non-fictionStories from 50 former towns in and around Melbourne's North-east mountain region. These old towns include: Aberfeldy, Aberfeldy Crossing, BB Township, Blue Jacket, Clarke's Flat, Concord Gully, Edwards Reef, Fultons Creek, Jericho, Loch Fyne, Red Jacket, Store Point, The Springs, Toombon, Toombon Upper, Tullamore, Upper Thomson, Victors Quartz, Violet Town & White Star.ghost towns victoria, gold mining victoria

Quartz Hill is situated on the Sheephead line of reef and is situated just south of where the Red, White and Blue Consolidated Gold Mine operated. Two newspaper cuttings affixed to lemon backing sheet. Written on top in black pen: 'Quartz Hill Working Bee, Bdgo Adv. 11.12.67' Cutting one, 'Working Bee on Mine Site' with 7.12.67 written across the top, describes an appeal to get volunteers to clear the site of former mines on Quartz Hill. This is anticipated to 'clear the site of accumulated debris and clean out the two large adits driven into the hill and thus make the site a 'tourist visiting spot'. Cutting two, 'Many Miss Mine Working Bee' dated 11.12.67, describes the poor response to the working bee. ' Members of the Tourist Development Association and the Town Clerk, Mr. A.J. Watts, cleared 175 feet of the Northern tunnel and cut an entrance way and steps in the Southern tunnel of the New Blue Mine area in the first stage of the mining project. Mr. J. Stanistreet said last night he was most disappointed. He said: 'apparently we picked the wrong time of the year'.mining, sandhurst, new blue consolidated gold mine, red white and blue consolidated gold mine, quartz hill, sheepshead reef line, a.j. watts, j. stanistreet, bob long

BHS CollectionBlack and white photo of the squared oregon poppet legs , braces, wooden cage framework, guides for the skids and safety clamps of the cages of the Hercules Mine. Beside the photo is a printed description of the photo. In the bottom right corner is a printed description titled Interior of a Mine Battery. Written above it is Kocks Pioneer. Inside View of Kock's Battery. There is no photo. Descriptions and photo are mounted on pale blue paper which is then mounted on brown card and laminated.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - hercules mine & inside view of kock's battery, sheepshead line of reef, kock's pioneer, lincoln mine, lansell's big blue battery, quartz hill, whiffly tables, the chinese

Handwritten notes on Bendigo Mines. Notes include area of lease, yards along the reef, depth, dividends, main shafts within one mile of Bendigo Station and shafts made safe by the Mines Dept. Mines mentioned are: South New Moon, Carlisle, Nth Garden Gully, Passby, Old Carlisle,Kentish, Central Garden Gully, Golden Fleece, Garden Gully United, Big Blue, Union Co, Red, White & Blue, New Chum Railway, Unity, Cornish, Catherine Reef United, Garden Gully United, Gt Extended Hustlers, Gt Northern, Lady Barkly, New Moon, South St Mungo, Virginia and Victoria Quartz, Document from Albert Richardson Collection of mining history.document, gold, notes on bendigo mines, notes on bendigo mines, south new moon, carlisle, nth garden gully, passby, old carlisle, kentish, central garden gully, golden fleece, garden gully united, big blue, union co, red, white & blue, new chum railway, unity, cornish, catherine reef united, garden gully united, gt extended hustlers, gt northern, lady barkly, new moon, south st mungo, virginia, victoria quartz, graham, tenby and ashman, mr j b watson, geo lansell, mines dept, d e thomas

BHS CollectionHandwritten pages and typed copy of same, with information about the winding engine, winding drums and measurements of winding engine and drums. Also measurements of the Lancashire and Cornish boilers at the North Deborah Mine No 1 Shaft which were measured by Ian Hendry and Self on 20/9/1970. Albert Richardson Collection.document, gold, north deborah mine, north deborah mine, some statistics on the north deborah mine, williams united, new chum line, ulster mine, garden gully line, north red white & blue, sheepshead line, deborah line, a roberts & sons bendigo, north deborah mine no 1 shaft, ian hendry

