the new south wales historic shipwrecks...
TRANSCRIPT
THE
NEW SOUTH WALES
HISTORIC SHIPWRECKS STUDY
Prepared for The Heritage Department New South Wales Department of Planning
By:
Adam Wolfe Consulting Maritime Archaeologist
10th August 1990
THE
NEW SOUTH WALES
HISTORIC SHIPWRECKS STUDY
Prepared for The Heritage Department New South Wales Department of Planning
By:
Adam Wolfe Consulting Maritime Archaeologist
lOth August 1990
CONTENTS
Introduction. 1
Part l:The Histories
Historical Background 4
Ball ina 11
Commodore 18
Duckenfield 21
Dunbar 29
John Penn 38
Lord Ashley 43
Merimbula 51
Mimosa 55
Oakland 61
Walter Hood 67
Yarra Yarra 74
Part 2: Significance
Introduction 81
Ball ina 83
Commodore 85
Duckenfield 87
Dunbar 89
John Penn 91
Lord Ashley 93
Merimbula 95
Mimosa 96
Part 2: Significance
Oakland
Walter Hood
Yarra Yarra
Part3
Conclusion
Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendix
98
100
102
104
105
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Jerv1s r }
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Port Macquarie Ballin a
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Oakland
·1i· Yarra Yarra ' Co mm oaore
Lord Ashley 1J u c ke nfie ld
Ounbar
M erimbula
Walt er H ood
J ohn Penn
Mimosa
A sketch n1ap of the coast of New South Wales showing the location of wrecksites.
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INTRODUCTION
Situation
Five shipwrecks have been declared historic in New South Wales under the provisions of the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976).
Three shipwrecks have been provisionally declared and another 3 have yet to be considered.
None of these shipwrecks have been subject to a detailed study and their heritage significance is unknown.
Declared Historic Shipwrecks
Ball ina
Commodore
Duckenfield
John Penn
Mimosa
Provisionally Declared Historic Shipwrecks
Dunbar
Walter Hood
Yarra Yarra
Shipwrecks Under Consideration
Lord Ashley
Merimbula
Oakland
Purpose of the study
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the heritage significance of these shipwrecks using criteria which is currently being developed by the Heritage Branch of the New South Wales Department of Planning and the Australian Institute of Maritime Archaeology.
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This study will form the basis of further maritime archaeological work and will contribute towards the development of a management plan for each wreck site.
The study will answer the following questions:
l.What are the histories of the 11 ships and their subsequent wrecking? ·
2.What were the cultural, economic and social consequences of each wrecking?
3.What is the historic, social, technological, scientific and educational significance of each wreck site?
Study Area
The study area extends along the New South Wales coast north from Port Macquarie south to Tathra. These waters are subject to the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976).
Liaison
Liaison was provided by David Nutley, Maritime Archaeologist with the New South Wales Department of Planning.
Structure
Part 1 explores the economic, social and technological conditions of the New South Wales coastal trade, and looks at the history of each ship and its subsequent wrecking.
Part 2 describes the criteria used to assess heritage significance and looks at the significance of each site.
Part 3 looks at possible limitations of the study and concludes with a discussion of further possible research objectives.
Photographs
Photographs in this study came from the photographic collections of the Australian National Library in Canberra and the Mitchell Library in Sydney.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks is extended to my wife, without whose support this study would not have been completed.
Thanks is extended to Adrianne Waterman for her assistance with the computer and typing.
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Thanks are also extended to David Nutley, Maritime Archaeologist with the New South Wales Department of Planning; Sue Effenburger, Maritime Archaeologist with the Australian National Maritime Museum; and Allan Mclennan for their advice and help.
Finally thanks are extended to the staff of the following organisations:
Australian National Library;
Australian National Maritime Museum;
New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library;
State Library of New South Wales; and
The Mitchell Library, Sydney.
PART 1: THE HISTORIES
4
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Introduction
The New South Wales coastal shipping trade was influenced by, and dependent on, the shipping services which linked the Australian colonies with their overseas markets. Without the import and export of goods, finance, raw materials and the associated demand for shipping services, the economic development of New South Wales and in particular, the coastal region would have been slow. In addition the economic and cultural traditions of New South Wales and the dependence on overseas markets ensured that the coastal shipping industry remained an extension of the British Mercantile Marine.
John Bach notes that: ' .. .the impress of Britain is visible in law, in design, in ship management and navigation, in those of the professions involved afloat and ashore, in the ethos of the professions involved, afloat and ashore ... this must be a history of British Shipping in Australia 1'.
In short the maritime culture, the regulations, the standards and the practice of the coastal trade were British. The ships were built in English or Scottish shipyards and the masters and crew came from the cosmopolitan crowd which formed the British empire.
The Coast
The New South Wales coast is treacherous. It is subject to prevailing northeasterly gales in summer and southeasterly storms in winter which create an immense leeshore some hundreds of kilometres in length.
There are few safe harbours and anchorages and most of these are blocked by sand bars and rocky reefs. If a ship was caught in a north or southeasterly gale and could not find a haven, or get out to sea, her chances of being wrecked were high.
These problems were not helped by the incomplete state of the coastal charts at the time, and the uncertain currents and tides which could sweep a ship off her course.
Captains of sailing vessels were particularly wary of this coast and it was the prudent captain who made sure that his ship had sufficient searoom to weather any storm.
The resultant loss of ships was immense. Between 1873 and 1896, 419 vessels were lost. Of these 96 were steam ships, and 323 were sailing vessels. This represented an estimated loss of £1,180,736 to the shipping industry 2. The most common cause of loss was due to wrecking on sand bars or spits, or being driven ashore in gales. Two hundred and twenty vessels were lost in this fashion.
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The Regions
By 1850 all of the rivers both south and north of Sydney had been tested for navigability. Of these the Clarence and Richmond Rivers in the north were the most important. Their hinterlands produced an abundance of wool, maize, dairy products and later sugar, which was exported to Sydney. In return they imported manufactured goods and other essentials. It was a profitable industry which attracted the interest of Sydney speculators and was looked at enviously by other colonies such as Queensland and Victoria.
The economic development of these regions, was slow and spasmodic. In a number of cases it did not happen until the arrival of the railway and later, the motor car.
An example of such development is the Taree region on the Manning River. Settlement followed in the footsteps of the cedar cutters and miners who originally opened up the land. Farmers arrived and started to grow maize. Later they were able to grow potatoes and produce milk and other dairy products. They also tried sugar but the effects of winter frosts on the sugar cane proved disastrous. Between 1860 and 1890 maize production was the main crop in the district. After 1890 it went into decline due to deteriorating soil quality and the ravages of blight and weevils. By then dairy production was established as the region's most important export. Other goods were exported. In the 1870s the region was noted for its limestone, fowls, wheat, tobacco, potatoes, honey, timber and oysters.
Similar development occurred on the south coast. In the Bega and Tathra regions the moist environment and cooler conditions suited dairy production and in particular the manufacture of cheese.
Coal production flourished in the Hunter Valley and south of Wollongong, while wooden ship construction and a timber export industry developed around Jervis Bay in the south, and the Clarence and Richmond Rivers in the north.
The Companies
Regional development influenced the formation of the coastal shipping companies. These also affected specific industries such as the dairy industry. Fast and reliable steam ships enabled dairy produce to be exported to Sydney for domestic consumption. This was particularly important in the days before refrigeration. Even then if a ship was delayed by bad weather the cargo would have to be dumped, as it would go off before it could be unloaded or sold.
On the north coast the Hunter river Steam Navigation Company was formed in 1839 to service the needs of the coal and cedar industries. The company ran successfully until the 1840s when it experienced a decline in trade and profit. It recovered and in 1851 the shareholders sought to increase the company's capital.
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The company was wound up and its affairs taken over by the Australasian Steam Navigation Company. This helped generate over £500,000 in capital and a rapid expansion of the company's shipping services to Victoria and later Queensland.
In 1857 the settlers in the Clarence River district formed the Grafton Steam Navigation Company to carry their wool to Sydney. By 1860 demand for the company's service had grown. Its capital was increased to £50,000 and its name was changed to the Clarence and Richmond River Steam Navigation Company.
South of Sydney the Kiama Navigation Company was formed in 1851 with a paid up capital of £7000. In 1856 it merged with the Shoalhaven Steam Navigation Company and the operations of John Edye Manning to form the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company.
The proliferation of shipping companies did not suit everybody. In 1852 dissatisfied interests around Newcastle formed the Hunter River New Steam Navigation Company to challenge the Australian Steam Navigation Company. However by 1875 some shareholders felt that Sydney speculators were too involved and formed a new concern to protect their interests. This was known as the Newcastle Steam Ship Company. Shortly after the Australasian Steam Navigation Company sold its interests in the Hunter region to this company.
In 1891 competition from the railways pushing north from Sydney across the Hawksbury forced the Newcastle and Hunter River New Steamship Companies to merge.
The Clarence and Richmond River Company had undergone further expansion. In 1888 it was reconstructed and renamed the Clarence, Richmond and Macleay Rivers Steam Navigation Company. In 1891 the company merged with John See and Company to form the North Coast Steam Navigation Company with a capital of £250,000. By 1914 it owned 28 ships and had a monopoly of the coastal trade north of Newcastle.
Further south the Illawarra Company continued to expand. In 1904 it was reconstructed and changed its name to the Illawara and South Coast Steam Navigation Company. It had 6 steamers, 1 punt and total assets of £112,629 15s 1d.
At the beginning of World War 1 the coastal shipping companies were in a secure financial position. They serviced over 32 ports along the New South Wales coast and provided a variety of services which ranged from daily, to once weekly or even more irregular. They enjoyed considerable support from the coastal communities, and provided a vital economic and communication service in return. Their ships were modern, well equipped and specifically designed for the New South Wales coast.
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After World War I the railways and later the motor car made their presence felt. They were able to provide a reliable, fast and cheap link between the coastal hinterlands and Sydney. They took trade away from the coastal ports and undercut the shipping companies who could not compete. The first indication of this decline was the collapse of the coastal passenger service.
The companies struggled through the depression and World War II. By the 1950s the coastal trade was no longer viable. The companies were either wound up or were reconstructed and moved into other trades.
The Ships
The 1850s witnessed the rise and fall of the American and Canadian built soft wood clippers. They were large, cheap, easy to build and fast. They were primarily employed under charter in short lived, speculative trades. They carried migrants to the Californian gold fields, and later when the gold ran out they joined the procession of ships carrying people to Australia and the gold fields in Victoria and New South Wales.
Unfortunately there was often insufficient cargo to fill their holds for the return voyages. As a consequence they were not economical and their soft wood construction meant that their running costs were high.
They were replaced by their British built rivals. These ships were half their size and built of hardwoods. They were just as fast, more durable and far more economical to run. After they had unloaded their cargo of manufactured goods and disembarked their passengers, their holds could be quickly filled with return cargoes of wool or wheat.
Other British shipbuilders continued to build more traditional ships, which although not intended as clippers, were capable of similar speeds. They were designed to carry passengers and were built for safety, durability and when in service, regularity. These vessels were known as 'East Indiamen', or if they were in the emigrant trade, 'Blackwall Passenger Frigates'.
By the 1850s Britain had emerged as a world leader in iron steam ship construction.
In New South Wales the number of steamships increased. Their natural advantages made them more cost effective than sailing ships and they were able to enter ports that had previously been ignored and look for new cargoes.
These ships were a product of British steam and iron technology. They were iron hulled, but retained vestiges of their wooden antecedents. Their decks, superstructures and even internal beams, were made of wood. They were primitive, unhandy, poorly ventilated and their iron plates 'sweated'. Most were paddle steamers and were equipped with masts and yards. If the wind was blowing from a favourable quarter the sails would be set to help save fuel.
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Their engines were primitive. They were low pressured, expensive to run in terms of fuel consumption, and prone to mechanical failure and boiler explosion. There was also a diversity of engine types as marine engineers experimented with different arrangements of pistons and cylinders. They tried mounting them vertically, horizontally, inclined, in vee form, upwards, downwards, even in tandem. This gave rise to such engine types as the 'Side lever', 'Oscillating', 'Steeple', 'Grasshopper', 'Trunk', 'Diagonal' or 'Direct acting'. Some engines had distinct advantages, while others caused more problems than they solved.
The first effective screw steamship was the Archimedes which was built at Millwall, on the Thames in 1838. She proved her seaworthiness by circumnavigating Great Britain in the following year.
The first screw steamer built in Australia was the City of Melbourne. She was built by T. Kruse in Melbourne in 1851. Other early screw steamers included the Keera which was built in 1851 by T.Toward of St Peters, Newcastle-onTyne, and the S.S.Corio built in 1854 by Scott and Company at Greenock. Despite this development the paddle wheel continued to be used. It was more effective in shallow water, assisted with manoeuvrability and was more suited to the existing steam technology, requiring less steam pressure and revolutions to work. This placed less strain on the engine .
Improvements were also made in paddle wheel design. In 1853 the Colloroy was built by John Laird and Company at Birkenhead. She was the first Australian vessel to have feathering paddle wheels. These made her more economical to run and the feathering blades improved the effectiveness of her paddle wheels.
The appearance of the screw was followed by the development of the compound engine. Steam would be admitted firstly into a high pressure and then a low pressure cylinder. This improved the efficiency of the engines and reduced fuel costs. A ship burning 30 or 40 tons of coal daily to carry 1400 tons of cargo was replaced by a ship which only burned 14 tons of coal and could carry 2000 tons of cargo 3.
While new ships were built with these engines, old ships were converted. This process, known as being 'McNaughted'4, was carried out on a number of ships employed in the coastal trade. They would also be lengthened and other modifications made. In some cases old paddle steamers would be converted to screw propulsion. The Leichardt which was built as a paddle steamer in 1865 and was converted in 1872. Generally these alterations were successful, making the ships faster and more economical to run. However there were mistakes. After lengthening modification to her engines, the fohn Penn was found to be less seaworthy.
Screw propulsion favoured the development of the vertical, 'Direct-acting', inverted engine causing the other varieties of marine engine to become obsolete.
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The vertical, 'Direct-acting' engine was developed further, emerging in 1875 as the three cylinder, or triple expansion engine. The first Australian ship to be fitted with such engines was the Barcoo, built in 1885 by William Denny and Bros, in Dunbarton, Scotland.
By the 1880s and 1890s steel had been introduced into ship construction. This allowed for the building of more durable hulls, more efficient engines and safer boilers, capable of handling higher working pressures.
Ship fittings and equipment were also being developed. Many ships such as the Ballina were fitted with steam winches and derricks to ease cargo handling.
By the early 1990s steam ship building had gone as far as it could go with the existing technology. Ships became bigger and were fitted with electrical and refrigeration equipment. However it was not until the advent of the steam turbine that any further major advances would be made in marine engineering.
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Notes
1.Bach. J, 1976, A Maritime History of Australia. Thomas Nelson West Melbourne.Pg 7;
2.Statement of Wrecks off the coast of New South Wales from the year 1873 to 1896. Unsourced. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
3.Bach. J, 1976, A Maritime History of Australia. Thomas Nelson West Melbourne.Pg 142;
4.Richards. M, 1987, Workhorses in Australia Waters. A History of Marine Engineering in Australia. Turton & Armstrong, Wahroonga, New South Wales.Pg 51.
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1 1
BALLIN A
The Ballina was purchased by the Clarence and Richmond River Navigation Company (C & R.S.N. Co.) to service the New South Wales north coast, and in particular the settlements on the Clarence, Macleay, Manning and Richmond Rivers. She was one of a number of vessels acquired by the company during the 1860s. The others included the Duncan Hoyle, which was bought from the Tasmanian East Coast Steam Navigation Company; the Fenalla, which was bought from the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company in 1859; the Urara; the Agnes Irving; the Ulmara; the Rainbow and the Platypus.
The Ballina was built by C. Mitchell and Company at Low Walker-on-Tyne, Newcastle in England and was completed 8th June 1865. She incorporated a number of design features including a shallow draught, and a flat bottom to help her negotiate the shallow narrow river entrances which characterises the north coast. As well she was fitted with: ' ... steam winches ... for the more rapid discharge of cargo .... accommodation for thirty six passengers (and), ... a second class cabin provided with every convenience' 1. She was nearly 180 feet long with a beam of 24 feet and a depth of 9 feet 6 inches. When fully loaded she had a draught of 6 feet 6 inches. She was propelled by a pair of oscillating engines of 80 horsepower and was fitted with two boilers. She had two masts and was rigged as a brig.
On the 20th of June 1865 she sailed from Portsmouth, England for Sydney, Australia, under the command of Captain Robinson. She rounded the Cape of Good Hope on 5th September and arrived in Port Jackson on 25th October, 1865, after a voyage of 126 days. Captain Robinson was accompanied by his wife and their child.
After trials and maintenance the Ballina commenced service on Saturday 2nd December 1865, sailing for the Clarence River and Grafton where she arrived on Monday 4th in the evening. Five days later she returned to Sydney, arriving on Saturday the 9th with 11 passengers and '167 bags (of) maize, 16 bags (of) wheat, 15 cases (of) eggs, 18 hides, 5 tubs (of) bacon, 6 cases (of) sundries (and) coops (of) fowls' 2 . One more return trip was made in December and another two in January 1866.
These voyages were typical of her employment for the next fourteen years. Besides carrying passengers, she carried manufactured goods, wine, beer and other necessities on the outward voyage and agricultural produce, livestock, timber and gold on the inward voyage. This trade characterised the central position which Sydney held as an entrepot on the New South Wales coast.
In early October 1867 the Queensland Steam Navigation Company chartered the Ballina after their own vessel, the Lady Bowen broke her propeller shaft. They employed the Ballina between Brisbane and Sydney.
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The trade was similar to the north coast with manufactured goods and other necessities being exported from Sydney and agricultural produce being imported from Queensland.
The Ballina sailed from Sydney on the 14th of October bound for Brisbane under the command of Captain Lake. On board she had 24 passengers and a general cargo of paint, iron, hooping, buckets, sugar, tea, salt, brandy, boots, dried fruit, rice, kerosine, 16 horses and various sundries 3.
On the 21st she returned to Sydney with 46 passengers, 226 twenty bales of wool, 14 skins, 3 casks and a hogshead of tallow, 64 hides and 39 bales and 7 pockets of cotton 4.
She made three voyages to Brisbane. At the end of October the Lady Bowen was repaired and the Ballina returned to her normal trade on the New South Wales coast.
In August 1871 she was put into refit. Her cylinders were converted into a diagonal configuration and 'compounded'. Her boilers were removed and replaced with a single unit, while the forward boiler room was converted into hold space which enabled her to carry an additional 500 bags of maize. Her draught was reduced by 13 inches and her speed increased from 10 to 11.5 knots, while her coal consumption was reduced. She was now a more economical ship to run.
The life of the Ballina was not without incident. On Tuesday 5th of November 1872 at 7.30 pm she collided with the steam ferry Leipoa on Darling harbour. The Ballina was returning to the C&RSN Co wharf, at the foot of Sussex Street, after having had her compass swung in Berry's Bay.
Part of the Leipoa 's paddle box and rail were carried away, while the Ballina 's starboard gangway door was damaged.
