Memiadluk and Uckaluk

Memiadluk, a 17 year old, and his wife Uckaluk, 15, were brought back to Hull in 1847 on the Truelove by Captain John Parker. Their purpose in being in Britain was supposedly to raise money for their home community but Parker also wanted to emphasise how they could be taught to be “civilised” (Uckaluk, for example, had become a servant in Parker’s house). The couple were exhibited in Hull, Manchester, and York, among other places. In December 1847, shortly after their arrival in Hull, they were exhibited at the Public Rooms, Jarratt Street. By March 1848, they were ready to go home; the Hull Packet reported that they “now appear to be very anxious to return home, and when told that they were to sail for their native country on Tuesday next, they were quite delighted.” Both Memiadluk and Uckaluk caught measles on the return trip but while Memiadluk recovered, Uckaluk died on board the Truelove in June 1848. Their time in Hull is commemorated by a sculpture that features busts based on plaster life casts of the faces of the two Inuit done in 1847. This is located on the west side of the Hull, between the tidal barrier and the A63 bridge.

“Public Notices,” Hull Packet, 3 December 1847, 1; “The Esqu*maux,” Hull Packet, 17 March 1848, 5; “Death of the Female Esqu*maux,” Hull Packet, 17 November 1848, 5;