Vladimir Kroupnik

“OTKRYTIE” AND “BLAGONAMERENNYI” IN AUSTRALIA

 

In 1820 the Russian ships “Otkrytie” and “Blagonamerennyi” visited Australia en route from Kronshtadt to the Russian colonies in North America. The navigation was aimed at a search for a sea route from the Pacific to Atlantic. “Otkrytie” and “Blagonamerennyi” sailed off from Kronshtadt on the 17 of July 1819 with their twin ships “Vostok” and “Mirniy” under command of F.F. Bellinsgausen and M.P. Lazerev which were to discover the Antarctic continent and glorify themselves and the Russian fleet.
The sloop “Otkrytie” led by the kapitan-leutenant (captain-lieutenant) Mikhail Nikolaevich Vasiliev (1770-1847) was launched in 1818 at the Okhta wharf. She had a displacement of 900 tones, her length and width made up 39.5 and 10 meters accordingly. She was armed with 28 cannons, the crew numbered 63 men. The cargo ship “Blagonamerennyi” led by lieutenant Gleb Semenovich Shishmarev was smaller (530 tones, 36.5x9m, 20 cannons). Her crew consisted of 71 men.

M.N. Vasiliev	G. S. Shishmarev

After a short stay in Rio-de-Janeiro the ships divided: “Vostok” and “Mirnyi” went south but “Otkrytie” and “Blagonamerennyi” set off to the southern tip of Africa having passed it by on the 5 of January 1820. On the 28^th of February the crewmen of “Blagonamerennyi” saw the Australian shore. A young lieutenant Alexey Petrovich Lazarev – the youngest of the three brothers navigators was aboard the ship. His notes became the fullest and most substantial description of the stay of the ship in Australia.

The expedition was largely a research one and its purpose revealed itself prior to the call in Port-Jackson. The seamen conducted a set of hydrographic observations including depth and coastal currents’ speed measurements. Coming ashore they immediately requested the Governor MacQuarie to allocate them a place for an observatory, smithy and maintenance workshop. Simultaneously they asked for a permit and got it for the naturalist Shtein who was onboard of “Blagonamerennyi” to conduct botanical and geological exploration in the mountains west of Sydney.
Many Russian officers took part in scientific research. Some helped the astronomer Pavel Tarkhanov, other expressed interest to other branches of science enthusiastically assisting the doctor from “Blagonamerennyi” Grigorii Zaozerskiy who was busy in searching for fossils. He was fortunate to find skeletons of two animals which belonged to already extinguished species. These skeletons were later dispatched to Russia and handed over to the Academy of Science along with a large number of other specimens which represented ethnographic and biological interest.
The Governor MacQuarie traditionally was exclusively hospitable towards the Russian seamen. He received them twice in his residency and twice visited them himself. He wrote in his diary: "I was received … with the most marked attention and “. Despite his considerable age (59 years) he accompanied the navigators in their excursions to Sydney, Paramatta and Windsor.

“In Paramatta, - Al. P. Lazarev remembered, - we were met by the Governor's spouse who had deliberately come to there before us… trying to be absolutely courteous in everything, under cover of simple conversing she was finding out what kind of meals the Russians like, at what time they have breakfast, etc., and all was done to please us”. Before the departure of the Russian ships she presented the officers with jam, fruit and liqueurs. After M. N. Vasiliev had mentioned the interest of the dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna to botanical rarities Macquarie prepared for her a small box with a herbarium of Australian flora. The present was safely dispatched to Russia.
The friendliness towards the Russians  was displayed not only by the Governor. Ten days after the arrival in Australia the amount of invitations received by the seamen grew up to such a level that they had to divide into groups of 3-4 people in order to satisfy all the willing sides. The necessity to accept invitations was tiring and inhibited implementation of service duties. “These dinners, - Al. P. Lazarev wrote, -became very tiring detached us from our duty despite the whole tenderness of the hosts”. “We even did not have much time to spend at home”, - echoed Shishmarev.
Nevertheless, at least one officer was constantly on board of each ship. Supplies of potable water and wood (both were provided to the Russians for free unlike seamen of other nationalities) were constantly replenished, repairs of rigging and the hulls were done. Nobody would forget that a hard and hazardous Arctic navigation was to be carried out.
Amongst the results of scientific research then carried out by the Russian naturalists one should note first of all the work of Fedor Shtein who conducted an expedition to the Blue Mountains which was organized with a great deal of help from L. MacQuarie. Emelian Korneev – a talented artist – set off with Shtein. Shtein was provided with horses, food and guides, he was accompanied by the Commandant of paramatta W. Lawson and a Scottish botanist Allan Cunningham (1791-1839) who had received support from the Russian Consul in Brazil George Langsdorf during his exploration in South America in the past.

The Shtein’s field exploration included research of geomorphology, chemistry of surfucial waters, geology and mineral occurrences. It would be hard to describe and overrate the whole significance of the pioneering activity of Shtein who picked up a considerable collection of rock, flora and insect specimen. He compiled the first quite realistic scheme of geological development of the Blue Mountains terrain. The Korneev’s pictures, in their turn, could have given the Russian society a chance to get an idea about the nature of that poorly explored part of New South Wales. Unfortunately he did not manage to publish his works and they have not survived.
The fact of Shtein’s discovery of occurrences of hard rock and alluvial gold in the Blue Mountains remains virtually unknown. Now we know that gold had been found in Australia even before but it was 29 years before the first gold rush happened. Apparently, MacQuarie found out about the Shtein’s discovery but as well as in other cases this news were not to spread. The colonial administration justly guessed that in a country where 40% of the population was made by convicts the news of presence of gold in the ground would cause a turmoil and kept hiding the information about presence of gold in Australia for decades. The Shtein’s work failed to win any recognition in Russia as well. In those times the Russian scientific geology was under press of censorship and works one way or another dedicated to the evolution of the Earth practically were not published as being contradictory to the religious postulates.
The visit of the Russian ships was somewhat marred by desertion of several sailors. As we can judge now from the documents there were 4-6 deserters and amongst them – a drummer from “Blagonamerennyi” P. Elizarov and a seaman 1^st class from “Otkrytie” S. Yuriev along with a petty officer. The reason of the desertion was very trivial according to M. N. Vasiliev – yearning for females. At least two deserters were caught with the assistance of the Sydney police –m Elizarov and Yuriev. The latter was sentenced to flogging and latrine cleaning for the “committed crime”.
On the 26 (14) March 1920 the Russian ships exchanged salutes with the coastal batteries and left Sydney. They were to sail to the Northern waters of the Pacific.

G. Barrat. The Russians and Australia. Vancouver, 1988
E. Govor. Na Mysu Russkih. Sydney. Avstraliada, 5, 1995

A.Ya. Massov. Andreevskiy Flag Pod Yuzhnym Krestom. S-Petersburg. 1995

 

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