At the subsequent Marine Board of Inquiry it was admitted that the Ballina 's navigation lights were not burning. However ' ... as there were mitigating circumstances . . and very little damage was sustained by either vessel . . . the Board merely reprimanded the Ballina's master, Captain Mann' 5 .
More serious was the collision with the barque Sylphide off North Head on Saturday, June 16, 1877. According to the Sydney Morning Herald ,'The Sylphide was from Portland Bay (Victoria), bound to Sydney with a cargo of bark and having overrun her distance, with a light wind from the westward, was off DeeWhy Head and working back. She was on the port tack and distant from the shore about one and a quarter mile. The steamship Ballina from the Macleay and Port Macquarie was heading S by W, the deck being in charge of the second officer, when she struck the barque on the starboard side, about the fore-rigging, cutting her down to the waters edge' 6 .The Sylphide sank in less than half and hour and the crew were rescued by the Ballina. The
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1 3
Sylphide was owned by Piggot and Co. and was employed in general trade between Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.
At the Marine Board Inquiry the master of the Ballina, Captain Bedford was found to be at fault for not maintaining an adequate lookout. In particular the Board condemned the practice of allowing the lookout to go below, to help remove the ashes from the boilers, without notifying the officer of the watch.
Seven months later the Ballina was again involved in an accident, this time on the Macleay River. The details have not been found. An advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald merely states that: 'The S. S. Ballina having met with an accident at MacLeay River is unavoidably detained for repairs' 7.She was out of commission until the 11th March when she resumed service.
During her lifetime the Ballina was commanded by the following masters:
Thomas Lake Ebenezer Maides Joseph Grev William Mann Frederick Gracegirdle John H. Bedford John Magee
The Wrecking
14th October 1867 16th November 1867 24th December 1867 9th April 1872 18th November 1872 26th July 1875 18th November 1878
On Thursday 13th February 1879 the Ballina was moored at Port Macquarie at the mouth of the Hastings River. On board she had a cargo of wool, cedar logs, maize and other agricultural produce, In the morning, the Master, Captain Bedford and the Port Macquarie Harbourmaster, Mr Kingsford, rowed out to the river entrance and sounded the channel as far as the Blackbuoy. Finding sufficient water and heeding the advice of Mr Kingsford, Captain Bedford took the Ballina out at 12 noon on a flood tide.
As she rounded the Blackbuoy ' ... just at that place there's a turn in the channel in a more north easterly direction ... s•, she was caught by the tide and sea sweeping in from the southeast. With her flat bottom and shallow draught she offered little resistance, and was driven on to a sand spit on the north side of the channel. Despite efforts to back her off using the engines, she held fast.
Captain Bedford hoped to get her off on the next high tide. He hoisted sail, hoping that the easterly wind would blow her off, and signalled to the Pilot Boat to come out. It was 2.30pm.
Mr Kingsford came out on the pilot boat and came on board with a new hawser. At slack water, it was passed astern and secured to the south shore in an attempt to prevent the Ballina being driven further onto the sand.
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The passengers were taken off, and soon after the crew threw overboard several large cedar logs, which were on deck, in an attempt to lighten the ship.
During the afternoon and evening the sea rose and the wind strengthened. By 9pm seas were sweeping the vessel from end to end and at about 10 pm the engines broke down due to ' ... the sand that was working through the engines'. At midnight she was full of water and the crew were forced to take to the rigging. At 5 am she parted amidships, forward of the engine room. Shortly afterwards the crew abandoned ship.
Gales lashed the coast for three days. Captain Bedford telegraphed the manager of the C&RSN Co advising that the 'Wool coming ashore on north beach; No hope of saving anything out of the ship at present; cannot get alongside; am sending all hands over to save all they can. No hope of leaving here at present; too much sea 10'.
Some of the wool was salvaged but the rest of the cargo including the mails and the passengers luggage was lost. No record has been found to say if any of these items were insured.
The hull was insured for £6500 at Metcalfe's office in Sydney, with a proportion being reinsured with other offices. An attempt was made to salvage the hull but it soon filled with sand and was abandoned.
At the Marine Board of Enquiry opinions amongst the crew varied as to the cause of the loss. Captain Bedford said that the sea and tide, catching the ship on the starboard side drove her on to the spit. He added that "It is a difficult matter to get her round the spit, it extends nearly across the channel 11 '. He concluded by saying that if the sea had not risen he would have got her off.
The chief Engineer, William Fairweather added that she would have been saved if the engines had not become choked with sand. The Second Mate added ' .... if she had been more powerful she would not have been lost 12'.
The Board found that there was no evidence to suggest that Captain Bedford was responsible for the loss of the ship.
The wreck was visible for a number of years after the loss. A chart from 1881 shows the mouth of the Hastings River and the position of the wreck. It is marked with a note ' ... top of the boiler and starboard paddle wheel 4 feet at spring tide 13'.
In January 1908 and 1910 the southern training wall at the entrance was extended. The remains of the Ballina, lying in the main shipping channel and being a navigational hazard, were dynamited. The wreck disappeared and was forgotten. In June 1978 it was rediscovered by Public Works divers.
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The Town of Ballina
The Ballina was named after the town of the same name, which is located at the mouth of the Richmond River. This region was first settled by cedar loggers and a settlement was established at the mouth of the river in 1851. This was later to become West Ballina.
By 1855 Ballina had become a regular port of call on the north coast and Captain George Easton was appointed pilot. Soon after gold was discovered in the beach sand, near the river mouth, causing a minor gold rush.
Ballina grew with the shipping industry, becoming an important seaport and was gazetted as a town in 1856. In 1869 242 sailing vessels and 12 steamers were making regular calls and over 3 million super feet of timber was exported through the port to Sydney. In 1883 Ballina was proclaimed a municipality.
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Notes
l.Sydney Morning Herald ;Thursday 26th October 1865;
2.Ibid; Monday 11th December 1878;
3.Brisbane Courier; Friday 16th October 1866;
4.Sydney Morning Herald ; Thursday 22nd October 1867;
S.Ibid; 8th November 1872;
6.Ibid; Monday 18th June 1877;
7.Ibid; Tuesday 5th February 1878;
8.Report of the Marine Board of New South Wales on the matter of the loss of the 'Ball ina'. Sydney 3rd March 1879. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library. Pg 2;
9.Ibid; Chief Engineers Statement. Pg 10;
10.Sydney Morning Herald ; Monday 17th February 1879;
1l.Report of the Marine Board of New South Wales on the matter of the loss of the 'Ballina'. Sydney 3rd March 1879. Captain Bedfords Statement;
12.Ibid; Second Mates Statement;
13.Bowman. P, 1988, PS Ballina.Iron Ships and Steam Shipwrecks. Papers from the first Australian seminar on the management of iron vessels and steam shipwrecks. Western Australian Maritime Museum, Cliff Street, Fremantle. Pg 136.
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BALLIN A
Ship Details
Type: Paddle steamer.
Rig: 2 masted brig. Later converted to brigantine.
Dimensions: 179.4 I X 24 I X 9.6 I
Construction: Iron.
Engines: 2 cylinder, 'Oscillating', 80HP; (1871 August) converted to compound type.
Gross Tonnage: 299.96
Official Number: 52707
Port Number: 44 of 1866; Sydney.
Builders: C. Mitchell & Company, Low Walker-on-Tyne.
Completed: 8th June 1865.
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COMMODORE
The Port Jackson Steam Boat Company was formed in 1877 and in the same year ordered the steam tug Commodore from J. T. Eltringham of South Shields in England.
The Commodore was laid down in 1877 and completed in March 1878. She was the first vessel acquired by the company and was mortgaged to John Watson for £20,000. She was 130.9 feet long with a beam of 20.7 feet and a depth of 10.3 feet. She was built of iron and fitted with a two cylinder 'Grasshopper', side lever, compound steam engine, delivering 95 horse power. The engine was built by J.P. Rennoldson of South Shields, England. She was fitted with 2 funnels abreast of one another, 1 mast forward of the bridge and seating for passengers.
She sailed from South Shields on 30th March 1878 under the command of Captain Rennoldson. An extra mast was fitted and she was sailed out as a schooner. She arrived in Sydney on July 29th after a voyage of 84 days.
On arrival she was employed as a tug, relief ferry, cargo carrier and excursion steamer on Sydney Harbour.
In 1881 the Company discharged its mortgage and the Commodore was sold to the Port Jackson Steam Ship Company. This company monopolised the Manly ferry service and went into the land development business, hoping to attract buyers to land in Manly, and hence build up the ferry trade.
There were incidents. On Friday 26th January 1894, the Commodore was employed to tow the Port Jackson to the company's yard at Neutral Bay, after the Port Jackson fractured her tail shaft when leaving the Manly ferry wharf.
On 21st September 1900 she collided with the Fairlight. No details have been found to confirm what happened but it is assumed that the collision was with the Sydney ferry of the same name. The Fairlight was built by Thomas Wingate and Company of Glasgow, for the Port Jackson Steam Boat Company. She cost £7600 and could carry 950 passengers. She operated for 3 years between Sydney and Manly.
Before 1895, the Sydney ferry and tug boat companies had been able to operate their businesses independently of operators in other ports. However, that changed when Mr. E. Lane of Sydney employed the former Melbourne tug Sterling to tow ships between Sydney and Newcastle. This trade had always been considered the exclusive right of the Newcastle tugs.
J. & A. Brown of Newcastle responded quickly. They dispatched the tugs Gamecock and Energy to Sydney, while another Newcastle company, J. Dalton, sent the Eric and the Young Bungaree. From this time onwards Brown's permanently stationed tugs in Sydney.
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1 9
Brown's challenged the Port Jackson Steam Ship Company which had become the largest tug boat company in Sydney. After much competition an agreement was reached. The Port Jackson Steam Ship Company would run the Sydney ferries and Browns would control the tugboat business.
On the 6th of October 1898 Brown's brought the Commodore. They also purchased the Port jackson and the Irresistible and secured a virtual monopoly of both the Sydney and Newcastle tugboat trade. Their fleet included their recent acquisitions, plus the Bungaree, Champion, Energy, Enterprise, Gamecock, Goolwa, Prince Alfred and Stormcock.
In the same year the Commodore's twin funnels were removed and replaced with a single and wider uptake.
The Commodore continued to operate until the late 1920s. At the time she was probably the last ocean going tug operating in Australia. She was eventually laid up and stripped of her fittings, brass work and anchors. Her boiler was then decommissioned and all of her steam pipes removed.
On the 3rd of September 1931 she was towed out of Newcastle Harbour and scuttled 3 nautical miles east of Nobby's Head. She was abandoned at 12.30 pm in position 32°55'24" S; 151 °52'16"E.
During her service life the Commodore was commanded by Captain David Francis (27th August 1878) and Captain W. Heselton (1880). The names of other master have not been found.
COMMODORE
Ship Details
Type:
Rig:
Dimensions:
Construction:
Engines:
Gross Tonnage:
Official Number:
Port Number:
Builder:
20
Steam Paddle Tug.
1 pole mast (1878 2 masted schooner- voyage out to Australia).
120.9 'x 20.7' x 11.35 '
Iron.
2 cylinder, 'Grasshopper', side lever, 90 hp.
187.08 tons
74986
52 of 1878, Sydney.
J. T. Eltringham.
21
DUCKENFIELD
The Duckenfield was a purpose built collier. She was ordered by Alexander and John Brown, coal merchants and steam ship owners of Newcastle. The builders were J. and W. Dudgeon of Cubitt Town, Pepler, Middlesex, England.
She was 161.5 feet long with a beam of 24 feet and a depth of 12 feet. She had a raised quarter deck, four bulkheads and her main deck was sealed with concrete. She was fitted with a 2 cylinder direct acting, compound engine, built by J. and W. Dudgeon, capable of 60 horse power.
The Duckenfield was launched in 1875 and at the end of that year she sailed for Australia, under the command of Captain Hardy. She was rigged as a two masted schooner, and arrived with a cargo of 31 railway wagons, 40 sets of wagon wheels and other wagon parts.
She was towed into Newcastle Harbour on the 5th of March 1876 by the tug Goolwa, and was then taken up the Hunter River to Hexham, where her cargo was unloaded. The wagons were for the Duckenfield Colliery at Minmi which was owned by Alexander and John Brown.
The Duckenfield was intended to operate between Newcastle and Sydney, carrying coal for ships on Sydney Harbour, to supply the various gasworks in the city and for domestic consumption. Later the Duckenfield was also employed to carry coal from Wollongong and to transport sheep and hay from the Hunter River region.
Captain James Neil, formerly of the Merksworth and the Saxonia was appointed master.
On Friday 24th of March the Waratah towed the Duckenfield down to Sydney to have her propeller fitted and her engines inspected.
It is not clear when she started carrying coal. On Wednesday 29th of March the Sydney Morning Herald recorded that she arrived in Sydney in company with the colliers Eagle, Brilliant, Agnes Hebe and Lolla Rook from Newcastle. Together they brought in 2100 tons of coal.
On her next trip to Sydney the Duckenfield caught the eye of the Sydney Morning Herald shipping reporter. She was described as 'one of the handsomest and yacht-like looking craft that has ever visited this port, and her carrying capacity and speed are equally in keeping with her appearance 1'.
The Newcastle Morning Herald was also impressed. The Duckenfield was ' ... by her run to this port from Sydney on Friday morning - proved herself one of the smartest coasters we have 2'. On Friday 7th of April, Captain Neil sailed from Morts dock at 00.15 am, cleared Sydney heads at 1.15 and rounded Nobby's Head, Newcastle at 7.30am making the trip in 6 hours and 15 minutes at an average speed of 10 knots.
•'
~ . ~ Q ~
I' : Q \ I ·. \ E (
( ... , E ~~. ,
Q I
u ~
~ ~
~ .. I <·
22
She then took on 380 tons of coal and sailed for Sydney on Saturday 8th, at lpm. She encountered a southerly gale and a head sea, and arrived off Circular Wharf at 9pm 3.
On the lOth she made a return voyage to Sydney from Newcastle in company with the Eagle, Yarra Yarra, Urania and Industry.
On average the Duckenfield made 100 return voyages each year between Newcastle and Sydney.
The Duckenfield did not always carry coal. On Monday September 3rd 1879 Sydney Morning Herald reported that she arrived in Sydney with 750 sheep. On the 4th she arrived with 900 and on the 6th with 700 sheep and 200 bales of hay. On the 8th she arrived with 1000 sheep4. This trade continued throughout that September and it was not until the end of the month that she resumed carrying coal.
She also went south to Wollongong. On Saturday 13th January 1883 she arrived at Wollongong in the morning and commenced loading 360 tons of coal. At 12.30pm she sailed and arrived in Sydney at 6.30. She then coaled the P&O steamer Clyde which was lying alongside the Australasian Steam Navigation wharf.
At this time Captain J. Petherbridge held command of the ship. Part of his log has survived, and it provides a description of the day to day activities of the ship.
Sunday 7th January 1883: '6.30 am left wharf with Annie Bow in tow. Let her go in Neutral Bay. Proceeded to Heads and shaped course for Wollongong. Too much swell to tow. Arrive Wollongong at 1.30 pm'.
Monday 8th January 1883: 'lam started loading at Wollongong and finished at 3.30pm and left at 4pm. Arrived in Sydney at 11pm and proceeded up Berry's Bay alongside hulk Lasso and discharged main hold'.
Tuesday 9th January: 'Finished main hold at 7.30am and shifted to Australian Steam Navigation Company's wharf; waiting arrival of City of Melbourne.
(Cargo) Main (hold) 154 (tons) Aft 133 Forward 76
209
23
Wednesday lOth January 1883: '11.30 am arrived Newcastle and ordered up to load at Waratah. Finished at 6pm.
(Cargo) Main (hold) 92 (tons) Aft 113 Forward 140
? 22 367
7.30 pm left for Sydney.
Thursday 11th January 1883: '5.30 arrived Sydney. Hauled alongside Ebermang with aft hold. Sydney all night.'
Friday 12th January 1881: '9.30 am Johnson's Bay. Coaled dredge, punt and Thetis. 1 pm shifted to back of island with main hold of small (coal). 6.30 pm went alongside Phoebe and discharged the remaining part of cargo. 12 am left for Wollongong.
Saturday 13th January 1883: 'Sam arrived in Wollongong and started to load. 12.30 pm left for Sydney. Arrived Sydney at 6.30 and went alongside Australian Steam Navigation Wharf waiting for the arrival of P&O boat. Duck's (sic) cargo from Wollongong.'
(Cargo) Main (hold) 156 (tons) Aft 126 Forward 78
Total 360
Sunday 14th January 1883: '10 pm hauled alongside P&O boat. 12 am started to load coal Clyde.'
Monday 15th January 1883: 'Coaling P&O steamer Clyde. Coaling P&O boat all night'.
Tuesday 16th January 1883: '6am finished with P&O boat and left for Wollongong. 11.30 arrived at Wollongong and started coaling. 5pm finished and left for Sydney s·.
The Duckenfield 's life was not with out incident. On the evening of the 25th November 1880, she collided with the Glenelg, while entering Sydney Harbour. The collision occured in clear weather, off Milles Point. The Glenelg was outward bound and received a gash in her hull, while the Duckenfield's bow was stoved in. The Glenelg returned to Pyrmont were her damage was assessed and eventually repaired.
24
Nearly a year later the Duckenfield was again in trouble. On 20th September 1881 she collided with the Boomerang. The Duckenfield was only slightly damaged while the Boomerang had a hole punched in her stern. No evidence has been found to indicate if a Marine Board of Enquiry was convened to investigate either incident.
The Duckenfield was also employed to carry copper ingots. The trade involved shipping low grade copper ore from Wallaroo in South Australia to Newcastle where it would be smelted into copper ingots. These would then be shipped to Sydney for export or domestic consumption. The copper was usually brought to Newcastle from Wallaroo by ships of the South Australian Black Diamond Line.
The Wrecking
On Friday afternoon, May 24th 1889 the Duckenfield was on a voyage from Newcastle to Sydney with 280 tons of small and large coal; 50 tons of copper ingots and 20 tons of coke. She was under the command of Captain Hunter who had held command for the previous six years.
It was raining hard and visibility was poor. The wind was blowing from the south-south-west and Captain Hunter and the mate were on watch. At about 7.30pm the Duckenfield was off Long Point near Narabeen. Abeam of the point, she struck Long Reef on her starboard side, stranding on the reef.
She drifted clear and immediately began to settle. There appeared to be no hope of saving her and the boats were got ready. While the dinghy was being lowered a large wave swept up and overturned it, throwing one of the crew, James Struthers into the sea. Nothing could be done to save him and he was drowned.
Eventually the dinghy was righted and the longboat lowered. The crew then abandoned the ship, Captain Hunter being the last to leave.
The Hawkesbury had been following in the wake of the Duckenfield and it looked as though she too, would strike the reef. However, at the last minute Captain Hunter was able to hail her and she managed to alter course to clear the reef.The crew of the Duckenfield then rowed across to her and were taken onboard. They left the sinking ship at 9pm and set a course for Sydney.
In a subsequent report in the Daily Telegraph 6, the Captain of the Hawksbury denied that he had been following the Duckenfield towards the reef.
On arrival, Captain Hunter advised Captain Greer of the Pilot Steamer, Captain Cook, of the loss and asked him to have a look and see if the Duckenfield was still afloat. He arrived of Long Point at 2 am on Saturday but was unable to find the vessel.