Four hand written pages and typed copy, titled The Victoria Hill - Special Features. Notes mention the Victoria Hill, the deepest workings on the field,the first mine on the field to 2,000 and 3,000 feet in depth, Ballerstedt's Open-Cut, Rae;s Open-Cut, Wittscheibe's Jeweller's Shop, the Adventure, the richest cross-section of the whole of the Bendigo Goldfield, the first mine to pay dividends from ore mined below 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet from the surface, the tallest poppet legs on the field, Lazarus Mine, Barnet Lazarus, Mt Alvernia Hospital, Central Red White & Blue. Notes prepared by Albert Richardson.document, gold, victoria hill, victoria hill, victoria hill - special features, john neill macartney, the argus, the australasian, bendigo goldfields registry, victoria reef quartz mine, the deepest workings on the field, the first mine on the field to reach 2, 000 and 3, 000 feet in depth, lansell's 'big 180' mine, hot water, george lansell, theodore ballerstedt, fortuna, ballerstedt's open-cut, rae's open-cut, wittscheibe's jeweller's shop, adventure, advance, cinderella, the private pioneer coy, new chum & victoria mine, a h q survey regiment, tallest poppet legs, lazarus mine, barnet lazarus, mt alvernia hospital, central redwhite and blue, hudson's, burrowes & sterry, b c v 8 television station, swan hill's channel 11

Sixteen pages listing directors, manager and personnel of the New Red, White & Blue Freehold Co. N. L., New St. Mungo Gold Mining Co. N. L., New Victoria Catherine Co. N. L., North Johnson's Reef Quartz M. Co. N. L., North Shenandoah Gold Mining Co. n. L., Princess Dagmar G. M. Co. N. L., St. Mungo G. M. Co. N. L., Sea Gold Mining Amal Co. N. L., Shamrock Co. N. L., Shenandoah G. M. Co. N. L., South Bendigo Co., South Frederick the Great G. M. Co. N. L., South Devonshire M. Co. N. L., True Blue G. M. Co. N. L., Unicorn G. M. Co. N. L., United Ulster Gold M. Co. N. L. and the United Whip & Jersey Co. N. L. Printed on cream and one yellow paper.document, gold, mining reports, mining reports, list of personnel for mines, new red, white & blue freehold co. n. l., new st. mungo gold mining co. n. l., new victoria catherine co. n. l., north johnson's reef quartz m. co. n. l., north shenandoah gold mining co. n. l., princess dagmar g. m. co. n. l., st. mungo g. m. co. n. l., sea gold mining amal co. n. l., shamrock co. n. l., shenandoah g. m. co. n. l., south bendigo co., south frederick the great g. m. co. n. l., south devonshire m. co. n. l., true blue g. m. co. n. l., unicorn g. m. co. n. l., united ulster gold m. co. n. l. and the united whip & jersey co. h nickson, w c roeder, w bradshaw, g knight, j f grohbrugge, john hemming, e mueller, c mueller, l robertson, h mclister, t walsh, h r lane, c l christenson, wm hemming, a stevens, c moller, h burridge, g h crawford, wm hunter, g a petrie, g g claridge, w m bruce, r williamson, wm neilson f clark, j a deravin, a mccamey, wm lunn, i e dyason, j c johnstone, g g mccoll, geo lansell, t s gibson, wm hicks, jas eadie jnr, i hasker, j m okey, c a tatlor, f herbel, c h come, d c sterry, a s lane, s h mcgowan, e moller, w n rigby, w g bentley, w w barker, j barwick, f b lewis, j de gille, h beeson, j h goudge, h l atkinson, j t cladwell, j j herron, h y north, t walsh, m kelly, l robertson, j mckowne or j mcrowne, john renwick, j c johnston, wm henderson, c moore

