Peter H. Rowe
Bosun
Peter Rowe (holding the flag), his dog Rover (under flag) and other crew members of HMCS Victoria ca 1865.
photo from State Library of Victoria.
Peter Rowe served on board HMCS Victoria. The State Library of Victoria holds Peter's under and over pistol. (information supplied by Ian MacFarlane.)
Peter Rowe's Under & Over Gun.
Peter H Rowe was an interesting chap as he was Bosun on the ship Victoria which was sent up to the Gulf to search for the missing Burke and Wills. My husband's grandmother, Sally Donaldson (Sarah Rowe's daughter) was quite active in the Williamstown Historical society and followed up this story, getting a photo of the crew with Peter Rowe, and details of the journey. Our family has the sea chest belonging to Peter Rowe and the story is that it went on the trip to the Gulf.
http://newsarch.rootsweb.com/th/read/AUS-VIC/2007-10/1193025216
1858 - 38 yrs, 5ft 7ins, Dark eyes, Black hair, Dark complexion, C of E, English, appointed 1/8/1857
Cumulative Index on members of Water Police Williamstown, Victorian Naval Forces etc with sources. Collected by Ada Ackerly, Directory Williamstown Museum, commencing 1986.
Listed as a member of the crew of HMCS Victoria in 1858.
"Bosun (and Police Sergeant) Peter Rowe was dismissed from the ship for being violently drunk and, when confined to his cabin, trying to smash his way out."
Article in Journal of Police History, vol. 3 no. 1, March - May 1995 written by Ian MacFarlane.
Peter Rowe's dismissal was on 12 April 1858. - Ian MacFarlane
Rowe somehow managed to rejoin Victoria in 1861. A list of the crew compiled at Brisbane on the way to the Gulf of Carpentaria shows Peter H. Rowe as Boatswain. - Ian MacFarlane | 