25
A week later two masts were discovered sticking out of the water. However before any salvage or identification could be made, the weather deteriorated. When it cleared the masts had gone.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the officer at the customs station at Barrenjoey had sent a telegram to the Collector of Customs. It was dated May 29th and stated that: 'R. Davis reports wreck of supposed small steamer lying in Wash Putty Beach which is a small beach close to Hawk Head, seawards. He thinks it is steamer by some washed up fittings. The sea is too bad to get near the wreck. Will report further if definite news be obtained'. J. E. Black, HM Customs 7.
Perhaps R. Davis discovered some wreckage from the Duckenfield. It is possible that deck fittings and parts of the superstructure could have broken free, and then been washed northward, towards Barrenjoey.
Two months later Captain Melvery of the steamtug Grand sighted a pole mast sticking out of the sea. He marked the mast with the Grand's lifebouys and reported the sighting to the shipping authorities in Sydney.
The mast was subsequently declared a navigation hazard and was recovered by the pilot steamer Captain Cook, who then towed it into Watsons Bay.
Captain Hall, the Sydney Marine Underwriter's, marine surveyor and Arthur Briggs, soon arrived at the site, with their team of divers, in an attempt to salvage the copper.
On 21st August the Daily Telegraph reported that salvage operations would soon commence On the 24th the paper reported that the divers had been successful and had recovered 117 copper ingots.
The divers reported that the hull was lying on a rock bottom and had broken into several sections.
Eventually between 32 and 40 tons of copper ingots were recovered, valued at £2000. Despite this success the recent sinking of the steamer Centurion in Taylors Bay, Port Jackson and the steamer Royal Shepherd, diverted Captain Hall's attention and he interrupted the salvage work. After a year of such interruptions he abandoned the Duckenfield.
At the Marine Board of Enquiry, Captain Hunter was found to be at fault and negligent in his navigation of the ship. The Duckenfield was not insured.
Captain Hall
Captain Hall was a well known figure in shipping circles in Sydney, during the latter half of last century. In 1886 he was employed by the Sydney Marine Underwriters Association as their chief marine surveyor.
26
He surveyed all vessels arriving at Newcastle and Sydney and inspected all repair work carried out in Sydney shipyards. Later he was appointed to take charge of the association's salvage department.
He was instrumental in the raising of many vessels which sank on the New South Wales coast and the salvage of cargo.
The Daily Telegraph , reported that, 'He is in demand for surveys on shore as well as shipping in port. He is the right man in the right place s.
Captain Hall came from Whitlaw near Shields in the north of England and commanded a number of steamers before taking up his appointment with the Sydney Marine Underwriters Association. He returned to England in 1896 due to ill health, and died in the following year.The Australasian Banking and Insurance Review reported that 'Underwriters in Sydney had the greatest confidence in his ability and judgement and amongst those who knew him existed a bond of friendship which death alone could sever 9'.
The Sydney Marine Underwriters Association was formed by 19 marine insurance companies in 1876. In 1898 it was incorporated as a company.
Arthur Briggs
Arthur Briggs spent over 20 years working as a diver on the New South Wales coast. Of these he spent 10 working for the Sydney Marine Underwriters Association.The Daily Telegraph reported that 'He has worked on nearly every wreck along the coast 10'. In particular he was associated with the raising of the Centennial when she sank, while coaling her bunkers in Taylors Bay.
During his career he also worked as a pearl diver in Torres Strait.
27
Notes
l.Sydney Morning Herald; Monday 10th April 1876;
2.Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate; Saturday 8th April 1876;
3.Sydney Morning Herald; Monday 10th April 1876;
4.Sydney Morning Herald; 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th and 30th September 1879;
S.Diary of captain J. Petherbridge of the S.S. Duckenfield. Transcribed by Alan and Neil McLennan. The Diary is the property of Mrs Joan Wallace, Terrigal, New South Wales. Pgs 1,2.
6.Daily Telegraph, Friday 31st May 1889;
7.Sydney Morning Herald; Thursday 30th May 1889;
8.Daily Telegraph; 28th August 1895;
9.Australasian Banking and Insurance Review, 19th June 1897. Pg 411;
10.Daily Telegraph; 28th August 1895;
DUCKENFIELD
Ship Details
Type:
Rig:
Dimensions:
Construction:
Engines:
Gross Tonnage:
Official Number:
Port Number:
Builder:
Signal Flags:
28
Screw Steamer.
Schooner.
161.2 I X 24 I X 12 I
Iron.
Two cylinder, vertical, 'Direct-acting', compound type,60 hp.
368
10807
6 of 1876, Sydney.
J. & W. Dudgeon.
WNTS
29
DUNBAR
The Dunbar was on her second voyage to Australia when she was wrecked in August 1857.
She was ordered by Duncan Dunbar from James Laing and Sons of Sunderland in response to the demand for ships to carry passengers to the Australian goldfields.The firm built a number of ships for Duncan Dunbar over a period of eighteen years. Other ships in Duncan Dunbar's fleet include the Vimiera, La Hogue and Waterloo.
James Laing and Sons was formed in 1793. When the Dunbar was built the firm was controlled by Sir James Laing, who was the son of one of the founders, Phillip Laing.
The Dunbar was laid down on 17th September 1852 and launched on 30th November 1853. She cost nearly £30,000, which, at a tonnage of 1321 gross tons meant that she cost £22 15s per ton to build. She was expensive, but her cost was indicative of the costs associated with building first class ships at that time.
She was built of British Oak and decked with East India Teak. She was copper fastened throughout, and built with iron knees. Her masts were made of teak. The mainmast weighed 9 tons, and the foremast 8. She was 201feet 9 inches long.
The Illustrated London News described her as follows. 'The poop is eighty two feet in length and seven feet in height; it is tastefully panelled in front and ornamented with a row of pillars of polished teak; and it will be fitted up with all the elegance of modern upholstery for the enjoyment of first class passengers. great attention has been paid to ventilation in all parts of the vessel. The between decks has the appearance of a large hall, each berth being separately lighted 1'.
As was usual on a Dunbar ship, the figurehead was a British lion. It was carved by James Brooker of Maryport. The stern carvings were by James Lindsay, carver to Queen Victoria.
When launched she was described as an 'East Indiaman' 2, or as a 'Blackwall Passenger Frigate' 3.
In design terms she was a descendant of the 'East Indiamen' and 'Blackwallers' built in the 1840s. When she was launched she was the largest ship ever built at Sunderland.
The Dunbar was initially employed as a troop transport ship in the Crimean War and it was not until 1856 that she was employed in the Australian trade.
30
On 1st July she sailed from Plymouth, England for Sydney, Australia, under the command of Captain Green. On board she had 58 passengers and a cargo of iron, round shot, beer, brandy, manufactured goods and sundries.
On Saturday 27th September 1856 she arrived in Port Jackson and was much admired. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 'The Dunbar is a splendid vessel, sister ship to La Hogue 4 •.
She stayed 3 months and returned to England on.27th December 1856. By May the next year she was back in England and ready for her second voyage.
The Wrecking
On the 31st May 1857 she sailed from Plymouth under the command of Captain Green. On board she had 59 crew and 63 passengers. Of these, 39 were listed as first class and 24 as second and third class passengers. Amongst the first class passengers were John and Thomas Mylnes and their two sisters.
On 16th August 1857 King Island was sighted at the entrance to Bass Strait and Captain Green altered course to go through the Straits. The wind was fresh and blowing from the west, and the ship was under double reefed topsails. The Dunbar passed through the straits that night and on the evening of the 17th rounded Cape Howe. She was close hauled and still under double reefed topsails. The wind had gone around to the southeast and the sea was moderate. Visibility was poor.
On Thursday evening, 20th August she was 81 days out from Plymouth and off Botany Bay.
At the inquest into the deaths of those on board, Seaman James Johnson, the only survivor, described the conditions of that evening: 'we were under easy sail, sail having been shortened after we saw the land; we had on our topgallant sails, and we had three reefs in the main, and four reefs in the foretopsail; the mizzen topsail was stowed, and the spanker was brailed up; the inner jib and the main top mast staysail were taken in; the weather was squally with thick rain. s·.
The wind was from the south east and the Dunbar was sailing close hauled towards the north east.
Just before sunset the Dunbar was sighted by the look-out man at Macquarie lighthouse, Henry Parker, who was able to distinguish her red lion figurehead and painted ports. He immediately signalled the Sydney Post Office -'Sail ho'. He then tried to signal the Dunbar using 'Maryats Code';
4910 -'What ship is that';
1495 -'Where do you come from';
3 1
1693 -'How many days are you out'.
He got no reply.
At 7pm the watch on deck sighted the Macquarie Light. The Dunbar was sailing easily and there was plenty of searoom. Johnson stated that at this time: 'she was making heavy leeway; it is my impression that she had not got enough sail on her to prevent her making this leeway 6'. Captain Green must have been of the same opinion for he believed that the ship was further north than she actually was.
At 8pm the watch was relieved. It was raining hard and the Macquarie Light could only be seen at intervals.
When the light was abeam of the mizzen mast, Captain Green wore the ship around to port, standing in towards the shore and the entrance to Sydney Harbour. At this moment Captain Green believed that he was northeast of North Head.
An extra man was ordered to take the wheel. The yards were squared and the foresail was brailed up to provide visibility forward. It was now about 11 pm and the ship was running before a heavy sea and fresh squalls of rain.
Two men and the 3rd mate were in the forecastle. They were joined by the 2nd mate. Captain Green called out: 'Do you see anything of North Head ?' The 2nd mate replied: 'No, I see nothing at all T.By this time the Macquarie Light was on the port bow. Captain Green ordered the helmsmen to keep their luff, and a blue light was burnt in an attempt to signal the pilot. It was held over the port side by the steward, and it burnt for three or four minutes.
Captain Green still believed that he was northeast of the heads and that open water lay between the Dunbar and the land. Somewhere in between should have been the pilot boat.
A few moments later the second mate sang out: 'Breakers ahead 8'.
The Macquarie Light suddenly loomed above the ship. Captain Green ordered the helm to be put down to port and the port braces hauled in. The ship slowly turned to port and shortly after, struck the rocks south of the Gap. Her bows immediately swung around to the north and stern to the south, so that she was broadside on to the oncoming breakers, listing to port. The time was just after midnight.
The passengers panicked. After the first bumps the topmasts came down. At the same time a sea broke over the starboard rail and stove in the boats. The mizzen mast then crashed over the side, followed by the main mast. The foremast remained standing. Shortly after, the Dunbar started to break up, the stern taking the brunt of the battering from the sea. Johnson said at this point
-----
32
that : 'The sea did not break right over her and even when the weather side broke up, the lee side offered some shelter 9'.
Johnson was on the poop and he clung to the mizzen chains. When these gave way he tried to get to the cabin. However the seas drove him back. He then went below and made his way forward. He then climbed out of a cabin skylight to leeward and climbed the chain plates of the foremast.
Eventually these gave way, and Johnson was washed onto the rocks, amongst a heap of timber and rubbish.
When daylight came, Johnson found himself some 10 feet above the sea, surrounded by wreckage, and the dead bodies of his fellow crew members and passengers.
A day later, on Saturday 22nd, Johnson was seen by sightseers at the foot of the cliffs. The authorities were notified and were soon on the spot. Johnson was rescued and then taken to the Marine Hotel where he was attended to by Dr West.
It took some time for the authorities and the people of Sydney to realize that the Dunbar had been wrecked.
At 7.30am on Friday morning, the 21st, two pilots at Watson Bay saw wreckage in the harbour. They then climbed up to South Head and found: 'a portion of a large vessel ashore between the Gap and the Lighthouse lO'.
Earlier, the steamer Grafton from the Clarence River had entered the harbour with Captain Wiseman in command. He reported passing pieces of timber, bales, bedding and other items which indicated a recent wreck.
Bodies and wreckage were washed up in Middle Harbour including a mailbag marked 'No 2 per Dunbar, Plymouth May 29 '. Witnesses said that: 'the shore is literally white with candles, and the rocks covered a foot or more deep with articles of every kind; boots, panama hats, and bonnets and pieces of timber 11'
In addition, 40 to 50 feet of the keel and timber flooring was washed ashore in Hunters Bay. The forces involved in the wrecking were evident. The timber was split and mangled, and the copper fastenings, some nearly two inches in diameter, were twisted and bent.
The NSW mounted police went to Middle Harbour to arrange the removal of bodies to Sydney and guard the wreckage which had been washed ashore. In addition the government chartered the steamer Black Swan, and sent her down the harbour to search for survivors, bodies and other remains.
33
Over at Manly, Mr. P. Cohen of the Manly Beach Hotel, reported that he saw two bodies floating and he tried to recover them. However he had to battle a number of sharks, and eventually had to let the bodies go.
Over at South Head witnesses saw: 'Corpses of men, women and children! some of them fearfully mutilated ... head and limbs which had been torn off by repeated concussions against the rocks, were thrown up as if in jeering mockery of the very element that had caused their destruction 12'.
A funeral was held in Sydney for the dead. There were seven hearses, four mourning coaches and a long procession of carriages. The last hearse contained the remains of Captain Steine, a retired naval officer. His coffin was draped with the Union Jack and was followed by a company of sailors and two officers from HMS Herald and HMS Iris. Captain Macbeth, the uncle of Captain Green was also in attendance
The procession was described as follows. 'The band of the Artillery Companies formed a part of the procession and played the Dead March from Saul with fine effect. A company of artillery with two officers between whom rode his Excellency the Governor's Aide-de-Camp, followed. The footpaths throughout the streets of this city were literally walled with people. In proportion to the number of inhabitants, never can we recollect a scene in which the feeling of the people was so keenly and manifestly exhibited '
The shops, with one or two exceptions were closed along the whole line of the road, and the streets thronged with silent and awestruck citizens, many of whom seemed much moved, while the knell, sounding from some of the church bells, and flags hoisted half mast high, added materially to the general gloom 13 '.
The funeral cortege arrived at the cemetery in O'Connel Town in the evening and the dead were interred.
In a very practical sense the disaster reminded everybody of the frailty of the human condition. It emphasised the isolation of the colony from Europe and its dependence on the sea for transport and communication. On a personal level it illustrated the harshness of the physical environment and the difficulties of trying to live in those times.
Among the dead were John and Thomas Mylne and their two sisters. They were graziers from Etonmill Station in the Clarence River district.
Etonmill Station was established in 1839 by John and James, and later Thomas Mylne. They helped establish and improve horse breeding in the district, which, until the 1880s was considered the Australian home of the thoroughbred. The Sydney Morning Herald (lOth August 1947), reported that 'The celebrated mare Splendora, to which so many of the cracks of today trace back their pedigrees, Goldfinger and Kelpie, a celebrated stallion which improved the horse stock of the colony, were imported by them 14'
34
The paper also reported that just before their expected arrival home ' ... The people of the district had prepared the station house and arranged a grand ball for this justly esteemed family, when, like a thunderclap came the dreadful news. Thus on that night most of the Mylne family perished 15'.
\ Shortly after, James Mylne left for England and died on the ship near Malta. The other survivors of the family returned to England and the station was broken up.
The town of Mylneford on the Upper Clarence was named after the family.
Other notable persons to lose their lives in the disaster were Mrs Egan, wife of Mr Daniel Egan M. L.A., their daughter and her husband; and Mr J G Walter who was the author of several articles on immigration which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald.
There was much discussion regarding the cause of the wreck and the methods which could be employed to prevent a repetition of the disaster.
The general conclusion among other ships' captains was that considering the circumstances, Captain Green had acted in a prudent and safe manner. He was on a leeshore and had not been able to get a navigational fix for several days. His landfall at Botany Bay had been made by dead reckoning. The weather was foul and the coast between Botany Bay and Sydney Heads could not be seen. When he altered course he believed his ship was northeast of North Head. He was unaware that he was south of his expected position.
At the inquest no blame was attached to Captain Green or his officers. The jury said that in their opinion the disaster illustrated the inadequacies of the present pilot arrangements at the Heads and that the matter should be drawn to the attention of the government.
A contributor to the Sydney Morning Herald, a, 'well-known colonial author', also commented on the matter. He asked for more lights along the coast, especially at the Heads and preferably on, or adjoining South Head. He suggested 'that a light should be placed where the turning point of the entrance takes place-in this case the low point of the South Reef- a red light visible eight miles 16'.
He added that there should also be a more effective system of pilotage, similar to that employed at Port Phillip Heads. A Pilot Cutter capable of keeping at sea in any weather should be employed.
On the night of the disaster the cutter would have been cruising 10 to 13 miles south west of the heads and would have placed a pilot on board the Dunbar before night set in. Failing that the Pilot cutter could have signalled the Dunbar to follow her .. .'as is continually done on the coast of England 17'
35
In 1858, the year after the disaster, a lighthouse was erected on Inner South Head. Lighthouses were also erected at Nobby's Head, off Newcastle and at Cape St George, south of Jervis Bay.
Bodies and wreckage continued to be found, north and south of the Heads, days after the funeral.
James Johnson was eventually employed in Newcastle as the lighthouse keeper. On 12th July 1866 he single-handedly rowed a dinghy out to rescue the only survivor of the Cawarra which had been wrecked on the Oyster Bank at the mouth of the harbour.
The Sydney Morning Herald 18 reported that in 1947, on each anniversary of the disaster, people still visited the Camperdown Cemetary (O'Connel Town), to pay their respects to those who were drowned on that fateful night in August 1857.
At the time of her last voyage the Dunbar was valued at £100,000 and her cargo at £22,000.
36
Notes
l.Illustrated London News; 27th December 1853;
2.Ibid;
3.MacCregor. D, 1984, Merchant Sailing Ships 1850 - 1875. Conway Maritime Press & Lloyds of London Press, London. Pg 55
4.Sydney Morning Herald; Monday 29th September 1856;
S.A Narrative of the Melancholy Wreck of the 'Dunbar' Merchant Ship on the South Head of Port jackson, August 20th 1857 with Illustrations of the Principle Localities. Published for the Proprietors by James Fryer, 1857. Pg 10;
6.Ibid. Pg 10;
7.Ibid. Pg 11;
8.Ibid. Pg 11;
9 .Ibid. Pg 12;
1 O.Ibid. Pg 4;
11.Ibid. Pg 7;
12.Ibid. Pg 6;
13.Ibid. Pg 13;
14.Ibid. Pg 14;
15.Sydney Morning Herald; lOth August 1947;
16.Ibid.
DUNBAR
Ship Details
Type
Rig
Dimensions
Construction
Registered tonnage
Builders
37
Ship.
3 masts, square rigged.
201.9' X 35' X 22.7'
Wood, British Oak and Teak.
1321 tons.
James Laing and Sons.
..
38
JOHN PENN
The John Penn was ordered by Mr. Williamson, President of the Bank of New Zealand for Mr. J. Johnson of Mewburn Park. She was built from lines and specifications drawn by Mr. R. Johnson, the government Inspector of Steamships at Wellington, New Zealand 1.
In contrast The Illustrated London News stated that the John Penn had 'been specially constructed from designs by Mr. Geo. C. Mackrow, Naval Architect 2'.
She was built in 1867 by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, at Blackwall in England, and was completed in 3 months. She incorporated a number of design features to help her navigate the dangerous entrances to the ports on the New Zealand west coast. These included a centreboard, which had a drop of 6 feet and was 12 feet long, to improve her seakeeping and sailing qualities.