Handwritten list by Albert Richardson, with typed copy of same, of some Bendigo Mines and their Legal Managers, as at September 30th, 1906. Document is part of the Albert Richardson Collection. document, gold, miner's right, mining reports, list of legal managers, j h craig, j h mccoll, g a petrie, h birch, b crofts, h y north, h kirkwood, s h mcgowan, g j keogh, c moore, w g blackham, w b walker, j humming, g h green, catherine reef united, carlisle, clarence united, central ellesmere, collman & tacchi, confidence extended, cornish united, daly & westons, don, ellenborough, extended southdevonshire, eureka, fortuna hustlers, fosterville, garden gully united, g g consolidated, garibaldi, great southern, great northern, great extended hustlers, great columbian, great central victoria, golden age, golden pyke, goldfields north, goldfields consolidated, hercules & energetic, hustlers reef, hustlers reef no 1, hustler's royal reserve, ironbark, johnson's reef, johnsons extended, koch's pioneer, lancashire, lazarus new chum, lady barkly, lightning hill, mcduff amalgamated, morning star, new chum consolidated, new chum railway, new chum & victoria, new red white & blue consolidated, new hopeful, new st mungo, new argus, new moon, new prince of wales, north lady brassey, new victoria catherine, new chum goldfields north new moon, north argus, north johnsons, pearl, princess dagmar, phoenix, railway prince of wales, shamrock, st mungo, sadowa, sea, stewart's united specimen's hill, south st mungo, south new moon, south devonshire, suffolk united, south prince of wales, spring gully junction, true blue, thomas united, united devonshire, unity, united hustlers & redan, united ulster, victoria consols, victoria reef quartz, victory and pandora, virginia, victoria proprietory, williams united

BHS CollectionMap of part of the Bendigo Goldfield including White Hills and Eaglehawk. Map shows reef lines, gullies, railway line, tram route, type of rock, name of mine, Calls and Dividends. Also Deepest Mine Victoria Quartz 4614 ft. Names of Mines are Garden Gully United, Great Ext'd Hustlers, Johnson's Reef, South New Moon, New Moon, Catherine Reef, Virginia, Central Red White & Blue, Ironbark, Kock's Pioneer, Carlisle and the Hercules & Energetic. Map is part of the Albert Richardson Collection of mining documents and research. document, gold, mining reports, mining reports, map of part of the bendigo goldfield including white hills and eaglehawk, pabst bendigo goldfield, garden gully united, great ext'd hustlers, johnson's reef, south new moon, new moon, catherine reef, virginia, central red white & blue, ironbark, kock's pioneer, carlisle, hercules & energetic. victoria quartz

Three handwritten and three typed copies of notes on the Little 180 Mine. Notes include locality, underground connections, depth, plant, historical notes best gold, gold yield and dividends. References are in the left margin. Albert Richardson Collectiondocument, gold, little 180 mine, little 180 mine, notes on the little 180 mine, sheepshead line of reef, john brown factory, central red white & blue, central blue, ironbark south mine, rae's hill, a roberts & sons bendigo, s h johnson stratford, deborah consolidated mine, big 180 mine, new chum syncline mine, george lansell, new chum line of reef, a richardson, bendigo branch of royal historical society, mine's dept transverse and longitudinal sections little 180 mine, catalogue mining sales j h curnow, mine's dept special edition australian mining standard1/6/1899, mines dept booklet bendigo goldfield 1936, mine's dept quarterly and annual reports

