On this day, the ship Henrietta, which had left Port Jackson in Australia with a cargo of horses in January 1844, unloaded all the horses. This began the trade of exporting horses from Australia to colonial India.
Horses bred in New South Wales, called “Walers”, were reputed for their strength and stamina. They began to be exported to India for the British army.
The Henrietta cargo had included horses owned by well-known traders such as W.C. Wentworth and William Bowman.
Daniel Wilson, who was in charge of the cargo, kept a detailed journal. He chronicled the problems faced, including the illnesses of the horses, how he treated them and how the ship was run. The horses were in good condition when they reached Kolkata. Henrietta left for London on May 16, 1844.
But the three–month journey had exhausted Wilson. “I am at this present moment quite wearied out and should it please divine Providence that I return once more to Sydney, I pledge myself that nothing shall induce me to leave it with any more horses,” he wrote in his journal.
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