She also had a shallow draught, internal water ballast tanks and twin screws. She was capable of 10 knots and had accommodation for 70 first and second class passengers. Her cabins were described as follows, ' ... her saloon being fitted up in such a manner that beds can be made up for thirty eight saloon and steerage passengers, also a ladies cabin amidships 3'.
Provisions were also made to carry cattle and horses. Her engines were built by John Penn and Sons of Deptford, London, and consisted of a pair of 2 cylinder, horizontal 'Trunk' engines, capable of 50 horse power. She was fitted with tubular boilers, with brass tubes and 3 furnaces. The John Penn was 140 feet long with a beam of 22.6 feet and a depth of 8.1 feet.She was named after John Penn and Sons.
She drew 6 feet when fully laden and was capable of carrying 150 tons of cargo and 50 tons of coal, enough for 6 days steaming.
On 11th of October, 1867 she sailed from the Downs under the command of Captain Meiklham and she arrived in Melbourne, on Friday 21st February 1868, enroute to Wellington. After her bottom had been cleaned and trials carried out she sailed for New Zealand.
On arrival, she was employed carrying agricultural produce, cattle, horses and passengers. In April 1869, she was registered at the Port of Auckland in the name of Mr. J. Johnson. She continued to operate until 1870 when her ownership was transferred to the New Zealand Insurance Company as mortgagees. It is possible that Johnson got into financial difficulties and was forced to sell his interest in the ship.
On the 5th of February 1871 she sailed from Auckland for Sydney under the command of Captain Carey. She arrived on Thursday 14th of February 1871, in ballast, with 18 passengers on board. The Sydney Morning Herald reported
~;:-;:;
\:~·7~::~:.::: -;. ~~-- : -.= .... ·~:&:..~ . .;·.
- ~ .· .. - .. -· . --.:-.._r;.f.'"; ;:-=-:.
j~~{~~. · ~ -'·.
··/ :."') ·; - ...
- -·-. -· r..:.;. ·..:- r .•
-:-~,.:~· :\-~-~ -·~
·-·-·
·.•· :.. . ':i~i;s::~~-
The twin-screw steamer John Penn, for New Zealand.
(Illustrated London News Saturday 15th February 1868)
--------
39
that she had: 'been purchased by Messrs Montefiore and Co for the purpose of trading between this port and New Caledonia 4'.
There is no record of her working in this trade. It is possible that Montefiores were unable to compete against other companies, such as the Australasian Steam Navigation Company which already had ships in service between Sydney and Noumea.
In March, the John Penn was auctioned by R. F. Stubbs and Co. of Sydney and was bought by the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company (I.S.N.Co). She was considered a good buy, well suited to the shallow rivers and harbour entrances on the south coast.
On 25th of April, 1871 she started service under the command of Captain Sheed. Her first voyage was to Moruya.
On 3rd May she arrived in Sydney from Merimbula with 40 kegs of butter, 50 bags of bark, 100 cheeses, sundries and 7 passengers. On lOth May she was back in Sydney having sailed from the Clyde River with 50 bags of bark, 140 kegs of butter and 70 pigs s. During that month she made 5 return voyages.
In 1879 she was still in the south coast trade. In September of that year she made four return voyages. A typical voyage was as follows.On Monday 15th she sailed from Merimbula at Sam and arrived at Eden at llam. She then took on cargo and sailed for Tathra where she arrived at 4.30pm. Her cargo was unloaded and she sailed for Sydney at 8pm. South of Wreck Bay she ran into an easterly gale and took shelter in Jervis Bay. On Wednesday morning, 17th, she sailed and arrived at Wollongong at 2.30pm. Here she took on cargo and left at 3.30pm. She arrived at Sydney Heads at 8.30pm. Her cargo consisted of 280 kegs of butter, 11 casks of whale oil from the shore whaling station at Eden, 30 kegs of bark, 50 bags of potatoes, 300 cheeses and 25 cases of eggs 6.
In June the John Penn was cut in half and lengthened by 20 feet. Her engines were taken out and converted to a compound, 'Horizontal' direct acting type, and the trunks removed. She was also fitted with a round topped, return flue box boiler. The work was done by Morts Dock and Engineering Company at Waterview Bay, Balmain.
After she these modifications she was found to be less seaworthy, although more economical to run.
The Wrecking
On Friday afternoon, 7th of November 1879, the fohn Penn sailed from Tathra for Sydney, with a mixed cargo and a number of passengers. At midnight a thick fog settled along the coast making it impossible to see more than half the length of the ship.
40
The land could not be seen and just before 2am she struck the rocks at the foot of Burrawara Head, holing her forward end. The sea was smooth and Captain Holden, the passengers and crew disembarked onto the rocks. At 3 am Captain Holden dispatched the chief officer and a crew man in one of the ship's boats, to Batemans Bay , 12 miles away. When they arrived they advised the master of the Hunter of the stranding.
In the morning the Hunter steamed to the site, arriving at noon, and took on board the passengers and cargo. The Sydney Morning Herald (Wednesday 12th November 1879), reported that 'Shipping the ladies and children was a perilous undertaking, but they all behaved themselves admirably and no accident occured 7'. Hawsers were then passed between the two ships and at highwater, an attempt was made to refloat the John Penn. After considerable effort she was pulled free of the rocks, despite having over 6 feet of water in her forward hold.
The Hunter then attempted to beach the John Penn in Broulee Bay, but at 6pm she founded while under tow. She came to rest in 12 metres of water on a sand bottom, with her funnel awash at low tide.
The Hunter then proceeded to Batemans Bay. On Sunday 9th the Hunter returned to the site with the steamer Kiama and attempted to drag the John Penn inshore. They were unsuccessful. The Hunter then returned to Batemans Bay, and on the following morning sailed for Sydney, where she arrived at 8 am on Tuesday 11th of November.
The Moruya Liberal reported, 'We learn from Captain Holden, who is now in the vicinity of the wreck, that the company will make every effort to float his ship, and he is sanguine of the result; in fact, he believes he will have her in Sydney in less than a fortnight 8' .. It is not known if any attempts were made to raise the John Penn.
The wreck was subsequently sold at auction on the 3rd of December 1879, for £250.
At the Marine Board of Enquiry, Captain Holden claimed that the ship's compass was in error. At the time of the grounding he said he was steering north-half-east which should. have taken him well clear of the land. The Board found him to be negligent in not slowing his ship, and using a sounding lead when the fog descended. His certificate was cancelled for 3 months.
41
Notes
1.Age; Saturday 22nd February 1868;
2.Illustrated London News; Saturday 15th February 1868;
3.Age; Saturday 22nd February 1868;
4.Sydney Morning Herald; Saturday 25th February 1871;
5.Ibid; Tuesday 9th May and Thursday 11th May 1871;
6.Ibid; Thursday 18th September 1879;
7.Ibid; Wednesday 12th November 1879;
8.Ibid; Tuesday 18th November 1879.
JOHN PENN
Ship Details
Type:
Rig:
Dimensions:
Construction:
Engines:
Gross Tonnage:
Official Number:
Port Number:
Builder:
42
Twin Screw Steamer.
2 masted topsail schooner.
1867: 140' X 22.6' X 8.1' 1879: 160' X 22.6 ' X 8.1'
Iron.
2, two cylinder, horizontal 'Trunk', 50 hp; (1879) converted to a compound, horizontal direct acting.
1867: 199.35 tons. 1879: 236.13 tons.
56860
20 of 1871, Sydney; 30 of 1879, Sydney.
Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company.
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------
43
LORD ASHLEY ! f-..f
The Lord Ashley was built in l1;;;J in' ~ull, England for Pearson, Coleman and Co of Grimsby. They formea_/the Intercolonial Royal Mail Steam Packet Company of London, and employed the Lord Ashley and the Lord Worsley to run a combined intercolonial and inter-provincial service, between Sydney and New Zealand. Formed in 1859, the company was subsidised by both the British and New Zealand Governments.
The Lord Ashley arrived in Auckland in October 1858. She was 188 feet long with a beam of 24 feet and a depth of 13 feet. She was fitted with a two cylinder, 'Trunk' engine, generating 80 horsepower. She had three masts and was rigged as schooner.
In 1858 she made her first trip across the Tasman, arriving in Sydney on the 11th of November. Over the next year she was primarily employed on the New Zealand coast, only making 2 trips to Sydney (June 14th and August 13th 1859). An advertisement in The Auckland Weekly Register and Commercial Shipping Gazette, described her as being under the command of Captain A. Kennedy and being in service between New Plymouth, Nelson, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago. An entry in the Shipping Summary of the paper describes her as arriving in ' ... the Manukau from Nelson and the south,' via New Plymouth, with a cargo of ' ... 8 bullocks, 2 horses, sundries and 30 passenger 1'.
In 1860 she was employed principally on the trans-Tasman run to Sydney completing 7 return voyages. In in the following year she completed 15 and in 1862 she completed 9. In the same year she was acquired by the Panama and Australian Royal Mail Steam Packet Company.
At the end of 1862 she went back to the New Zealand coastal trade, making 1 or 2 voyages across the Tasman each year, to be refitted in Sydney. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Lord Ashley arrived in Sydney on 7th of December 1867 under the command of Captain Worsp from Hokitika. On board she had 142 passengers and 9191 ounce of gold. After unloading her cargo and disembarking her passengers, she went into refit. She was expected to return to New Zealand on January 5th 1868 2.
On July 14th 1869 her registry was transferred to Sydney. Port records show that she was owned by Shepherd Smith, banker of Sydney and Thomas Henderson and John Lawford of Auckland 3. They tried to maintain her in the trans-Tasman trade without success.
In February 1872 she was sold to John Edye Manning of Sydney who put her into service between Sydney and Rockhampton. She was popular and won considerable support, carrying passengers, wool, agricultural produce, manufactured goods and general cargo.
l
44
In April 1873, after a major refit at Morts Dockyard, she was chartered by the South Australian Government, to carry passengers to the Roper River and the Darwin Gold fields. She sailed from Sydney for the Roper River on April 19th, under the command of Captain Henry Bristow, calling at Brisbane, Townsville and Cardwell. On board were 63 passengers.
She remained at the Roper River for a number of weeks and did not sail until 4th June. She left at 4pm and arrived at Somerset, Cape York, on Saturday the 7th. She took on board a number of passengers and a cargo of pearl shell. She proceeded south to Cardwell where she arrived on Thursday 12th after a voyage of 4 days, averaging a sped of 9 knots. She then sailed for Cleveland Bay, Rockhampton, Maryborough, and Brisbane. Between Cleveland and Rockhampton she steamed through the eye of a cyclone, ' ... with heavy confused sea and much thunder and lightening and torrents of rain 4'. Sydney was reached at 8am, Friday 27th June 1873. She had been away for just over 2 months.
She was again advertised as being ready to sail to the Roper River and the Port Darwin Goldfields. The Sydney Morning Herald, reported that she would sail on Thursday 10th, 'The passage will be through the Inner Route with smooth water, and, avoiding all risks and affording passengers at the same time an opportunity of inspecting the New Mail Route via Torres Straits 5'.
There were problems attracting bookings. On Tuesday 22nd July she was still in port and was advertised as sailing to Melbourne to secure sufficient passengers 6. Tis was not sufficient inducement and on Wednesday 30th the agents advised that they would refund passage money and deposits 7.
They did not give up. On Friday 22nd of August they advertised that 'A large number of berths having been secured in Melbourne .. she will be dispatched to Port Darwin from Sydney about the 3rd September B'. Even this did not work and the charter was cancelled. On Saturday 6th September she was advertised in the same paper as returning to the Sydney, Brisbane, Gladstone and Rockhampton service. Perhaps this was a more profitable and reliable, given the recent discovery of gold at the Palmer River near Rockhampton.
In January 1874 the Lord Ashley encountered another cyclone. She was on a voyage from Rockhampton to Townsville. On Thursday 22nd, 'The glass fell by half-inch jumps from 30 to 26.80 in two hours. The ship lay on her beam ends; the scudd was so blinding that the funnel was often not visible from the bridge; everything above deck broke away; the horses were mostly swept overboard, but three, one after the other, with twenty to thirty tons of water, smashed in the steerage hatch and were (sic) pitched amongst the passengers. The two quarter boats were early carried away .... At last with the fires of the wing furnaces washed out and over six feet of waters in the hold, Captain Hurley managed to get the fore and main masts cut away' She then passed through the eye of the storm. 'She was got on the other tack, and when the storm broke again the steerage had been battened down" and we rode out the
45
remammg two hours, rolling frightfully and shipping tremendous seas but in comparative safety. We then lay-to for 36 hours to rest crew and pump ship 9'.
She arrived back in Sydney on February 27th and was immediately docked at Morts Dockyard, where new masts and spars were fitted, and her bulwarks, deck houses and deck were repaired.
In March she was nearly wrecked when she struck the Black Rocks (Rocky Island), about five miles south of Cape Capricorn. This time she was on a voyage from Brisbane to Rockhampton with 90 passengers, and a general cargo. At the time visibility was poor and the weather was squally. She was under sail and at 9.30pm land was sighted on the port and starboard bow. Shortly after, breakers were seen ahead.
Captain Bristow immediately ordered the engines astern and sail was taken in. Despite these precautions she struck a number of times. She appeared to suffer no damage and was got off.
On 3rd April she was dry docked at Morts Dockyard and her hull inspected. A small hole, approximately 1 inch in diameter was found on the port side of the bilge, while the paint had been scraped off the hull for a distance of 100 feet.
At the Marine Board of Enquiry it was held that the Lord Ashley was carelessly navigated and reprimanded Captain Bristow, ordering him to be more cautious in future.
The Lord Ashley was again in trouble in the early part of 1875. In January or February, the date is uncertain, the propeller shaft and stern gland broke, flooding the after compartments. At the time allegations were also made that Captain Bristow had been drunk while in command of his vessel. Two cabin passengers said that after the shaft broke, Captain Bristow had behaved like a 'drunken hog 10'.
John Manning, the owner of the Lord Ashley charged Bristow with being drunk, on this, and a number of other occasions. A Marine Board of Enquiry was convened to hear the complaint. In his letter to the President of the Marine Board (dated 8th April 1875), Manning requested that the charges be considered before the, ' ... Lord Ashley proceeds to New Caledonia with the mail' 11'.
The findings of the Board are unknown, however, a letter from Captain Bristow to the Board dated 9th November 1878, suggests that he may have lost his Master's certificate. In the letter he states, 'I find myself utterly ruined in reputation and circumstances 12'
46
One wonders if the increasing age of the Lord Ashley and the mechanical problems she was experiencing, as well as the stresses and strains of commanding a small ship, may not have contributed to his unfortunate situation.
One does not know how sympathetic Manning was to Bristow's problems. He mentions in his letter to the President that he only retains him ' .. out of consideration of his family (and) the difficulty of replacing him 13'.Perhaps the latter argument was more true!
In mid-1875 Manning won the contract to carry the European mails to Noumea. He held the contract for one year and employed the Lord Ashley in this trade.
On Saturday 1st April she arrived in Sydney under the command of Captain Woods. On board were 23 first class passengers and a cargo consisting of' 174 tons of nickel ore, 2 tons old rope, 37 bags , 4 bales of cotton, 18 sacks, 8 bales wool, 130 hides, Quarter casks port wine, 62 bags fungus, 45 bags heche-demer. 2 cooks tallow, 1 bundle skins, 94 bags bark, 33 casks, 41 hogsheads, 4 cases cordials, 50 packaged sundries 14'.
In between voyages to Noumea, Manning employed the Lord Ashley on the Queensland coast.
In June 1877 the Lord Ashley was chartered by George R. Dibbs and Co of Newcastle and converted into a collier in Sydney, at a cost of £2000. It was intended to employ her between Newcastle and Melbourne, under contract to the Victorian government. Most of her passenger accommodation was removed and she was fitted with friction steam winches and extra hatches. It was expected that she would carry 600 tons of coal while having enough for her own use.
She retained her Marine Board Passenger Certificate and offered limited passenger accommodation, at a reduced rate. On the 30th June 1877 she sailed to Newcastle under the command of Captain Randall.
On Thursday 13th July she sailed for Melbourne with a cargo of coal. She encountered a severe gale north of Sydney and tried to get back to Newcastle. The seas breaking at the entrance to the harbour prevented her from entering and she was forced to run for Sydney. It was later reported that she was forced back, not only because of the weather, but also because of the 'incompetency of some of the crew 15'. At the same time allegations were made in Newcastle that she had sailed 'overloaded and unseaworthy 16'.
On Wednesday 25th of July the Lord Ashley was specially surveyed in Sydney by the officers of the Marine Board and surveyors from the New Zealand Insurance Company. She was still loaded with coal and they, ' ... expressed themselves perfectly satisfied 17' with her. At Spm on the same day she sailed for Melbourne.
47
A number of return voyages were made without incident. On 30th August, while Lord Ashley was in Melbourne, Captain Randall was charged with unlawfully employing a negro cook, without entering into a formal contract, as required under the Merchant Shipping Act. The man, Joseph Watson Southman told the court that after a voyage of 27 days to Portland, Melbourne and Sydney he had been discharged without being paid any wages. Captain Randall, in absentia, was fined £5 with 2 guineas costs. The Lord Ashley sailed for Newcastle on 29th August.
The Wrecking
At 2 pm Saturday 8th September 1877 the Lord Ashley sailed from Newcastle with 484 tons of coal. Before leaving she had been inspected by the harbour officials and pronounced seaworthy. She was under the command of Captain Donald McAuley and was carrying John Manning as a passenger.
As she steamed down the coast she encountered a strong northeast wind. At Spm it was noticed that the ship was making water. Though the pumps were started, the water continued to rise. Eventually it reached the stokehole plates and flooded the ashpits. Dry coal was then taken out of the main hold by the crew, and passed down to the Chinese firemen in the engine room, who continued to work the fires until the rising water put them out. At this moment the engines stopped and the ship became unmanageable, rolling heavily in the swell.
Captain McAuley consulted his officers and the decision was made to abandon ship. The crew, including Mr. Manning and Captain McAuley then got into the boats and rowed clear of the ship. By this time the water was over the engine room floor.
The boats stood by for some time watching the Lord Ashley slowly drift towards Terrigal Reef. Captain McAuley then rowed back to the ship and let go the anchors, in an attempt to prevent her running aground. At this stage the main deck was awash and it looked as though she would founder. Captain McAuley was then picked up by one of the boats and the survivors rowed to Terrigal.
The anchors did not hold and the Lord Ashley struck a rocky point, east of the reef. At about 9pm a heavy sea swept over her and she broke in two. The bow dropped and became totally submerged. In the morning she was still visible from the shore and continued to be battered by the heavy northeast swell. At Sam the funnel went over the side. She was then totally awash and was abandoned as a total loss.
The cargo and all the crews' possessions were lost. The crew were taken into the care of Mr. Davis, the shipbuilder at Terrigal.
48
The cause of the leak remained unknown. Despite this, it is suspected that while the Lord Ashley was loading coal at Newcastle, she may have grounded and holed herself on some underwater obstruction.
At the Marine Board of Enquiry Captain McAuley was found to be not at fault. The ship was insured with the New Zealand Insurance Company for £7000.
