Showing 111 items
matching cape nelson
-
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Wood Sample, About 1871
This piece of timber from the ship Eric the Red has been eaten through by the marine animals called Teredo Worms, sometimes called sea worms or ‘termites of the sea’. The worms bore holes into wood that is immersed in sea water and bacteria inside the worms digest the wood. Shipbuilders tried to prevent this problem by using coatings of tar, wax, lead or pitch. In the 18th and 19th centuries the outside of their ships were sheathed in copper or a combination of copper and zinc (called Muntz metal) and would be re-metalled periodically to ensure the sheathing would remain effective. In more recent times the ships are protected with a toxic coating. The American ship Eric the Red was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric ‘the Red-haired’ Thorvaldsson , who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) – about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Zaccheus Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were also 2 saloon passengers on board. The ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. As Eric the Red approached Cape Otway there was a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. On 4th September 1880 at about 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. The sea knocked the helmsman away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The lifeboats were swamped, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast also fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer SS Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. She was built in 1876 and bought by the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co. in 1877. At the time of this journey she was commanded by Captain Jones, and was sailing between Melbourne and Portland via Warrnambool. The provedore of the Dawn, Benjamin Lear, heard cries of distress coming through the portholes of the saloon. He gave the alarm and the engines were stopped. Cries could be heard clearly, coming from the land. Captain Jones sent out crew in two boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital for care and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Zaccheus Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, several samples of wood and a medal for bravery, awarded to Nelson Johnson, a crew member of the S.S. Dawn by the U.S. President, for the rescue of the crew. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. A Mr G.W. Black has in his possession a medal and a purse that were awarded to his father, another Dawn crew member who was part of the rescue team. The medal is inscribed and named “To John Black ….” (from “Shipwrecks” by Margaret E. Mackenzie, 3rd edition, published 1964). The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. Nelson Johnson, recipient of the medal for bravery, married Elizabeth Howard in 1881 and they had 10 children. They lived in South Melbourne, Victoria. Nelson died in 1922 in Fitzroy Victoria, age 66. In 1895 the owners of the S.S. Dawn, the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co., wound up and sold out to the Belfast Company who took over the Dawn for one year before selling her to Howard Smith. She was condemned and sunk in Suva in 1928. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn".The wood (timber) sample is listed on the Collections Australia Database, Heritage Victoria, number 239 00010 A “The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) Wood sample from the wreck of the ship Eric the Red. Oblong shaped, full of sea worm (Teredo worm) holes. The wood is dark in colour and is very light in weight. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwreck-artefact, eric-the-red, zaccheus-allen, sewall, 1880, melbourne-exhibition, cape-otway, otway-reef, wood-sample, s.s.-dawn -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Functional object - Ship's Wheel, 1871 or earlier
The ship building company E. & A. Sewall, from Bath, Maine, USA, built many ships that had wheels with the same decorative, starburst pattern on them as this particular wheel segment, including the Eric the Red. The wheel was manufactured by their local Bath foundry, Geo. Moulton & Co. and sold to the Sewall yard for $100, according to the construction accounts of the vessel. Eric the Red was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, and was the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows that Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric the Red, who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) - about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - from America for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Z. Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were 2 saloon passengers also. On 4th September 1880 the ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. Eric the Red approached Cape Otway in a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. Around 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. A heavy sea knocked the man away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The sea swamped the lifeboats, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. Cries were heard coming from out of the darkness. Captain Jones sent out two life boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Z. Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. The captain and crew of the Dawn were recognised by the United States Government in July 1881 for their humane efforts and bravery, being thanked and presented with substantial monetary rewards, medals and gifts. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, samples of wood and a medal for bravery. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn". “The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) Segment of a ship's wheel, or helm, from the wreck of the sailing ship Eric the Red. The wheel part is an arc shape from the outer rim of the wheel and is made up of three layers of timber. The centre layer is a dark, dense timber and is wider than the two outer layers, which are less dense and lighter in colour. The wheel segment has a vertically symmetrical, decorative copper plate inlaid on the front. The plate has a starburst pattern; six stars decorate it, each at a point where there is a metal fitting going through the three layers of timber to the rear side of the wheel. On the rear each of the six fittings has an individual copper star around it. The edges of the helm are rounded and bevelled, polished to a shine in a dark stain. Around each of the stars, front and back, the wood is a lighter colour, as though the metal in that area being polished frequently. The length of the segment suggests that it has probably come from a wheel or helm that had ten spokes. (Ref: F.H.M.M. 16th March 1994, 239.6.610.3.7. Artefact Reg No ER/1.)flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, ship's-wheel, eric-the-red, helm, shei's wheel, ship's steering wheel -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Decorative object - Sword, 1871 or earlier
