Shipwrecks of Tasmania

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Shipwrecks of Tasmania are Shipwrecks which have occurred in and around the archipelago of islands that make up the island state of Tasmania, Australia.

Tasmania is an island and since the time of European colonisation by the British but prior to the advent of aviation, the population had been entirely reliant upon the sea for all physical contact with the outside world.

Since European discovery in 1642 by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, many explorers and many vessels visited Tasmania, or Tasmania's waters. Following the establishment of a British settlement in 1803 at Hobart, a local boat building industry began almost immdeiately. Since that time Tasmania has had a very strong connection to the sea, and both commercial and recreational sailing has been a constant feature of Tasmania's history.

Tasmania's geographical position latitude 42° South, longitude 147° East, is along the line of latitude that places it in the path of the powerful winds known as the roaring forties, a powerful band of westerly winds which blow across the southern ocean. Mariners of the 18th and 19th centuries utilised these winds to shorten the time it took them to reach Australia after rounding the Cape of Good Hope on their way from Europe. However, these same winds also lead to the destruction of many vessels in raging seas and fierce storms. Over 1,000 vessels are known to have been wrecked in Tasmanian waters, including the eighth oldest known wreck in Australia, the Sydney Cove.

The Tasmanian coastline also posed several risks for mariners in the age of sail. It is regularly interspersed with jagged cliffs and submerged off shore rocks. Also many of the inlets and bays which do provide shelter have dangerous entrances. The weather which affects Tasmania has also contributed to many wrecks. Tasmania can be susceptible to violent storms, such as the one which sank five boats competing in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

Many of the wrecks in Tasmanian Waters have claimed lives, and the waters surrounding the island remain a watery grave for them. This list includes many vessels marked (X) that were lost with all hands in the so-called Bass Strait Triangle.