49
Notes
1. The Auckland Weekly Register and Commercial Shipping Gazette; Monday 24th October 1859;
2.Sydney Morning Herald; Monday 9th December 1867;
3.Register of British Shipping, Port of Sydney;
4.Sydney Morning Herald; Saturday 28th June 1873;
5.Ibid; Saturday 5th July 1873;
6.Ibid; Tuesday 22nd July 1873;
7.Ibid; Wednesday 30th July 1873;
8.Ibid; Friday 22nd August 1873;
9.Ibid; Saturday 14th February 1874;
lO.Letter; Mr J. Manning to The President of the Marine Board, Sydney. April 8th 1875. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library;
11. Ibid;
12.Letter; Captain Bristow to Captain Hixson, Chairman of the Marine Board. November 6th 1878. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library;
13.Letter; Mr J. Manning to The President of the Marine Board, Sydney. April 8th 1875. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library;
14.Sydney Morning Herald; 3rd April 1876;
15.Ibid; 4th July 1877;
16.Callen. T, 1986, Bar Dangerous. A Maritime History of Newcastle. Newcastle Region Maritime Museum in association with the Runciman Press, Manly, New South Wales. Pg 57;
17.Sydney Morning Herald; Saturday 4th August 1877.
LORD ASHLEY
Ship Details
Type:
Rig:
Dimensions:
Construction:
Engines:
Gross Tonnage:
Official Number:
Port Number:
SignalFlags:
50
Screw- steamer.
Three masted schooner.
188' x 24.8'x 13.4'
Iron.
2 cylinder, 'Trunk' ; 80 horsepower.
435.37 tons
16670
57 of 1869; Sydney.
MCLH
5 1
MERIMBULA
The Merimbula was ordered by the Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company, after the loss of the Bega, which sank off Tathra on 5th April 1908, after striking a submerged object.
The Merimbula was built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company of Troon, Scotland, and was launched in 1909. She was 209.6 feet long with a beam of 32.2 feet. She was fitted with twin, triple expansion engines, also built by Ailsa, and two boilers built by Hudson and Son of Glasgow. She had 2 internal ballast tanks and 4 bulkheads. In addition she was fitted with electric light and refrigeration equipment. She had twin screws and was capable of 14 knots.
She was designed for the New South Wales south coast passenger service and was the largest vessel ever ordered by the company. She had accommodation for 96 first class and 10 second class passengers. The first class cabins were 'L' shaped, based on the 'Bibby' system, which allowed each cabin to have its own porthole.
On 20th October 1909 she sailed from the Clyde under the command of Captain Plugge. Ten days later she passed through the Suez Canal before calling at Aden, Colombo, Fremantle and Albany. She arrived in Sydney on 19th December, 1909.
On arrival she was immediately put into service on the south coast. Her normal run was from Sydney to Bermagui, Tathra, Merimbula, Eden and return. She normally did two trips a week, Thursday to Sunday for the first, and Monday to Wednesday for the second. She was also employed on other services, both inter and intrastate.
Soon after she was put into service she was found to be tender, especially in rough weather. She had poor initial stability and corrected her heel slowly. To rectify this problem a large number of cast iron blocks were placed in the hold. This solved the problem but reduced her cargo space.
She remained in the south coast trade throughout World War 1. In 1917, in company with the tugs Champion and fames Patterson, she helped refloat the Cumberland which had been run aground on Gabo Island after being mined off Green Cape on 12th August.
In 1918 the Merimbula was chartered by J. Rowe and Sons of Hobart to carry apples, agricultural produce and passengers between Hobart, Sydney and Brisbane. She was also employed as a Bass Strait ferry between Melbourne and Launceston, replacing the Rotomaha when that ship was out of service.
In August 1920 she was again under charter carrying coal from Newcastle to Hobart. On arrival in Hobart, her holds were cleaned out and she took on board a cargo of apples and other fruit. She then steamed for Brisbane.
52
The Merimbula was only employed in the Tasmanian and other trades, when business was slack on the south coast.
In 1921 her second class accommodation was removed and converted into crew space. This was done to satisfy new regulations concerning award conditions for seamen.
During the 1920s the south coast trade declined in the face of competition from the railways and the roads.The Merimbula carried fewer passengers and found it increasingly difficult to find cargoes.
The Wrecking
The Merimbula arrived in Sydney from Eden on Sunday, 25th March, 1928 at 8.45 am. She unloaded her cargo and disembarked her passengers, and at 4pm she sailed on the return trip.
She was under the command of Captain O'Connor and as she headed south the weather deteriorated. Rain squalls set in and the sea became rough.
On Monday morning at 1pm she ran aground, in poor visibility, on a rocky reef off Beecroft Point north of Jervis Bay. She holed her forward section and came to rest with her bow high and dry on the reef and her stern lying in deeper water.
The initial shock of the grounding brought everybody on deck. Rain was falling and the engines were stopped. The crew and the passengers stood by the lifeboats waiting for the order to abandon ship. Rescue rockets were fired. There was no answer. Shortly afterwards Captain O'Connor announced that the ship appeared to be fairly safe. The passengers went below to eat and await the dawn, while the crew checked the hull.
In the morning it was still raining and the sea was rough. The boats were lowered and the passengers were rowed across to the mouth of the Currarong Creek. After exploring the foreshore they found shelter in a fisherman's hut.
In the meantime, Captain O'Connor and some of his crew set out to find help. Captain O'Connor walked across Beecroft Peninsula to the Lighthouse at Point Perpendicular, which he reached at 11am, soaking wet and tired. He then telephoned the Illawara and South Coast Steam Navigation Company in Sydney to advise them of the grounding. The lighthouse keeper, Pilot Evans also notified Sergeant Matheson in Nowra of the situation.
When the news reached Nowra, three cars were sent down to pick up the passengers who were taken back to Nowra, and accommodated at the Prince of Wales Hotel.
The crew and remaining passengers stayed with the stricken vessel. On the 28th Captain Cuthbert, surveyor to the Sydney Underwriters Association, and
53
Mr W A.R. Douglas, surveyor to the Illawara and South Coast Steam Navigation Company arrived at the site.They concluded that there was only a remote chance of refloating the Merimbula. The bow was high and dry, and the stern awash. She was listing to port and was in continuous motion due to the sea and the tide.
The next day, Thursday 29th, the insurance underwriters announced that a decision had been made to try to refloat the Merimbula and that the steamer Currumbean had been chartered to tow her off. However, the next day the stern settled in 23 feet of water, submerging the hull as far as the afterhatch. In the bow there was a hole measuring 6 feet by 4 feet. It was then decided not to proceed with the salvage attempt and the charter was cancelled.
On Saturday 31st March the launch Radium, under the command of Captain Wilson arrived in Nowra with Captain O'Connor and the crew of the Merimbula. In tow were the ship's two lifeboats. The crew landed and then caught the evening train to Sydney.
The wreck of the Merimbula was auctioned by F.R. Strange Ltd in Sydney, on Monday, 2nd April. She was bought by Mr A.W. Cleary of Melbourne for £300. He hoped to refloat the ship using a coffer dam. The auctioneer advised that the wreck had a hole in her bow and that the stern was resting on the bottom. It was believed that one of the bulkheads had been carried away. Despite this the general opinion in the auction room was that there was a fair chance of salvage. One of the conditions of the sale was that the purchaser had to advise the owners of the Merimbula 's cargo that they would be allowed one week to claim their property.
A Marine Board of Enquiry was convened to investigate the cause of the wreck. The Board found that it could not state with any confidence, the cause of the stranding. Evidence was produced which suggested that an onshore current may have swept the Merimbula off course and on to the rocks. The Board dismissed this evidence and being unable to draw any conclusions, did not penalize Captain O'Connor.
The decision of the Board is interesting given that amongst the passengers on that fateful voyage were Captain J. Morris, Superintendent of Navigation for New South Wales, Captain N. Palmer, Shipping Inspector for the State Navigation Department and a Mr W. Armitage, also from the State Navigation Department.
Mr Cleary was not successful in refloating the Merimbula. At a later date explosives were used to blast open the hull to salvage her engines. These were removed along with a quantity of copper and brass fittings.
MERIMBULA
Ship Details
Type:
Rig:
Dimensions:
Construction:
Engines:
Gross tonnage:
Official Number:
Port Number:
Builders:
Signal Flags:
54
Screw Steamer.
Two masted Schooner.
209.6 I X 32.2' X 21.1'
Steel.
Two, 'Triple expansion'.
111.49
125225
3 in 1910; Sydney.
Ailsa Shipbuilding Company.
HPID
55
MIMOSA
The paddle steamer Mimosa sailed from Glasgow on 8th July 1854 in ballast. She was under the command of Captain N. Thorn who was accompanied by two children. She arrived in the port of Hobart on December 6th 1854 after a voyage of 130 days. She was rigged as a schooner. On arrival in Hobart her engines were set up and her paddle wheels installed.
The Mimosa was ordered by the Eastern Coast Steam Navigation Company, and she was built by Hoby and Company of Renfrew, Scotland and was launched in 1854. She was 140.6 feet long and fitted with 2 'Trunk' engines of 40 horsepower each. She was fitted with passenger accommodation and when loaded drew 5 feet 4 inches.
The East Coast Steam Navigation Company was formed in 1854 and was the first company to establish a regular steamship service on the east coast of Tasmania, connecting Launceston with Hobart. The principles of the firm were Frederick Maller, George Washington Walker and Basil Route, merchants of Hobart. The manager was Mr. Joseph Benson Mather.
The company's fleet included the Fenalla, later sold to the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company, the Duncan Hoyle which was sold to the Clarence and Richmond River Steam Navigation Company and the William Miskin.
The Mimosa was placed under the command of John McLachlan. On the 20th of February 1855 she was advertised as leaving Franklin Wharf at 6am to take members of the Derwent Cricket Club to Sorell. It was also advertised that 'A number of gentleman having expressed a wish to visit the auriferous fields at Macquarie Harbour; the directors have determined to send the powerful and fast steamer Mimosa, 70 horsepower, if sufficient inducement offers by the 24th instant'. It is expected the trip will occupy four days allowing two days for prospecting 1'.
Later in the month she completed her first voyage, calling at Bream Creek, Spring Bay, Maria Island, Prossers Bay, Little Swanport, Swansea, Schouten Island, Bicheno, Falmouth, and Georges River. According to a later report, the journey took 13 hours at an average speed of 10 knots.
The company also advised that they would carry 'fruit and other perishable articles .. fat lambs or sheep to market. Baskets will be left with the agents for the convenience of persons wishing to send poultry to town 2'. Sacks were also to be supplied for the shipment of grain.
Trips were also advertised to Richmond, Sorrel and Pittwater, leaving from the Franklin Wharf and that .. 'after the 26th she (Mimosa) would make 2 return trips a week and 1 return trip in the following week 3'. On Saturday 30th June she was reported returning to Hobart with a full cargo of wheat, oats and butter.
..
/
t -· · . -
~----------------
56
A typical voyage along the east coast between Hobart and Launceston was as follows. Captain McLachlan was instructed to call at Maria Island and land passengers and cargo; call at Spring Bay and pick up passengers and cargo for Launceston; land passengers and cargo at Swansea and pick up fruit for Mr. Meredith for Launceston; call at Schouten Island and coal the ship with twenty four tons of coal and three tons of wood provided by the Schouten Island coal mine; sail to Bicheno for passengers and cargo; pick up wool and oats at Falmouth for Launceston; call at Cape Portland and deliver letters and arrange about wool to be picked up on the return trip to Hobart; call at Forester for wool and oats; and Waterhouse for 200 bales of wool.
There was stiff competition for business, not only from other steamers, but also from sailing craft. The owners of the sailing vessel Circassia advertised in the Hobart Mercury that their vessel ' ... a regular trader between Swansea and Hobart town .. has much pleasure in announcing to the public the following reduced rates of charges 4'.The advertisement went on to detail the costs.
The Mimosa gained a reputation as a fast vessel and in 1855 she defeated the Culloden in a race from Hobart to Huon.
Despite its best efforts the East Coast Steam Navigation Company got into financial difficulties and went into liquidation in 1857. The company's fleet was then put up for sale.
The Mimosa was bought on 21st January 1858 by John Edye Manning of Sydney for £2000. He took out a mortgage of £3000 from George Walker and Basil Route to finance the purchase. She was put up on Mr. Roses slip in Hobart for maintenance, and placed under the command of Captain Sullivan.
On January 24th she sailed for Sydney in ballast with John Manning and four other passengers. Northeast of Patricks Head one of her eccentrics of the air pump broke and she was forced into Eden. After two days effecting repairs she sailed and arrived in Port Jackson on the 29th.
Manning immediately put her into the coastal trade carrying passengers and general cargo to the Clyde River and the gold fields at .Kiandra.
In March 1859 she was under the command of Captain Fletcher and on Thursday 3rd she arrived in Sydney from Merimbula with 31 passengers and a cargo consisting of 9 bales of wool; 150 bags of wheat; 85 kegs of butter; 30 pigs; 4 cases of cheeses; 3 bales of leather and sundries s.
On the 7th she was again back in Sydney, however, this time she had gone north to Port Macquarie 6. Eighteen days later on the 25th she returned after calling at Wollongong, Kiama and Shoalhaven, with a mixed cargo of potatoes, butter, maize, poultry, eggs, pigs and calves 7. On the 30th she returned from the Clyde River with 14 passengers and a cargo of general agricultural produce.
57
These voyages were typical of the Mimosa's employment for the next two years.
On 13th January 1860 Manning discharged his mortgage, and on 29th May 1861 he sold the Mimosa to the Illawara Steam Navigation Company of which he was a director.
In 1862 she was cut in half and lengthened by 22.3 feet. At the same time she was given a major overhaul of her engines.
The Mimosa now worked purely on the south coast carrying general cargo and an increasing amount of diary produce.
The Wrecking
The Mimosa left Two Fold Bay at 3 pm on Friday 18th September 1863 bound for Sydney. About 2 miles north of Tathra and 1 mile off shore, she struck an unmarked rock. The weather was fine and the sea smooth.
The engines were stopped and put astern but she immediately began to settle by the head. Captain Keft ordered the boats out and then went forward to call everybody up from below.
Once on deck the crew and passengers got into the boats which were then lowered. Captain Keft and his chief engineer were the last to leave the ship and as the boats pulled cleared, the Mimosa settled and went down.
Two of the steerage passengers, Mr and Mrs. Ivell were unaccounted for and were presumed to have gone down with the ship.
One of the boats under the command of Captain Keft landed on the coast 6 miles north of the wreck site, while the other, under the command of the Chief Officer pulled directly for the shore.
Eventually, news of the wreck was received at Moruya and the steamer Mynora was despatched to the site. In the meantime the survivors were picked up by the steamer Kembla and taken to Sydney where they arrived on 23rd September.
The Mimosa was a total loss and was insured. She was valued at £11,000 and had recently undergone a major refit.
Despite her loss the Directors of the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company had hopes of raising her. A Mr. McNab was contracted to dive on the wreck.
On his first trip to the site he was unable to dive due to the weather. However, on a second trip he was able to get down. He found that the hull had settled in to the sand. The sails had broken loose and brought the masts down. The foremast was lying over the gangway and the funnel, along with
58
the bridge and part of the paddle boxes had gone. The engine house and cook's galley 'with everything amidships (had also) gone with fore-part of companions .. showing the force of the seas at that depth' 8'. McNab recovered the steward's cash box and the ship's plate ware.
According to a later report in the Sydney Morning Herald the steamer 'Mynora', 'is busily engaged at wreck of Mimosa although the weather, being so much against operations they have had to slip her moorings several times. The parties involved seemed confident of raising her. The divers report her as sound as the day she was wrecked 9'.
Despite this, the exposed nature of the site obviously frustrated the divers and eventually the wreck was abandoned.
The Mimosa was one of the earliest known iron hulled paddle steamers in Australian waters. She was typical of iron paddle steamers of the period and she illustrates the early development of steam ship services in both Tasmania and New South Wales.
She was also one of the earliest known steamship wrecks to be salvaged by divers on the New south Wales Coast.
Her construction is interesting as it illustrates the transition from wood to iron ship construction. Her hull was of iron while her deck, internal fittings were of wood.
59
Notes
1.Hobart Mercury; Tuesday 20th February 1855;
2.Ibid; Wednesday 7th March 1855;
3.Ibid;
4.Ibid;
S.Sydney Morning Herald; Friday 4th March 1859;
6.Ibid; Monday 7th, 8th March 1859;
7.Ibid; Friday 25th March 1859;
8.Ibid; 28th October 1863;
9.Ibid; 7th December 1863.
MIMOSA
Ship Details
Type:
Rig:
Dimensions:
Construction:
Engines:
Gross Tonnage:
Official Number:
Port Number:
Builder:
60
Paddle Steamer.
2 masted schooner.
1854: 140.5 I X 17.9 I X 8.5 I
1863: 162.9 'x 17.9 ' x 9.0 '
Iron.
2 cylinder, 'Trunk', 60 hp.
1854: 163 tons 1863: 155 tons
31989
8 of 1855, Hobart; 8 of 1863, Sydney.
Hoby and Co. Renfrew.
6 1
OAKLAND
The Oakland was built under Lloyds' special survey by Murray Brothers of Dennistown, in Dunbarton, Scotland in 1890. She was built for Mr William Yeager, timber merchant of Pyrrnont, Sydney, and was designed for the Richmond River trade as a general cargo carrier. She had a shallow draught, internal water ballast tanks and was fitted with a three cylinder, compound engine built by Kinkaid and Company of Greenock, Scotland.
She was fitted with steam winches and a steam crane, and was rigged as a fore and aft schooner with two pole masts. A surveyor's report of 1903 described her as, ' ... well deck type with long quarter deck, covering engine and boiler room, 7 4' long and a raised forecastle 26' long. Iron decks fore and aft 1'.
When she was launched she was given a rating of Al by Lloyds. The Oakland was named after Mr Yeager's property on the Richmond River.
The Oakland sailed from Greenock on lOth May 1890 under the command of Captain Rice and arrived in Sydney on August 7th, 1890 after a voyage of 81 days via Teneriffe, St Vincent and the Cape of Good Hope. On board she had a cargo of coal, most of which she burnt on the voyage out. In addition, she brought out the engines for a new vessel which had recently been built for Mr Yeager.
In Sydney the Oakland was placed under the command of Captain Benjamin Alley and commenced service between Sydney, Newcastle and the Richmond River.
She maintained a regular service. Between April 11th and May 19th, 1891 she made 6 voyages averaging a total of 72 voyages for that year. In 1894 she was still under the command of Captain Alley. She made 5 voyages between January 20th and February 17th. On January 26th of that year she arrived in Sydney from the Richmond River with 22 passengers on board. Captain Alley reported that: 'he crossed the Richmond Bar at 10.45 on the 24th and arrived at Yeager's Wharf Pyrmont at 2am on the 26th 2'.Unfortunately there are no details of her cargo.
On 13th November 1898 she was sold to the North Coast Stearn Navigation Company Limited but remained under the command of Captain Alley.