This wooden sword is said to “possibly be the only remaining part of the figurehead from the sailing ship Eric the Red.” It was previously part of the collection of the old Warrnambool Museum and the entry in its inventory says “Wooden sword, portion of the figurehead, held by “Eric the Red” at the bow.” A large part of the ship’s hull was found on the rocks and a figurehead may have been attached or washed up on the shore. The shipping records for E. & A. Sewall, the builders, owners and managers of Eric the Red, are now preserved in the Maine Maritime Museum. There is no photograph on record of Eric the Red but photographs of other ships built around that time by the same company show that these did not have figureheads, and there is no record found of a figurehead for Eric the Red being ordered or paid for. Further research is being carried out. The ship building company E. & A. Sewall, from Bath, Maine, USA, built Eric the Red, a wooden, three masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, and was the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows that Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric the Red, who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) - about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - from America for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Z. Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were 2 saloon passengers also. On 4th September 1880 the ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. Eric the Red approached Cape Otway in a moderate north-west wind and hazy and overcast atmosphere. Around 1:30am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, south west of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. A heavy sea knocked the man away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The sea swamped the lifeboats, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its rigging, then the mainmast fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. Cries were heard coming from out of the darkness. Captain Jones sent out two life boats, and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Z. Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and the able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia, passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. The captain and crew of the Dawn were recognised by the United States Government in July 1881 for their humane efforts and bravery, being thanked and presented with substantial monetary rewards, medals and gifts. Neither the ship, nor its cargo, was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steam ship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated on to Point Franklin. Some of the vessels yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of floating wreckage about 10 miles off land, south east of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and fly catchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, samples of wood and a medal for bravery. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and tea pots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and sheds around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7 foot long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at ship building in Apollo bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn".The Eric the Red is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse. (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA)This carved wooden sword, recovered from the Eric the Red, is possibly the only portion of the figurehead recovered after the wreck. There are spirals carved from the base of the handle to the top of the sword. The hilt of the sword is a lion’s head holding its tail in its mouth, the tail forming the handle. The blade of the sword has engraved patterns on it. Tiny particles of gold leaf and dark blue paint fragments can be seen between the carving marks. There are remnants of yellowish-orange and crimson paint on the handle. At some time after the sword was salvaged the name of the ship was hand painted on the blade in black paint. The tip of the sword has broken or split and the remaining part is charcoal in appearance. On both the tip and the base of the handle are parts made where the sword could have been joined onto the figurehead There is a white coating over some areas of the sword, similar to white lead putty used in traditional shipbuilding. The words “ERIC the RED” have been hand painted on the blade of the sword in black paint sometime after it was salvaged.flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, sword, wooden sword, eric the red, carved sword, figurehead, snake head on sword -
Orbost & District Historical Society
black and white photograph, 16.7.1956
This photograph shows Nelson Burn reading a telegram from the queen to his grandmother, Mrs Paul Hocking, on her 100th birthday. Her husband, James Hocking, was the first watchmaker in Orbost. He had been a lay preacher at Wangaratta and Yan Yean before coming to Orbost. He was an 1891 Rechabite and an Orbost Shire Councillor. Eliza Ann Hocking (nee Eddy) was born on 16.7.1856 at Blackwater Hall in England, She had arrived in Australia on the sailing boat "Poocia" on 8-7-1880. The voyage following the Cape route took about 7 weeks. For a time, with her husband, she lived at Chewton, on the gold fields, before coming to Orbost. She was a foundation member of the Methodist Ladies’ Guild in 1912. She lived in Salisbury Street, Orbost. She died on 9.4.1957. Colin Nelson Burn, born 7.7.1921, was her grandson, son of Robert Alfred Burn and Edith Jane Hocking. He began Sta-Brite' Painting and Decorating Services in Salisbury Street, Orbost. He served in the forces during World War II. He was a Life member of the Snowy Rovers Football Club. He joined the Orbost Fire Brigade on 1-5-1946. He died 1.2.2015. His son, Peter continues the painting business in Orbost. (info. from John Phillips)This is a pictorial record of an Orbost resident reaching 100 years. A 100 year birthday is a significant milestone. The Hocking / Burn family have been associated with the Orbost district since 1889.A large black / white photograph of an elderly lady standing beside a younger man who is holding a letter and reading to her.hocking-mrs burn-nelson telegram-queen-100th-birthday -
Seaworks Maritime Museum
Model ship, HMS Sirius
Built in 1780 as the Berwick for the East India trade. She was badly burnt in a fire and was bought and rebuilt by the navy in 1786 and renamed 'Sirius'. After her arrival in Port Jackson, she remained as a supply ship and sailed to the Cape of Good Hope in October 1788 to obtain food supplies for the starving colony. After returning she was wrecked off Norfolk Island on the 14th of April 1790. Being 540 tons and skippered by Captain John Hunter. Model of the "HMS Sirius" first fleet -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Postcard, after October 1805
The British Royal Navy’s warship HMS Victory was once Lord Nelson’s flagship. The HMS Victory was built in 1765 and after serving active duty is now, in 2019, still a ship of the Royal Navy, in dry dock undergoing continuous restoration to preserve her for display as a museum ship, due to the vessel’s significant naval history. Battle of Trafalgar: On October 21, 1805, twenty-seven British ships of the line, led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory, defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships of the line under French Admiral Villeneuve. The battle took place in the Atlantic Ocean off the southwest coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar, near the town of Los Caños de Meca. The victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century and it was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from the prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy of the day. Conventional practice at the time was for opposing fleets to engage each other in single parallel lines, in order to facilitate signalling and disengagement and to maximise fields of fire and target areas. Nelson instead arranged his ships into two columns to sail perpendicularly into the enemy fleet's line. During the battle, Nelson was shot by a French musketeer and he died shortly before the battle ended. Villeneuve was captured, along with his ship Bucentaure. He later attended Nelson's funeral while a captive on parole in Britain. Admiral Federico Gravina, the senior Spanish flag officer, escaped with the remnant of the fleet. He died five months later from wounds sustained during the battle. It was prior to this battle that Nelson had issued his now-famous final orders to his ships