Brochure with an invitation to visit Historical and Mining Museum in Mechanic's Institute, Eaglehawk. Drawing of poppet legs on the front with The Royal Historical Society of Victoria Bendigo Branch. Historical Guide to Bendigo including Self Tours of Bendigo's Famous Goldfields. Forward by John Hattam. Contributors are: H Biggs, Miss L J Parry, A Richardson, L C Bennetts and Edith Checcucci. Credits - The Bendigo Advertiser, Cambridge Press, Mines Department (Bendigo) and J R W Purves. Items include Bendigo Tramways Compiled by H Biggs, Early Bendigo Hotels Compiled by L C Bennetts, Eaglehawk Compiled by H Biggs, Noted Events Compiled by June Parry, The Bendigo Post Office Compiled by LC Bennetts, The Bendigo Goldfield. Introduction to Field and Guide to Some Famous Mines Compiled by A Richardson. Photos include: Pall Mall Bendigo, Ravenswood Homestead, An Early Battery at Kangaroo Flat, Historic High Street Golden Square, The Lonely Grave, Battery Tram c1888, Steam Tram c1892, Electric Tram c1903, The New Chum Railway Golden Square, United Hustlers and Redan Mine Sandhurst Road, Central Deborah Violet Street, Deborah Mine Quarry Hill, Deborah Mine 1000 ft level, First Motion Winding Engine at Central Deborah, Victoria Hill Area, and Looking south from New Chum Hill in 1890's. Also 11010.254, 255, 268, 288a, 288b, and 289.bendigo, history, long gully history group, the long gully history group - historical guide to bendigo, the royal historical society of victoria bendigo branch, historical and mining museum, mechanic's institute eaglehawk, librarian mechanic's institute, miss j parry, john hattam, h biggs, a richardson, l c bennetts, edith checcucci, bendigo advertiser, cambridge press, mines department (bendigo), j r w purves, mr a o'keefe, shire of marong, the sandhurst and eaglehawk tramway company, mr j taylor, mr j hanson, the bendigo tramway company, electric supply company, coliban water suply, juvenile industrial exhibition, geo lansell, cr a harkness, salvation army, vine and fruitgrowers association, decentralisation league, constable thomas ryan, miners association, art gallery, post office, miss broadfoot, bendigo hospital, opera company, bendigo development league, victorian women's franchise league, ana hall, the bendigonian, law courts, temperance hall, trades hall (old wardens court), roman catholic cathedral, shamrock hotel, bendigo philosophical society, old bendigonian society, bendigo fire brigade, bendigo volunteers to south african war, hawkins, porcupine inn, criterion hotel, royal hotel, bendigo hotel, black swan hotel, gillies bakery, hibernian hotel, sandhurst hotel, freemasons hotel, courthouse hotel, shamrock hotel, governor hotham, heffernan & crowley, new chum railway, victoria quartz, shenandoah, shamrock mine, hercules no 1 (originally pearl east), hercules new chum (late pearl), carlisle mine, mr arblaster, meurer, sandhurst bee, benevolent asylum, bendigo gas company, a lloyd, coliban water supply scheme, cr w v simons, eaglehawk council, j mouat, sir henry barkly, agricultural and horticultural exhibition, sandhurst and eaglehawk boroughs, cr john mcintyre, latham and watson's mine, galatea (model ship), st paul's church of england, rev g p despard, fine arts exhibition and exposition, bendigo rifle association, strathfieldsaye shire hall, corporate high school, bendigonian society, richard andrews, easter fair, g aspinall, j burnsides, sir h manners sutton, beehive stores, mining exchanges, bendigo water works, city family hotel, bendigo united friendly society medical institute and dispensary, benevolent asylum, jewish synagogue, masonic hall, school of mines, mr j h abbott, australian natives association, royal princess theatre, albion hall, central state school, high school, gravel hill state school, electricity commission, james mouat, warring natives, the rocks, joseph crook, gold discovery, marong district roads board, camp hotel, mr charles sherratt, city of bendigo, mt alexander north run, grice and heape, ravenswood, gibson and fenton, mrs john kennedy, mrs patrick farrel, mr j a paton, mr lachlan mclachlan, theatre royal, sir charles and lady hotham, harney's bridge, e j ennor, sandhurst fire brigade, the health of towns act, mr townsend, cornish & co, bendigo pottery, bendigo agricultural society, pike or pyke, baby health centre, sandhurst post office, government survey office, sandhurst trustees company, mr h b briston, savings bank, telegraph office, sir henry brougham lock, hon sir john nimmo, sandhurst public offices, the new prince of wales mine, new prince of wales no 2, the whip and jersey, lansell's big 180, new chum and victoria mine and battery, new chum railway, koch's pioneer, south new moon, catherine reef united, new moon, virginia mine, south belle vue, new chum railway, central nell gwynne, north nell gwynne, ironbark mine, new chum syncline, hercules, herculesl energetic, roberts & sons, harkness & co, horwoods, great southern, ulster, carlisle, cornish, new st mungo, duchess tribute, south devonshire, hopewell mine, saxby mine, mcnair & co, mr king, bourke and wills, sandhurst hotel, the dascombe nugget, victoria nugget, r r haverfield, ballerstedt, rae, wittscheibe, lazarus, cave and amos, bendigo amalgamated goldfields, bendigo mines limited, the deborah, north deborah, central deborah, the new red white and blue consolidated (big blue), union, lansell's new red white and blue 9later no 3 shaft), h harkness & co, thompson & co, central deborah, lansell's bendigo battery, north red white and blue, central red white and blue, roberts and sons, little 180 (originally lansell's 180 no 2 shaft), john brown knitwear factory, south ironbark originally victoria consols east shaft, ironbark (originally ironbark east shaft), manchester arms hotel, wattle gully mine chewton, hercules, old wheal-owl, central nell gwynne, gold mines hotel, bendigo city council, jack barker, the new chum syncline, the courier of the mines, telegraph office, bendigo cemetery, white hills cemetery, eaglehawk cemetery, kangaroo flat cemetery, new moon, suffolk united, north new moon, fortuna hustlers, buckell & jeffrey's, royal hustlers reserve no 2 (city and park shafts), jonathan harris, latham and watson, great hustlers, great extended hustlers, j hustler, latham, watson, tribute or pups shaft, bendigo's worst mining disaster, hustlers reef (old hustlers), hustlers reef no 1, lansell's comet, the old comet (cooper's claim), united hustlers and redan, comet hill state school, k k shaft, north or new hustlers (agnew hustler), johnson's no 3, south johnson's, lansell's sandhurst needle, cleopatra needle top, british american, collman and tacchi, south virginia, saddle reefs and spurs, pall mall bendigo, ravenswood homestead, an early battery at kangaroo flat, historic high street golden square, the lonely grave, battery tram c1888, steam tram c1892, electric tram c1903, teh new chum railway golden square, united hustlers and redan mine sandhurst road, central deborah violet street, deborah mine quarry hill, deborah mine 1000 ft level, first motion winding engine at central deborah, victoria hill area, looking south from new chum hill in 1890's

