1844
Jack Sinkler left England aboard the ship “Blundell”, one of 210 convicts from Millbank Prison bound for Norfolk Island.
The voyage was notable for a couple of reasons; this was to be the first convict vessel sailing directly to Norfolk Island (ships usually stopped at New South Wales first). Secondly, the Blundell’s surgeon was Benjamin Bynoe, the man who nursed Charles Darwin back to health during their time together on HMS Beagle’s scientific expedition.
Benjamin Bynoe
Born in Barbados in 1803, Benjamin Bynoe joined the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon and took part in the voyage of HMS Beagle, the scientific survey made famous by Charles Darwin. When the Beagle’s surgeon left the expedition and went home, Bynoe took over as acting surgeon for the rest of the voyage.
As well as taking care of the crew’s health, he also took part in collecting specimens and aiding Charles Darwin in his research. After nursing Darwin back to health while the ship was restocked in Chile, the two men later went ashore together on the Galapagos Islands to collect geological and botanical samples, and to study the island’s now iconic giant tortoises.
Charles Darwin and a Galapagos Tortoise
Bynoe later worked as surgeon aboard several convict ships, including the Blundell, where he was tasked with keeping both crew and convicts fit and healthy during their journey to the penal colony. By the time of the Blundell’s voyage, Bynoe was an experienced and well-travelled ship’s surgeon, and there were no deaths recorded on board. He did have to amputate a guard’s finger after an accident, but mostly his time was spent seeing to cases of diarrhoea and the like.
There are no confirmed portraits of Bynoe and, despite taking part in important scientific expeditions, helping Charles Darwin with his research, and collecting many interesting scientific specimens in his own right, Benjamin Bynoe received very little credit for his work. He was apparently well thought of though, as the Beagle’s captain remarked “the affectionate kindness of Mr Bynoe will never be forgotten by any of his shipmates”
Main Image – Convicts Returning From Labour
