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Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Australian Navy Band, Portland, Victoria, 19/11/1984
... , Henty Beach, Portland's 150th Anniversary celebrations.... Australian Navy Band performing on grass, Henty Beach, Portland's ...Coloured photo. Australian Navy Band performing on grass, Henty Beach, Portland's 150th Anniversary celebrations -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph -Henty Beach, Portland's 150th Anniversary Celebrations 1984, 19/11/1984
... , Henty Beach, Portland's 150th Anniversary celebrations...., Henty Beach, Portland's 150th Anniversary celebrations ...In November 1984 Portland marked the 150th anniversary of European settlement and the foundation of the City of Portland. Various events happened in and around Portland, many community led.Coloured photo. Salvation Army band in period costume, Henty Beach, Portland's 150th Anniversary celebrations.portlands 150th anniversary celebrations 1984 -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Bathing Beauty Competition, n.d
... costumes, sitting on chairs on a dias on Henty Beach, Portland... costumes, sitting on chairs on a dias on Henty Beach, Portland ...Con Kroker Private CollectionBlack & white photograph of 7 young women in bathing costumes, sitting on chairs on a dias on Henty Beach, Portland -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Portland 150th anniversary, Australian Navy Band, 19/11/1984
... , Henty Beach, Portland - Portland's 150th Anniversary.... Australian Navy Band performing on grass, Henty Beach, Portland ...Coloured photo. Australian Navy Band performing on grass, Henty Beach, Portland - Portland's 150th Anniversary celebrations150th anniversary, celebration, music, band, performance, henty beach -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Functional object - Object - Section Of Wood, Jun-08
... Zealander, north of Nun's' beach Portland. It has 2 holes drilled in it...., north of Nun's' beach Portland. It has 2 holes drilled ...Section of wood found at the site of the wreck of the "New Zealander, north of Nun's' beach Portland. It has 2 holes drilled in it.new zealander -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Marine Discovery Centre Portland, Victoria, 09/07/2000
... Coloured photograph: Head of breaching whale, Portland... whale, Portland Harbour, near Nuns' Beach Photograph Photograph ...Coloured photograph: Head of breaching whale, Portland Harbour, near Nuns' BeachBack: ''9/7/00 (4)' - hand written blue biro -
Victorian Interpretive Projects Inc.
Image, Portland, 1934
... A number of people on the beach at Portland near the pier...) Potland sea A number of people on the beach at Portland near ...The Portland Pier was extended in 1916: "The contractors for the extension or the deep-water pier continue to make steady progress, and the work is nearing completion. Only a small gap on the south end remains to be filled with piling. The beams and decking have been laid down over the whole of the rest of the pier, and the effect im presses one with the magnitude, stability and excellence of the work." (Horsham Times 23 June 1916)A number of people on the beach at Portland near the pier. A number of cars are parked in the foreground.potland, sea, -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Portland, n.d
... towards Portland. Barton's Beach, Fishermen's Breakwater, baths... Cliff Street Portland great-ocean-road Back: '14' 'Portland ...Black and white photo taken from Battery Point, looking towards Portland. Barton's Beach, Fishermen's Breakwater, baths, Railway Pier, Big Pier, botanic gardens, Wattle Creek, town, including All Saints' spireBack: '14' 'Portland, from Battery Point' - handwritten, black pen -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Portland Foreshore Victoria, 1970-1980
... Coloured photograph of Portland foreshore, showing Henty... of Portland foreshore, showing Henty Beach lawns, KS Anderson wharf ...Coloured photograph of Portland foreshore, showing Henty Beach lawns, KS Anderson wharf in background. -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Portland Centenary Celebrations, 19/11/1934
... Black and white photo. Henty Beach, Portland, Centenary.... Henty Beach, Portland, Centenary celebrations 19 November 1934 ...Black and white photo. Henty Beach, Portland, Centenary celebrations 19 November 1934. Part of crowd in foreground, piers, harbour, naval vessel, in backgroundcentenary portland, 1934, henty, portland harbour, vessel, cargo, navy -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Slide - AGFA Colour Slide - Portland Bay, c. 1960
... Agfacolor slide of Henty Beach, Portland bay lookings... biro Agfacolor slide of Henty Beach, Portland bay lookings ...Taken by Mr P.G.W. (Wal) Whitelaw in the early to mid 1960'sAgfacolor slide of Henty Beach, Portland bay lookings toward's Fiasherman's Breakwater. Portland Surf Lifesaving Club building on left (white building with red roof)Front: Portland Harbour - blue biro -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Portland Centenary Celebrations 1934, 19/11/1934
