knots. She carried two boarding boats 18.8 feet x 6.0 feet x 2.1 feet, and a motor dinghy of 15 feet x 5.3 feet x 1.2 feet with a 3hp engine.

Cook III went into service in 1939 and was retired in 1959. She was sold originally as a tourist ship for the Mediterranean, but when this plan failed, she was scrapped and broken up in 1960.

Albert Brew served on her as a Sydney Harbour Pilot from 1939 until his retirement in 1943 following a heart attack. During his time with Cook III, he also piloted the famous liner R.M.S. (H.M.T.S.) Queen Mary.

Keith Murray of Hunters Hill in Sydney (Aug. 2000) was the draughtsman who drew the "As Fitted" General Arrangement plans whilst in the drawing office at Morts Dock in the 1930s.

Further information on Cook III is located on this site through this link. Her log books and records of her Pilots are held by N.S.W. State Records in their city office in the Rocks, and at their Kingswood Office. Additionally, her original plans, the original tender documents and data from her trials are all kept in the Mitchell Library in Sydney.

Reg. No. 72513, an iron screw steamer of 662 register tons, 120hp, and accommodation for 40 seamen. She was built in 6 months in 1875 by Schlesinger, Davis & Co. of Newcastle. She was owned by Short & Dunn and belonged to the port of Cardiff in Wales. She had a length of 220 feet, a breadth of 30.1 feet, and a depth of 18 feet.

Sailing 5 voyages, John George Brew served on her as 1st Engineer from 19 November 1879 to 27 July 1881, visiting the ports of Livorno, Carthegena, Genoa, Naples, Savona, Elba, Oran in Algeria, Sulina, Galatz and Braila in Romania, Barcelona and Antwerp.

Her crew agreements are held by Glamorgan Record Office, Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales, CF1 3NE.

Reg. No. 148766, code lettering KVCS, a steel steamer of 20063 gross register tons and 3390hp, she was built in Belfast by Harland & Wolff for the Union Castle Mail Steamship Co. Ltd. of Fenchurch Street, London, and registered in the port of London.

She had a length of 630.7 feet, a width of 73.5 feet, and a depth of 41.5 feet. She was launched on 14 January 1926 and sailed on her maiden voyage on 16 July 1926.
Leonard Septimus Brew served on her for her maiden and two consecutive voyages on the Cape Mail route to South Africa, departing Southampton, England, as Harland and Wolff's Supervisory Engineer, from 15 July - 6 September 1926, from 22 October - 13 December 1926, and from 24 December 1926 - 14 February 1927, visiting the ports of Port Elizabeth, Natal, East London, and Cape Town.

	In 1937 she was modernised and re-engined. She resumed service on 8th July 1938 and set a new record to Cape Town of 12 days 13 hours and 36 minutes. In September 1939 she was commissioned by the Royal Navy as an armed merchant cruiser.
On 5th December 1940 she sighted and engaged the German merchant cruiser Thor during which H.M.S. Carnarvon Castle was hit 27 times with the loss of 4 dead and 28 wounded. Two torpedoes fired by Thor missed.

Her Crew Agreements for 1926-1927, 1929-1934, and 1936-1938 are held by the Maritime History Archive in Canada.

Reg. No. 81774, code lettering SPWT, an iron screw steamer with 5 bulkheads and 3 decks. She was built by Schlesinger, Davis & Co. in Newcastle in 1878-1879 and launched on 5 July 1879. Owned by Matthew Cope, a coal merchant, she was named after a village between Newport and Cardiff of the same name and belonged to the port of Cardiff, Wales. She had a length of 268.5 feet, a breadth of 34 feet, a depth of 24.8 feet, a 1752 gross registered tonnage, a foremast of 81.6 feet, a mainmast of 72.6 feet, and 200hp. The forecastle had a length of 33 feet, the open bridge a length of 29 feet, and the poop deck 20 feet. Ballast tanks were fitted in the main hold, under the boilers and in the after hold. A Lloyd's Survey report, dated 9 August 1879, states "The quality of the workmanship is good throughout." The master was William Henry.

John George Brew served on her for 6 voyages as 1st Engineer from 20 September 1885 until 15 October 1886. His voyages took him to the ports of London, Madeira, Las Palmas, New Orleans, Baltimore, Rouen, Arhus in Denmark, and Söderhamn and Sundsvall, north of Stockholm, in Sweden.

Castleton was lost with all hands, including John George, outside Bideford Bay, Devon, England, on 15 October 1886, during a severe gale. For further information regarding her loss, see 'The Last Voyage of S.S. Castleton'.

Her Crew Agreements for the years 1879-1884 are held by the Maritime History Archive in Canada, her Agreements for 1885 are held by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and those for her final year of service, 1886, are held by the Glamorgan Record Office, County Hall, Cardiff, Wales.