in 12 separate flag-hoists “England expects that every man will do his duty”. This wood sample is historically significant for its association with Admiral Lord Nelson the Battle of Trafalgar. Through Nelson’s leadership and unorthodox battle tactics, he secured not only a victory against the French and Spanish but reaffirmed Britain's naval supremacy opening the way for Britain to continuing the policy of colonisation of many countries including Australia.Coloured postcard of sailing ship, warship or battleship, deck cannons on the ship and in the foreground, many signal flags flying from the masts. Printed on the front "H.M.S. Victory Flying Lord Nelson Famous Signal". The signal was given by Lord Nelson in 1805.Printed on the front "H.M.S. Victory / Flying Lord Nelson Famous Signal"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, post card, postcard, sailing ship, vice-admiral lord nelson, horatio nelson, lord nelson, oak piece, piece of oak, nelson, battle of trafalgar, maritime technology, ship relics, 18th century warship, british royal navy, sir home popham’s telegraphic code, admiralty official day signal book, october 21, 1805, admiral lord nelson, french and spanish navies, nelson's famous signal, england expects that every man will do his duty, hms victory, nelson collection at lloyd's, lloyd’s of london, lloyd’s patriotic fund, napoleonic battles, british naval history, 18th century warship, 18th century battleship -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Document, 12-01-1882
This hand written letter, in black ink script on blue lined paper, is impressed with the official stamp of the Victoria Steam Navigation Board. The left margin has the reference “S82/12" It is transcribed: "Victoria Steam Navigation Board, Melbourne, January 12th 1882 To Frederick Chapman, Master, S.S. "Julia Percy" You are herewith furnished with a copy of the report of the Official Court which assembled to enquire into the circumstances attending the collision between the steamers "Julia Percy" and "Nelson" off Apollo Bay near Cape Otway on the morning of the 25th December 1881, and you are hereby expected to attend at the Board Room, Custom House, Melbourne, at 2pm, on 13th January instant to show cause why you should not be censured accordingly. [Signature] Secretary" This document refers to the matter of a collision between two steamships, the Julia Percy and the Nelson, on 25th December 1881. The Julia Percy was at that time owned by her first owners, the Warrnambool Steam Packet Company, and she sailed under the command of Captain Chapman. She had left Melbourne the evening of 24th December, with about 150 passengers, sailing in fine weather through Port Phillip Heads around 9pm. She was headed for Warrnambool, Belfast (now named Port Fairy) and Portland. The Julia Percy was off Apollo Bay when Captain Chapman was woken by the ship’s whistle after midnight, the steamer Nelson being on a collision course with the Julia Percy.[See Link.] The Nelson struck Julia Percy midship. Boats were lowered from the ship (apart from a damaged lifeboat) and about 30-40 of the passengers boarded the Nelson. The engine room and the forehold were checked and found clear of water. The company manager, Mr Evans, had been on the Nelson, so he boarded and inspected the Julia Percy and the decision was made to continue on to Warrnambool with the passengers as there appeared to be no immediate danger. However, Captain Thomas Smith said the Nelson was taking on water, so Julia Percy followed her for about an hour towards Melbourne on standby in case of need. Then Julia Percy turned around towards Warrnambool again. Shortly afterwards the Nelson turned to follow her, the ships stopped and passengers were returned to Julia Percy, and three from Julia Percy boarded the Nelson. Both ships proceeded on their way. Julia Percy passed Cape Otway light afterwards, signalling that there had been a collision. It was discovered later that one of the passengers was missing, then thought to have boarded the Nelson but later thought to have fallen into the sea and drowned while trying to jump from Julia Percy to Nelson. There had been 3 tickets purchased under the same name of that passenger “Cutler”; a father, son and friend named Wordsworth, which had caused quite some confusion. No further mishap occurred to either ship and both the Julia Percy and the Nelson reached their destinations safely. An enquiry was instigated by the Victoria Steam Navigation Board regarding the cause of the accident between the two steamships, in connection with the death of Cutler who was supposed to have lost his life by the collision. The enquiry resulted in the following decision: "The Victorian Steam Navigation Board having taken into consideration the points urged by Captain Thos [Thomas] Smith and also by his legal advisers, is of opinion that the charge prepared against him has been sustained, but taking into consideration Captain Smith’s previous good conduct and character, the board suspends his master’s certificate No 227 issued by this board for a period of six calendar months from this date – Robert Fullarton, Chairman. “The Victorian Steam Navigation Board having beard the statement of Captain Frederick Chapman urged in his defense to the charge of dereliction of duty as master of the Julia Percy, in having no standing order on board that vessel to be called in the event of any approaching steamer’s lights being seen, find such charge sustained, and censure him accordingly – Robert Fullarton, Chairman.” ABOUT “JULIA PERCY” The S.S. Julia Percy (later named Leeuwin ) was an iron passenger-cargo steam ship built in 1876. At one point in time the Julia Percy would sail from Warrnambool to Melbourne every Friday and return from Melbourne to Warrnambool every Tuesday. The cost of a return ticket for a Saloon Fare was £1.0.0. She would sail “if practical and weather permitting”. Shipping was the cheapest and most practical means of carrying produce and goods during the period 1840-1890. Regular domestic steamer services commenced in the Warrnambool district in the late 1850’s and by 1870 the passenger trade was booming. Produce was loaded from the jetty into ‘lighters’ (small boats), which took it to the ships at anchorage in the bay. Passengers were taken to the ship’s side then climbed aboard up ladders or gangways. The coming of the railway in October 1889 meant the gradual decline and end of the steam shipping era. The Julia Percy was built in Glasgow by Thomas Wingate & Company, Whiteinch, in 1876 for the Warrnambool Steam Packet Company, which commissioned her for trade in Victoria’s western district. She was first registered in Warrnambool, Victoria in 1876. The Julia Percy changed hands several times. Her next owner was the Western Steam Navigation Co (1887), managed by Mr. T.H. Osborne (the company’s office was on the corner of Timor and Liebig Streets, Its north-western wall is now part of the current Warrnambool Regional Art Gallery. ) The Melbourne Steamship Co became the next owners (1890), followed by William Howard Smith and Sons (1901) for use in Queensland coastal trades, then she was bought by George Turnbull in 1903 and used for local mail contract in Western Australia. The Julia Percy was sold to the Melbourne Steamship Company Ltd. (1906) and re-named the “Leeuwin” but continued in her Western Australian coastal run. She was converted into a coal hulk in Melbourne in 1910 as a result of damaged caused when she was driven against the jetty at Dongara during a gale. The ship was eventually dismantled and scuttled in Bass Strait on 28 December 1934. The document is significant for its association with the wreck of the Leeuwin (Julia Percy), which is on the Victorian Heritage Register, VHR S413. . It is historically significant for being a rare artefact that has potential to interpret aspects of Western Victoria’s 19th century steamship trade and Victorian cultural history. The Leeuwin (Julia Percy) is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register as being historically significant ‘as one of only four wrecks of steamships in Victorian waters associated with the western district of Victoria’s coastal steamship trade. Reports of Victoria Steam Navigation Board about the collision on 25th December 1881 between the steamers " Julia Percy" and "Nelson". Letter from Victoria Steam Navigation Board, Melbourne to Frederick Chapman, Master, S.S. "Julia Percy", dated January 12th 1882. reference on letter in left margin "S82/12"flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill –maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, victoria steam navigation board, captain frederick chapman, captain thomas smith, thomas wingate & company, steamer julia percy, steamer leeuwin, steamer nelson, steam ship, warrnambool steam packet company, t. h. ostorne, western steam navigation co., charles cutler -