... Black and white photo. Slab hut built on Henty Beach... Beach, Portland, as part of Centenary celebrations 19 November ...Black and white photo. Slab hut built on Henty Beach, Portland, as part of Centenary celebrations 19 November. 1934. Man in suit standing beside hut.Back: 'Hut built on beach for Centenary 1934' - handwritten in pencilportland centenary celebrations 1934 -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Negative - Negative - Whalers Bluff, Portland Victoria, ZILLAH MASCHMEDT, PHOTOGRAPHER, c. 1934
... Whaler's Bluff, looking out over Portland Harbour. Nun's Beach... Portland Harbour. Nun's Beach, Ocean Pier, Railway Pier ...Negative for a black and white photograph. View from Whaler's Bluff, looking out over Portland Harbour. Nun's Beach, Ocean Pier, Railway Pier, Fishermen's Breakwater, Battery Point. -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photographs - Hand Coloured, various Portland landmarks, c. 1940
... beach, Portland d) Post office and Mac's Hotel e) The famous... towards lighthouse, Portland c) View along beach, Portland d) Post ...Identification numbers 9200 a-g Folder containing Valentine's Snapshots - 8 hand-coloured photographs of Portland 9200 - folder grey green card, black print 9200 a-g a) Path in gardens, Portland b) Looking towards lighthouse, Portland c) View along beach, Portland d) Post office and Mac's Hotel e) The famous Portland Lifeboat of 1859 f) Edward Henty memorial g) Panorama of Portland -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Sheet of 10 contact prints - Various Portland historic buildings and landmarks, c. 1970
... The Harbour and Town of Portland (j) Henty Beach, Portland...) Henty Beach, Portland Sheet of 10 contact prints ...Sheet of 10 contact prints of rephotographed photographs. Identifying numbers 5715a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j (a) Portland form Battery Point (b) Henty Beach, looking south (c) Palmer Street Primary School, No. 489 (d) Guardian Office, Bentinck Street (e) Railway Station Harbour Baths Bentinck Street (f) Jane Henty - wife of Stephen (g) bullock dray, bush (h) Ocean Pier (i) Bentinck Street Percy Street (j) Henty BeachFront: (a) Portland from Battery Point. - The Rose Series (c) .... School, Portland Vic. - Toys Photo (d) Bentinck Street The Guardian Office Portland. - Magnus Photo (e) Railway Harbour & Jetty (f) Price $3.70 (i) Bentinck Street Percy Street The Harbour and Town of Portland (j) Henty Beach, Portland -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Film - Film - Negative Portland, Zillah Maschmedt, c. 1934
... , looking across Barton's Beach to Portland. Piers, gardens, town... Beach to Portland. Piers, gardens, town, spire of All Saints ...Negative for black and white photo. View from Battery Point, looking across Barton's Beach to Portland. Piers, gardens, town, spire of All Saints Church -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Negative - Negative - Portland, Victoria, Zilah Maschmedt, c. 1934
... grass track near beach at Portland, looking across harbour..., Fishermen's Breakwater and Henty Beach. Negative Negative - Portland ...Negative for a black and white photograph. Photo taken from grass track near beach at Portland, looking across harbour. Baths, Ocean Pier, Railway Pier, Fishermen's Breakwater and Henty Beach. -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Portland Harbour, n.d
... Black and white photo of Ocean Pier, Portland, taken from... Cliff Street Portland great-ocean-road Portland Harbour Ocean ...Black and white photo of Ocean Pier, Portland, taken from the beach. Steamship berthed on outside of pier. Groups of people walking out on pier. Remains of baths on left, section of Fishermen's Pier on right.Front: 'The Pier, Portland' - in white, bottom right Back: Handwritten note from Glad to Mr. W. Vivian Snr.portland harbour, ocean pier, public baths, steamship, vessel -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Negative - Negative - View of Portland Harbour, 1961
... NEGATIVE FOR BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH. View of Portland... Cliff Street Portland great-ocean-road Zillah Maschmedt Portland ...NEGATIVE FOR BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH. View of Portland Harbour from Henty Beach. Fishermens Breakwater on right, Ocean Pier, Railway pier on left, fishing boats at anchor, surveying pegs on beach in foregroundzillah maschmedt, portland harbour -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Newspaper - Newspaper - 21 November 1929 Portland Victoria, 21/11/1929