Reg. No. 105301, code lettering NVBC, a steel screw steamer of 2 decks (1 iron and 1 steel), with electric light, 3 cylinders of 27, 46 and 76 inches, 4640 gross register tons and 564 hp. She was built by D. & W. Henderson & Co. of Glasgow in 1895, and belonged to the Liverpool, Brazil and River Plate Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. She flew the British flag and her home port was Liverpool. She had a length of 410 feet, a width of 48.1 feet, and a depth of 26.2 feet. Her master was J. Dixon.

Albert Brew served on her from 27 February to 14 August 1902 as 2nd Mate on a voyage to Valparaiso.

Reg. No. 74526, code lettering PRSL, an iron barque, 100A1, of 1079 gross register tons, with 2 decks and accommodation for 37 seamen. She was built in 1876 by T. Royden & Sons of Liverpool, owned by Cotesworth, Lyne & Co. She had a length of 205.5 feet, a width of 34.7 feet, a depth of 21.5 feet and was registered in the port of Liverpool.

This was John George Brew jnr.'s second ship, but was to be his first and apparently only sailing ship. John, just 16, served on Charles Cotesworth as a "Boy", joining her in South Shields at 9:00am on 19 September 1893. He returned to England some 11 months later, when the ship arrived in Liverpool on 13 August 1894 and John George was discharged. The voyage took him to South America, where he arrived in Callao, near Lima, Peru, on 18 January 1894. The ship remained there until 16 February when she sailed for Talcahuano, Chile, where she arrived 17 March and remained until 30 April.

Reg. No. 70249, iron screw steamer with 5 bulkheads and 2 decks, she was built in Newcastle by Schlesinger, Davis & Co. in 1876. She belonged to the port of Newcastle and was owned by Kirby & Gillies, her master, T. Tucker. She had a length of 255.2 feet, a breadth of 33.2 feet, and depth of 23.1 feet, a 1529 gross register tonnage and 160hp.

John George Brew served on her as 2nd Engineer for 3 voyages from 6 April 1876 to 22 February 1877. His first voyage with Copia took him from South Shields on 6 April 1876 to Malta, Sulina in Romania, at the Danube delta in the Black Sea, and back to Bristol, arriving 3 June 1876. His 2nd voyage took him from Cardiff on 19 June 1876 to Aden, Karachi, Port Said, Marseilles, Malta, Sulina, and back to London, arriving 30 October 1876. His 3rd and last voyage with Copia took him from Cardiff on 15 November 1876 to Malta, Bombay, Colombo in Sri Lanka (at that time Ceylon), back to Malta again and on to London, arriving there 22 February 1877.

Reg. No. 128788, code lettering VJCG, a steel twin screw steamer of 3346 gross register tons and 1934 net, with 1 deck, and triple expansion steam engines which could attain 520hp. She was built in 1919, originally as M.V. Delungra, by the N.S.W. Government Dockyard in Newcastle, N.S.W., owned by Huddart Parker of Melbourne, and registered in that port. She had a length of 331 feet, a width of 47.9 feet and a depth of 26 feet.

Albert Halewood Brew served on her from 5 - 17 August 1936, 18 August to 29 December 1936, 8 March to 20 September 1937, 21 - 25 September 1937, 28 October to 20 December 1937, 27 January to 26 April 1938, and 18 May to 22 July 1938 as an engineer in the Australian Merchant Service.

Some 13 years later, on 26 February 1951, Corio was lost when she ran aground on Admella Rock on Carpenters Reef in South Australia, in heavy fog. She was on her way from Rapid Bay to Port Kembla with a crew of 43 and carrying a cargo of Limestone under the command of Master Charles M. Rasmussen. She lies at 38° Lat. 140 Long.

Reg. No. 99336, code lettering _KDL. A steel screw steamer of 4202 registered tons and 2 steel decks, with electric light and accommodation for 57 seamen. She was built by Naval Construction & Armament Co. Ltd. of Barrow in 1891 for F. Leyland & Co. Ltd. and was registered in the port of Liverpool. She was 360 feet long, with a width of 43.2 feet, and a depth of 33.8 feet. She had 3 cylinders of 27, 44, and 72 inches, a stroke of 48 inches, 2 double boilers and 396hp.

Albert Brew served on her for 2 and a half months as Quarter Master and Seaman, from 12 June to 29 August 1901 while under the command of Master J. Bartlett. The voyage took Albert from Liverpool to Carthagena, Havana, and New Orleans and terminated in London, for which he was paid £3 15s. She was later renamed the Generale Salsa.

Reg. No. 108706, code lettering PWTL, a steel screw steamer of 3987 registered tons. She was built in 1898 by Russell & Co. of Port Glasgow. She had a length of 345.2 feet, a breadth of 49.8 feet and a depth of 17.9 feet. She was owned by Australian Steamships Ltd. and her Managing Agents were Howard Smith & Co. Ltd. She belonged to the port of Melbourne, but she flew the British flag.
Albert Brew served on board on and off over a period of 12 months during 1913 and 1914.

Brew Family Ships - C