Her life was not without incident. James Shirra, Chief Engineer Surveyor to the New South Wales Department of Navigation wrote a report on 9th June 1903 in which he noted that the Oakland had spent all her time in the Richmond River trade and that she .. .'has been frequently under repairs necessitated by going on the rocks at the bar or in the river 3'
62
When she came up for her second special survey in 1898 her Lloyds' classification was not renewed and in 1899 her hull was strengthened. A new bulkhead was fitted in the forhold, dividing it in two, and the sides and bottom were stiffened. At the time she was under the command of Captain Evans.
In 1901 she was seriously damaged after stranding on the Richmond River Breakwater. Her stern frame was bent and the stern post broken in 3 places below the stern tube. In addition the plates on the port side had to be replaced and all the frames were twisted. She was lucky not to have been wrecked.
She was patched up at the Government Dock at Riley's Hill on the Richmond River and was then brought south to Sydney. In November she was slipped at Mort's Dockyard and placed in Roundtree Dock. A new and stronger stern frame was fitted and she was replated on the port side. Other repairs were carried out to the floors and the stern tube replaced.
In the following year she was fitted with 4 tanks in No. 2 hold to carry molasses and her passenger accommodation was taken out.
In early May 1903, she was laid up in Sydney undergoing her annual refit. A week before the refit was completed she was passed by the Navigation Department as being seaworthy and her certificate renewed for a further 6 months.
The Wrecking
The Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday 28th May 1903 reported that, 'a gale reached Sydney in the small hours of yesterday and travelling rapidly from the southwest, burst over the city and suburbs ... it was the most severe gale this winter'.
At 9am on the previous Monday (25th) the Oakland sailed from Sydney. She was under the command of Captain Slater and bound for the Clarence River, via Newcastle. She arrived in Newcastle on Tuesday morning and at 3pm started to load coal, 20 cases of monumental stones, 4 bundles of railings, 40 sacks of flour, 1 bundle of wooden rakes, 32 bags of chaff and sundries. The weather was fine and the wind was from the southwest.
As soon as the cargo was loaded, the Oakland sailed. She cleared the harbour at lam on Wednesday morning and set her sails to the following wind. As she headed north, she started to develop a list to port. By about 4am she was abeam of Port Stevens, and about one and a half miles from Cabbage Tree Island. The list had worsened and water was washing over the hatches. The had weather had deteriorated.
63
The sails were taken in and Captain Slater altered course for Port Stephens. The Oakland ran before the seas at full speed until she was abreast of the entrance. She then became unmanageable and swung around towards Cabbage Tree Island, beam on to the oncoming seas.
Shortly after, she started to go down by the head. Captain Slater, the mate, 16 of the crew, and a passenger, Mr T Gaites, scrambled into the starboard lifeboat, abaft the bridge. At the enquiry into the sinking of the ship it was alleged that the falls were cut, and that the lifeboat struck the ship's side and capsized, throwing everybody into the water. Though the boat was righted, her side had been stove in by a belaying pin, and she could not be bailed out. Some of the crew got into the boat while others clung to her side. As they drifted clear, the Oakland reared her stern in the air, and belching flames from her funnel, went down in 25 meters of water.
During the night the survivors were driven northward by the wind and sea. Captain Slater and 10 of the crew died of exposure. At between 8 and 9 in the morning the steamer Bellinger steamed into sight. She altered course and picked up 7 survivors.
The Bellinger then anchored under the lee of Broughton Island (Long Island). Even in the shelter of the Island the sea was so rough that despite running her engines full ahead, she dragged her anchor.
On Thursday morning she steamed around to Port Stephens, where the survivors were met by Mr Frank Gardner, the local representative of the National Shipwreck Society. He provided them with clothing and money and on Friday night they boarded the steamer Sydney for Port Jackson.
The Oakland was a total loss. She was insured for £4000 with the South British Insurance Company with part of the risk being reinsured with other offices.
The wreck was eventually located by Captain H. Warne of the Newcastle and Hunter River Steamer Namoi. He reported that it lay 1 mile north of Cabbage Tree Island in about 12 fathoms of water with 6 feet of the masts visible above the water.
In June the wreck was sold by Fraser, Utner and Company for £40 to Captain Weston who proposed to salvage the cargo and refloat the ship.
He moored his vessel, the Maud Weston over the wreck and commenced diving operations using 3 divers (Peter Anderson, Tas Coutts and a Frenchman called 'Tommy'). They recovered 100 tons of coal; the forwinch (8 tons); the afterwinch (3 tons); the bridge telegraphs, still stuck at full ahead; the steering gear; 2 anchors; 175 fathoms of chain, blocks, a steam windlass, derricks, and wire hawsers. In all over £300 worth of gear was recovered.
64
The divers reported that the wreck was sitting on a sandy bottom with a slight list to port. The masts had fallen across the deck and the hatches were gone. The bridge had washed into No 2 hatchway and the funnel was broken off about 3 feet above the deck.
After salvaging the ship's deck fittings and equipment, Captain Weston declared his intention to refloat the hull by pumping air into the molasses tanks in the hold. The Star reported that he .. .' intended to pump air into the tanks, and forcing water out of them, thus providing the vessel with so much floating power' ... The report went on .. .'The attempt to float the Oakland will be made in the weather next week and if successful the vessel will be taken to Port Stephens for temporary repair 4'.
It is not known if an attempt was made. Perhaps bad weather frustrated his plans. What ever happened Captain Weston eventually abandoned the wreck.
The Marine Board of Enquiry found that it could find no conclusive evidence as to what caused the loss. It acknowledged that the Oakland was ' ... seaworthy, well found and provided with the necessary saving apparatus.' It noted that the cargo of coal: ' ... of which about the usual quantity was carried, appears to have been stored in the customary manner, but it was possible for it to shift in holds number one and two'.
In conclusion they stated that while ' ... no positive opinion that a shifting of the cargo was the cause of the mishap, .. on the evidence (we can) ... see no other explanation for it s·
65
Notes
l.Surveyors Report. NSW Department of Navigation. S.S. Oakland - General report for the information of the Crown Solicitor. 9th June 1903. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library;
2.Sydney Morning Herald; Saturday 27th January 1894;
3.Surveyors Report. NSW Department of Navigation. S.S. Oakland -General report for the information of the Crown Solicitor. 9th June 1903. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library;
4.Star ? 7th July 1903;
S.Report. In the matter of a formal inquiry held at Sydney before his Honor Judge Backhouse, assisted by John James Simpson and Joshua Lewis Fawkes, Assessors, into the circumstances attending the foundering of the British steamship 'Oakland". Pg 1.
OAKLAND
Ship Details
Type
Rig
Dimensions
Construction
Engines
Gross tonnage
Official Number
Port Number
Builders
Signal Flags
66
Screw Steamer.
Two masted schooner.
154.0 'x 24.0 'x 10.5'
Steel.
One, 'Triple expansion'.
398
93635
31 in 1890, Sydney.
Murray Brothers, Dennistown, Dunbarton.
SVQR
67
WALTER HOOD
The Walter Hood was built for the Aberdeen White Star Line by Walter Hood.
The Aberdeen White Star Line had a sizeable interest in Walter Hood's firm and employed him to build, on average, 1 ship a year between 1842 and 1870. His ships included the John Bunyan, Maid of Judah, Omar Pasha, Phoenician, Thermopylae and the Star of Peace.
The Walter Hood was built as a 'hard-wood' clipper, and was an example of the type of vessel which succeeded the American and Canadian soft wood clippers.
These vessels, typified by the Walter Hood, were smaller. They gained favour with shipowners and merchants, because they were more durable, had comparatively low maintenance costs and their smaller holds, enabled them to take on a full cargo at a faster rate.
The design of the Walter Hood was also indicative of changes which were happening in British ship building. Ships which had previously been bluff bowed and full in the waist, were now being designed with finer ends, narrower hulls, reduced tumblehome and loftier rigs. As a consequence they were faster and more weatherly than their predecessors.
The Walter Hood was launched on the 7th January 1853 and was originally intended for the London China Tea trade. She was built of hardwoods: American Elm; Foreign White Oak; Mahogany; Quebec Yellow Pine; and British Oak. She was sheathed in yellow metal and was 172.2 feet long with a beam of 30.2 feet and a depth of 20.9 feet. Being an 'Aberdeen Ship' she was painted 'Aberdeen Green' with a gilt streak and scroll work at bow and stern. Her figurehead, masts and blocks would have been painted white. On 21st February 1852 she was surveyed by Thomas Nerander and was pronounced seaworthy.
By the time the Walter Hood made her maiden voyage the Australian gold rush was on and instead of sailing for China she sailed for Sydney, Australia.
She was under the command of Captain Sproat, formerly of the Phoenician and made a record passage of 80 days. On several occasions she ran 320 miles in each consecutive 24 hours and averaged 179 nautical miles a day. She sailed into Port Jackson on Wednesday 3rd August 1853 to much acclaim.
The 'Empire' noted that the Walter Hood 'has a very remarkable appearance on the water, her long sharp hull suggesting the idea of a first class screw steamer with the funnel unshipped ... her dashing passage out to Sydney, ceases to excite surprise, when looking at the beautiful evidence which she presents of walking capability'(sic)1' .
68
On her maiden voyage back to England, on the 27th November 1853, she carried the first copy of the Illustrated Sydney News.
In 1855 she was again in Sydney. She sailed from the Downs on 7th February and arrived in Port Jackson on 12th May after a passage of 93 days. On board she had a general cargo and 50 passengers, no doubt keen to get to the goldfields.
Compared with her maiden voyage it was a long passage. Gales were encountered west of the English Channel and light winds off the Cape of Good Hope and in Bass Strait.
She was again in Sydney on April 6th, 1856 and in the following year Captain Donald took command.
In 1857 the Walter Hood completed two round trips to Sydney. She sailed from London on 20th October 1856 and arrived in Sydney on February 6th, 1857 after a passage of 109 days. On board were 8 passengers and a cargo of moulds, iron bars, grindstones, boots, lamps, beer, cider, bricks, tiles, heifers and bulls and sundry other items 2.
She returned to London in July and sailed for Sydney on 27th August. She took 106 days and arrived in Sydney on December 11th 1857. Amongst her cargo were 5238 chairs, 227 rails for the NSW Railway Commission, 45 hogsheads of ale, 242 packages of boots and shoes, 57 packages of crooks, 1690 iron bars and 60 rolls of lead 3.
In 1867 she arrived in Sydney on September 24th and sailed for England on November 14th. She was under the command of Captain Latto and took on board a cargo of 1230 bales of wool, 303 bales and 5 bags of cotton, 4389 bags of wheat, 206 casks of tallow, 8 bales of leather, 25 bales of leather pieces, 306 cases of preserved meats, 14 cases of extract of meat, 4 casks of tongues, 9 cases of colonial wine, 290 pieces of copper and assorted sundries 4.
These cargoes were typical of her trade. Manufactured and processed goods, luxuries and necessities and were exported from London to Sydney, while wool, copper, cotton and other raw materials were exported in return.
Usually the Walter Hood would make 1 or 2 voyages a year. She would sail from England in the northern summer, and arrive in Sydney some time just before, or after Christmas. She would then return, and be back in England by the next northern summer. If she made good passages, she would make two voyages in the same year. In 1865 she was recorded as arriving in Sydney on January lOth and December 7th.
By the time she was wrecked, the Walter Hood had made over 21 return voyages to New South Wales and was well known in the colony.
• ;
The wreck of the clipper ship
(Illustrated Sydney News Wednesday
\
Walter Hood.
11th May 1870)
69
Among her masters were Captain Sproat, Captain Donald, Captain Pirie, and Captain Latto.
The Wrecking
The Walter Hood sailed from London on 26th January 1870. She was under the command of Captain Latto and was on her 22nd voyage to Australia. On board she had 35 passengers and crew and a cargo of beer, iron bars, railway lines, cork, cement, wine, salt, axle blocks and oakum, theatrical costumes, floor tiles, and mosaics forSt Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. StMary's Cathedral was burnt down in June 1865 and was being rebuilt.
The Walter Hood took 90 days to reach Cape Otway which was sighted on 23rd April 1870. On Monday 25th she was off Gabo Island. The wind was strong and blowing from the south east. At 3am a squall struck the ship carrying away the topsails, and a seaman, named Wilkie, was washed overboard.
New sails were set. The wind strengthened and the fore and main topsails were blown out again. Soon a full gale was blowing. The third officer, Mr Tickler recounted how, 'A main topgallant was then bent as a foretopsail and the ship kept her course under foresail, fore topsail, mainsail and fore topmast stay sail, the wind blowing a perfect hurricane and a fearful sea running with thick dirty weather, but the ship behaved well and no danger was anticipated s·.
On the coast the gale was just as bad. At Kiama 'The sea made a clean sweep over the jetty, carrying away some of the planking, also a couple of iron buoys (and) large stones of fully 50 lbs 6'.
On Tuesday 26th in the afternoon the Walter Hood was seen off Ulladulla sailing north, and about three quarters of a mile from the land.
At Spm the watch on deck sighted a headland to windward, on the starboard bow. The wind was blowing onshore from the south east. Captain Latto attempted to tack the ship, to clear the headland, but she would not come round. He then wore her round onto port tack, stearing towards the south west.
By now the Walter Hood was embayed, trapped against the shore of Wreck Bay. Mr tickler said ' ... it was impossible to claw off on either tack T.
As evening descended, St Georges's Light could be seen astern. The ship was on port tack, still sailing towards the southwest. No land could be seen to leeward and visibility was bad.
70
At 5pm the Walter Hood ran aground on rocks 9 miles north of Ulladulla. Captain Latto went forward, to direct the lowering of the anchor and as he did so a heavy sea broke on board, smashing him against the bulwarks, breaking his ribs. He was carried to his cabin.
The port anchor was then let go and the ship swung around head to wind. Soon seas were sweeping the deck, forcing the crew and passengers to seek shelter in the after cabin.
In the morning the survivors found that the ship was lying in a terrible surf, 150 yards from the shore. She had started to break up and was bumping heavily. At 6am the mizzen mast was cut away in an attempt to steady her, and later a sea swept on board, carrying away one of the ship's boys.
By noon the decks had broken up and the ship had settled on her port side. Shortly after Captain Latto came on deck, but he then went below to recover some papers. As he did so the cabin bulkhead gave way and he was swept away and drowned.
The survivors remained on the wreck clinging to the after part of the poop. During the afternoon the wind moderated and went around to the west. One of the passengers, Mr Harries, attempted to swim ashore and was drowned. Two of the crew then also had a try, but they were carried out to sea in the undertow and were also drowned.
During the night the cook and a seaman died from exposure. On Thursday 28th the sea had started to moderate and the weather was fine. Two of the crew swam to the shore with a line. One was drowned and the other reached the shore. During the morning the Boatswain died from a fractured skull received in the wrecking. Other members of the crew and passengers also attempted to swim ashore. Some were successful. Others were not.
By this stage, all of the portside and most of the starboard side of the ship had gone. The cargo had been washed out and was lying along the beach. The beer and spirits providing satisfaction to the sightseers who had gathered to watch the unfolding drama.
On Friday morning there were only 13 survivors. Their plight was desperate. They had had no food or water for 4 days. At midnight the lights of a steamer were seen and their hopes rose. The steamer was the Illalong which had arrived in Ulladulla that evening, under the command of Captain Trennent with Mr John Manning, manager of Illawarra Steam Navigation on board. She was quickly unloaded and then sailed to the wreck site. However due to the darkness and the rough sea she was unable to help.
In the morning the boats were lowered and by means of a line the survivors were rescued and brought on board the Illalong. They were then taken to Kiama where £5 was raised on the wharf for their benefit. They then sailed for Sydney.
7 1
Thirteen people were drowned in the wreck or died of exposure; 9 swam ashore and 13 were rescued.
The Walter Hood was a total wreck and was insured in Sydney with the Pacific Insurance Company for £21465. Of this £5000 was reinsured with the New South Insurance Company, £4000 with the United Insurance Company, £2000 with the Southern Insurance Company, £400 with the General Insurance Company and £65 at Smyth's.
The police at Ulladulla took charge of the cargo on the beach, of which 60 tons was eventually salvaged. This was shipped to Sydney on board the ketch Illalong 6 and arrived in Sydney on May 29th.
The wreck was sold at auction on the Monday by R F Stubbs for £95. The cargo was auctioned on the following Wednesday by the same firm.
On Tuesday 31st May the steamer Illalong returned to Ulladulla with Captain Verney and Mr Gosling, loss assessors to the insurance companies. They landed at Ulladulla and made their way over land to inspect the wreck site. Accompanying them were representatives from the customs department.
The bodies of those drowned, including that of Captain Latto, were buried in the sand dunes behind the site. Later their remains were exposed by the sea. They were then taken inland and buried. A memorial was erected over the graves and unveiled on March 9, 1927.
Captain Latto held command of the Walter Hood for 4 years. Previous to that he had been the chief officer of the John Duthrie, the William Duthrie and the Australia. He was not universally popular and was regarded as a strict disciplinarian.
On the Sunday after the disaster the flags on board the various ships in Sydney Harbour were flown at half mast as a sign of respect to those who lost their lives. In addition various fund raising parties were organised to raise money for the survivors. On Wednesday 1st June the Oliver Goldsmith Club in Sydney put on a comedy at the Mechanic's School of Arts. The play was entitled 'Plot and Passion' and was ' ... a decided success .. ,the Goldsmith Club will, no doubt have the satisfaction of handing a good sum to the crew of the WalterHood7'.
72
Notes
1. Empire 9th August 1853;
2.Sydney Morning Herald; Saturday 7th February 1857;
3.Ibid; Saturday 12th December 1857;
4.Ibid; Thursday 14th November 1867;
5.Sydney Mail; Saturday 7th May 1870;
6.Ibid;
7.Ibid;
8.Sydney Morning Herald; Monday 30th May 1870;
9.Sydney Morning Herald; Thursday 2nd June 1870.
WALTER HOOD
Ship Details
Type:
Rig:
Dimensions:
Construction:
Gross Tonnage:
Builders:
73
Ship.
3 masted square rigged.
172.2' X 30.2' X 29.9 1
Wood.
937
Walter Hood of Aberdeen.
74
YARRA YARRA
The Hunter River Steam Navigation Company was formed in 1849 with capital of £40,000. By 1848 the company was in financial difficulty due to a loss of trade and competition from other companies. It eventually recovered and the shareholders taking advantage of the situation, formed the Australasian Steam Navigation Company to take over the operations of the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company.
The paddle steamer Yarra Yarra had been ordered by the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company along with the paddle steamer Waratah. When these 2 vessels arrived in Sydney they were incorporated into the existing Australasian Steam Navigation Company fleet.
The Yarra Yarra was built by W. Denny and Brothers, under contract to Caird and Company, with whom the original order was placed. She was completed on 13th October 1851, and sailed from Greenock on 13th November 1851 under the command of Captain MacKellar. The voyage was tedious . The Yarra Yarra carried little sail and she was beset by calms and light winds. Four and a half months later she arrived in Sydney on the 4th of April 1852.
On board she had 32 passengers and a cargo which included the ironplates and frames of the small vessel 100 feet long, which had been designed to take the engines of the wrecked steamer Raven. This vessel was built in Sydney and christened the Ballarat. She was launched and then sent to Melbourne to work as a tug.