Queenscliffe Maritime Museum
Photograph - Reproduced Photograph, "Nelson" in Alfred Graving Dock Williamstown, Victoria 1872
HMS Nelson was a 126-gun ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched on 4 July 1814 at Woolwich Dockyard she was later converted into a screw ship in 1860, and was cut down to a two-decker and fitted with an engine of 2,102 indicated horsepower. In 1865, HMVS Nelson was given to the colony of Victoria as a training ship. She was outfitted and rigged for £42,000 and sailed for Australia in October 1867. Travelling via the Cape of Good Hope, she arrived in February 1868. She was the first ship to dock in the newly constructed Alfred Graving Dock in Williamstown, Victoria.Possibly the first training ship of the Victorian Navy which had a base in Swan Island in Queenscliffe.A black and white photograph of the sailing ship HMS later HMVS Nelson docked at the Alfred Graving Dock, Williamstown, 1872"Nelson" in Alfred Graving Dock Williamstown, Victoria 1872hms nelson, hmvs nelson, alfred graving dock, williamstown -
Otway Districts Historical Society
Book, Neptune Press Pty Ltd, Beacons of Hope, 1981
George Bass and Matthew Flinders made a voyage along the northern coast of Van Diemen's Land in 1798 to prove the existence of Bass Strait. The first vessel to attempt such a passage was the "Lady Nelson" under Lieutenant James Grant. Men sought out Bass Strait without the benefit of a lighthouse for the first half of the 19th Century after which, after several maritime disasters, on 29 August 1848, Cape Otway lighthouse commenced operation. Cape Wickham lighthouse, on King Island, joined its companion at Cape Otway on 1 November 1861.Beacons of hope. An early history of Cape Otway and King Island lighthouses. Donald Walker. 1st ed. Neptune Press; Belmont (Vic); 1981. ii, 154 p.; illus., maps, index. Soft cover. ISBN 0 909131 67 8Signed by author: Donald Walker.cape otway; king island; cape wickham; lighthouse; -
Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation
Functional object - Telephones
... Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation Cape Nelson ...Each of the five telephones is attached to a timber, wall‐mounted box. They are original to the precinct buildings and date from the early twentieth century. Located in the lighthouse lantern room, the former head keeper’s quarters, the former assistants’ quarters, and the buildings known today as the generator shed and the café, they formed an intercom system that facilitated communication between the lightstation buildings.Wall‐mounted Bakelite telephones with crank handles can be found at all six light stations, however Gabo Island has the only other example of a timber‐mounted phone. Its design is slightly different for incorporating an inclined surface for jotting down notes. As fixtures, the telephones are considered to be part of the building fabric and included in the Victorian Heritage Register listing for the Cape Nelson Lightstation (H1773; 18 February 1999). They are historically significant for their historical and technical values as part of the early communications system used at the lightstation.Five similar intercom system telephones. All are wall mounted timber boxes with Bakelite black hand sets and black cords. The five phones each have two bells at the top of the box and a crank handle at the side. Three phones have brass bells, two have black metal bells. All phones have instructions on the front either in a frame or glued to the timber."C of A" and "PMG" Written instructions on how to use the phones are printed on paper fixed to the front of the telephones. "TO CALL ....../ TO ANSWER...../ WHEN FINISHED....." -
Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation
Instrument - Morse Code Key Set
... Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation Cape Nelson ...The battery powered set, which dates from the second half of the twentieth century, comprises two main components, the electronic keyer with a single lever for tapping, and a transmitter (?), both connected by a keying cable. Morse code was invented in the 1830s by American, Samuel Finely Breese by using electrical signals to quickly transmit information over a long range. In the early 1890s Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi improved the technology to the point where it became an essential device used for commercial and government purposes. The first practical applications were demonstrated with maritime messaging, where this simple mode of communication was seen as a timely replacement for the historic practice of signaling by flags, lights and foghorns. Cape Schanck has an earlier Morse code key, which is original to the lightstation (CSLS 0035), and Cape Otway has another early example although its provenance to the lightstation has not been formally verified (COLS 0074). The Morse code set has first level contributory significance for its historical value as an earlier communications device that has since been made redundant by more sophisticated technologies.Morse code key set. Comprised of the tapping component and a metal box part with a white electrical cord.Yes -
Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation
Furniture - Sideboard
... Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation Cape Nelson ...The cedar sideboard has two cupboard doors below two corresponding drawers. The style is in keeping with the completion date of the lightstation in 1884, when furniture in the late nineteenth century had squarer, more defined lines and angles, and ornamental features. This sideboard is a modest version of this trend combining a pediment‐shaped back board with turned side columns and finials, rectangular mirror, decorative drawer pulls and door handle, as well as cupboards and drawers with bevelled, raised panels. The initials ‘PWD’along with a crown motif and letters are inscribed on the side indicating that the furnishing was the property of the government and made in its workshops. The Public Works Department, which operated in Victoria from 1855 to 1987, was responsible for the design of Victoria’s major public buildings and provision of furnishings to its offices as well as residences where the need was required.301 The keepers’ quarters at Cape Otway Lightstation were supplied with two of the same sideboards, which remain there today; on is intact (COLS 0001), the other missing the backboard (COLS 0015). Two similar but plainer examples, which are probably earlier in date, also remain at Cape Schanck (CSLS 0007.3; CSLS 0009.3). The Cape Nelson sideboard has first level contributory significance as a fine example of the good quality domestic furnishings made by the Victorian Government and provided to lighthouse keepers and their families in the late nineteenth century. It is also significant for its provenance to the lightstationThe cedar sideboard has two cupboard doors below two corresponding drawers with pediments‐shaped back board with turned side columns and finials, a rectangular mirror, decorative drawer pulls and door handle, as well as cupboards and drawers with bevelled, raised panels. -
Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation
Furniture - Bookcase
... Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation Cape Nelson ...Their polished wood finish appears to be original to their date of manufacture during the 1960s‐70s. They were located in the head keeper’s and assistant keepers’ quarters, where their use for office purposes also may have crossed over to a domestic function. In the post‐war years the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service (CLS) introduced modern, low‐cost furnishings to lightstations. Most notably, it commissioned a number of light, compact and functional items in bulk from émigré designer, Steven Kalmar (1909‐ 1989), who played a significant role in popularising modernist design concepts in Australia and drew his ideas from Scandinavian and American design trends. Born in Hungary, he trained as an architect and his contemporary affordable furnishings were especially suitable for the open‐plan houses being built in Australia’s new post‐war suburbs. It is not known whether the bookcases bear the Kalmar label, but the design, particularly the legs and bar bracing, is a signature style that is associated with his Sydney‐based firm, Kalmar Interiors. The CLS supplied the same bookshelves to a number of other lightstations, including Point Hicks, Cape Otway and Gabo Island, as well as other types of furnishings such as tables and cabinets. The bookcases have first level contributory significance as examples of the modernist furnishings that the Sydney‐based firm, Kalmar Interiors supplied to the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service in the post‐war years.The bookcases stand at about bench level and are almost square in dimension. They have two adjustable shelves as well as the base shelf and stand on legs supported by a single stretcher with a polished wood finish. -
Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation
Furniture - Desk
... Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation Cape Nelson ...The desk was used by the head keeper and supplied by the Public Works Department, and possibly dates to when the lightstation commenced operations in 1884. Closer inspection of the wood may reveal the Crown motif and PWD monogram on the side or underpart of the furnishing. The PWD operated in Victoria from 1855 to 1987 and was responsible for the design of Victoria’s major public buildings and infrastructure as well as the supply of stores, furniture and equipment. The desk is identical to the large example remaining at Point Hicks. A smaller version, which is at Cape Schanck, has two sides stamped with the crown motif and PWD monogram. Another of the smaller desks formerly at Cape Schanck is now missing. Gabo Island has a small cedar desk or table in the same style, but with one drawer. There are also c.mid‐twentieth century desks remaining in the collections at Wilsons Promontory and Gabo Island. The Cape Nelson desk has first level contributory significance for its provenance and historical value as a government issued furnishing that is original to lightstation’s head keeper’s office.The large, late nineteenth century cedar desk has two drawers, leather inset top and sturdy turned legs. The drawers each have a pair of wooden knob pulls. -
Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation
Equipment - Flag clips
... Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation Cape Nelson ...The items include one intact brass clip and sections of others. They were used for hoisting visual signalling flags and relate to the use of the forty‐one flags (CNLS 0004.41), which were used to convey messages to passing ships and which are included in the Victorian Heritage Register listing for the lightstation (VHR H1773) . They have second level contributory significance for their provenance to the lightstation and association with its set of navigational flags (CNLS 0004.41), which were a major part of the communications system formerly used at the lightstation.Twenty one flag clips, some are intact others partial. One intact brass clip. -
Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation
Uniform - Hat
... Parks Victoria - Cape Nelson Lightstation Cape Nelson ... -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Map - Map - Portland, 1950s
White card with 2 maps of Portland; larger one showing the town and harbour, smaller one of town, Portland Bay, Bridgewater Bay, Nelson Bay, Lawrence Rocks. Also Portland phone numbers: Ambulance Hospital, Police, Fire, Taxi, Electricianmap, portland, portland harbour, cape bridgewater, south west coastline -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Cape Grant Quarry, Portland, 03/08/1953
Port of Portland Authority Archives. From the Port of Portland website: Just 6km south of Portland, the Cape Grant Quarry is located on the eastern cliff of Cape Sir William Grant. This cape represents the core of a volcanic complex between two collapse calderas which underlie Nelson and Grant Bays to the west and east respectively. The Cape Grant quarry supplied an inexhaustible quantity of bluestone for the building of the new Portland harbour. The first stone was tipped at the root of the main breakwater on 17 November 1952. A small band of interested citizens were there to see the historic event. In the building, the breakwater was consolidated by the heavy traffic of Euclid’s and bulldozers and was further solidified by several storms that swept over it. Nowadays, blasting at the quarry is heavily regulated and carried out under the instructions of a qualified “powder monkey.” The days of seeing large explosions, along with the deep long loud BOOM are long gone with techniques of controlled blasting now improving overall environmental and safety standards.Front: Back- Purple PHT Stampport of portland archives, cape grant quarry, harbour development, construction -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Medal - Commemorative Medal - The Lady Nelson Bicentenary Medallion, n.d
port of portland -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Award - Medal, Nelson Johnson, November 1880
This medal for bravery, for rescue of the crew from the shipwreck “Eric the Red” on 4th September 1880, was awarded to one of the crew of the steamer S.S. Dawn by the President of the United States in July 1881. The medal is engraved with the name “Nelson Johnson” (the anglicised version of his Swedish name Neils Frederick Yohnson). It was donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in 2013 by Nelson’s granddaughter. Nelson had migrated from Sweden to Sydney in 1879. The next year in 1880, aged 24, he was a seaman on the steamship Dawn and involved in the rescue of the survivors of the Eric the Red. Nelson Johnson was a crew member of the S.S. Dawn and was one of the rescue team in the dinghy in the early morning of September 4th 1880. Medals were awarded to the Captain and crew of the S.S. Dawn by the President of the United States, through the Consul-general (Mr Oliver M. Spencer), in July 1881 “ … in recognition of their humane efforts in rescuing the 23 survivors of the American built wooden sailing ship, the Eric the Red, on 4th September 1880.” The men were also presented with substantial monetary rewards and gifts. The city of Warrnambool’s care of the survivors was also mentioned by the President at the presentation, saying that “the city hosted and supported the crew ‘most graciously’. Previously, a week after the shipwreck, the Australian Government had also conveyed its thanks to the Captain and crew of the S.S. Dawn “Captain Griffith Jones, S.S. Dawn, The Hon. Mr Clark desires that