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'''Orpheus Maud Beaumont''' (née Newman, 1863 – 1951) was a British born New Zealand woman who invented the Salvus life jacket.
'''Orpheus Maud Beaumont''' ({{née|'''Newman'''}}, 14 September 1863 – 7 November 1951) was a British-born New Zealand woman who invented the Salvus life jacket.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Beaumont was born on 14 September 1863 and baptised on 21 October 1863 according to her baptismal record. She was born in [[Jersey]], [[Channel Islands]], United Kingdom to Mary and William Newman.<ref>England and Wales, Census, 1871</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Baptism Register of St Helier Town Church |url=https://catalogue.jerseyheritage.org/collection-search/?si_elastic_detail=archive_110694153}}</ref> Beaumont was ten when her father died. Her mother migrated to [[Dunedin]], [[New Zealand]], with her three youngest children. {{cn|date=February 2025}}
Beaumont was born on 14 September 1863 and baptised on 21 October 1863 according to her baptismal record. She was born in [[Jersey]], [[Channel Islands]], United Kingdom to Mary and William Newman.<ref>England and Wales, Census, 1871</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Baptism Register of St Helier Town Church |url=https://catalogue.jerseyheritage.org/collection-search/?si_elastic_detail=archive_110694153}}</ref> Beaumont was ten when her father died. Her mother migrated to [[Dunedin]], [[New Zealand]], with her three youngest children. {{cn|date=February 2025}}


Beaumont's somewhat unusual first name is bound up with [[HMS Orpheus (1860)|HMS Orpheus]] on which her teenage brother, Henry Newman, was a seaman. The Orpheus was carrying British soldiers on their way to New Zealand to fight in the [[Waikato]] [[New Zealand Wars|Land Wars]] when the ship ran aground on the [[sandbar]] at the entrance to [[Auckland]]’s [[Manukau Harbour]] on 7 February 1863. Of the 259 men on board, 189 drowned and Henry Newman was incorrectly presumed to be one of those who died. As was then current practice, there were no [[Personal flotation device|life preservers]] on board the Orpheus. Henry's mother Mary was pregnant at the time of the shipwreck and after learning that her son had survived, she named her daughter Orpheus after the ship.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=30 September 2014 |title=Orpheus Beaumont - Lifesaver |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/spectrum/audio/20151587/lifesaver |website=[[Radio New Zealand]]}}</ref>
Beaumont's somewhat unusual first name is bound up with [[HMS Orpheus (1860)|HMS Orpheus]] on which her teenage brother, Henry Newman, was a seaman. The Orpheus was carrying British soldiers on their way to New Zealand to fight in the [[Waikato]] [[New Zealand Wars|Land Wars]] when the ship ran aground on the [[sandbar]] at the entrance to [[Auckland]]’s [[Manukau Harbour]] on 7 February 1863. Of the 259 men on board, 189 drowned and Henry Newman was incorrectly presumed to be one of those who died. As was then current practice, there were no [[Personal flotation device|life preservers]] on board the Orpheus. Henry's mother Mary was pregnant at the time of the shipwreck and after learning that her son had survived, she named her daughter Orpheus after the ship.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=30 September 2014 |title=Orpheus Beaumont – Lifesaver |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/spectrum/audio/20151587/lifesaver |website=[[Radio New Zealand]]}}</ref>