The Yarra Yarra was intended for the passenger trade between Sydney, Melbourne and Launceston. When she was first built she had accommodation for 50 passengers in the saloon, 30 in the forecabin and 20 steerage passengers in the forecastle. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that ' ... the cabins are similar to those of the War at ah but larger and the fittings are both elegant and commodious 1"
The Yarra Yarra had a raised quarterdeck and ' ... a very long promenade or hurricane deck over the centre of the vessel 2" . She was fitted with a two cylinder engine developing 100 horse power, and could carry sufficient coal for 7 days continuous steaming. She was 165 feet long and had a beam of 25 feet 6 inches between the paddle boxes. The paddle sponsons were 3 feet wide on each side.
Before the Yarra Yarra started service her engines were overhauled and alterations were made to her accommodation. The Launceston Examiner reported that she would not be ready to put to sea until the 1st of June 1852.
75
On her maiden voyage from Sydney to Launceston, via Melbourne, she sailed under the command of Captain Gilmour, formerly of the Shamrock. She arrived in Launceston on Saturday 14th of August carrying 300 cabin and steerage passengers. A later report in the Launceston Examiner said that she in fact arrived on the 16th, with 187 passengers 3.
On the 18th she sailed for Melbourne with 51 'cabin' class passengers and 360 in steerage. No doubt they were keen to get to the mainland and the goldfields at Bendigo and Alexandra. Certainly the Yarra Yarra's cargo reflected the need for transport and provisions at the goldfields. On board she had 13 horses, 4 carts, 100 bags of flour, 2 hogseheads of brandy, 14 cases of preserves, 1 case of hearth stores, 2 cases of glass, 12 packages of furniture, 20 bags of potatoes, 4 cases of bacon, 3 cases of boots and 70 bags of bran 4.
Later in the year the Yarra Yarra was involved in a collision. On the 13th of October she sailed from Melbourne in company with the Steamer Clarence. They raced across Bass Strait and arrived at the mouth of the Tamar River at 7am on Thursday morning, after a record passage of twenty six and a half hours. On the way up the river the Clarence attempted to overhaul the Yarra Yarra. As she did so, her bow collided with the Yarra Yarra's stern carrying away her figurehead and damaging the Yarra Yarra's bulwarks.
By 1854 the Yarra Yarra was established on the Melbourne-Sydney service under the command of Captain William Belt. In that year she made 20 return trips and in the following year she was advertised in the Illustrated Sydney News as sailing from Sydney on Wednesday 6th June and returning from Melbourne on Wednesday 13th s. Later in the year she was replaced by the Telegraph and the Wonga Wonga and transferred, with the Waratah, to the Australasian Steam Navigation Company's Sydney-Brisbane service.
This was later extended to include Port Curtis. By the late 1850s the service extended from Rockhampton to Sydney and sometimes to Melbourne, providing the first trunk line between Victoria and Queensland.
During this period the Yarra Yarra was involved in the short lived gold rush at Canoona, northwest of Rockhampton. The Yarra Yarra carried prospectors to the gold fields from Sydney and brought gold south. On Friday October 29th 1858 she arrived in Sydney from Rockhampton and Keppel Bay with 45 ounces of gold, made up of 2 lots. One consignment was for Mr. Justice Therry and the other for J. Frazer. When she sailed there were 40 vessels lying off Rockhampton and in Keppel Bay 6.
In 1862 the Yarra Yarra was cut in half at the ASN's Company's Patent Slip and lengthened by 17 feet.
She remained in service on the Queensland coast for most of the 1860s. Her cargoes from Sydney consisted of manufactured and processed goods, beers and spirits and other necessities. On her return voyages she would bring back agricultural produce, skins and hides, wool and other raw materials.
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76
On Monday 14th May 1866 she sailed from Sydney with passengers and a cargo which included beer, brandy, wine, rum, sugar, tea, tobacco, cheese, potatoes, galvanized iron, shot, onions, tinned fruit, flour, horses, and sundries 7.
On Saturday 19th May 1866 she arrived back from Brisbane, with 82 bales of wool, 24 hides and 4 casks of tallow 8.
The trade between Sydney and the Queensland ports and was similar to that of the New South Wales north coast, and emphasised the importance of Sydney as an entrepo with the outside world.
During her time on the Queensland coast she was commanded by Captain Page, Captain Fitzsimmons, Captain T. G. Wall, Captain Durrell and Captain Bell.
In 1874 the Yarra Yarra was sold to Captain William Summerhill of Newcastle, who replated her hull and converted her into a collier. She was then employed on the Sydney-Newcastle run and on occasional inter-colonial trips, mainly to Melbourne. She carried coal and occasionally, agricultural produce and livestock.
The Wrecking
On Saturday 14th July 187 the Yarra Yarra, under the command of Captain Summerhill loaded 400 tons of coal at Newcastle and at lOam sailed for Sydney. At 11 am she cleared Nobby's Head. The wind was blowing from the south and there were occasional showers. The sea was moderate. It had rained all day Friday, and Saturday looked as though it would bring a break in the weather.
The steamer Kembla under the command of Captain Skinner, passed the Yarra Yarra steaming south at 2pm off Nora Head. At the time the weather was fine.
In the evening the weather deteriorated and the wind strengthened. By 9.30 pm a full gale was blowing along the coast.
The Yarra Yarra steamed into the gale and perhaps finding the seas too rough, altered course and headed back to Newcastle.
The next morning at 6.30 the lookout on Captain Allans Hill, overlooking the entrance to Newcastle harbour, saw the Yarra Yarra lying off Big Ben Reef, near the Bell buoy. She was steaming slowly, with a following sea and was flying a small jib.
At the harbour entrance huge seas were being whipped up as the outgoing tide battled the onshore seas. Fearing for the Yarra Yarra 's safety the signalman fired a gun to warn the lifeboat crew to stand by.
77
The Yarra Yarra rounded the breakwater extension off Nobby's Head and as she did so 3 heavy seas swept over her quarter. Her bow was pointing towards the harbour entrance and she then slowly swung round towards the north, with little way on. Possibly her engine room had been flooded and her fires put out. She lost steerageway and lying broadside on to the oncoming seas drifted towards the Cawarra buoy.
The mortar and rescue apparatus on Stockton Beach was made ready. By this time a considerable crowd, including Captain Summerhill's father, had gathered on the beach to witness the unfolding drama.
The seas continued to batter the Yarra Yarra. Shortly before 7.06 am a huge sea swept over her carrying away the foremast. She then settled by the stern and sank with all hands. Seventeen men lost their lives including Captain Summerhill.
The Yarra Yarra was a total loss. She was insured with the South British Insurance company for £2600 of which £1600 was reinsured with other offices.
No record has been found to indicate if any attempt was made to salvage the Yarra Yarra or her cargo. Her masts were visible for a time, but the exposed position in which she lay may have precluded any salvage attempts.
Several bodies were washed up on the beach, including that of the first mate, William Millet.
The disaster and the subsequent inquest brought into question the effectiveness of the Newcastle lifeboat service. One gun had been fired to notify the lifeboat to stand by. A second gun, to send the lifeboat to sea was not fired. This was attributed to either water entering the vent of the gun and ruining the powder, or the lack of orders from from Pilot Dagwell, who was supervising the lookouts.
It was also alleged that if the lifeboat had been launched when the first gun was fired, then there may have been a chance of reaching the broken water, near the Cawarra buoy, and getting close enough to the Yarra Yarra to rescue the crew.
The public indignation at the lack of effort made to save the crew of the Yarra Yarra provoked much debate in New South Wales.
Eventually sufficient pressure resulted in the formation of the National Shipwreck Society which held its inaugural meeting in Sydney on Wednesday 25th of July 1877.
78
Its objectives were to:
a) provide relief to widows, orphans and aged parents or other dependent upon seamen belonging to New South Wales or to vessels owned in any New South Wales port, or who shall have lost their lives, or have been seriously injured in the performance of their duty;
b) to grant the society's medal or rewards to any persons performing acts of bravery in the saving of human life as the committee may think fit; and
c) to relieve crews of vessels wrecked in or near New South Wales waters.
79
Notes
l.Sydney Morning Herald; Monday 5th April 1852;
2.1bid;
3.Launceston Examiner; Wednesday 18th August 1852;
4.1bid;
5.Illustrated Sydney News; 2nd June 1855;
6.Sydney Morning Herald; Saturday 30th October 1858;
7.1bid; Tuesday 15th May 1866;
8.1bid; Monday 21st May 1866.
YARRA YARRA
Ship Details
Type:
Rig:
Dimensions:
Construction:
Engines:
Gross Tonnage:
Official Number:
Port Number:
Builder:
80
Paddle Steamer.
3 masted barque.
1851: 166.5 I X 25' X 13 I
1862: 183.5 I X 30 I X 11.7 I
Iron.
Two, 2 cylinder, 'Grasshopper', side lever.
1851: 337 (Sydney Morning Herald Monday 5th April 1852.) 1862:555
32296
59 of 1852, Sydney.
W. Denny and Brother under contract to Caird and Company.
PART 2: SIGNIFICANCE
8 1
INTRODUCTION
Eleven shipwrecks have been identified as being worthy of evaluation as potential underwater heritage relics.
This evaluation has been based on the criteria used to describe significance in the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976, the New South Wales Heritage Act (1977), and the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMS) Burra Charter of 1981 (revised 1988).
The evaluation has been addressed in terms of the nature and degree of significance of each site and has been based on the history of each ship. As a consequence it is somewhat speculative.
The nature of significance is discussed within the following five areas:
1. Historic
The ability of the site to contribute to an understanding of the historical process, through its association with particular events, personalities or phases of activity.
2. Social
The ability of the site to contribute to the social, cultural, religious, spiritual or aesthetic qualities of identifiable groups, within the Australian community. Sites which are held in high regard by groups to a degree above that felt for their normal surroundings will be considered of high social value.
3. Technological
The ability of the site to illustrate the development of marine technology through the integrity and quality of its remains and historic record. Development will include the perfection of design, the creation of technical solutions and the invention and application of new ideas.
4. Scientific
The ability of the site to yield new information which will contribute to maritime archaeology, history, science or any other areas of human endeavour.
Within the context of maritime archaeology a site could contribute towards the knowledge of ship design and construction, cargoes, shipboard life, trading patterns, transport and exploration.
82
5. Educational
The ability of the site to contribute to the education of the community through its historical, social, cultural and scientific significance. This ability will be influenced by the site's ease of interpretation, accessibility, setting and integrity.
The degree of each site's significance is discussed in terms of the following values:
1. Rarity
The quality of the site which makes it rare, endangered or uncommon, within the context of the historic, scientific, social or educational process.
2. Representativeness
The quality of the site which enables it to be described as characteristic of a group of objects, processes or other human activities.
*Note
Where a category of significance has not been shown in this study, the site is not considered relevant.
83
BALLIN A
Nature of Significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because of its potential to illustrate the history of the north coast trade, and the economic and social development of the region between the 1860s and 1870s.
Social
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because of its potential to help illustrate the social and employment conditions associated with trade on the north coast.
The site is also considered important by the local community because of its association with the town of Ballina on the Richmond River and because of its recreational significance to local and visiting divers.
Technological
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because of its potential to help illustrate the development of marine engineering in the Australian colonies and in Great Britain during the last century.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on iron of prolonged immersion in a marine environment and the quality of 19th century metallurgy. This information will provide an interesting comparison with information gathered from other iron wrecks found around the Australian coast.
The maritime archaeological importance of this site is unknown and it has only been investigated in a limited manner.
It is also hoped that sufficient hull structure survives to create a plan of the ship. To date no such plan has been found.
Educational
Amongst other attributes the site is significance as it has the potential to contribute knowledge about the economic and social development of the north coast of New South Wales and the development of marine engineering in the Australian colonies and in Great Britain during the last century.
84
Degree of Significance
Representativeness
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it is an example of the type of paddle steamer which was employed on the New South Wales coast in the 1860s and 1870s.
Other Comparative Shipwreck Sites
Paddle Steamers (Engine and hull construction);
Agnes Irving (1862); Wrecked 1879, Macleay River Bar, New South Wales;
Commodore (1878); Scuttled 1931 off Newcastle, New South Wales;
Mimosa (1854); Wrecked 1863, Mimosa Rocks, New South Wales;
Prince of Wales (1861), Wrecked 1862, Camden Haven, New South Wales;
Yarra Yarra (1851), Wrecked 1877, Oyster Bank, Newcastle, New South Wales.
------------- - ---- ---------------------------------------------------------------
85
COMMODORE
Nature of significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the history of the Newcastle and Sydney tugboat service in the latter half of the last century and the development of the Sydney ferry services.
The Commodore is believed to have been the last ocean going tug in Australia.
Technological
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the development of marine engineering in the Australian colonies and in Great Britain during the last century.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on iron of prolonged immersion in a marine environment and the quality of 19th century metallurgy. This information will provide an interesting comparison with information gathered from other iron wrecks found around the Australian coast.
The site may be of maritime archaeological importance and has not been investigated in a scientific manner.
Educational
Among other attributes the site has the potential to contribute towards knowledge of the economic and social development of the Newcastle and Sydney regions and the development of marine engineering in the Australian colonies and Great Britain during the last century.
Degree of Significance
Rarity
The site contains the only known surv1vmg example of a marine 'Grasshopper', side lever, type steam engine, to have been found in New South Wales.
The only other example of such an engine lies in the wreck of the Yarra Yarra and the Southland, both of which sank near the entrance of Newcastle Harbour. It is not known if the wreck of the Southland has been found.
86
Representativeness.
Amongst other attributes the site is an example of the type of steam paddle tug which was employed on the Newcastle and Sydney harbours during the last century.
Other Comparative Ships.
'Grasshopper'type, steam engines;
Yarra Yarra (1851), Wrecked 1877, Oyster Bank, Newcastle, New South Wales.
87
DUCKENFIELD
Nature of significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
l.The history of J & A Brown of Newcastle and the evolution of the New South Wales coal mining and shipping industry;
2. The commercial association which existed between the Wallaroo Copper Mine in South Australia and the Newcastle coal and smelting industry during the latter half of last century and the beginning of the present; and
3. The history of the Sydney Marine Underwriters and Salvage Association and the activities of their marine surveyor Captain John Hall.
Social
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the economic and social development of the Newcastle and Sydney regions.
She is significant to the local community and to historians. The site is also of importance to divers who visit the site for the purposes of underwater photography, marine biology and sight seeing.
Technological
Amongst other attributes the site has the potential to illustrate the development of marine engineering in the Australian colonies and Great Britain during the last century.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on iron of prolonged immersion in a marine environment and the quality of 19th century metallurgy. This information will provide an interesting comparison with information gathered from other iron wrecks found around the Australian coast.
The site is of maritime archaeological importance but to date, has only been investigated in a limited manner.
It is also hoped that sufficient hull structure survives to create a plan of the ship. To date no such plan has been found.
88
Educational
Among other attributes the site has the potential to contribute towards knowledge of the economic and social development of the Newcastle and Sydney regions and the development of marine engineering in the Australian colonies and Great Britain during the last century.
Degree of Significance
Rarity
The site is significant as it is the only known example of a purpose built collier to have been found on the New South Wales coast to date.
Representativeness
Amongst other attributes the site is an example of the type of vessel which was employed in the coal trade between Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Other Comparative Ships
Engines;
Waratah (1902); Steam tug, Sydney Maritime Museum;
89
DUNBAR
Nature of Significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
1. The history of the passenger shipping trade to the Australian colonies in the 1850s;
2. The development of the New South Wales lighthouse service; and
3. The development of the Sydney pilot service.
Social
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
1 The dependence of the Australian colonies on the sea for transport and communication with the rest of the world; and
2. The cultural and social development of Sydney and the rest of New South Wales.
The site is a memorial to those who were drowned in the disaster and to the many others who successfully came out under sail to seek their fortunes and a better life in Australia.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because of its potential to reveal new material which may provide information on ship construction, cargoes and the employment and social conditions on board ships bound for the Australian colonies in the 1850s.
The site may be of maritime archaeological importance and has not been investigated in a scientific manner.
Educational
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because of its potential to contribute towards knowledge of the economic, social and technological development of New South Wales and the history of the passenger shipping trade between the Australian colonies and Great Britain in the 1850s.
90
Degree of Significance
Representativeness
Amongst other attributes the site is an example of the type of vessel employed in carrying passengers between Great Britain and the Australian colonies in the middle of last century and the type of cargo which such a vessel would have carried.
Other Comparative Wrecksites
Emigrant ships
Cataraqui (1840); wrecked 1845, King Island, Tasmania;
Loch Ard (1873); Wrecked 1878, Port Campbell, Victoria.
--------~-~-·~ -~------
9 1
JOHN PENN
Nature of Significance
Historical
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
1. The history of sea trade on the New south Wales and New Zealand coasts; and
2. The development of marine engineering in the Australian and New Zealand Colonies and in Great Britain during the last century.
Technological
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the development of marine engineering in the Australian and New Zealand Colonies and in Great Britain during the last century.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on iron of prolonged immersion in a marine environment and the quality of 19th century metallurgy. This information will provide an interesting comparison with information gathered from other iron wrecks found around the Australian coast.
The site may be of maritime archaeological importance and has only been investigated in a limited manner.
It is also hoped that sufficient hull structure survives to create a plan of the ship. To date no such plan has been found.
Educational
Among other attributes the site has the potential to contribute towards knowledge of the economic and social development of the Newcastle and Sydney regions, and the development of marine engineering in the Australian colonies and Great Britain during last century.
----------- _j
92
Degree of Significance
Rarity
Amongst other attributes the site is the only known example of a 19th century iron steam ship to have been found on the New South Wales coast, which when built, incorporated a number of innovative and technologically advanced design features.
Representativeness
Amongst other attributes the site is an example of the type of vessel which was employed on the New South Wales coastal trade last century.
Other Comparative Wrecksites
'Trunk' type, steam engines;
City of Sydney (1853); Wrecked 1862, Green Cape, New South Wales;
Lord Ashley (1857); Wrecked 1877, Terrigal Reef, New South Wales;
Mimosa (1854); Wrecked 1863, Mimosa Rocks, New South Wales.
Xantho (1848); Wrecked 1872, Port Gregory, Western Australia.
*Note
The Xantho's engine is currently being preserved at the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Perth.
J
93
LORD ASHLEY
Nature of Significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
1. The history of the trans-Tasman trade between New South Wales and New Zealand;
2. The intercolonial trade between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Roper River; and
3.The New South Wales coastal trade.
Social
Amongst other attributes the site is of significance because of its potential to illustrate the employment and social conditions associated with the coastal and intercolonial sea trade between the 1850s and 1870s, and the role that shipping played in the social, and cultural development of the coastal regions, of New South Wales.
Technological
Among other attributes the site is significant as it contains the remains of an early marine 'Trunk' steam engine. This engine, when compared with other sites, has the potential to reveal comparative data on the design, construction and operation of steam engines from last century.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on iron after prolonged immersion in a marine environment and the quality of 19th century metallurgy. This information will provide an interesting comparison with information gathered from other iron wrecks found around the Australian coast.
The site may be of maritime archaeological importance and has not been investigated in a scientific manner.
It is also hoped that sufficient hull structure survives to create a plan of the ship. To date no such plan has been found.
---------~
I
94
Educational
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because of its potential to contribute towards knowledge of the economic, social and technological development of New South Wales.
