ABSTRACT
Thomas Machell was a remarkable character. Born in 1824, he was the son of aYorkshire parson who wanted him to become a clerk in a mercantile house. ButThomas showed an adventurous streak. Not enamoured with ‘the idea ofquill driving in an office’, he decided, at the age of 15, to run awayfrom home to seek his fortune. His ten-year-old brother demanded to be takenalong. ‘We walked three hundred miles [to London, Portsmouth andBrighton] and endured considerable hardships before we discovered that wehad left our good fortune behind us and that we had better go back and lookfor it’. After this adventure, Thomas begged his father to send him toAustralia ‘where I secretly determined to amass an immense fortune andbring it all home to him’. 1 Instead, his father sent him to sea.
