John Marra - Gunners Mate and the probably the first Irishman to see Antarctica. Its a lengthy account but bear with it - youll love it. Now heres a fascinating story about an entrepreneurial Irishman many of you will never have heard of and he was the first Irishman to ever see Antarctica. John Marra, had few friends or family and the 24 year old seaman from County Cork was a law unto himself with more than a liking for his grog. After serving on a Dutch ship, Marra was stationed in the East Indies and was unfortunate enough to be press ganged by crew members ashore from Captain Cooks ship, The Endaevour. Many of Cooks crew had died from disease and so he sent men ashore to gather, by any means, able bodied, English speaking replacements. Poor John was among the first to be accosted but put on a fine impression of a Danish sailor to avoid his enforced draft. It was only when Cook himself detected a strong Irish brogue that his display of acting was unearthed and reluctantly he was forced to join his new crew mates. Cook quickly discovered how effective and hardy a crew member John was and gave him the position of Gunners mate aboard The Resolution, on Cooks second expedition to discover and chart a mysterious land rumoured to exist at the bottom of the Southern Ocean. Marras problem was that he was transformed under the demon drink he was so fond of and would go to great lengths to get his hands on his rum often deserting ship and slipping ashore to find it. Below decks he was an unpopular character and on several occasions he was ordered to kiss the Gunners daughter a Navy term for the flogging of sailors over the barrel of the main gun in the 18th century. It was always a price worth paying for John yet his resilience and work rate was well documented too. In between the many bouts of deserting ship, finding the nearest drinking hole before being brought back for another 12 lashes over the barrel of a gun, he was the most able of the crew and first out of the blocks when the ships whistle required him to be. Even Cook developed a grudging admiration for the mans resistance to his many punishments as a result of Johns necessity to down a few swifts ones whenever the ship moored near land. In 1773, Cooks ship became the first to cross the Antarctic Circle and Corkman, John Marra will have made his own bit of history by becoming the first Irishman to see the ice covered continent. A ships artist painted the image below which today still sits in the Greenwich Maritime Museum as the first ever picture of Antarctica. As for John, well on his return to England, he rented a room above a pub, (no surprise there), The Angel, in South London but shipmates and officers wondered whether hed turned over a new leaf as he was now asking several questions about the voyage. Determining longitudes and latitudes of where theyd been, what were the names of the tribal chiefs theyd encountered on their discoveries and other questions that fooled his colleagues into believing he was bent on advancing his Naval career. Had his thirst for knowledge replaced his thirst for Rum? No, not a bit of it. John was busy creating a Journal partly made up of his own diary written aboard ship, no doubt whilst sober and free from the pains of his many lashings. The remainder of his account was made up of the more technical information garnered from other serving members. Ok, now to the real genius of this story. Eighteen months before Cooks official account of the first voyage to cross the Antarctic Circle hit the bookshops, John Marras account, which had been snapped up by a Publisher, was made available to readers eager to purchase and read of the newly discovered frozen land in the Southern Ocean. The Admiralty couldnt do a thing to prevent it as their laws ended when hed left the ship and the Navy. You could say that John had Cooked the Books Just brilliant dont you think? This man became an immediate hero after my reading his story but it doesnt end there. John earned a tidy sum for his journal but didnt go back to Cork to buy a nice cottage and a bit of land by the banks of the River Lee. Oh no, he had a better investment on his mind. He squandered the lot on drink and other excesss of the day and the last account of his whereabouts came some years later when he was seen drifting around the coast of Australia seeking work. To bring this fascinating story, worthy of any big movie screen, up to date, today you can purchase Captain Cooks account of the Resolution voyage for next to nothing but John Marras journal is a collectors dream and if youre lucky enough to find one it will set you back around £5000. Below, probably the closest well ever get to John Marras Journal - a picture of it. It appears weve just uncovered yet another Irish Antarctic Hero Dont you just love it?
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 08:00:00 +0000
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