Beaumont was listed as 2nd Stewardess on the [[SS Waihora (1882)|SS Waihora]] in March or April 1889.<ref>State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; ''Inward passenger lists''; Series: ''13278''; Roll: ''490''</ref> Norman Beaumont was Chief Officer on the Waihora in 1889'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inquest |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS18890619.2.39}}</ref>''' The couple were married [[Union Steamship Company of New Zealand|on 17 June 1890.]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 July 1890 |title=Marriage |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT18900718.2.11 |access-date=12 February 2025 |work=Otago Daily Times |pages=2 |issue=8860}}</ref> By that time Norman Beaumont had been promoted to be captain of the [[Union Steamship Company of New Zealand|Union Steamship Company]]. They had two children, Llewelyn, born in 1892 in [[Suva]], [[Fiji]] <ref>{{Cite web |title=BEAUMONT, Llewellyn - WW1 2/389 |url=https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE13288639 |access-date=14 March 2025 |website=Archives New Zealand}}</ref> and Constance, born in 1897 in New Zealand.{{cn|date=February 2025}} <ref>BDM 1897/473</ref>
Beaumont was listed as 2nd Stewardess on the [[SS Waihora (1882)|SS Waihora]] in March or April 1889.<ref>State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; ''Inward passenger lists''; Series: ''13278''; Roll: ''490''</ref> Norman Beaumont was Chief Officer on the Waihora in 1889'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inquest |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS18890619.2.39}}</ref>''' The couple were married [[Union Steamship Company of New Zealand|on 17 June 1890.]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 July 1890 |title=Marriage |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT18900718.2.11 |access-date=12 February 2025 |work=Otago Daily Times |pages=2 |issue=8860}}</ref> By that time Norman Beaumont had been promoted to be captain of the [[Union Steamship Company of New Zealand|Union Steamship Company]]. They had two children, Llewelyn, born in 1892 in [[Suva]], [[Fiji]] <ref>{{Cite web |title=BEAUMONT, Llewellyn – WW1 2/389 |url=https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE13288639 |access-date=14 March 2025 |website=Archives New Zealand}}</ref> and Constance, born in 1897 in New Zealand.{{cn|date=February 2025}} <ref>BDM 1897/473</ref>


Beaumont and her daughter travelled to England in 1916 where they joined the [[Women's Legion]]. Beaumont was appointed as a supervisor at the Woolwich Arsenal Canteen.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 June 1917 |title=Personal |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19170601.2.31 |access-date=14 March 2025 |work=Evening Star |page=4 |issue=16439}}</ref> Between January 1918 and June 1919, she and her husband obtained patents for a new type of life jacket. In 1919 she opened a factory for production of the Salvus life jackets in Liverpool and London.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 April 1919 |title=Personal |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19190429.2.41 |work=Evening Star |page=4 |issue=17030}}</ref>
Beaumont and her daughter travelled to England in 1916 where they joined the [[Women's Legion]]. Beaumont was appointed as a supervisor at the Woolwich Arsenal Canteen.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 June 1917 |title=Personal |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19170601.2.31 |access-date=14 March 2025 |work=Evening Star |page=4 |issue=16439}}</ref> Between January 1918 and June 1919, she and her husband obtained patents for a new type of life jacket. In 1919 she opened a factory for production of the Salvus life jackets in Liverpool and London.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 April 1919 |title=Personal |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19190429.2.41 |work=Evening Star |page=4 |issue=17030}}</ref>


Beaumont died on 7 November 1951 and is buried at Karitane Cemetery, [[Karitane]], [[Otago]], New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Orpheus Maud Beaumont - BillionGraves |url=https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10147-83525267/orpheus-maud-beaumont-in-billiongraves?tr_id=m_xr0rxgzhhb_fjm3u5hjbu |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=MyHeritage |language=EN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The Week |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18980106.2.111 |access-date=23 February 2025 |work=Otago Witness |publication-date=6 January 1898 |issue=2288}}</ref>
Beaumont died on 7 November 1951 and is buried at Karitane Cemetery, [[Karitane]], [[Otago]], New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Orpheus Maud Beaumont – BillionGraves |url=https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10147-83525267/orpheus-maud-beaumont-in-billiongraves?tr_id=m_xr0rxgzhhb_fjm3u5hjbu |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=MyHeritage |language=EN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The Week |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18980106.2.111 |access-date=23 February 2025 |work=Otago Witness |publication-date=6 January 1898 |issue=2288}}</ref>