the thanks of the Government should be conveyed to you for the prompt, persevering and seamanlike qualities displayed by you, your officers and crew in saving the number of lives you did on the occasion referred to. The hon. The Commissioner has also been pleased to award you a souvenir in commemoration of the occasion, and a sum of 65 pounds to be awarded to your officers and crew according to annexed scale. I am, &c, W Collins Rees, for and in the absence of the Chief Harbour Master.” The Awards are as follows: - Crew of DAWN'S lifeboat-Chief Officer, Mr G. Peat, 15 pounds; boat's crew-G. Sterge, A.B., 5 pounds; T. Hammond, A.B., 5 pounds; J. Black, A.B., 5 pounds; H. Edwards, A.B., 5 pounds. Dinghy's Crew-Second Officer, Mr Christie, 10 pounds; boat's crew -F. Lafer, A.B., 5 pounds; W. Johnstone, A.B., 5 pounds; Mr Lear, provedore, 5 pounds; Mr Dove, purser, 5 pounds. Captain Jones receives a piece of plate. (from “Wreck of the ship Eric the Red” by Jack Loney) The medal’s history, according to the Editor of ‘E-Sylum’ (the newsletter of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society “… appears to be an example of an 1880 State Department medal, catalogued as LS-3 (page 322 of R. W. Julian's book, Medals of the United States Mint: The First Century 1792-1892). The reverse is mostly blank for engraving, surrounded by a thin wreath. It was designed by George Morgan, chief engraver for the Philadelphia Mint, and struck in gold, silver and bronze. The one pictured here (in The Standard newspaper, 2nd July 2013) appears to be silver.” The following is an account of the events which led to the awarding of this medal. The American ship Eric the Red was a wooden, three-masted clipper ship. She had 1,580 tons register and was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871. She was built and registered by Arthur Sewall, later to become the partnership E. & A. Sewall, the 51st ship built by this company. The annually-published List of Merchant Vessels of the U.S. shows Bath was still the home port of Eric the Red in 1880. The vessel was named after the Viking discoverer, Eric ‘the Red-haired’ Thorvaldsson, who was the first European to reach the shores of North America (in 980AD). The ship Eric the Red at first traded in coal between America and Britain, and later traded in guano nitrates from South America. In 1879 she was re-metalled and was in first-class condition. On 10th June 1880 (some records say 12th June) Eric the Red departed New York for Melbourne and then Sydney. She had been commissioned by American trade representatives to carry a special cargo of 500 exhibits (1400 tons) – about a quarter to a third of America’s total exhibits - for the U.S.A. pavilion at Melbourne’s first International Exhibition. The exhibits included furniture, ironmongery, wines, chemicals, dental and surgical instruments, paper, cages, bronze lamp trimmings, axles, stamped ware, astronomical and time globes, samples of corn and the choicest of leaf tobacco. Other general cargo included merchandise such as cases of kerosene and turpentine, brooms, Bristol's Sarsaparilla, Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, Wheeler’s thresher machine, axe handles and tools, cases of silver plate, toys, pianos and organs, carriages and Yankee notions. The Eric the Red left New York under the command of Captain Zaccheus Allen (or some records say Captain Jacques Allen) and 24 other crew including the owner’s son third mate Ned Sewall. There were also 2 saloon passengers on board. The ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. As Eric the Red approached Cape Otway there was a moderate north-west wind and a hazy and overcast atmosphere. On 4th September 1880 at about 1:30 am Captain Allen sighted the Cape Otway light and was keeping the ship 5-6 miles offshore to stay clear of the hazardous Otway Reef. However, he had badly misjudged his position. The ship hit the Otway Reef about 2 miles out to sea, southwest of the Cape Otway light station. Captain Allen ordered the wheel to be put ‘hard up’ thinking that she might float off the reef. The sea knocked the helmsman away from the wheel, broke the wheel ropes and carried away the rudder. The lifeboats were swamped, the mizzenmast fell, with all of its riggings, then the mainmast also fell and the ship broke in two. Some said that the passenger Vaughan, who was travelling for his health and not very strong, was washed overboard and never seen again. The ship started breaking up. The forward house came adrift with three of the crew on it as well as a longboat, which the men succeeded in launching and keeping afloat by continually bailing with their sea boots. The captain, the third mate (the owner’s son) and others clung to the mizzenmast in the sea. Then the owner’s son was washed away off the mast. Within 10 minutes the rest of the ship was in pieces, completely wrecked, with cargo and wreckage floating in the sea. The captain encouraged the second mate to swim with him to the deckhouse where there were other crew but the second mate wouldn’t go with him. Eventually, the Captain made it to the deckhouse and the men pulled him up. At about 4:30 am the group of men on the deckhouse saw the lights of a steamer and called for help. At the same time, they noticed the second mate and the other man had drifted nearby, still on the spur, and pulled them both onto the wreck. The coastal steamer SS Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, and its sailing time was different to its usual schedule. She was built in 1876 and bought by the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co. in 1877. At the time of this journey, she was commanded by Captain Jones and was sailing between Melbourne and Portland via Warrnambool. The provedore the Dawn, Benjamin Lear, heard cries of distress coming through the portholes of the saloon. He gave the alarm and the engines were stopped. Cries could be heard clearly, coming from the land. Captain Jones sent out crew in two boats and fired off rockets and blue lights to illuminate the area. They picked up the three survivors who were in the long boat from Eric the Red. Two men were picked up out of the water, one being the owner’s son who was clinging to floating kerosene boxes. At daylight, the Dawn then rescued the 18 men from the floating portion of the deckhouse, which had drifted about 4 miles from where they’d struck the reef. Shortly after the rescue the deckhouse drifted onto breakers and was thrown onto rocks at Point Franklin, about 2 miles east of Cape Otway. Captain Jones had signalled to Cape Otway lighthouse the number of the Eric the Red and later signalled that there was a wreck at Otway Reef but there was no response from the lighthouse. The captain and crew of the Dawn spent several more hours searching unsuccessfully for more survivors, even going back as far as Apollo Bay. On board the Dawn the exhausted men received care and attention to their needs and wants, including much-needed clothing. Captain Allen was amongst the 23 battered and injured men who were rescued and later taken to Warrnambool for care. Warrnambool’s mayor and town clerk offered them all hospitality, the three badly injured men going to the hospital for care and others to the Olive Branch Hotel, then on to Melbourne. Captain Allen’s leg injury prevented him from going ashore so he and three other men travelled on the Dawn to Portland. They were met by the mayor who also treated them all with great kindness. Captain Allen took the train back to Melbourne then returned to America. Those saved were Captain Zaccheus Allen (or Jacques Allen), J. Darcy chief mate, James F. Lawrence second mate, Ned Sewall third mate and owner’s son, John French the cook, C. Nelson sail maker, Clarence W. New passenger, and able seamen Dickenson, J. Black, Denis