Handwritten extracts and typed copies of same, from the New Chum Railway Mine Manager's Report 17/2/03. Mine Manager W Hicks. Extracts: Machinery. New Boiler is giving every satisfaction. While bailing water after the Xmas holidays, one of the ropes broke with a full tank of water. The tank being fitted with safety appliances, acted. Therefore no damage was done to the shaft. The old ropes were taken off and replaced by two new ones of 2,500 feet each, with a breaking strain of 34 tons. Mine 7 machinery are all in good working order. 1925 - Portion of Cath. Reef battery sold to Big Blue. Albert Richardson Collectiondocument, gold, new red white & blue mine, new red white & blue mine, new red white & blue mine manager's report 17/2/03, w hicks, cath reef battery

Two-page typed document plus location map. The location of the Central Red, White and Blue mine was on the north-west corner of Barnard and Honeysuckle Streets, Golden Square. The mine was formed in 1910 and ceased operations in 1936. Features of the mine are described: the winding engine, boilers, air compressor, poppet legs, engine house, crushing battery, gold produced and where obtained from. 'The rich gold yields which made this mine so prominent in its early years, was obtained from a large reef at the 318 feet level, some yields reached as high as 15 oz to the ton'.bendigo, mining, central red, white & blue mine

Handwritten one page document. Details about the Hercules Gold Mine, Long Gully which operated from 1911 - 1917 as the Hercules and Energetic Gold Mine. 1917 - 1922 by Bendigo Amalgamated Goldfields Company and 1922 - 1950 as an entirely new company. The Central Nell Gwynne on the Nell Gwynne (central area only) 1932 - 1949.Albert Richardsonbendigo, mining, hercules, energetic, nell gwynne