== The Salvus life jacket ==
== The Salvus life jacket ==
Some sources{{Which|date=June 2025}} suggest that Beaumont was motivated to develop a new type of life jacket following the shipwreck that almost claimed the life of her brother Henry Newman who allegedly drowned in 1898 and the alleged death by drowning of her brother William Newman in 1912. William Newman died a few days after an "apoplectic fit" while out boating Otago on 1887. No inquest was held.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 September 1887 |title=Monday, September 19, 1887 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT18870919.2.4 |access-date=14 March 2025 |work=Otago Daily Times |page=2 |issue=7980}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 September 1887 |title=Deaths |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD18870919.2.5 |access-date=14 March 2025 |page=2 |issue=7320}}</ref> Contemporary newspapers record Henry Newman's death as occurring in 1898.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 1898 |title=The Week |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18980106.2.111 |access-date=28 February 2025 |work=Otago Witness |page=29 |issue=2288}}</ref>
Some sources{{Which|date=June 2025}} suggest that Beaumont was motivated to develop a new type of life jacket following the shipwreck that almost claimed the life of her brother Henry Newman who allegedly drowned in 1898 and the alleged death by drowning of her brother William Newman in 1912. William Newman died a few days after an "apoplectic fit" while out boating Otago on 1887. No inquest was held.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 September 1887 |title=Monday, September 19, 1887 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT18870919.2.4 |access-date=14 March 2025 |work=Otago Daily Times |page=2 |issue=7980}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 September 1887 |title=Deaths |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD18870919.2.5 |access-date=14 March 2025 |page=2 |issue=7320}}</ref> Contemporary newspapers record Henry Newman's death as occurring in 1898.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 1898 |title=The Week |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18980106.2.111 |access-date=28 February 2025 |work=Otago Witness |page=29 |issue=2288}}</ref>


On 15 April 1912, the [[RMS Titanic]] sank with the loss of approximately 1,500 lives though figures vary. {{cn|date=February 2025}} The Convention for the Saving of Life at Sea was adopted in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SOLAS |url=https://www.imo.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/ConferencesMeetings/Pages/SOLAS.aspx |access-date=28 February 2025}}</ref> Article 51(1) states "A life-jacket of an approved type, or other appliance of equal buoyancy and capable of being fitted on the body, whall be carried for every person on board, and, in addition, a sufficient number of life-jackets, or other equivalent appliances, suitable for children."<ref>{{Cite book |date=1914 |title=Text of the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6566170M/Text_of_the_Convention_for_the_Safety_of_Life_at_Sea. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303223221/https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6566170M/Text_of_the_Convention_for_the_Safety_of_Life_at_Sea.|access-date=28 February 2025 |website=Open Library|ol=6566170M |archive-date=3 March 2014 }}</ref> Following the tragedy, the British Board of Trade held a competition calling for the invention of a better life jacket than the cork model currently in use at the time.<ref name=":0" />
On 15 April 1912, the [[RMS Titanic]] sank with the loss of approximately 1,500 lives though figures vary. {{cn|date=February 2025}} The Convention for the Saving of Life at Sea was adopted in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SOLAS |url=https://www.imo.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/ConferencesMeetings/Pages/SOLAS.aspx |access-date=28 February 2025}}</ref> Article 51(1) states "A life-jacket of an approved type, or other appliance of equal buoyancy and capable of being fitted on the body, whall be carried for every person on board, and, in addition, a sufficient number of life-jackets, or other equivalent appliances, suitable for children."<ref>{{Cite book |date=1914 |title=Text of the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea |url= https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6566170M/Text_of_the_Convention_for_the_Safety_of_Life_at_Sea. |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140303223221/https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6566170M/Text_of_the_Convention_for_the_Safety_of_Life_at_Sea |access-date=28 February 2025 |ol=6566170M |archive-date=3 March 2014 }}</ref> Following the tragedy, the British Board of Trade held a competition calling for the invention of a better life jacket than the cork model currently in use at the time.<ref name=":0" />


