Jack Sheridan log books

14 Thursday 3 am. Let go second anchor. Blowing hard SSW. Making good lot water. All hands on shore reabagging Guano. Js hauling up bags a- after Bulkheads. Bar 30-38. Fresh south rolling heavily. Stores for men on shore 14 Potoatoes 1/6 9 10 salt meat 1 saucepan 1 Candles 4 onion 8 2 Bread 8 1 tin jam 10 2 Bread 8 1 sugar 15 Friday All hands working at Guano. Shifted ketch from east side to north. Fresh south to SE Bar. 35-30. 16 Saturday 8 am shifted to SW End of Island & loading Guano 10.30 started loading took off 2 boatloads before dinner & 3//2 boatloads after dinner. Absent. 11 tons. Worked up to 6 pm. Fresh SE to SSE. Bar 30-50. Sea fairly smooth. 17 Sunday Light SE no work. Earny at shoots on shore. Crew away fishing. Fine & coudy. Bar 30-50.

18 Sunday Magic arrived today. Got on ship. All hands boating Guano. West side took off before dinner. 4 boatloads 105 bags after dinner 1 boatloads 31 that was all that was ready. 2 bags weighed by EA Sheridan. 137 + 145 = 282. About 8//2 tons shipped to [illegible text]. Afternoon crew working reabagging East Side, Bags weighed by JS 114 middle size, 146 larger bag = 260 lbs. Contractors 132. 22 + 28 + 26 + 29 + 31 = 136 bags. 2 bread, 13/ [illegible text] ton baking powder. Fresh SSE. Bar 30-50. 19 Tuesday All hands reabagging on the East side. 2 hands on contract cleaning. Guano. No loading today. 1 Bread [illegible text] quarter mutton about 10 lbs meat. Light SE all day. Bar started to fall 30-50. Fine & calm. 20 Wednesday Finish Part crew variously employed part time reabagging afternoon took off 5 boatloads. Fine Light ESE & variable. Bar 30-38 at 7 pm. Took on board about 8-11-0 ton cwt Weighed 2 bags. 138 + 159 = 290. Each bag 145 lb. 22 + 24 + 26 + 26 + 27 = 125. Total 125 bags. Contractors bag.

21 Thursday Calm. Crew reabagging East Side Island. 1.40 pm crew started working cleaning & bagging done about 59 bags tied up ready for Whealing down. 1 shilling extra //2 day. Bar at 8 pm 30-40 steady. Crew each shovelling. Contractors not working. 22 Friday All hands cleaning & bagging guano. Cleaned about 80 bags. Fine light E & variables. Bar 30-40. Js assisting as much as possible & doing all cooking. Shovelling on shore. 2 Two shillings extra on day each. Contractors not working. 23 Saturday All hands boating off Guano took off 5 boatloads about 138 bags ten tons. Bar 30-30 falling. Contractors not working. Earney took them one 1 lb sugar. Shipped about 10 tons from west side. 24 Sunday 7 am shifted around to East side. Light NNE to NW & variables. Bar at noon 30-20. 3 pm shifted in bay. Fresh SW & threatening. Drop second anchor. 16-0-0 JS & crew 8-11-0 Contractors 8-16-0 Contractors 15-10-0 JS & Crew 42-11-0

25 Monday 2 shilling extra. Shovelling. Midnight wind shifted to south 3.30 am set all sail & put to sea. Wind SE bar rising fast. At 6 am Bar 30-30. 8.15 anchored North end of island 9.15 all hands on shore to clean guano. Crew done 32 bags before dinner after dinner up to 5.15 pm about 36 bags. J & EAs done whealed 30 down saw them & asked them [illegible text] refused to work. Fresh SE Bar 30-40. Contractors not working. Very cloudy and threatening rain. 5.35 returned on board. 26 Tuesday 8.30 am Crew on shore at Guano cleaning & bagging & stacking ready for shipping. Fine light SSE. Bar 30-50. Contractors want minimum per bag. 2 shillings extra shovelling Guano. 27 Wednesday 7.30 am shifted ketch from north end to west side. 8.45 started boating off guano six boatloads 145 bags. About 10//2 tons + 42//2 = 53. Contractors not working. Fine Light ESE to SSE. Bar 30-40 steady.

