Carbine

Nat Gould and his wife and family left Australia for England on 6 April 1895, sailing from Sydney in the SS Orizaba. They had two young sons and a baby daughter. A crowd of friends saw them off, the cabin being so packed with press-men having a good time that the chief steward had to warn them to hurry ashore or they would find themselves going to Hobart, the first port of call.

Nat Gould had been in Australia for eleven years, and said that he felt his experiences there had made him. He had become an established author who could now make a good living from his pen.

Also on board was the champion racehorse Carbine, bound for the Stables of the Duke of Portland at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire.

The horse did not travel well. Nat Gould, ever the journalist, filed a press report on the misadventure. From the Australian coast to Colombo in Ceylon the sea was as smooth as glass, but the heat was intense and told on the horse, which became restless and suffered a spasm of the bladder. A surgical operation became necessary, and the life of the horse was in jeopardy. Fortunately all went well, and the sea was calm for the rest of the voyage, so that the champion reached England safely and in good health.