Emigrant Ships

With special thanks to: An Iodhlann, Allison McKinnon, Andrew Campbell, Ann Hentschel, Anne Maye, Betty McDougall, Bev McFadyen, Bill Clarke, Brenda Dougall Merriman, Brian Anderson, Brian Wills-Johnson, Catriona McLeod, Chris McKinnon, Darryl Stout, Deborah Robertson, Dena Palamedes, Eugene Quigley, Fionnadh, Gene Lamont, Hilda Downey, Ian Phillips, Ian Scott, Ida King, Irene Kerr, John Livingstone, June Ridgeway, Melda Brunette, Michael Ford, National Archives of Scotland, Sandra Lofthouse, Sandra McEachnie-Lake, Valerie Bowden & Wayne Cameron.




A lithograph by T.G. Dutton
of the Lady Melville in the Southern Ocean
 en route to Australia.

An etching from the Illustrated London News showing family accommodation in steerage -
narrow bunks to the left and right, a central table, and light from an uncovered hatch.
It was crowded and there was little or no privacy. In storm conditions it was wet, dark and chaotic.
The article Leaving Home includes a description of life on board immigrant ships to Australia in the 1850s.

Select Committee on Emigration from the United Kingdom 1826-1827. In 1826 Maclean of Coll ordered the clearance of the entire population of the Isle of Rum, and in July of that year about 300 of the island's inhabitants were sent to Cape Breton, Canada, in two ships, the Highland Lad and the Dove of Harmony. The remaining islanders, together with others from Muck, Coll and elsewhere, were sent to Cape Breton in 1828 on the St Lawrence (see table below). Mr Alexander Hunter supervised the 1826 emigration, and in 1827 he gave evidence to the Select Committee, reported in full in The Morning Chronicle (London) of 10th October 1827. In his evidence Mr Hunter gave detailed descriptions of conditions in other Western Isles, including Tiree and Coll, and recommended their partial clearance, stating "they could spare one-third of their population very easily". Subsequently, the Duke of Argyll and Maclean of Coll 'exported' large numbers of people from their estates in Mull, Tiree and Coll to Canada or Australia. To download the 8-page transcript of Mr Hunter's evidence to the Select Committee, click here .

A list of emigrants from Tiree or Coll can be downloaded by clicking on the ship's name in the table below.


Passengers from To Ship Departed Date Arrived Date
Tiree, Mull, Argyll Canada Oughton Kirkcudbright May 1804 Montreal 19 Jul 1804
Coll, Tiree, Colonsay Canada Economy Tobermory 04 Aug 1819 Pictou 04 Oct 1819
Rum, Muck, Coll Canada St Lawrence Tobermory 12 Jul 1828 Cape Breton Aug 1828
Argyll Estate Canada Barlow ? Jun 1849 Montreal ?
Tiree Canada Charlotte Greenock? Jun 1849 Montreal 16 Aug 1849
Tiree, Mull Canada Conrad Greenock 18 Jun 1850 Montreal ?
Tiree Canada Conrad Greenock Jul 1851 Quebec 26 Aug 1851
Tiree Canada Birman Greenock Jul 1851 Quebec 22 Aug 1851
Tiree Canada Onyx Greenock? Jul 1851 ? ?
Tiree, elsewhere Canada SS Waldensian Glasgow 16 Apr 1879 Quebec 29 Apr 1879
Coll, Mull, Skye, elsewhere Australia Skelton Leith 19 Jun 1820 Hobart 27 Nov 1820
Argyll Australia Brilliant Tobermory 27 Sep 1837 Sydney 20 Jan 1838
Tiree, Coll, elsewhere Australia British King Tobermory 28 Oct 1838 Sydney 28 Feb 1839
Tiree, Coll, elsewhere Australia Marmion Liverpool 28 Aug 1852 Portland 4 Dec 1852
Tiree, elsewhere Australia Bloomer Liverpool 29 Mar 1853 Sydney 26 Jul 1853
Tiree, elswhere Australia Utopia Liverpool 03 Nov 1853 Portland 25 Jan 1854
Coll, elsewhere Australia George Fyfe Tobermory 15 Sep 1839 Sydney 23 Jan 1840
Coll, elsewhere Australia Flora McDonald Liverpool 21 Apr 1852 Portland 18 Aug 1852
Coll, elsewhere Australia Edward Johnstone Liverpool 17 Jun 1854 Portland 3 Sep 1854
Coll, elsewhere Australia Hornet Liverpool 29 Jul 1854 Geelong 23 Oct 1854
Coll, elsewhere Australia Persian Liverpool 25 Jul 1857 Hobart 31 Oct 1857