The Beaumonts designed a cotton vest filled with kapok, a buoyant material harvested from the kapok tree. Kapok's hair-like follicles contain natural oils that repel water, trapping air and providing high buoyancy. These lifejackets offered a supporting force 3½ times stronger than cork. The body attachments featured buoyant cushions filled with seedless Java kapok and cork, with tubular hems for strings. If the upper strings were left loose, a space between the front cushion and the wearer could accommodate a baby or small child. A key feature was its ease of use in emergencies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Zealand "Salvus" Life Jacket |url=https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/39413 |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=University of Otago Library}}</ref>
The Beaumonts designed a cotton vest filled with kapok, a buoyant material harvested from the kapok tree. Kapok's hair-like follicles contain natural oils that repel water, trapping air and providing high buoyancy. These lifejackets offered a supporting force 3½ times stronger than cork. The body attachments featured buoyant cushions filled with seedless Java kapok and cork, with tubular hems for strings. If the upper strings were left loose, a space between the front cushion and the wearer could accommodate a baby or small child. A key feature was its ease of use in emergencies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Zealand "Salvus" Life Jacket |url=https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/39413 |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=University of Otago Library}}</ref>

Revision as of 01:28, 22 June 2025


Orpheus Maud Beaumont (née Newman, 14 September 1863 – 7 November 1951) was a British-born New Zealand woman who invented the Salvus life jacket.

Biography

Beaumont was born on 14 September 1863 and baptised on 21 October 1863 according to her baptismal record. She was born in Jersey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom to Mary and William Newman.[1][2] Beaumont was ten when her father died. Her mother migrated to Dunedin, New Zealand, with her three youngest children. [citation needed]

Beaumont's somewhat unusual first name is bound up with HMS Orpheus on which her teenage brother, Henry Newman, was a seaman. The Orpheus was carrying British soldiers on their way to New Zealand to fight in the Waikato Land Wars when the ship ran aground on the sandbar at the entrance to Auckland’s Manukau Harbour on 7 February 1863. Of the 259 men on board, 189 drowned and Henry Newman was incorrectly presumed to be one of those who died. As was then current practice, there were no life preservers on board the Orpheus. Henry's mother Mary was pregnant at the time of the shipwreck and after learning that her son had survived, she named her daughter Orpheus after the ship.[3]

Beaumont was listed as 2nd Stewardess on the SS Waihora in March or April 1889.[4] Norman Beaumont was Chief Officer on the Waihora in 1889.[5] The couple were married on 17 June 1890.[6] By that time Norman Beaumont had been promoted to be captain of the Union Steamship Company. They had two children, Llewelyn, born in 1892 in Suva, Fiji [7] and Constance, born in 1897 in New Zealand.[citation needed] [8]

Beaumont and her daughter travelled to England in 1916 where they joined the Women's Legion. Beaumont was appointed as a supervisor at the Woolwich Arsenal Canteen.[9] Between January 1918 and June 1919, she and her husband obtained patents for a new type of life jacket. In 1919 she opened a factory for production of the Salvus life jackets in Liverpool and London.[10]

Beaumont died on 7 November 1951 and is buried at Karitane Cemetery, Karitane, Otago, New Zealand.[11][12]

The Salvus life jacket

Some sources[which?] suggest that Beaumont was motivated to develop a new type of life jacket following the shipwreck that almost claimed the life of her brother Henry Newman who allegedly drowned in 1898 and the alleged death by drowning of her brother William Newman in 1912. William Newman died a few days after an "apoplectic fit" while out boating Otago on 1887. No inquest was held.[13][14] Contemporary newspapers record Henry Newman's death as occurring in 1898.[15]

On 15 April 1912, the RMS Titanic sank with the loss of approximately 1,500 lives though figures vary. [citation needed] The Convention for the Saving of Life at Sea was adopted in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster.[16] Article 51(1) states "A life-jacket of an approved type, or other appliance of equal buoyancy and capable of being fitted on the body, whall be carried for every person on board, and, in addition, a sufficient number of life-jackets, or other equivalent appliances, suitable for children."[17] Following the tragedy, the British Board of Trade held a competition calling for the invention of a better life jacket than the cork model currently in use at the time.[3]