The wooden door was salvaged from the wreck of the sailing ship Eric the Red, which was a wooden, three masted clipper ship. Eric the Red was the largest full-rigged ship built at Bath, Maine, USA in 1871, having had a 1,580 tons register. 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, 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. The ship had been sailing for an uneventful 85 days and the voyage was almost at its end. On 4th September 1880 the Eric the Red approached Cape Otway with 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. He 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 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 Dawn was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. 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 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 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, 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 and samples of wood. 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) Door from the wreck of the ship Eric the Red. The wooden singular rectangular door includes three insert panel sections. The top section is square shaped and is missing its panel or glass. The centre timber panel is about a third of the height of the top panel and the bottom timber panel is approximately equal in height to the total height of the two upper panels. The door fastenings include both a metal door latch and traditional door bolt. They are both attached to the front right hand side of the door. The bolt is just below the top panel, and the door latch is in approximately the centre of that side. The door latch has a round mark where a handle could have been attached. The wood of the door has scraping marks in a semi-circle around the door latch where the latch has swung around on its one remaining fastening and grazed the surface. There is a metal hinge at the top section of the door on the opposite side to the latch. The painted surface has been scraped back to expose the wood. The door is shorter than the average height of a person. On the reverse of the door there are lines on the panels, just inside their edges, is what appears to be pencil. The door is not aligned straight but is skew to centre.warrnambool, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, eric the red, jaques allen, sewall, 1880, melbourne exhibition 1880, cape otway, otway reef, victorian shipwreck, bass strait, eric-the-red, door

Photocopy of a printed 'The Mining Record' Jan., 1862 Pages 5 to 11. There is information on the Paddy's Gully Reef and the Sheep's Head Reef. The owners, area and title, workings, reef and yield, cost of working, drainage, machinery and remarks of the The Comet Company (formerly Cooper's Little Redan), Hogg, Tipper, & Milroy's Claim, Alliance Company, Watson & Wade's Claim, Barker & Co's Claim, Union Company's Claim, Paddy's Gully Reef Quartz Mining and Drainage Company's Claim, Picken and Co's Claim, Holmes and Co's Claim, Keith and Co's Claim, Stevens, Hasker & Co's Claim, Blewitt & Co's Claim, Thomson & Co's Claim, Hooper, Wills and Co's Claim, Union Company's North, or Lower, Claim, Sinclair and Co's Claim, Fogarty and Williams' Claim, Red, White and Blue Company's Claim, Union Company's Lower Whim Claim, Thompson's Claim, Union Company's Little Engine Claim, Will's Claim and the Union Company's South Claim. Albert Richardson Collectiondocument, gold, mining reports, mining reports, the mining record jan., 1862, the comet company (formerly cooper's little redan), hogg, tipper, & milroy's claim, alliance company, watson & wade's claim, barker & co's claim, union company's claim, paddy's gully reef quartz mining and drainage company's claim, picken and co's claim, holmes and co's claim, keith and co's claim, stevens, hasker & co's claim, blewitt & co's claim, thomson & co's claim, hooper, wills and co's claim, union company's north, or lower, claim, sinclair and co's claim, fogarty and williams' claim, red, white and blue company's claim, union company's lower whim claim, thompson's claim, union company's little engine claim, will's claim, union company's south claim, john s mcnair, john mathieson, mr lomasney, mr kelly, mr clisshold, j b watson & co, milroy & price, hogg, tiper, millroy, mr ebden, mrssrs watson and wade, r o smith, edward hunt, h murdoch, samuel priestly, william goldsmith, david buchanan, robert anderson, bagshot company, barker, ladams, m'vey, claughton, gutteridge, good, cornell, simeon, rutherford, h jackson, murgatroyd, wormold, bashford, red white & blue claim, steven's and hasker's, blewitt and co, john blewitt, richard allingham, edward wills, john williams, richard williams, henry williams, joseph east, john thomson, thomas trownson, henry hooper, edward wills, thomas castelow, joseph castlow, william tongue, george nevinson, james griston, thomas porter, william a kenny, robert lisle, john sinclair, robert pritchard, william pritchard, thomas woods, james fogarty, daniel moon, william lindrea, john adams, brown, robert lisle, owen thompson, nicholson reef company, edward wills, p n russell & co, bendigo valley steam puddling company, metropolitan mills, bruce's, thos. woods