White, C. Herbert, C. Thompson, A. Brooks, D. Wilson, J. Ellis, Q. Thompson, C. Newman, W. Paul, J. Davis, M. Horenleng, J. Ogduff, T. W. Drew, R. Richardson. Four men had lost their lives; three of them were crew (Gus Dahlgreen ship’s carpenter, H. Ackman steward, who drowned in his cabin, and George Silver seaman) and one a passenger (J. B. Vaughan). The body of one of them had been found washed up at Cape Otway and was later buried in the lighthouse cemetery; another body was seen on an inaccessible ledge. Twelve months later the second mate James F. Lawrence, from Nova Scotia passed away in the Warrnambool district; an obituary was displayed in the local paper. Neither the ship nor its cargo was insured. The ship was worth about £15,000 and the cargo was reportedly worth £40,000; only about £2,000 worth had been recovered. Cargo and wreckage washed up at Apollo Bay, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Western Port and according to some reports, even as far away as the beaches of New Zealand. The day after the wreck the government steamship Pharos was sent from Queenscliff to clear the shipping lanes of debris that could be a danger to ships. The large midship deckhouse of the ship was found floating in a calm sea near Henty Reef. Items such as an American chair, a ladder and a nest of boxes were all on top of the deckhouse. As it was so large and could cause danger to passing ships, Captain Payne had the deckhouse towed towards the shore just beyond Apollo Bay. Between Apollo Bay and Blanket Bay, the captain and crew of Pharos collected Wheeler and Wilson sewing machines, nests of boxes, bottles of Bristol’s sarsaparilla, pieces of common American chairs, axe handles, a Wheelers’ Patent thresher and a sailor’s trunk with the words “A. James” on the front. A ship’s flag-board bearing the words “Eric the Red” was found on the deckhouse; finally, those on board the Pharos had the name of the wrecked vessel. During this operation, Pharos came across the government steamer Victoria and also a steamer S.S. Otway, both of which were picking up flotsam and wreckage. A whole side of the hull and three large pieces of the other side of the hull, with some of the copper sheathing stripped off, had floated onto Point Franklin. Some of the vessels' yards and portions of her masts were on shore. The pieces of canvas attached to the yards and masts confirmed that the vessel had been under sail. The beach there was piled with debris several feet high. There were many cases of Diamond Oil kerosene, labelled R. W. Cameron and Company, New York. There were also many large planks of red pine, portions of a small white boat and a large, well-used oar. Other items found ashore included sewing machines (some consigned to ‘Long and Co.”) and notions, axe and scythe handles, hay forks, wooden pegs, rolls of wire (some branded “T.S” and Co, Melbourne”), kegs of nails branded “A.T. and Co.” from the factory of A. Field and Son, Taunton, Massachusetts, croquet balls and mallets, buggy fittings, rat traps, perfumery, cutlery and Douay Bibles, clocks, bicycles, chairs, a fly wheel, a cooking stove, timber, boxes, pianos, organs and a ladder. (Wooden clothes pegs drifted in for many years). There seemed to be no personal luggage or clothing. The Pharos encountered a long line, about one and a half miles, of f locating wreckage about 10 miles off land, southeast of Cape Otway, and in some places about 40 feet wide. It seemed that more than half of it was from Eric the Red. The ship’s crew rescued 3 cases that were for the Melbourne Exhibition and other items from amongst the debris. There were also chairs, doors, musical instruments, washing boards, nests of trunks and flycatchers floating in the sea. Most of the goods were saturated and smelt of kerosene. A section of the hull lies buried in the sand at Parker River Beach. An anchor with a chain is embedded in the rocks east of Point Franklin and a second anchor, thought to be from Eric the Red, is on display at the Cape Otway light station. (There is a photograph of a life belt on the verandah of Rivernook Guest House in Princetown with the words “ERIC THE RED / BOSTON”. This is rather a mystery as the ship was registered in Bath, Maine, USA.) Parts of the ship are on display at Bimbi Park Caravan Park and at Apollo Bay Museum. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village also has part of the helm (steering wheel), a carved wooden sword (said to be the only remaining portion of the ship’s figurehead; further research is currently being carried out), a door, a metal rod, samples of wood and this medal awarded for the rescue of the crew. Much of the wreckage was recovered by the local residents before police and other authorities arrived at the scene. Looters went to great effort to salvage goods, being lowered down the high cliff faces to areas with little or no beach to collect items from the wreckage, their mates above watching out for dangerous waves. A Tasmanian newspaper reports on a court case in Stawell, Victoria, noting a man who was caught 2 months later selling tobacco from the wreckage of Eric the Red. Some of the silverware is still treasured by descendants of Mr Mackenzie who was given these items by officials for his help in securing the cargo. The gifts included silver coffee and teapots, half a dozen silver serviette rings and two sewing machines. A Mr G.W. Black has in his possession a medal and a purse that was awarded to his father, another Dawn crew member who was part of the rescue team. The medal is similarly inscribed and named “To John Black ….” (from “Shipwrecks” by Margaret E. Mackenzie, 3rd edition, published 1964). The wreck and cargo were sold to a Melbourne man who salvaged a quantity of high-quality tobacco and dental and surgical instruments. Timbers from the ship were salvaged and used in the construction of houses and shed around Apollo Bay, including a guest house, Milford House (since burnt down in bushfires), which had furniture, fittings and timber on the dining room floor from the ship. A 39.7-foot-long trading ketch, the Apollo, was also built from its timbers by Mr Burgess in 1883 and subsequently used in Tasmanian waters. It was the first attempt at shipbuilding in Apollo Bay. In 1881 a red light was installed about 300 feet above sea level at the base of the Cape Otway lighthouse to warn ships when they were too close to shore; It would not be visible unless a ship came within 3 miles from it. This has proved to be an effective warning. Nelson Johnson married Elizabeth Howard in 1881 and they had 10 children, the father of the medal’s donor being the youngest. They lived in 13 Tichbourne Place, South Melbourne, Victoria. Nelson died in 1922 in Fitzroy Victoria, age 66. In 1895 the owners of the S.S. Dawn, the Portland and Belfast Steam Navigation Co., wound up and sold out to the Belfast Company who took over the Dawn for one year before selling her to Howard Smith. She was condemned and sunk in Suva in 1928. The State Library of Victoria has a lithograph in its collection depicting the steamer Dawn and the shipwrecked men, titled. "Wreck of the ship Eric the Red, Cape Otway: rescue of the crew by the Dawn". The medal for bravery is associated with the ship the “The Eric the Red which is historically significant as one of Victoria's major 19th century shipwrecks. (Heritage Victoria Eric the Red; HV ID 239) The wreck led to the provision of an additional warning light placed below the Cape Otway lighthouse to alert mariners to the location of Otway Reef. The site is archaeologically significant for its remains of a large and varied cargo and ship's fittings being scattered over a wide area. The site is recreationally and aesthetically significant as it is one of the few sites along this coast where tourists can visit identifiable remains of a large wooden shipwreck, and for its location set against the background of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, and the Cape Otway lighthouse.