The Beaumonts designed a cotton vest filled with kapok, a buoyant material harvested from the kapok tree. Kapok's hair-like follicles contain natural oils that repel water, trapping air and providing high buoyancy. These lifejackets offered a supporting force 3½ times stronger than cork. The body attachments featured buoyant cushions filled with seedless Java kapok and cork, with tubular hems for strings. If the upper strings were left loose, a space between the front cushion and the wearer could accommodate a baby or small child. A key feature was its ease of use in emergencies.[18]

The British Board of Trade introduced a new regulation to the effect that, before it could be approved, a life-jacket had to satisfy certain required conditions even if it were put on the wearer back to front, or upside down. By April 1919 only five types of life-jackets complied with the conditions, one of which was the New Zealand Salvus.[19]

The Salvus was eventually superseded by foam-filled life jackets at the beginning of World War II.[20]

Patents issued

Patents were issued in several countries to the Beaumonts for the Salvus life jacket.

Country Filing no. Publication no. Inventor Filing date Publication date
New Zealand 39370[21] Beaumont, Norman 6-Oct-17 29-Jan-18
Australia 562217[22] Beaumont, Norman 30-Oct-17 23-Apr-18
Great Britain 853517[23] 113214 Beaumont, Orpheus 14-Jun-17 14-Feb-18
United States 21495318[24] 1270686 Beaumont, Orpheus 1-Feb-18 25-Jun-18
France 492844[25] Beaumont, Orpheus 10-Aug-18 19-Jul-19
Canada 189927[26] Beaumont, Orphius 1-Feb-18 29-Apr-19
Denmark 24646[27] Orpheus Beaumont, Norman Beaumont 14-Jun-17 16-Jun-19

Legacy

A documentary film The Drowning Country was made by Caroline Fitzgerald, Beaumont's great-granddaughter.[3]

References

  1. ^ England and Wales, Census, 1871
  2. ^ "Baptism Register of St Helier Town Church".
  3. ^ a b c "Orpheus Beaumont – Lifesaver". Radio New Zealand. 30 September 2014.
  4. ^ State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; Inward passenger lists; Series: 13278; Roll: 490
  5. ^ "Inquest".
  6. ^ "Marriage". Otago Daily Times. No. 8860. 18 July 1890. p. 2. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  7. ^ "BEAUMONT, Llewellyn – WW1 2/389". Archives New Zealand. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  8. ^ BDM 1897/473
  9. ^ "Personal". Evening Star. No. 16439. 1 June 1917. p. 4. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Personal". Evening Star. No. 17030. 29 April 1919. p. 4.
  11. ^ "Orpheus Maud Beaumont – BillionGraves". MyHeritage. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  12. ^ "The Week". Otago Witness. No. 2288. 6 January 1898. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  13. ^ "Monday, September 19, 1887". Otago Daily Times. No. 7980. 19 September 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Deaths". No. 7320. 19 September 1887. p. 2. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  15. ^ "The Week". Otago Witness. No. 2288. 6 January 1898. p. 29. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  16. ^ "SOLAS". Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  17. ^ Text of the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. 1914. OL 6566170M. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  18. ^ "New Zealand "Salvus" Life Jacket". University of Otago Library. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Life Jackets: New regulations". archive.org. 17 April 1919. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  20. ^ "A short history of early lifejackets and the NZ design which saved countless lives". Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  21. ^ "Life Saving Jacket". iponz.govt.nz. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  22. ^ [1], "A new or improved buoyant life saving jacket" 
  23. ^ [2], "A New or Improved Buoyant Life-saving Jacket." 
  24. ^ [3], "Life-saving jacket." 
  25. ^ [4], "Gilet de sauvetage" 
  26. ^ [5], "Life saving jacket" 
  27. ^ [6], "Redningvest" 
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