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

This photograph was one of ten photographs donated to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village by Fred Trewartha. Frederick John Fox Trewartha (Fred) was a well-known Warrnambool businessman. He was born in Beeac near Geelong in 1920 and came to Warrnambool with his family as a very young child. He was apprenticed to his father John, as a saddler and later opened his own shop on Raglan Parade. He then moved into working with tarpaulins and canvases for the trucking industry. Fred was keenly interested in photography (and was a member of the Warrnambool Cine Club), yachting and boat building. He kept his yacht moored at Port Fairy for many years and participated in sailing events locally and interstate. He also built boats with his sons. He had the opportunity to meet many older sailors and it's thought this photo (and others in the set) may have been given to him by one of these men. Fred Trewartha died in 2016 in Warrnambool. 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. Four coastal traders made regular stops at Warrnambool in the 1880's - S. S. Julia Percy, S. S. Dawn, S. S. Nelson and S. S. Casino. 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. The Julia Percy was built in Glasgow by Thomas Wingate & Company, Whiteinch, in 1876 for the Warrnambool Steam Packet Company, which commissioned it for trade in Victoria’s western district. It was first registered in Warrnambool, Victoria in 1876. Two steamships, the Julia Percy and the Nelson, collided on 25th December 1881. The Julia Percy was at that time owned by its first owners, the Warrnambool Steam Packet Company, and she sailed under the command of Captain Chapman. It had left Melbourne the evening of 24th December, with about 150 passengers, sailing in fine weather through Port Phillip Heads around 9pm. It 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. 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 it 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, signaling 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 Captain Thomas Smith having his master's certificate suspended for six months. The Julia Percy changed hands several times. Its 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 and then it 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. It was converted into a coal hulk in Melbourne in 1910 as a result of damaged caused when it was driven against the jetty at Dongara during a gale. The ship was eventually dismantled and scuttled off Port Phillip Heads on 28 December 1934. The steamship "Dawn" was a 522-ton coastal trader built in 1876 and the vessel operated around the Victorian west coast from 1877 until 1898 for the Portland & Belfast Steam Navigation Co. sailing between Melbourne and Portland, via Warrnambool. The vessel was then owned in October 1885 by the renamed company, Belfast & Koroit Steam Navigation Co., until March 1896 when its ownership moved to W Howard Smith & Sons Ltd. This Melbourne company used the ship to service most ports around Australia. Captain F. Chapman took over from Captain Jones and served on the SS Dawn from 1898 until 1900 when he took command of the SS Casino. On September 4th 1880, the three masted clipper ship, "Eric the Red" struck Otway Reef, near Cape Otway. The S. S. Dawn, under the command of Captain Jones, was returning to Warrnambool from Melbourne, its sailing time different to its usual schedule. 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. Four men (three crew and one passenger) died. 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). Medals of Bravery 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’. The Medal of Bravery awarded to Nelson Johnson is in the collection at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village in Warrnambool. Prior to 1882, and the arrival of the S. S. Casino, the "Dawn" was the only steamer to be able to navigate up the Moyne River at Port Fairy and unload at the wharf. The other regular steamers had to anchor in the bay instead. In February 1891 (as reported in The Age newspaper) the "Dawn" became the first vessel to berth alongside the newly completed Warrnambool Breakwater. The occasion was celebrated with a number of prominent townspeople assembling on board to "participate of a glass of wine". 