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Mermaid - Colonial Cutter
Built in Calcutta, of Bengal teak. Dimensions: 55 feet long, beam 18 ft 6"; 83 tons; Guns: 1 x 6-pounder; Crew: 14.
Arrived in Sydney 30 September 1817 and was purchased by the British government for £2000 (the same year) for survey work on the southern and western coasts of Australia. Left Sydney on first survey under the command of Lieut. Philip Parker King on 22 December 1817 and returned to Port Jackson on 29 July 1818. Subsequent survey voyages 1818-1824. Sold in Sydney in 1824. Wrecked on a reef near Double Point, off the Queensland coast (south of the modern city of Cairns), on 13 June 1829.
[Source: HORDERN, Marsden. King of the Australian Coast: the work of Phillip Parker King in the 'Mermaid' and 'Bathurst' 1817-1822 Melbourne: Miegunyah Press, 1997.].

Metcalfe - East Indiaman
Built by Barnard at Deptford, London; launched in 1804; 3 decks; length 146ft, breadth 36ft; 819 tons.
Six (6) voyages to India in the period 1805-1816. Commanded in 1805 by Captain Matthew Isacke (1767-). The 1805 East Indiaman convoy to Bombay, with Lachlan Macquarie on board the City of London, was the first voyage of the Metcalfe.
[Source: Farrington, A. Catalogue of East India Company Ships' Journals and Logs 1600-1834].

Midas - Ship
Built in Hull in 1809 and was originally registered in London. Dimensions: tons: 426/430 tons; Guns: 4-6; Crew: 25.
Arrived in Sydney (from London via Cape of Good Hope) on 14 February 1820. James Underwood was the Master and Owner at this stage; Capt. John Beveridge was appointed Master of the Midas for voyages to Van Diemen's Land in 1820, 1821 (with Governor Macquarie & his party as passengers) and Macquarie Island in 1822.
In April 1822 the command of the Midas was assumed by William Kirkus for a voyage to Ile de France (Mauritius), with additional voyages under the command of Joshua Underwood to the same destination in December 1822, and Van Diemen's Land and Macquarie Island May 1823. In June 1824, the Midas (and her cargo of seal oil skins and sundry merchandise) was sold by James Underwood to Icely and Hindson for £12000 (see Sydney Gazette 10 June 1824). She sailed on 18 August 1824 for London and returned to Hobart on 23 November 1825 from London via St. Jago (Cape Verde Is.) as a convict transport, with 109 female prisoners. Fifty-eight (58) convicts were disembarked at Hobart before the ship sailed on to Sydney (arriving December 17). Ownership had changed once again with vessel now belonging to James Baigrie. The Midas departed for Calcutta and London on 29 January 1826.
The Midas returned to Sydney, again as a convict transport, on 15 February 1827, with 145 male prisoners on board (three (3) had died during the voyage). The ship departed again for Batavia on 29 March/3 April 1827 and this appears to be the last mention of the vessel in Australian waters.

Minerva - Transport
Built at Lancaster (in 1804) and registered in London. Dimensions: 530 tons.
Sailed from Sheerness under the command of John Bell and arrived in Sydney on 16 December 1821, with 169 male prisoners and detachments of soldiers from 30th, 46th, 48th, 83rd, and 89th Regiments. Departed on 15 February 1822 (the same day as the Macquaries) bound for New Zealand.

Minstrel - Merchant Ship
Registered in London. Dimensions: 351 tons.
Arrived in Sydney 11 January 1822 under the command of William Barnes with a cargo of trading goods. Departed on 15 February 1822 (the same day as the Macquaries departed for Britain) bound for Penang via the Prince of Wales Island (Cape York). Macquarie claimed that it was bound for the 'Whale Fishery'.

Mirnyi or Mirnyy (Peaceable/Peaceful) - Russian Navy Sloop. (formerly the transport Ladoga)
Length: 120 feet; breadth 30 feet; 530 tons. Guns: 14 x 3 pounders; 6 carronades. Crew: 72.
Macquarie refers to it as: Mirnoy or Mernoy.
Visited Sydney, NSW twice: 19 April [7 April] - 19 May [7 May] 1820; and 21 September [9 September] -12 November [31 October] 1820. Commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (1788-1851).
[Sources: Barratt, Glynn. The Russians at Port Jackson 1814-1822. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 1981 p.20; The Voyage of Captain Bellinghausen to the Antarctic Seas 1819-1821. (ed.) Frank Debenham. London: Hakluyt Society, 1945 [2 vols] (see: Vol. 1 pp.7-10); Howgego, Raymond John. Encyclopedia of Exploration 1800 to 1850. Potts Point, NSW: Hordern House Rare Books, 2004 pp.348-349; personal communication: A. Massov (2006); argo.net.au/andre/VOSTOKEnfin.htm]

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