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The collection of
Joseph Barr Champion
RNCVR, RCN, RAN(R), Master Mariner
Joseph Barr Champion, my great uncle, was born in Australia in 1888. Coming from a family with an extensive seafaring history, in 1903, at the age of 15, he joined his first merchant ship as a cabin boy; beginning a career at sea that spanned several decades on 5 of the 7 seas - the South Pacific, Indian Ocean, North Pacific, North Atlantic and South Atlantic; in 3 and 4-masted sailing ships, coastal tramps, warships and post-World War 2 merchant vessels. After a long seafaring carrier, Joseph passed away in Australia in 1962. He recorded his seafaring career in various diaries and photo albums which are shared below for posterity's sake.
Yours aye Garry Weir, CD, P1RM (POTEL), Canadian Navy, Ret'd
Joseph Barr Champion Collection - Part 1 - This file is a a personal diary/log that Joseph kept during his time on sailing vessels (1906-1907). This contains notes of cargo and port visits, names of crew, weather information etc. The first entry is dated (about) 14 May 1906. In order to preserve this book, it was donated to the Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, 2 Murray Street NSW 2000 for study and display.
Joseph Barr Champion Collection - Part 2 - The documents, newspaper clippings and photos in this file come from a photo album of Joseph Champion's. It includes photos of tall ships, news articles on voyages, photos of warships from WW 1 and WW 2 and a couple letters. Many of the pages contain notes written by Joseph about the photos or his opinion on some events.
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