... newspaper dated 21 NOV. 1929, headlined, 'How Portland Recalled Its...-enactment of Henty landing on beach at Portland, 19 NOV. 1929. Stuck ...Black and white photograph with inscription beneath, from newspaper dated 21 NOV. 1929, headlined, 'How Portland Recalled Its Early History' Re-enactment of Henty landing on beach at Portland, 19 NOV. 1929. Stuck to white cardboard. -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Memorabilia - Sticker, n.d
... in the centre. Sticker has an image of several wind-surfers in Portland...-surfers in Portland off Henty Beach Harbour, Trawler Wharf ...Formerly Bower Bird Museum, HeywoodRectangular card with removable oval-shaped vinyl sticker in the centre. Sticker has an image of several wind-surfers in Portland off Henty Beach Harbour, Trawler Wharf and Fisherman's Breakwater in Background. Round hole for hanging, top centre . Pink border, pink "Portland', top centre of sticker Dimensions of item (widest point of sticker ) 8.6 x 13Front: Yellow logo 'Australia collectors choice Murray Views' in black Souvenir vinyl stick-ons, black print $1 blue texta -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Booklet - Book, Weymouth and Portland, n.d
... , photo of Weymouth Beach, bottom Portland lighthouse, back cover... of Weymouth Beach, bottom Portland lighthouse, back cover photo ...Forty page booklet, Glossy heavy card covers, front top, photo of Weymouth Beach, bottom Portland lighthouse, back cover photo of star Fleet in Weymouth Bay, pre-Olympic trials 2010. Pages glossy, full colour photographs and text of Weymouth and Portland points of interestolympics, olympic trial -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Souvenir - Souvenir - Vinyl Sticker Portland Harbour, n.d
... in the centre. Sticker has an image of several wind-surfers in Portland...-surfers in Portland Harbour off Henty Beach , Trawler Wharf ...Formerly Bower Bird Museum, HeywoodRectangular card with removable oval-shaped vinyl sticker in the centre. Sticker has an image of several wind-surfers in Portland Harbour off Henty Beach , Trawler Wharf and Fisherman's Breakwater in Background. Round hole for hanging, top centre . Pink border, pink "Portland', top centre of stickerFront: Yellow logo' 'Australia collectors choice Murray Views; in black Souvenir vinyl stick-ons, black print $1 blue texta -
Ballarat Tramway Museum
Book, Nu-color-vue or Nucolorvue Productions, "Victoria The Land of Enchantment", c1950
... , Warrnambool, Portland Beach, A timber train (see image No. 4), Mildura..., Warrnambool, Portland Beach, A timber train (see image No. 4), Mildura ...Book with hardcovers, 48 pages titled "Victoria The Land of Enchantment". Sewn in three sections, with a green strip of cloth and self end papers and printed outer paper, sides glued onto board covers. Consists of 43 colour photographs (full and half page) with captions, detailed text, and two black and white photos printed in blue on end covers. Photos of Mt Buffalo, Gippsland lakes, Mornington Beach, Yarra River, Flinders St. station from the Yarra, Collins and Spring St (with two W2's - see image No. 2), Parliament House, Kiewa Hydro scheme, Eildon Weir, Swan Hill Murray River Bridge, Bendigo Post Office, Melbourne Botanical Gardens, Ballarat - Grenville and Sturt St (No. 22 - see image No. 3), Lorne, Yallourn Power Station, Hume Weir, Maroondah Weir, Great Ocean Road, Warrnambool, Portland Beach, A timber train (see image No. 4), Mildura, flax mills, Eastern Geelong and the Prime Ministers Ave, Ballarat. Produced by Nucolorvue Productions, c1950. See also Reg Item 2925 for the same photo of No. 22 and Reg Item 5354 for a postcard. Purchased via eBay site - see attached sheets and packing slip. Purchased 10/2/2005 for A$12.50 including postage, from Virginia Georgopoulos of West Brunswick. eBay sheets and envelope with worksheet file. Has Swains 123 Pitt St, Sydney sticker on bottom left hand corner page 2trams, tramways, ballarat, sturt st, grenville st, bogie trams, geelong, bendigo, melbourne -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Print, Nuns Beach, 1983-1984
... Laminated screenprint of coastline around Nuns Beach... of coastline around Nuns Beach and Portland Lighthouse. The work takes ...CEMA Art Collection. Part of "A Community View" 150 years in Portland Screenprint Exhibition. Part of Angela Gee Residency 1983 and 1984.Laminated screenprint of coastline around Nuns Beach and Portland Lighthouse. The work takes the perspective of, sitting in a car parked on the cliff facing the lighthouse. The foreground features the cars steering wheel, dashboard and red bonnet. The majority of the work illustrates the cliffs in various shades of green and brown. In the top right is the Portland Lighthouse and the ocean and rocks below.Front: Terry Priestly 28/30 (lower right) (pencil) Back: 32 -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Souvenir - Tea Towel, Designed in Australia by JONEFF, n.d
