Type :
|
Sloop
|
Launched :
|
unknown |
Builder :
|
unknown
Hawkesbury River
|
Gross weight :
|
unknown
|
Dimensions :
|
unknown
|
Passenger capacity :
|
unknown
|
Speed :
|
unknown
|
The
first vessel to be named
Charlotte
was one of a small fleet of sloops that operated between Sydney Town
and the Hawkesbury River in the late part of the 18th century and the
early part of the 19th century. This group of vessels were referred to
as "colonial sloops" and though privately owned, operated under
government control.
Charlotte was owned and
operated by one Robert Inch.
The small boats generally ran together at the time of crop harvest and
transported grain to Sydney Town and passengers and goods back to the
Hawkesbury settlements.
In early 1808
Charlotte was
engaged to carry coal and cedar from Newcastle to Sydney Town.
On the 27th of September 1808, carrying 500 bushels of grain, she was
lost in a squall off Broken Bay. Both Inch and the lone passenger
aboard (George Conway) perished. The event was observed from another
sloop, the
Hope, but a search
conducted by that vessel found no trace of the
Charlotte or her people.