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 it to Howard Smith. It took over the Melbourne to Warrnambool run in 1906 when the S. S. Flinders was sold. The S. S. Dawn 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 third ship depicted in the photograph was thought to be the S. S. Coorong but there was a question mark next to its name. The photograph was thought to have been taken in 1885 and it's possible the S.S. Coorong was working in Clarence River, N. S. W. by this time. The steamer "Coorong" was built in 1862 by J. G. Lawrie of Glasgow. It was an "iron screw" steamer of 304 tons. It had many owners including Joseph Darwent of Adelaide (1863 - 1871), McMeckan Blackwood and Company, Melbourne (1871 - 1877), Mount Gambier Steamship Company Ltd. (1877 - 1881). William Whineham, Port Adelaide (1882), John See and Company, Sydney (1884 - 1892) and the North Coast Steam Navigation Company Ltd, Sydney (1892 - 1910). In 1911 it was hulked in Sydney Harbour and in 1921 it was being used as a coal hulk at Sydney. It had been originally imported into South Australia for the Port Augusta trade (primarily transporting goods needed by the early settlers) however the owners recognized that it had too much space for that purpose, so it was moved to work on the Adelaide to Melbourne line. Its passenger accommodation was enlarged and it enjoyed a "first class reputation" and by 1874 had made 313 voyages between Melbourne and Adelaide. Its captains included Captain McLean, Captain Ashton and Captain Dowell. In 1867, when 25 miles west of Cape Otway, while travelling from Adelaide to Melbourne, it came across the crew of the schooner "Black Watch" who had abandoned ship after it began quickly taking on water. The crew (six men) were able to get away in a small boat with a compass, chart and few candles. They were "excessively cold from exposure to the weather" when the S. S. Coorong picked them up. In 1877 the Coorong ran aground when entering the Outer Harbour at Adelaide (but was not damaged) and in 1882 it was stranded (for a short time) near Curdies Inlet (Victoria) with some slight damage to its bottom plates. Note - A ship with the same name "Coorong" (a coal carrying barque) was often on the Newcastle / Wollongong to Adelaide route also stopped several times in Warrnambool in the mid 1880's. The photograph has the label "Chuck Photos" printed on the front. Thomas Foster Chuck (born 1826 in London) was a photographer and entrepreneur who arrived in Victoria in 1861. The following year he produced and toured a "Grand Moving Diarama" of dramatic painted scenes from the Burke and Wills expedition. By 1866 he had established a photography studio in Daylesford and later he returned to Melbourne where he opened a studio in the Royal Arcade. In 1874 a collection of Chuck's photographs won a gold medal at the Annual International Exhibition in London. Throughout the 1870's he took over 700 individual photographs of prominent citizens for his historical photographic montage titled "Historical Pictures of the Explorers and Early Colonists of Victoria" which is now in the collection of the National Library of Australia. By 1888 he had sold his Melbourne studio and had established a studio in Ballarat (with his son Thomas Henry Chuck). In 1886 they produced an album titled "Warrnambool and District 1886, Western Hotel - J. Fox proprietor" containing over sixty large photographs of local coastal scenes and seascapes, for the use of patrons of the Western Hotel. This photo (of the three steamers in Lady Bay) was taken at this time and is in the album. Thomas Chuck died on December 7th, 1898, in Albert Park, Melbourne and his son Thomas Henry continued to operate the photography studio in Ballarat into the 1920's.This photograph is a significant record of several of the well-known coastal traders (S. S. Julia Percy, S. S. Dawn and possibly S. S. Coorong) that sailed along the southwest coast of Victoria for many years - transporting goods and passengers between Melbourne and Warrnambool in the 1880's. They are also significant in the role they played in the history of Warrnambool and the other coastal ports they visited as well as being examples of the dangers and hazards associated with navigating the waters along the southern coast of Australia. It is also a good example of a photograph taken by a well-known and significant photographer of that era.Black and white photograph of three steam ships anchored in Lady Bay, Warrnambool. They each have a funnel and two masts and are side on to the beach. A small rowboat with a crew can be seen on the far right. The words "CHUCK-PHOTO" are on the bottom left of the photograph. On the back of the photograph is the name and telephone number of the donor (handwritten in black ball point pen) and the names of the three steamships and date written in uppercase letters in dark blue ink. There is a four-figure number stamped in the centre of the back.Front - "CHUCK-PHOTO" Back - Name of donor and telephone number "6944" "JULIA PERCY, DAWN & KOORONG(?) IN LADY BAY 1885"flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, great ocean road, fred trewartha, s. s. julia percy, s. s. dawn, s. s. nelson, s. s. casino, leeuwin, steamer, steamship, coastal trader, warrnambool steam packet company, captain chapman, victorian steam navigation board, western steam navigation company, melbourne steamship company, william howard smith and sons, portland and belfast steam navigation company, w howard smith and sons ltd, eric the red, captain jones, medal of bravery, rescue, moyne river, warrnambool breakwater, lady bay, s. s. coorong, mount gambier steamship company, black watch, thomas foster chuck, chuck photos, chuck photography