Degree of Significance
Representativeness
Amongst other attributes the site is an example of the state of marine engineering in the Australian colonies and Great Britain between the 1850s and 1870s.
95
MERIMBULA
Nature of Significance
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on steel of prolonged exposure in a marine environment, both above and below the sea, and the quality of early 20th century metallurgy.
Educational
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the rise and fall of the New South Wales coastal trade.
Degree of Significance
Representativeness
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it is an example of an early 20th century coaster.
Other Comparative Ships
Engines and hull construction;
john Oxley (1927), Steam Pilot Vessel, Sydney Maritime Museum;
Cheynes III, Steam Whaler, Albany Whaling Museum, Western Australia.
96
MIMOSA
Nature of Significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
l.The early history of the coastal trade of New South Wales and the Tasmania; and
2. Early marine salvage operations in New South Wales.
Technological
Amongst other attributes the site is of significance as it has the potential to illustrate the transition from wooden to iron hull construction in steam ship technology. It also has the potential to illustrate the development of marine engineering in the Australian Colonies and in Great Britain during the last century.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on iron of prolonged immersion in a marine environment and the quality of 19th century metallurgy. This information will provide an interesting comparison with information gathered from other iron wrecks found around the Australian coast.
The site may be of maritime archaeological importance and has only been investigated in a limited manner.
It is also hoped that sq.fficient hull structure survives to create a plan of the ship. To date no such plan has been found.
Educational
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because it has the potential to contribute knowledge about the economic development of the Tasmanian and New South Wales coastal regions, and marine engineering in the Australian colonies and Great Britain during last century.
De&ree of Significance
Rarity
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it is one of the earliest steam shipwrecks to have been found on the New South Wales coast.
97
Representativeness.
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because it is an example of the type of iron paddle steamer which was being developed in Great Britain and operated on the New South Wales coast in the 1850s.
98
OAKLAND
Nature of Significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
l.The history of the coastal trade on the New South Wales north coast; and
2. Early marine salvage operations in New South Wales.
Social
Amongst other attributes the site has the potential to illustrate the employment and social conditions associated with the New South Wales coastal trade.The site is also a memorial to those who died in the disaster.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on steel of prolonged exposure in a marine environment and the quality of late 19th century metallurgy.
The site may be of maritime archaeological importance and has only been investigated in a limited manner.
Educational
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because it has the potential to contribute knowledge about the economic and social development of the New South Wales north coast, and marine engineering in the Australian colonies and Great Britain during the latter half of last century.
Degree of Significance
Representativeness
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because it is an example of the type of steel screw steamer which was employed on the New South Wales coast in the 1890s and early 1900s.
Other Comparative Ships
Engines and hull construction;
99
john Oxley (1927), Steam Pilot Vessel, Sydney Maritime Museum;
Cheynes III, Steam Whaler, Albany Whaling Museum, Western Australia.
100
WALTER HOOD
Nature of Significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
1. The history of the British 'hard wood' eli pper and its emergence as a technological and economic challenge to the American and Canadian ship building industry;
2. The evolution of dipper ship design in the 1850s; and
3. The trading relationship which existed between the Australian colonies and Great Britain.
Social
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
1. The employment and social conditions associated with the clipper ships last century;
2. The dependence of the Australian colonies on the sea for transport and communication with the rest of the world; and
3. The social conditions which prevailed in Sydney and the rest of New South Wales between the 1850s and 1870s.
The site and the associated graves and monument are a memorial to those who lost their lives in the disaster.
Scientific
The site may be of maritime archaeological importance and has only been investigated in a limited manner.
Educational
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because it has the potential to contribute knowledge about the economic and social development of the New South Wales in the 1870s, and the nature of the trading relationship which existed between the Australian colonies and Great Britain.
101
Degree of Significance
Representative
Amongst other attributes the site offers the opportunity to discover the characteristics of a typical cargo to be brought out to Australia in the 1870s from Great Britain.
Other Comparative Wrecksites
Trading clippers on the Australian coast;
Carlisle Castle (1876); Wrecked 1899, south of Rockingham, Western Australia;
British Admiral (1873); Wrecked 1874, King Island, Tasmania.
102
YARRA YARRA
Nature of Significance
Historic
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
1. The formation and history of the Royal Shipwreck Relief Society;
2. The history of the Newcastle Lifeboat service; and
3. The history of the intercolonial and New South Wales coastal trade.
Social
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the following:
1. The employment and social conditions associated with the intercolonial and New South Wales coastal trade; and
2. The social development of the New South Wales coastal regions.
The site is a memorial to those who lost their lives in the disaster.
Technological
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it has the potential to illustrate the development of marine engineering in the Australian and New Zealand Colonies and in Great Britain during the last century.
Scientific
Amongst other attributes the site is significant as it represents an opportunity to study the effects on iron of prolonged immersion in a marine environment and the quality of 19th century metallurgy. This information will provide an interesting comparison with information gathered from other iron wrecks found around the Australian coast.
The site may be of maritime archaeological importance and has only been investigated in a limited manner.
It is also hoped that sufficient hull structure survives to create a plan of the ship. To date no such plan has been found.
r-1
I 103
Educational
Amongst other attributes the site is significant because of its potential to contribute towards knowledge of the economic, social and technological development of New South Wales and the evolution of Australian and British marine engineering during the last century.
Degree of Significance
Rarity
Amongst other attributes the site is important as it contains the remains of the earliest known marine steam engine which has been found in New South Wales.
----------------------------~ -- -
PART 3: CONCLUSION
104
Conclusion
The study has looked at the histories of 11 shipwrecks sites on the New South Wales coast and has discussed their significance. All of them have either been declared historic under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976), or are in the process of being assessed, prior to declaration.
None of these sites have been thoroughly investigated using appropriate maritime archaeological techniques and as a consequence their true value and significance is unknown.
The study has not looked at other 19th century, iron hulled, steam shipwreck sites which could be considered significant.
In particular the following:
1. Agnes Iroing
This paddle steamer was built in 1862 and wrecked on the Macleay River Bar in 1879.
The engine and part of the hull survive. The engine is believed to be the best example of an 'Oscillating' type steam engine, so far found on the New South Wales coast.
2. Florence Irving
This paddle steamer was built in 1864 and was converted to twin screw propulsion in Sydney in 1873.
In 1877 she was wrecked under the lighthouse, at Port Stephens.
3. Prince of Wales -
This paddle steamer was built in 1861 and was lost in 1862, at Camden Haven, after striking the Mermaid Reef.
4. Royal Shepherd
This vessel was built in 1853 by Blackwood and Gordon at Paisley in Scotland and was lost in 1890 when she was run down by the steamer Hesketh, off Sydney.
She may be one of the earliest screw steamer to be employed on the New South Wales coast and operated continually for 37 years.
Her engines were never modified, and are some of the most intact, and oldest, so far found on the coast. They were a smaller version of the engines built to replace the originals of the steamer Great Britain, in England.
105
The limitations of this study have also prevented an examination of the coastal sailing vessels and wooden steamersJ which played an integral role in the colonial history of New South Wales. Their importanceJ in contributing to the development of the coastal regions, was equal to that of the iron hulled, steam ships.
Recommendations
It is recommended that resources are allocated to study these additional 4 vessels, and the known sailing shipwreck sites of Port Stephens and the possible sailing shipwreck sites of Jervis Bay.
In additionJ it is recommended that further studies are made of primary sources and field work is carried out, to more accurately determine the history and heritage significance of the 11 shipwrecks of this study
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
A Narrative of the Melancholy Wreck of the 'Dunbar' Merchant Ship on the South Head of Port Jackson, August 20th 1857 with Illustrations of the Principle Localities. Published for the Proprietors by James Fryer, 1857.
Abbott.J, 1942, The Newcastle Packets and the Hunter Valley. The Currawong Publishing Co, Sydney.
Andrews. G, 1983, South Coast Steamers. Ken Jenkins, Geelong, Victoria.
Andrews. G, 1975, The Ferries of Sydney. A.H & A.W. Reed Pty Ltd, Sydney.
Bach. J, 1976, A Maritime History of Australia. Thomas Nelson West Melbourne.
Bowen. F, 1948, From Carrack to Clipper. A Book of Sailing Ship Models. Hatton & Company, London.
Brady. E, 1985, The Walter Hood. Shepp Books, Mt Colah, New South Wales.
Byron. T, 1986, Scuba Divers Guide. Southern New South Wales Coast. Aqua Sports Publications Pty Ltd, Australia.
Callen. T, 1986, Bar Dangerous. A Maritime History of Newcastle. Newcastle Region Maritime Museum in Association with the Runciman Press, Manly, New South Wales.
Fletcher. R, 1910, Steam Ships - The Story Of Their Development To The Present Day. Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd, London.
Johnson. D, 1987, New Zealand Maritime Heritage. William Collins Publishing, Auckland, New Zealand.
Loney. J, Australian Shipwrecks Vol 2 (1851-1871). 1980. A.H & A.W Reed, Sydney.
Loney. J, Australian Shipwrecks Vol 3 (1871 - 1900). 1982. List Publishing, Geelong.
Loney. J, Australian Shipwrecks Vol 4 (1901 - 1986).1987. Marine History Publications, Port Arlington.
Lubbock. B, 1973, The Blackwall Frigates. Brown, Son & Fergusen, Glasgow.
Lubbock. B, 1924, The Colonial Clippers. James Brown & Son, Glasgow.
MacCregor. D, 1988, Fast Sailing Ships. Their Design and Construction 1775-1875. Conway Maritime Press, London.
MacCregor. D, 1984, Merchant Sailing Ships 1850 - 1875. Conway Maritime Press & Lloyds of London Press, London.
McCarthy. M (ed), 1988, Iron Ships and Steam Shipwrecks. Papers from the first Australian seminar on the management of iron vessels and steam shipwrecks. Western Australian Maritime Museum, Cliff Street, Fremantle.
McKellar. N, 1977, From Derby Round to Burketown. The A.U.S.N. Story. University of Queensland Press, Queensland.
Norman. L , 1938, Pioneer Shipping of Tasmania; Whaling, Sealing, Piracy, Shipwreck etc, in Early Tasmania. J.Walch & Sons, Hobart.
O'May. D, 1976, Song of Steam. A Chronicle of Paddle Steamers and Screw Steamers in Tasmanian Waters 1832 - 1939. T.J.Hughs, Government Printer, Hobart.
Parsons. R, 1981, Australian Coastal Passenger Ships. Ronald Parsons, Magill, South Australia.
Parsons. R, May 1982, A Century - Wrecks of Steamships in New South Wales 1836 - 1936. Ronald Parsons, Magill, South Australia.
Parsons. R, 1970, A Pioneer Australian Steamship Company. A History of the Australasian Steam Navigation Company, Including a Fleet List. Ronald Parsons, South Australia.
Parsons. R, 1961, Details of Steamships Registered at the Port of Sydney Prior to 1900. Australian Section, World Ship Society. Ronald Parsons, South Australia.
Parsons. R, 1967, Paddle Steamers of Australasia. Ronald Parsons, Lobethal, South Australia.
Parsons. R, 1979, Steamers in the South. The Great Days of Steam Around Australia and New Zealand. Rigby, Australia.
Parsons. R, 19 __ Steamships Registered in Tasmania Prior to 1900. Ronald Parsons.
Pemberton. B, 1979, Australian Coastal Shipping. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
Plowman. P, 1981, Passenger Ships of Australia and New Zealand. Vol 1 1876-1912. Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd, Lane Cove, New South Wales.
Prescott. M, 1984, Sydney Ferry Fleets. R. Parsons, Magill, South Australia.
Richards. M, 1967, The North Coast Run. A History of The North Coast S.N.Co Ltd. K.J.Wass & Co, Epping, New South Wales.
Richards. M, 1980, The North Coast Run; Men and Ships of the New South Wales North Coast. Turton & Armstrong, New South Wales.
Richards. M, 1987, Workhorses in Australia Waters. A History of Marine Engineering in Australia. Turton & Armstrong, Wahroonga, New South Wales.
The Wallaroo and Moonta Mines. Their History, Nature and Methods Together with an Account of the Concentrating and Smelting Operations. 1914. Hussey & Gillingham, Adelaide.
Wotherspoon. G (ed), 1983, Sydneys Transport - Studies in Urban History. Hale & Iremonger in association with the Sydney History Group, Sydney.
ARTICLES & PAPERS
Lorimer. M, The John Penn Reappears. Australian Sea Heritage. Autumn 1985.
Mcdonnell.! & Ramsland. J, Road, Punt and Rail - Taree as a Pioneering Township, 1830 to 1913. Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, Vol 75, Part 4.
Parsons. R, Pre-union Steam Ship Companies of New Zealand: Steamers. Journal of the Australasian Maritime Historical Society. November 1970, Vol 1, No 6.
Portus. A, Early Australian Steamers 1831 - 1856. The Australian Historical Society Journal and Proceedings. 1904, Vol 2; Part 8 & 9.
Thame. G, The Wreck of the Ballina. Australian Maritime Archaeology Association Newsletter. 1979, No1.
REPORTS
Dunbar (1853 - 1857). Case for Provisional Declaration as a Historic Shipwreck. April 1989. Heritage Branch. New South Wales Department of Planning.
Duckenfield (1875 - 1889). Case for Provisional Declaration as a Historic Shipwreck. March 1989. Heritage Branch. New South Wales Department of Planning.
Engineer Surveyors Report. 'Lord Ashley'. 5th April 1875. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
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Extract from notes of Engineer Surveyor. Re:'S.S.Oakland'. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Extract from preliminary enquiry held at Sydney by the Superintendent on Monday the 1st June 1903 as to the circumstances attending the foundering of the 'S.S. Oakland' off Port Stevens on 27th May 1903. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
M.A.S. Site No 101. A Paddle Steam Tug. 1984. Marine Archaeological Society, Newcastle.
Police Report. West Kempsey Police Station. The Wreck of the 'Ballina '. 18th February 1879. Police Department Sydney. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Report. In the matter of a formal inquiry held at Sydney before his Honor (sic) Judge Backhouse, assisted by John James Simpson and Joshua Lewis Fawkes, Assessors, into the circumstances attending the foundering of the British steamship 'Oakland".
Report into the grounding of the 'Lord Ashley' on the Black Rocks on the 5th March 1875. Office of the Marine Board of New South wales 14th April 1875. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Report of the Marine Board of New South Wales on the matter of the loss of the 'Ballina'. Sydney 3rd March 1879. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Statement of Wrecks off the coast of New South Wales from the year 1873 to 1896. Unsourced. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Surveyors Report. NSW Department of Navigation.'S.S. Oakland'; General report for the information of the Crown Solicitor. 9th June 1903. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Vessels wrecked on or near the coast of NSW. Department of Planning. Unsourced. Walter Hood (1852 - 1870). Case for Provisional Declaration as a Historic Shipwreck. April 1989. Heritage Branch. New South Wales Department of Planning.
Yarra Yarra (1851 - 1877). Case for Provisional Declaration as a Historic Shipwreck. July 1989. Heritage Branch. New South Wales Department of Planning.
LEITERS
Captain Bristow to Captain Hixson, Chairman of the Marine Board. November 6th 1878. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Captain Edward Kingsford to Captain Hixson. February 21st 1879. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Mr H. Williams (Company Secretary), Clarence & Richmond River Stearn Navigation Company to The President, Marine Board. November 7th 1872. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
Mr J. Manning to The President of the Marine Board, Sydney. April 8th 1875. New South Wales Maritime Services Board Library.
DIARIES
Diary of captain J. Petherbridge of the S.S. Duckenfield. Transcribed by Alan and Neil McLennan. The Diary is the property of Mrs Joan Wallace, Terrigal, New South Wales.
SHIPPING REGISTERS
Lloyds Register of British and Foriegn Shipping, 1857- 1911. Lloyds Insurance Company, London.
British Register of Shipping; Port of Hobart; Port of Sydney.
NEWSPAPERS
Age
Australasian Banking and Insurance Review
Brisbane Courier
Daily Telegraph
Empire
Hobart Mercury
Kiama Independent
Illawara Mercury
Illustrated London News
Illustrated Sydney News
Moruya Liberal
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate
Star
Sydney Mail
Sydney Morning Herald
The Auckland Weekly Register and Commercial and Shipping Gazette
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APPENDIX
Historic Shipwrecks Research Project
STUDY OBJECTIVES
The study aims to evaluate a number of shipwreck sites along the New South Wales coast in terms of established heritage criteria for maritime archaeological sites in New South Wales.
THE STUDY AREA
The study area is the New South Wales Coast in open waters subject to the Historic Shipwrecks Act, 1976, from Port Macquarie to Tathra.
BACKGROUND
Since 1979, five shipwrecks have been declared historic in New South Wales under the provisions of the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act, 1976. Another three sites are covered by provisional declaration and a two further sites will be considered in the near future.
Four of the declared historic sites were gazetted prior to the appointment of the Director of Planning as delegate for the administration of the Historic Shipwrecks Act in New South Wales. None of the sites have been subject to a detailed historical study. Such a study is necessary for the development of adequate plans of management for these sites.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT REPORT
The Consultant will be required to:
l.Provide a brief description of the maritime and terrestrial themes which relate to the 10 sites;
2.Prepare thorough historical documentation of the sites (including social and technological detail), and to describe the sites in terms of the identified themes. (The documentation will include, where possible, extant photographs, drawings, or ships plans);
3.To provide brief comparisons, where appropriate, with comparable known shipwreck sites in other Australian States and Territories;
4.Prepare an annotated (brief) bibliography of relevant primary and secondary sources.
ANALYSIS
Prepare a summary statement of the potential heritage significance of each site (pending archaeological investigation), considering its regional, State and national context;
Identify limitations of this study and further research that may be needed.
TIMING OF REPORTS
The consultant will be required to prepare reports which incorporate the results of the work outlined above as follows, or as negotiated by the consultant prior to commencement;
Two copies of a project work program, 2 weeks from the date of the commencement of the Consultancy agreement;
Two copies of the draft final report 10 weeks after the approval of the project work program by the project director;
Two originals and four copies of the final report are required 2 weeks after the approval of the draft final report by the project director.
The final report will be presented in accordance with the Department's Guidelines for the Preparation of Consultant Reports.
STUDY SUPERVISION
The study will be supervised by the Department's Maritime Archaeologist, Mr. David Nutley. The Project Director will be the Head of Heritage Assessments, Resources Division, or the Manager, Heritage Branch.
THE CONSULTANT
The consultancy should be undertaken by a consulting maritime archaeologist, or historian, with at least 2 years consulting experience or by a sub-consultancy as necessary.
OWNERSHIP AND COPYRIGHT
The ownership and copyright of any information and study results and originals of all maps, reports, plans, photographic prints and negatives supplied as progress, draft final or final reports by the consultant pursuant to this agreement, shall be vested in the client.
The client may permit the consultant to utilise information gained in the course of this study for the purpose of learned papers, or other publications, provided that appropriate acknowledgement is given in such papers that confidentiality is respected.
CONFIDENTIALITY
All work arising out of or in respect of or in any way connected with this consultancy will remain confidential unless such release is jointly approved by the Department of Planning and, in respect to National Estate Grant funds, the Commonwealth Government.
As a general principle, the publication and dissemination of material is encouraged in order to further public awareness of New South Wales's environmental heritage and the objectives of the National Estate Program.