Contents

[edit] List of Known Tasmanian Wrecks Accompanied by Loss of Life

  • 1797 Sydney Cove, full rigged ship, beached at Preservation Island after springing a leak at sea, no lives lost in the imeediate wreck, but many in subsequent boat voyage to Sydney or on the island as castaways.
  • 1804 Hebe, 250 ton full rigged ship, ran onto reef approaching the entrance of the Tamar River, 1 life lost.
  • 1814 Argo, 4 gun barque, was stolen by convict bolters who took it to sea, to be never heard from again, 13 or 14 presumed lost.
  • 1822 Actaeon full rigged ship hit reef in D’Entrecasteaux Channel, no lives lost off ship, but one salvage boat capsized, 2 lives lost.
  • 1826 Sally, schooner, wrecked near Cape Portland, 13 lives lost.
  • 1827 Dotterel, brig, wrecked near Tamar Heads, one crerwman drowned.
  • 1833 Portland, full rigged ship, wrecked east of Tamar Heads, 2 lives lost.
  • 1834 Jane, schooner, St. Helens Bar, East Coast, three or four lives lost.
  • 1835 George III, convict transport, Wrecked on rocks off Southport. 133 lives lost.
  • 1835 Neva, convict transport, wrecked off King Island, 225 lives lost.
  • 1835 Enchantress, barque, hit rocks and sank off south-west coast of Bruny Island, seventeen lives lost.
  • 1836 Louisa, schooner, sank off Bruny Island, several lives lost.
  • 1837 Mars, schooner, foundered in Storm Bay, four lives lost.
  • 1838 Lady Franklin, schooner, missing in Bass Strait, about 20 lives lost.(?X)
  • 1838 Port Phllip Packet, missing in Bass Strait, 6 lives lost. (X)
  • 1838 Yarra Yarra, schooner, missing in Bass Strait, about 25 lives lost. (X)
  • 1839 Agnes, schooner, foundered in Bass Strait, all hands (about 6) lives lost. (X)
  • 1839 Britomart, barque, foundered in the Furneaux Group, all hands (about 30) lost. (X)
  • 1840 Echo, schooner, wrecked in gale off the west coast of Tasman Peninsula, all hands (about 8) lost.
  • 1841 Humber, schooner, missing between Port Arthur, Tasmania and Hobart, all hands (about 6) lost.
  • 1842 Edward, schooner, Missing between Circular Head and Launceston, Tasmania, all hands (about 15) lost. (X)
  • 1843 Charlotte, cutter, wrecked at Falmouth, 2 lives lost.
  • 1845 Cataraqui, full rigged ship, wrecked on King Island, 400 lives lost.
  • 1845 Mary, barque, hit rocks and broke up north-west of Flinders Island, 17 lives lost.
  • 1846 Maria Orr, barque, whaler wrecked at Recherche Bay, one life lost.
  • 1848 John Pirie, schooner, wrecked off the Furneaux Group in Bass Strait, all hands (about 10) lost. (X)
  • 1848 Governor Phillip, Government brig, on Gull island in Bass Strait, 16 lives lost.
  • 1848 Harriett, schooner, missing in Bass Strait, all hands (about 7) lost. (X)
  • 1850 Lady Denison, barque, foundered off far north-west coast, all hands (40) lost. (X)
  • 1850 Albert, schooner, foundered in Bass Strait, all hands (about 6) lost. (X)
  • 1850 Resolution, cutter, wrecked off Bicheno, six lives lost.
  • 1851 Fairy, schooner, sank off Tamar Heads, three loves lost.
  • 1852 Zephyr, schooner, wrecked near Bream Creak, eight lives lost.
  • 1853 Antares, schooner, wrecked in the Furneaux Goup, eight lives lost.
  • 1853 Rebecca, barque, on the west coast near Arthur River, eight lives lost.
  • 1854 Lioness, schooner, at Clarke Island on the Furneaux Group, four lives lost.
  • 1854 Brahmin, full rigged ship, off King Island, 16 lives lost.
  • 1854 Dolphin, cutter, wrecked in Louisa Bay, 11 lives lost.
  • 1855 Whistler, American full rigged ship, on the northern end of King Island, two lives lost.
  • 1855 Maypo, brig, on the northern end of King Island, four lives lost.
  • 1858 Blanch, cutter, last seen of Tasmania's east coast before disappearing at sea, 5 crew presumed lost.
  • 1861 Tyne, schooner, near Cape Pillar, four lives lost.
  • 1862 Reindeer, schooner, foundered in Bass Sttarit, all hands (about 10) lost. (X)
  • 1863 Red Jacket, schooner, missing in Bass Strait, about 8 lives lost. (X)
  • 1863 Creole, brig, foundered off Swan Island, 29 lives lost. Dead and wreckage illegally plundered. (X)
  • 1863 Grecian Queen, 378 ton brig, missing in Bass Strait, wreckage found at Swan Island, all hands lost (unknown, about 10). (X)
  • 1864 Sea Breeze, barque, at Circular Head (Stanley), one life lost.
  • 1865 Glimpse, cutter, on a voyage from Wynyard to Launceston, lost with all hands (including 5 passengers). (X)
  • 1873 City of Hobart, fishing boat, lost between Hobart and Blackmans Bay, 1 life lost.
  • 1874 British Admiral steamer, wrecked on reef off King Island 79 lives lost
  • 1874 Albion, ketch, disappeared off north-west coast, 2 lives presumed lost. (X)
  • 1874 Eclipse, schooner, near Hobart, 2 lives lost.
  • 1875 Comet, barque, lost between New Zealand and Hobart, 13 lives lost.
  • 1883 Beryl cutter, capsised off Tamar Heads, 2 lives lost.
  • 1884 Farningham Composite barque, collided with iron barque Vanguard, and the order was given to abandon ship. Crew was transferred to Vanguard but three were trapped in forecastle, 3 lives lost.
  • 1898 Annie Ward, ketch sank in storm off South Arm, 3 lives lost.
  • 1903 Chris, fishing boat, unregistered, lost between Hobart and Adventure Bay, 3 lives lost.
  • 1904 Acacia, cargo barque, broke up without trace after hitting "Acacia Rocks", West Coast north of Port Davey, 9 lives lost.
  • 1904 Brier Holme, barque, sank off southwest Tasmania after striking a reef and having cargo of dynamite explode onboard, 17 lives lost.
  • 1907 Alfhild, iron barque, smashed against cliffs in wild seas off Port Davey, 4 lives lost, 13 men made it to boats, but 7 were lost at sea, presumed dead.
  • 1908 Orion, steamship, foundered in Bass Strait, all hands (27) lost. (X)
  • 1909, Kawatiri, steamship, wrecked after hitting breakwater at Macquarie Harbour Heads, six lives lost.
  • 1919 Southern Cross, schooner, caught fire and sank in Bass Strait, all hands (9) lost. (X)
  • 1920 Amelia J., schooner, lost at sea in Bass Strait crew of 12 presumed lost. A biplane used in the search was also lost without trace off the Furneaux Group. (?X)
  • 1925 Clyde, fishing boat, sank in huge seas off Recherche Bay, 3 lives lost.
  • 1959 Blythe Star, 138 ton cargo ship, engine room exploded and ensuing fire burned her to the water, before she sank, explosion killed engineer instantly, 10 crew survived.
  • 1961 Flying Scud, fishing boat, entangled in heavy kelp off Fluted Cape and smashed onto the rocks in the swell. 1 life lost.
  • 1962 Gondwana, fishing ketch, foundered off Maatsuyker Island, 2 lives lost.
  • 1973 Blythe Star (2), 144 ton cargo ship, bizarrely just 14 years after her predecessor sank, another vessel renamed after the first, the second Blythe Star became overdue after leaving Hobart for King Island, and despite the most extensive air search ever conducted in Australia at the time, the vessel could not be located. Seven crew were found 11 days later on the Tasman Peninsula having escaped to the liferaft when she suddenly capsized and sank off South West Cape, Tasmania, although 3 lives were lost.
  • 1975 Bunyip, sloop-rigged yacht, swamped in Bass Strait, 1 life lost.
  • 1975 Lake Illawarra, Bulk carrier, sunk in the Derwent River, after colliding with the Tasman Bridge, 12 lives lost.
  • 1990 Great Expectations, sloop, returning to Melbourne following a successful completion of the Melbourne to Devonport Yacht Race, she disappeared somewhere in the vicinity of Cape Portland without trace. It was believed she was swamped by a giant wave. Personal effects were all that was recovered. 6 lives lost. (X)
  • 1997 Eastern Star, fishing boat, swamped by freak 15 metre wave whilst at anchor, in mouth of Pieman River, 3 lives lost and never recovered.
  • 1997 Helen J., fishing boat, broke up in heavy weather off the Pieman River, 2 lives lost.

[edit] Some Significant Wrecks without loss of life

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

Graeme Broxam & Michael Nash, Tasmanian Shipwrecks, Volumes 1 & 2, Navarine Publishing, Canberra, 1998 & 2000.