George Henry Harrington 1852 - 1910
February 24, 2010
George Henry Harrington ?1852 - ?1910
was the founder of the shipping company G H Harrington &
Co, who was an
advocate of homeopathy and
Treasurer
of the East End Homeopathic
Dispensary,
G H Harrington & Co offered a direct steam route from England to Australia, via the Cape of Good Hope,
G H Harrington lived at 5 Billiter Square, London EC,
In 1854, Captain G H Harrington reported the sighting of a sea monster near St. Helena:
A monster that suddenly appeared in the water was described by the three chief officers of the ship—Captain G. H. Harrington, Mr. W. Davies, and Mr. E. Wheeler; the description was entered by Captain Harrington in his Official Meteorological Journal, and was forwarded to the Board of Trade.
Nothing can be more plain than the honest good faith in which the narrative is written. The chief facts, in the captain’s own words, are as follows:
‘While myself and officers were standing on the lee-side of the poop, looking towards the island, we were startled by the sight of a huge marine animal, which reared its head out of the water, within twenty yards of the ship; when it suddenly disappeared for about half a minute, and then made its appearance in the same manner again—shewing us distinctly its neck and head, about ten or twelve feet out of the water.
“Its head was shaped like a long nun-buoy; and I suppose the diameter to have been seven or eight feet in the largest part, with a kind of scroll, or tuft of loose skin, encircling it about two feet from the top.
“The water was discoloured for several hundred feet from its head: so much so, that on its first appearance my impression was that the ship was in broken water, produced, as I supposed, by some volcanic agency since the last time I passed the island; but the second appearance completely dispelled those fears, and assured us that it was a monster of extraordinary length, which appeared to be moving slowly towards the land.
“The ship was going too fast, to enable us to reach the mast-head in time to form a correct estimate of its extreme length; but from what we saw from the deck, we conclude that it must have been over two hundred feet long.
“The boatswain and several of the crew who observed it from the top-gallant fore-castle, state that it was more than double the length of the ship, in which case it must have been five hundred feet.
“Be that as it may, I am convinced that it belonged to the serpent tribe; it was of a dark colour about the head, and was covered with several white spots.’
Captain Harrington, some time afterwards, strengthened his testimony by that of other persons.
G H Harington wrote Direct steam route from England to Australia, via the Cape of Good Hope,