The Ship with Two Names

James Matthews was a former slave ship that operated under the name Don Francisco, owned by Francisco Félix de Souza. The slave trade generally consisted of a ‘triangular run’. Ships travelled from Europe with trade goods, to West Africa where slaves were purchased from local slave traders and on to the Americas, where the African slaves were sold.

On 25 April 1837, Her Majesty’s Brigantine Griffon seized one slave-ship, the brig Don Francisco, as a prize near the island of Dominica. Once captured, the vessel was repaired and given the name James Matthews.

James Matthews left London for Fremantle on 28 March 1841 with a cargo of 7,000 slates, farming implements, general cargo, three passengers and a crew of 15. 

One of the ship's passengers, Henry de Burgh, was the owner of much of the cargo. His diary described the fate of James Matthews. 

The vessel arrived safely in the port of Fremantle, however, during a squall on 23 July 1841, the vessel parted its anchor cable and was blown onto rocks at Woodman Point. The ship became a total loss. While much of De Burgh's cargo was salvaged, a significant amount remained in the wreck. In 1973 it was discovered by the Underwater Explorers Club. 

Maritime archaeologists and volunteers under the direction of the WA Museum's Department of Maritime Archaeology carried out four seasons of excavation on the wreck site between 1974 and 1976.

Preservation conditions were good on the site and a significant amount of the hull and cargo remained. While research into the ship’s rigging and cordage (ropes) has been published, most of the research and publications have concentrated on the hull, as an important representative of the slave trade.

Recently the wreck has been the subject of an in-situ preservation study designed to relieve the effects of sand movement around the remains. This work has been carried out with staff from the Museum's Department of Materials Conservation.