... of Portland: Bridgewater Lakes, Henty Beach, Grain Terminal, Aerieal... Lakes, Henty Beach, Grain Terminal, Aerieal view of Portland ...Linen souvenir tea towel, 'PORTLAND, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA' printed in blue and red on white clouds. Depiction of Portland plus harbour, looking east, Portland's coat-of-arms beneath, with red banner, 'Henty Bros. settled 1834'. Beneath this, 4 views of Portland: Bridgewater Lakes, Henty Beach, Grain Terminal, Aerieal view of Portland. Blue background. Red border. -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Photograph - Print - Sheet of 2 contact prints - Dutton Way Beach, 1960-1970
... looking towards Portland Road down to beach can be seen on right... print Top: Dutton Way beach looking towards Portland Road down ...Sheet of 2 contact prints from glass plate negatives. c1960's-70's Measuring 12 x 16 each print Top: Dutton Way beach looking towards Portland Road down to beach can be seen on right. Bottom: Group of people sitting/standing in garden at front of a house with tin roof and 2 chimneys. Veranda across front of house covered in ivy obscuring house front. -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Photograph, C. 1891
Photograph shows the ship FIJI where she met her demise, in Wreck Bay, on the shipwreck coast of South West Victoria. The three-masted iron barque Fiji had been built in Belfast, Ireland, in 1875 by Harland and Wolfe for a Liverpool based shipping company. The ship departed Hamburg on 22nd May 1891 bound for Melbourne, under the command of Captain William Vickers with a crew of 25. The ship’s manifest shows that she was loaded with a cargo of 260 cases of dynamite, pig iron, steel goods, spirits (whisky, schnapps, gin, brandy), sailcloth, tobacco, coiled fencing wire, concrete, 400 German pianos (Sweet Hapsburg), concertinas and other musical instruments, artists supplies including brushes, porcelain, furniture, china, and general cargo including candles. There were also toys in anticipation for Christmas, including wooden rocking horses, miniature ships, dolls with china limbs and rubber balls. On September 5th, one hundred days out from Hamburg in squally and boisterous south west winds the Cape Otway light was sighted on a bearing differing from Captain Vickers’ calculation of his position. At about 2:30am, Sunday 6th September 1891 land was reported 4-5 miles off the port bow. The captain tried to put the ship on the other tack, but she would not respond. He then tried to turn her the other way but just as the manoeuvre was being completed the Fiji struck rock only 300 yards (274 metres) from shore. The place is known as Wreck Bay, Moonlight Head. Blue lights were burned and rockets fired whilst an effort was made to lower boats but all capsized or swamped and smashed to pieces. Two of the younger crewmen volunteered to swim for the shore, taking a line. One, a Russian named Daniel Carkland, drowned after he was swept away when the line broke. The other, 17 year old able seaman Julius Gebauhr, a German, reached shore safely on his second attempt but without the line, which he had cut lose with his sheath-knife when it become tangled in kelp. He rested on the beach a while then climbed the steep cliffs in search of help. At about 10am on the Sunday morning a party of land selectors - including F. J. Stansmore, Leslie Dickson (or Dixon) and Mott - found Gebauhr. They were near Ryans Den, on their travels on horseback from Princetown towards Moonlight Head, and about 5km from the wreck. Gebauhr was lying in the scrub in a poor state, bleeding and dressed only in singlet, socks and a belt with his sheath-knife, ready for all emergencies. At first they were concerned about his wild and shaggy looking state and what seemed to be gibberish speech, taking him to be an escaped lunatic. They were reassured after he threw his knife away and realised that he was speaking half-English, half-German. They gave him food and brandy and some clothing and were then able to gain information about the wreck. Some of the men took him to Rivernook, a nearby guest house owned by John Evans, where he was cared for. Stansmore and Dickson rode off to try and summon help. Others went down to the site of the wreck. Messages for rescuing the rest of the crew were sent both to Port Campbell for the rocket rescue crew and to Warrnambool for the lifeboat. The S.S. Casino sailed from Portland towards the scene. After travelling the 25 miles to the scene, half of the Port Campbell rocket crew and equipment arrived and set up the rocket tripod on the beach below the cliffs. By this time the crew of the Fiji had been clinging to the jib-boom for almost 15 hours, calling frantically for help. Mr Tregear from the Rocket Crew fired the line. The light line broke and the rocket was carried away. A second line was successfully fired across the ship and made fast. The anxious sailors then attempted to come ashore along the line but, with as many as five at a time, the line sagged considerably and some were washed off. Others, nearly exhausted, had to then make their way through masses of seaweed and