It is impossible to be sure of who was on board the Africaine. The ship was chartered by Robert Gouger and John Brown from the joint owners Thomas Finlay and John Finlay Duff, who commanded the ship. Being a privately-owned vessel, there is no record of the crew beyond the name of the master and the casual mention of a few in diaries kept on board.
The identity of cabin and intermediate passengers has to be gleaned from various accounts and letters written by passengers. Brown and Gouger were government officials but the rest were landholders or others making their own way to the new colony on their own account, Thomas for instance to publish the first newspaper. We learn that the two cabins at the stern were occupied by Captain Duff and Gouger, and the next two forward by Hallett and Brown. Beyond the cuddy, seen in a Skipper watercolour to have stretched the breadth of the ship, were cabins for intermediate passengers. Beyond them would have been the open area fitted with two tiers of bunks for the emigrants, and finally the forecastle for the crew.
The Africaine was contracted to carry emigrants for the Colonization Commissioners. The ‘Register of Emigrant Labourers Applying for a Free Passage to South Australia’ lists those people considering life in the new colony and generally indicates on which ship those deciding to proceed were embarked. However uncertainty can arise from clerical errors and last minute changes, and mistakes have crept into lists of passengers compiled over the years as a result of faulty memory or confusion. Amongst the emigrants were a number of South Australian Company servants whose names are also recorded in the Directors’ Minutes. Deacon, who had entered into an arrangement with the Company, was ineligible for a free passage and occupied an intermediate cabin.
Officers:
Master: John Finlay Duff
Mates: Smith (chief mate)
Constable (second mate, left at the Cape)
Crew:
Ramsden
Cabin & intermediate passengers:
John Brown
Mrs Brown
Maria Josepha Brown
William Archer Deacon
Mrs Duff
Dr Charles George Everard
Mrs Everard
daughter
James Everard
Arthur W. Gliddon
Robert Gouger
Harriet Gouger
John Hallett
Mrs Hallett & 3 children
Charles Nantes
John Michael Skipper
Robert Thomas
Mary Thomas
Frances Thomas
Mary Thomas
Helen Thomas
William Thomas
W.H. Ward
Benjamin Wickham
William Williams
Emigrants:
John Diment Bagg
Henry Bushell
Mrs Bushell
John Bushell
Caroline Bushell
Jeremiah Calnan
Mrs Calnan
John Calnan
Charles Calnan
Michael Calnan
Mary Ann Calnan
Margaret Clark
James Coltman
Mrs Coltman
Daniel Cox
James Cronk
Mary Ann East
Samuel East
Mrs East
Jane East
Elizabeth East
William East
Samuel East junior
Sarah East
Charles John Everard
William Everard
Robert Fisher
Joseph Augustus Hill
Abraham Irwin
Mrs Irwin
Andrew Jacobs
Henry James Lee
Joseph Lee
G.C. Lewis
Mrs Lewis
Mary Lillywhite
Hugh MacDonald
Mary Martin
Martha Navy
E.W. Osborne (lost on Kangaroo Island)
John Edward Pollard
Mrs Pollard
George Pursill
Mrs Pursill
John Pursill
John Michael Skipper
John Slater (lost on Kangaroo Island)
Benjamin Smith
John Snoswell
William Kyffin Thomas
Mary Anne Vincent
Richard Warren
Frederick Whitman
Daniel Wickham
Eliza Wickham
James Windibank
Alfred Young
Information compiled by Mr Bob Sexton
See below for images of the original ship’s manifest for the 1836 voyage of the Africaine. Images courtesy of Dianne Cummings.
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This work is licenced under a Creative Commons 
Greetings from Diane Cummings
Re THE AFRICAINE 1836
With the wish to provide as accurate a passenger list as possible, and not meaning to be critical, I offer the following:
http://boundforsouthaustralia.com.au/ships/passenger-lists/africaine-passenger-list.html
The above webpage says: It is impossible to be sure of who was on board the Africaine.
This statement is not entirely correct. “The Register of Emigrant Labourers applying for a Free Passage to South Australia” records that 37 Applicants [individuals and/or families] travelled onboard the AFRICAINE bound for South Australia, totalling approx. 58 including wives and children . Confirmation of this information is available at the State Library of South Australia.
The Africaine’s Manifests confirm 51 passengers, all of whom are also recorded on the Free Passage Register]
plus an additional six that were recorded on the Free Passage Register, but not recorded on the Manifest
There are an additional 40 names of passengers who may have come to SA onboard the AFRICAINE in 1836 [References: Sexton/Opie/BISA]
For those people who are seriously researching the passengers onboard the AFRICAINE in 1836, may I recommend that they visit the following webpages:
http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/fh/passengerlists/1836Africaine.htm
This list is as uptodate as is possible, given the loss of many original documents over the years.
ALSO: The following webpage has four clearer images of the Ship Manifests
than are provided here on this website.
http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/fh/passengerlists/1836Africaine%20Manifest1.htm
The website http://boundforsouthaustralia.com.au/ships/passenger-lists/africaine-passenger-list.html
also has several sets of duplications
John Michael Skipper Cabin & intermediate passengers
John Michael Skipper Emigrant
SKIPPER, John Michael 20 (1815-1883), artist and Articled Clerk engaged by Mr Charles Mann Applic.0436,Embark.151 Adult=1M; Address on Applic: Thorp Hamlet Norwich
Arthur W. Gliddon Cabin & intermediate passenger:
Arthur William Gliddon – Emigrant
GLIDDON / GLIDDEN, Arthur William 15 Clerk engaged by Mr John Morphett Applic.0399,Embark.143 Adult=1M; Address on Applic: 18 Portugal St Lincolns Inn
William Kyffin Thomas Emigrant
William Thomas Cabin & intermediate passenger
THOMAS, William Kyffin 15 born c.1821,. Printer’s Apprentice engaged by Mr Robert Thomas [father of William] Applic.0464,Embark.157 Adult=1M; Address on Applic: 203 Fleet St
SLATER, John Doctor (died soon after arrival) Ref: Before the Buffalo by FINNIS
SLATER, John 28 labourer engaged by Mr William WILLIAMS (who arrived on board CYGNET 1836) Applic.0507,Embark.171 Adult=1M; Address on Applic: 4 Ranger Place Old Kent Rd
Sincerely, Diane Cummings
Thanks for the information, Diane.
We’ll look into those anomolies!
Cheers, Allison