Dunbar (shipwreck)

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The Dunbar was full-rigged ship that was wrecked near the entrance to Sydney Harbour, Australia in 1857 with the loss of 121 lives.

The Dunbar was a Blackwall Frigate of 1321 tons register, 201.9 feet between perpendiculars, 35 feet beam and 22.7 feet depth of hold, built by James Laing at Sunderland, England for London shipowner Duncan Dunbar. The Dunbar was launched on 30 November 1853 and entered the passenger and cargo trade between London and Sydney early the following year. She was one of a number of large sailing ships that began trading to Australia as a result of the Australian gold rushes.

On the night of 20 August, 1857, the ship approached the entrance to Sydney Harbour from the south, but heavy rain and a strong gale made navigating difficult. The ship's captain, either erroneously believing he had already passed the harbour's southern headland or mistaking a smaller break in the coastline known as The Gap for the port's entrance, drove the ship onto rocks. The force of the gale caused the Dunbar to break up. Crew member James Johnson was thrown against the cliffs from the impetus of the collision and managed to scramble to safety, however he remained undiscovered for two days. The remainder of the passengers and crew were drowned. A day of public mourning was declared and the bodies were interred in a mass grave at St Stephens Cemetery in Newtown. A memorial to the victims of the Dunbar can still be found within the cemetery grounds.

James Johnson was later employed in the pilot service at Newcastle, New South Wales, and was instrumental in rescuing the sole survivor of the paddle steamer Cawarra wrecked there in 1866.