were often smothered by waves. Only 14 of the 24 who had remained on the ship made it to shore. Many onlookers on the beach took it in turns to go into the surf and drag half-drowned seamen to safety. These rescuers included Bill (William James) Robe, Edwin Vinge, Hugh Cameron, Fenelon Mott, Arthur Wilkinson and Peter Carmody. (Peter Carmody was also involved in the rescue of men from the Newfield.) Arthur Wilkinson, a 29 year old land selector, swam out to the aid of one of the ship’s crewmen, a carpenter named John Plunken. Plunken was attempting to swim from the Fiji to the shore. Two or three times both men almost reached the shore but were washed back to the wreck. A line was thrown to them and they were both hauled aboard. It was thought that Wilkinson struck his head on the anchor before s they were brought up. He remained unconscious. The carpenter survived this ordeal but Wilkinson later died and his body was washed up the next day. It was 26 year old Bill Robe who hauled out the last man, the captain, who had become tangled in the kelp. The wreck of the Fiji was smashed apart within 20 minutes of the captain being brought ashore, and it settled in about 6m of water. Of the 26 men on the Fiji, 11 in total lost their lives. The remains of 7 bodies were washed onto the beach and their coffins were made from timbers from the wrecked Fiji. They were buried on the cliff top above the wreck. The survivors were warmed by fires on the beach then taken to Rivernook and cared for over the next few days. Funds were raised by local communities soon after the wreck in aid of the sufferers of the Fiji disaster. Captain Vickers was severely reprimanded for his mishandling of the ship. His Masters Certificate was suspended for 12 months. At the time there was also a great deal of public criticism at the slow and disorganised rescue attempt to save those on board. The important canvas ‘breech buoy’ or ‘bucket chair’ and the heavy line from the Rocket Rescue was in the half of the rocket outfit that didn’t make it in time for the rescue: they had been delayed at the Gellibrand River ferry. Communications to Warrnambool were down so the call for help didn’t get through on time and the two or three boats that had been notified of the wreck failed to reach it in time. Much looting occurred of the cargo that washed up on the shore, with nearly every visitor leaving the beach with bulky pockets. One looter was caught with a small load of red and white rubber balls, which were duly confiscated and he was ‘detained’ for 14 days. Essence of peppermint mysteriously turned up in many settlers homes. Sailcloth was salvaged and used for horse rugs and tent flies. Soon after the wreck “Fiji tobacco” was being advertised around Victoria. A Customs officer, trying to prevent some of the looting, was assaulted by looters and thrown over a steep cliff. He managed to cling to a bush lower down until rescued. In 1894 some coiled fencing wire was salvaged from the wreck. Hundreds of coils are still strewn over the site of the wreck, encrusted and solidified. The hull is broken but the vessel’s iron ribs can be seen along with some of the cargo of concrete and pig iron. Captain Vickers presented Bill Robe with his silver-cased pocket watch, the only possession that he still had, as a token for having saved his life and the lives of some of the crew. (The pocket watch came with 2 winding keys, one to wind it and one to change the hands.) Years later Bill passed the watch to his brother-in-law Gib (Gilbert) Hulands as payment of a debt and it has been passed down the family to Gilbert Hulands’ grandson, John Hulands. Seaman Julius Gebauhr later gave his knife, in its hand crafted leather sheath, to F. J. Stansmore for caring for him when he came ashore. The knife handle had a personal inscription on it. A marble headstone on the 200m high cliffs overlooking Wreck Beach, west of Moonlight Head, paying tribute to the men who lost their lives when Fiji ran aground. The scene of the wreck is marked by the anchor from the Fiji, erected by Warrnambool skin divers in 1967. Amongst the artefacts salvaged from the Fiji are china miniature animals, limbs from small china dolls, rubber balls, a slate pencil, a glass bottle, sample of rope from the distress rocket and a candlestick holder. These items are now part of the Fiji collection at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum, along with Captain Vickers’ pocket watch and Julius Gebauhr’s sheath knife. Flagstaff Hill’s Fiji collection is of historical significance at a State level because of its association with the wreck Fiji, which is on the Victorian Heritage Register VHR S259. The Fiji is archaeologically significant as the wreck of a typical 19th century international sailing ship with cargo. It is educationally and recreationally significant as one of Victoria's most spectacular historic shipwreck dive sites with structural features and remains of the cargo