“ (Victorian Heritage Database Registration Number S239, Official Number 8745 USA) This medal was awarded to Nelson Johnson by the U.S. President for bravery in the rescue of the Eric the Red crew. The obverse of the round, solid silver medal has an inscription around the rim. In the centre of the medal is the head of Liberty to the left, hair in a bun, with a sprig of leaves in the top left of a band around her head. There is a 6-pointed star below the portrait, between the start and end of the inscription. There are two raised areas on the rim, horizontally opposite each other, from the edge to just below the lettering and coinciding with the holes drilled in the edge. Slightly right of the top is a round indentation in the rim. The reverse has a wreath of leaves as a border, joined at the bottom by a ribbon bow. In the centre of the medal is an inscription, decorated with 3-pronged design and dots. The edge is plain with 2 small, rough and uneven holes horizontally opposite to each other, as though they had been used for mounting the medal at some stage. The medal has a matte finish on both sides and is slightly pitted and scratched.“PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES” around the perimeter of the obverse of the medal. “TO / Nelson Johnson, / seaman of the British, / str “Dawn”, for bravery, / at risk of life, / in / rescuing the crew of / the American Ship / “Eric the Red.” “M” on obverse, truncation of the portraitwarrnambool, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, eric the red, zaccheus allen, sewall, 1880, melbourne exhibition, cape otway, otway reef, victorian shipwreck, medal, nelson johnson, neils frederick yohnson, s.s. dawn, george morgan, hero -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Plant specimen - Wood Sample, Herbst, 1759-1765
The piece of oak wood sample inside the case was obtained from Mr. H Cooper during the time he served as a shipwright for the British Royal Navy on Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, in 1891. By that time the H.M.S. Victory was around 100 years old having been built in 1765 and was currently in dry dock undergoing restoration. Cooper’s skills as a shipwright would have been well employed during this period. HMS Victory was and still does undergoing continuous restoration to preserve her for display as a museum ship, due to the vessel's significant naval history. It was during that time of early restoration that Cooper obtained the piece of Oak from HMS Victory believed to be from the ships hull. Cooper was in Australia in September 1891 serving on the HMS Wallaroo, a British Auxiliary Squadron commissioned to serve as part of the British Royal Navy contingent, tasked to operate in Australian waters. The photograph included with the donation of the wood sample is a portrait of Mr H Cooper taken in 1895 in Sydney. The inscription on the photograph describes him as a skilled shipwright from the H.M.S. Wallaroo, depicting Cooper as a young man in Royal Navy uniform, with the emblem of a petty officer third class. While Cooper was stationed on the H.M.S. Wallaroo in Sydney he presented the display case, containing the wood sample from H.M.S. Victory, as well as the exhibit labels to Charles Harding, ("Chas") late of the Royal Australian Navy. Harding had been based at the H M Naval Torpedo Depot at Williamstown, Victoria. Although not mentioned, it is believed the two men met whilst serving together in Australia in their respective assignments. It could have been a retirement gift from Cooper to Harding with the photograph of Cooper likely included with the case, and gifted to Harding in 1895, as the date on the photograph indicates. One of the exhibits labels indicates that Harding had the item on display whilst serving at the Naval Torpedo Depot in Williamstown. The label indicates: "This piece of Oak is part of the hull of H.M.S. “Victory” Lord Nelson’s renowned Flag Ship, which took such a prominent part in the Battle of Trafalgar. 21st October 1805. Exhibited by Charles Harding, H.M.V. Naval Torpedo Depot, Williamstown.” After Charles Harding died in 1931 the case containing the sample of oak from H.M.S. Victory was donated by his son Reg Harding to Mr. Murphy in 1962. The display case has since become a treasured item at Flagstaff Hill. A newspaper article dated 1905 included with the donation mentions that the city of Hamilton in Victoria was shortly expecting a mounted piece of the H.M.S. Victory, to be included in the city’s commemoration of the centenary of the "Battle of Trafalgar". Battle of Trafalgar: On October 21, 1805, twenty-seven British ships of the line led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships of the line under French Admiral Villeneuve. The battle took place in the Atlantic Ocean off the southwest coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar, near the town of Los Caños de Meca. The victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century and it was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from the prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy of the day. Conventional practice at the time was for opposing fleets to engage each other in single parallel lines, in order to facilitate signalling and disengagement, and to maximise fields of fire and target areas. Nelson instead arranged his ships into two columns to sail perpendicularly into the enemy fleet's line. During the battle, Nelson was shot by a French musketeer and he died shortly before the battle ended. Villeneuve was captured, along with his ship Bucentaure. He later attended Nelson's funeral while a captive on parole in Britain. Admiral Federico Gravina, the senior Spanish flag officer, escaped with the remnant of the fleet. He died five months later from wounds sustained during the battle. It was prior to this battle that Nelson had issued his now-famous final orders to his ships in 12 separate flag-hoists “England expects that every man will do his duty”. This wood sample is historically significant for its association with Admiral Lord Nelson the Battle of Trafalgar. Through Nelson’s leadership and unorthodox battle tactics, he secured not only a victory against the French and Spanish but reaffirmed Britain's naval supremacy opening the way for Britain to continuing the policy of colonisation of many countries including Australia.Wood sample adhered to the base of a hinged wood and glass display case. Wood is a sample of oak taken from the hull of Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship, the HMS Victory, built in 1765. The case also contain two exhibit labels pinned above the wood sample. Other items donated with the display case, and relating to the wood sample: an 1895 photograph, a 1905 newspaper clipping, a 1962 donor's letter (two pages), and a handwritten exhibit label with a border of red lines. Photograph Front: printed- "Herbst" "28 Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Sydney", handwritten - "Mr Cooper", "see back". Back: handwritten - "Mr H Cooper, skilled shipwright, H.M.S. Wallaroo 1895" Exhibit labels still in the case: Left: handwritten- “PIECE OF OAK FROM THE HULL OF H.M.S. VICTORY”, Right: typewritten- “This piece of Oak was originally obtained by Mr. H. Cooper, skilled shipwright on H.M.S. “Victory” & afterwards on H.M.S. “Wallaroo” on the Australian Station in 1895, when he presented this exhibit to me. Chas. Harding, Late Victorian Navy.”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, oak, hms victory, vice-admiral lord nelson, horatio nelson, lord nelson, oak piece, piece of oaknelson, battle of trafalgar, maritime technology, ship relics, 18th century warship, british royal navy, h cooper shipwright, hms wallaroo, herbst hyde park sydney, charles harding, hmv naval orpedo depot williamstown, sir home popham’s telegraphic code, admiralty official day signal book