28 Thursday All hands cleaning guano 2 hands extra 2 two shillings per day. Fine light ENE. Bar falling steady. Bar 30-30. Contractors not working. 29 Friday 2.30 started heaving up anchor and set all sail. Shifted from west side to east side towed with dingy. Calm. 11 am started loading. One load before dinner. 3 loads after dinner about 8 tons. Finish work about 5.45 pm. 30 Saturday Contractors not working. Landed Lot Gui. No work got all ready for sailing. Weighed one large bag guano 8-3 +5-6 = 139 lbs. 45 bags ready for shipping. 117 bags not shifted for shipping. Took contractors on board. Contractors refuse to put bags ready for shipping. 1 pm left towards Wallaroo. Passed Realey 4 pm. Light SE Bar 30-38. 31 Sunday Noon away Wallaroo moderate SSW making lot of water. Kept pumps going every hour.

April 1918 1 Monday Anchor near jetty. Light ESE and variables. Bar 30-30. 2 Tuesday 7 am hauled alongside jetty & ordered truck for ten am. Started 2.30 pm with our crew. Discharged on ¾ truck guano. No truck. 3555 Large truck loaded put out & truck. Bar 30-20. 3 bread. Paid up contractors cheque 4-13-2. 3 Wednesday Discharging. Light SE & variables. Put out six trucks. Engage one hand 1/6 per hour. 3 bread. Meat 13 & 8.

4 Thursday 11 am all discharged 51t-7-3. Paid crew up to date cheque 17-3-2. Light showers rain at intervals. Fresh ENE & variables. Bar 30-20. 5 Friday Fine. Got water and hauled ketch off to Boey and shackled to boy variously employed. Took cargo boat on deck to point. Earny rec cheque 5-0-0. 6 Saturday Earny Rec cheque 5-0-0. Earny gone to town. Fine. Bar 30-35. Wind SE to West & variables. Sea calm. 7 Sunday Fine light SE & variables. Bar 30-40.

8 Monday Fine light SE and variables. Employed at boat & oiling guy rope. E. A. Sheridan away in town. Bar at noon 30-45. 11 April One Butter [illegible text] 1/10 One teapot 1/6 4 bolts 2/4 for pumps Fish hooks 1/0 2 dozen small 6 split links 1/4 9 Tuesday Variously employed. Engage two seaman at 8 eight pounds per month & one pound extra. Extra work over time & on Sunday. To start Wednesday. 10 Wednesday Earny Returned 3.15 pm. 2 hands started 2 pm. To drunk to work. Very little done. Got stores on board & meat & bread. One tin milk short. 2 dozen bread. 57 meats + 17 ½ magor = 74 ½. 12 ½ bacon one shilling

11 Thursday Got one pump & pipe & handle 17 ½ meat from magor carrage pump 6/3. 12.30 pm set sale towards the Group. Fine light NE & threatening. Passed Tiparra Light. 8 pm calm. Bar 30-30. Took meat back to wall butcher short weight 8 pounds. Weigh bag potatoes weight 140 lbs. Tiparra Light SE. 12 Friday 6 am shifted ketch to ----- Bay 4 am Lost Tiparra light. Light NE Bar 30-30. Passed Wingby light. Moderate to fresh sw. Took reef in mizzen & stowed Jib. Came to anchor 10 pm near Palmer Island. Fresh south sea smooth. Repaired leak in starboard side. At work up to 12 pm. Fix new pump & pipe in main deck. Bar 30-20 rising. 13 Saturday Reevesby 9 am shifted ketch around to Morton Bay & 2 hand corking side & repairing same. Fresh SSE. Bar rising 30-40. Stop the night. No fish. 14 Sunday 3 pm Got under weight returned SW end of Reevesby. Stop the night. Anchored 6.30 pm. Got some water. Fresh south Bar 30-50.

15 Monday Fresh SE. Bar 30-50. 6 am Got under weight for south Island. 9 am stop & landed 3 hands to bag up guano. Crew baged & wheal down for shipping 78 bags cleaned & bagged 74. Fine clear light south. 16 Tuesday Bagged & whealed ready for shipping 80 bags. Light ENE. Bar starting to fall 30-48 at 9.30 am. Cleaned & whealed 50 bags & cleaned about 30 bags. Got long plank from Ina [illegible text] & fixed same for shoot & brought mizen to howser & put same in bunk. Bar gradually falling 30-45. 17 Wednesday 8 am started boating off guano on west side. Took on board 4 boatloads before dinner about 7 tons after dinner took off 3 boatloads, & clean ½ boatload to make up about 5//2 tons altogether making 12//4 tons. Light SSE to ESE & calm. Bar 30-40. 13//4 ton about 214 bags.13//4 + 6+15//4 = 34//2. 214 + 96 + 245 = 555/16 = 34 ¾ tons.