evident. It also represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping history and its potential to interpret sub-theme 1.5 of Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes (living with natural processes). The Fiji collection meets the following criteria for assessment: Criterion A: Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history. Criterion B: Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria’s cultural history Criterion C: Potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Victoria’s cultural history. Black and White Photograph of the ship "Fiji" taken from Wreck Creek. warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, shipwrecked artefact, pocket watch, fob watch fiji, william vickers, william robe, bill robe, gebauhr, stansmore, carmody, wreck bay, moonlight head, fiji shipwreck 1891, port campbell rocket crew, wreck bay victoria -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Souvenir - Rope Sample, before September 1891
The rope was part of the distress rocket used during the time that the sailing ship Fiji was in distress, before it became a wreck. The three-masted iron barque Fiji had been built in Belfast, Ireland, in 1875 by Harland and Wolfe for a Liverpool based shipping company. The ship departed Hamburg on 22nd May 1891 bound for Melbourne, under the command of Captain William Vickers with a crew of 25. The ship’s manifest shows that she was loaded with a cargo of 260 cases of dynamite, pig iron, steel goods, spirits (whisky, schnapps, gin, brandy), sailcloth, tobacco, coiled fencing wire, concrete, 400 German pianos (Sweet Hapsburg), concertinas and other musical instruments, artists supplies including brushes, porcelain, furniture, china, and general cargo including candles. There were also toys in anticipation for Christmas, including wooden rocking horses, miniature ships, dolls with china limbs and rubber balls. On September 5th, one hundred days out from Hamburg in squally and boisterous south west winds the Cape Otway light was sighted on a bearing differing from Captain Vickers’ calculation of his position. At about 2:30am, Sunday 6th September 1891 land was reported 4-5 miles off the port bow. The captain tried to put the ship on the other tack, but she would not respond. He then tried to turn her the other way but just as the manoeuvre was being completed the Fiji struck rock only 300 yards (274 metres) from shore. The place is known as Wreck Bay, Moonlight Head. Blue lights were burned and distress rockets fired whilst an effort was made to lower boats but all capsized or swamped and smashed to pieces. Two of the younger crewmen volunteered to swim for the shore, taking a line. One, a Russian named Daniel Cartland, drowned after he was swept away when the line broke. The other, 17 year old able seaman Julius Gebauhr, a German, reached shore safely on his second attempt but without the line, which he had cut lose with his sheath-knife when it become tangled in kelp. He rested on the beach a while then climbed the steep cliffs in search of help. At about 10am on the Sunday morning a party of land selectors - including F. J. Stansmore, Leslie Dickson (or Dixon) and Mott - found Gebauhr. They were near Ryan's Den, on their travels on horseback from Princetown towards Moonlight Head, and about 5km from the wreck. Gebauhr was lying in the scrub in a poor state, bleeding and dressed only in singlet, socks and a belt with his sheath-knife, ready for all emergencies. At first they were concerned about his wild and shaggy looking state and what seemed to be gibberish speech, taking him to be an escaped lunatic. They were reassured after he threw his knife away and realised that he was speaking half-English, half-German. They gave him food and brandy and some clothing and were then able to gain information about the wreck. Some of the men took him to River nook, a nearby guest house owned by John Evans, where he was cared for. Stansmore and Dickson rode off to try and summon help. Others went down to the site of the wreck. Messages for rescuing the rest of the crew were sent both to Port Campbell for the rocket rescue crew and to Warrnambool for the lifeboat. The S.S. Casino sailed from Portland towards the scene. After travelling the 25 miles to the scene, half of the Port Campbell rocket crew and equipment arrived and set up the rocket tripod on the beach below the cliffs. By this time the crew of the Fiji had been clinging to the jib-boom for almost 15 hours, calling frantically for help. Mr Tregear from the Rocket Crew fired the line. The light line broke and the rocket was carried away. A second line was successfully fired across the ship and made fast. The anxious sailors then attempted to come ashore along the line but, with as many as five at a time, the line sagged considerably and some were washed off. Others, nearly exhausted, had to then make their way through masses of seaweed and were often smothered by waves. Only 14 of the 24 who had remained on the ship made it to shore. Many onlookers on the beach took it in turns to go into the surf and drag half-drowned seamen to safety. These rescuers included Bill (William James) Robe, Edwin Vinge, Hugh Cameron, Fenelon Mott, Arthur Wilkinson and Peter Carmody. (Peter Carmody was also involved in the rescue of men from the Newfield.) Arthur Wilkinson, a 29 year old land selector, swam out to the aid of one of the ship’s crewmen, a carpenter named John Plunken. Plunken was attempting to swim from the Fiji to the shore. Two or three times both men almost reached the shore but were washed back to the wreck. A line was thrown to them and they were both hauled aboard. It was thought that Wilkinson struck his head on the anchor before s they were brought up. He remained unconscious. The carpenter survived this ordeal but Wilkinson later died and his body was washed up the next day. It was 26 year old Bill Robe who hauled out the last man, the captain, who had become tangled in the kelp. The wreck of the Fiji was smashed apart within 20 minutes of the last man being brought ashore, and it settled in about 6m of water. Of the 26 men on the Fiji, 11 in total lost their lives. The remains of 7 bodies were washed onto the beach and their coffins were made from timbers from the wrecked Fiji. They were buried on the cliff top above the wreck. The survivors were warmed by fires on the beach then taken to River nook and cared for over the next few days. Funds were raised by local communities soon after the wreck in aid of the sufferers of the Fiji disaster. Captain Vickers was severely reprimanded for his mishandling of the ship. His Masters Certificate was suspended for 12 months. At the time there was also a great deal of public criticism at the slow and disorganised rescue attempt to save those on board. The important canvas ‘breech buoy’ or ‘bucket chair’ and the heavy line from the Rocket Rescue was in the half of the rocket outfit that didn’t make it in time for the rescue: they had been delayed at the Gellibrand River ferry. Communications to Warrnambool were down so the call for help didn’t get through on time and the two or three boats that had been notified of the wreck failed to reach it in time. Much looting occurred of the cargo that washed up on the shore, with nearly every visitor leaving the beach with bulky pockets. One looter was caught with a small load of red and white rubber balls, which were duly confiscated and he was ‘detained’ for 14 days. Essence of peppermint mysteriously turned up in many settlers homes. Sailcloth was salvaged and used for horse rugs and tent flies. Soon after the wreck “Fiji tobacco” was being advertised around Victoria. A Customs officer, trying to prevent some of the looting, was assaulted by looters and thrown over a steep cliff. He managed to cling to a bush lower down until rescued. In 1894 some coiled fencing wire was salvaged from the wreck. Hundreds of coils are still strewn over the site of the wreck, encrusted and solidified. The hull is broken but the vessel’s iron ribs can be seen along with some of the cargo of concrete and pig iron. Captain Vickers presented Bill Robe with his silver-cased pocket watch, the only possession that he still had, as a token for having saved his life and the lives of some of the crew. (The pocket watch came with 2 winding keys, one to wind it and one to change the hands.) Years later Bill passed the watch to his brother-in-law Gib (Gilbert) Hulands as payment of a debt and it has been passed down the family to Gilbert Hulands’ grandson, John Hulands. Seaman Julius Gebauhr later gave his knife, in its hand crafted leather sheath, to F. J. Stansmore for caring for him when he came ashore. The knife handle had a personal inscription on it. A marble headstone on the 200m high cliffs overlooking Wreck Beach, west of Moonlight Head, paying tribute to the men who lost their lives when Fiji ran aground. The scene of the wreck is marked by the anchor from the Fiji, erected by Warrnambool skin divers in 1967.This rope is part of the collection of artefacts from the wreck of the Fiji. Flagstaff Hill’s Fiji collection is of historical significance at a State level because of its association with the wreck Fiji, which is on the Victorian Heritage Register VHR S259. The Fiji is archaeologically significant as the wreck of a typical 19th century international sailing ship with cargo. It is educationally and recreationally significant as one of Victoria's most spectacular historic shipwreck dive sites with structural features and remains of the cargo evident. It also represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping history and its potential to interpret sub-theme 1.5 of Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes (living with natural processes).Rope, plaited, brown in colour, cut straight at one end, and the other end is separated into 3 pieces, from distress rockets used during the wreck of the sailing ship Fiji. Rope was in envelope printed with an address, and a description, and there was a display card with further details on it. Printed on the envelope: "Shire of Hampden / PO Box 84, Camperdown 3260" Hand written "rope of wreck of Fiji / 7cm / Mr Wm "Boyce" Display card with rope includes words "Piece of Rope from the Fiji distress rockets and was donated to Flagstaff Hill by a private donor in 1989"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, rope, the fiji, william boyce, distress signal, rocket rescue, life saving equipment -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Craft - Scrimshaw, Bringing in the Whale, 1980s
When scrimshaw is mentioned, most people think of carving on sperm whale teeth only. But scrimshaw also includes engravings on skeletal whale bone–such as the jaw bone, called pan bone and ivory from other marine mammals such as walrus. Although scrimshaw is widely associated with nautical themes and designs of the 19th century whaling industry, vintage scrimshaw was also produced as tribal art in many cultures. Today, scrimshaw is recognized as a unique medium in which present-day artists have developed their own modern themes. Scrimshaw reproductions may take several forms. There are - New carvings on genuine ivory or bone with the deliberate intent to create an "antique” - New carvings on genuine ivory or bone sold as signed and dated contemporary art - Clearly marked synthetic museum reproductions and mass marketed - Unmarked synthetic replicas This scrimshaw work is done on a sperm whale's tooth. It is one of two pieces by artist Gary Tonkin in Flagstaff Hill’s collection. Sperm whales can live for 60 or even 70 years, so the tooth could be quite old. It came from the whaling station in Albany, Western Australia, which ceased processing whales in 1978 and is now a whaling museum. The two works were commissioned by Flagstaff Hill in the 1980s. Tonkin could spend from a few days to a few months in intensive work on each piece of scrimshaw. He is a world-renowned Master Scrimshander and a Fellow of the Australian Society of Marine Artists (FASMA), and lives in Albany, Western Australia. Gary Tonkin, FASMA – Tonkin was born in 1949 in Portland, Victoria, and grew up there with a history of whaling and related industries. He moved to Albany in southwest WA in 1971 and worked as an Export Meat inspector for the Federal Government. This small town also had a historical connection to whaling. The Cheynes Beach Whaling Station was still operating, and there were even three whaling ‘chaser’ vessels at the old jetty. In 1975, his employment now permanent, Tonkin bought an old cottage near the bay, purchased some whales’ teeth, and began learning the sailors’ art of scrimshaw, combining this with his artistic skills and knowledge of history. His job gave him access to buy as many whale teeth as he could afford, straight from the whaling station. Tonkin gained further marine knowledge as he sailed on the schooner ‘Esperance’ from Fremantle to Mauritius in 1988. He watched the sailors at work and experienced the rough and stormy sea conditions first-hand. Tonkin later visited whaling museums, galleries and libraries in England and America to gather reference materials and information on all aspects of whaling and scrimshaw. In 1993 he was Commissioned to engrave six large whale teeth, from the Albany whaling station, for the USA Gallery at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. This work is now in the museum’s permanent collection. From that time, Tonkin began working full-time as a Scrimshander. Tonkin’s work is now in galleries and museums in America and Australia, as well as in private collections. He is the founder of the Albany Maritime Heritage Association and was the inaugural President. In the 1990s he actively and successfully campaigned for the preservation of the Cheynes Beach Whaling Station in Albany, which is now Whale World, an open-air whaling museum. His continuing work as a Scrimshander contributes to the preservation of the art of scrimshaw and the history of whaling. This scrimshaw represents the ancient craft of scrimshaw, associated with mariners in the whaling trade in the early 19th century. The work is also Nationally significant for being created by world-renowned Scrimshander, Gary Tonkin, from Albany, Western Australia. Scrimshaw; whale tooth carved with an image of two whaleboats hauling a dead whale back to the mother ship. Inscribed Title and signature of artist Gary Tonkin.Inscribed "Bringing in the whale". Signature "G Tonkin"flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, maritime museum, flagstaff hill, perth, whaling, whales, australia, scrimshaw, scrimshander, gary tonkin, g tonkin, bone, tooth, craft, albany, western australia, cheynes beach whaling station, whale world, portland, engraving, maritime art, sperm whale's tooth, albany whaling station, albany whaling museum