Historical information

The person named on the wood sample, Jean Howley, is currently a mystery. Is it the name of the person who wrote on the wood, or the person admired by the writer? The year noted on the sample, 1917, is eleven years after the wreck of the Falls of Halladale; was the person a passenger on the vessel, revisiting the site?

The 1886 iron-hulled, four-masted barque, the Falls of Halladale, was a bulk carrier of general cargo. She left New York in August 1908, bound for Melbourne and Sydney. In its hold, along with 56,763 tiles of unusually beautiful green American slates (roofing tiles), 5,673 coils of barbed wire, 600 stoves, 500 sewing machines, 6500 gallons of oil, 14400 gallons of benzene, and many other manufactured items, were 117 cases of crockery and glassware.

Three months later and close to the destination, a navigational error caused the Falls of Halladale to be wrecked on a reef off the Peterborough headland at 3 am on the morning of the 15th of November, 1908. The captain and 29 crew members all survived, but her valuable cargo was largely lost, despite two salvage attempts in 1908-09 and 1910.

ABOUT THE ‘FALLS OF HALLADALE’ (1886 - 1908)

Built: in1886 by Russell & Co., Greenock shipyards, River Clyde, England, UK. The company was founded in 1870 (or 1873) as a partnership between Joseph Russell (1834-1917), Anderson Rodger and William Todd Lithgow. During the period 1882-92 Russell & Co., they standardised designs, which sped up their building process so much that they were able to build 271 ships over that time. In 1886 they introduced a 3000 ton class of sailing vessel with auxiliary engines and brace halyard winches. In 1890 they broke the world output record.

Owner: Falls Line, Wright, Breakenridge & Co, 111 Union Street, Glasgow, Scotland.
Configuration: Four masted sailing ship; iron-hulled barque; iron masts, wire rigging, fore & aft lifting bridges.
Size: Length 83.87m x Breadth 12.6m x Depth 7.23m, Gross tonnage 2085 ton
Wrecked: the night of 14th November 1908, Curdies Inlet, Peterborough south west Victoria
Crew: 29

The Falls of Halladale was a four-masted sailing ship built-in 1886 in Glasgow, Scotland, for the long-distance cargo trade and was mostly used for Pacific grain trade. She was owned by Wright, Breakenridge & Co of Glasgow and was one of several Falls Line ships, all of which were named after waterfalls in Scotland. The lines flag was of red, blue and white vertical stripes.

The Falls of Halladale had a sturdy construction built to carry maximum cargo and able to maintain full sail in heavy gales, one of the last of the ‘windjammers’ that sailed the Trade Route. She and her sister ship, the Falls of Garry, were the first ships in the world to include fore and aft lifting bridges. Previous to this, heavily loaded vessels could have heavy seas break along the full length of the deck, causing serious injury or even death to those on deck. The new, raised catwalk-type decking allowed the crew to move above the deck stormy conditions. This idea is still used today in the most modern tankers and cargo vessels and has proved to be an important step forward in the safety of men at sea.

On 4th August 1908, with new sails, 29 crew, and 2800 tons of cargo, the Falls of Halladale left New York, bound for Melbourne and Sydney via the Cape of Good Hope. The cargo on board was valued at £35,000 and included 56,763 tiles of American slate roofing tiles (roof slates), 5,673 coils of barbed wire, 600 stoves, 500 sewing machines, 6,500 gallons of oil, 14,400 gallons of benzene, plumbing iron, 117 cases of crockery and glassware and many other manufactured items.

The Falls of Halladale had been at sail for 102 days when, at 3 am on the night of 14th November 1908, under full sail in calm seas with a six knots breeze behind and misleading fog along the coast, the great vessel rose upon an ocean swell and settled on top of a submerged reef near Peterborough on south-west Victoria’s coast. The ship was jammed on the rocks and began filling with water. The crew launched the two lifeboats and all 29 crew landed safely on the beach over 4 miles away at the Bay of Islands. The postmistress at Peterborough, who kept a watch for vessels in distress, saw the stranding and sent out an alert to the local people. A rescue party went to the aid of the sailors and the Port Campbell rocket crew was dispatched, but the crew had all managed to reach shore safely by the time help arrived.

The ship stayed in full sail on the rocky shelf for nearly two months, attracting hundreds of sightseers who watched her slowly disintegrate until the pounding seas and dynamiting by salvagers finally broke her back, and her remains disappeared back into deeper water.

The valuable cargo was largely lost, despite two salvage attempts in 1908-09 and 1910. Further salvage operations occurred from 1974-1986, during which time 22,000 slate tiles were recovered with the help of 14 oil drums to float them, plus personal artefacts, ship fittings, reams of paper and other items.

The Court of Marine Inquiry in Melbourne ruled that the foundering of the ship was entirely due to Captain David Wood Thomson’s navigational error, not the technical failure of the Clyde-built ship.

The shipwreck site is a popular to divers, about 300m offshore and in 3 – 15m of water. Some of the original cargo can be seen at the site, including pieces of roof slate and coils of barbed wire.

Significance

The wood sample is significant for its association with the Falls of Halladale shipwreck, which is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (No. S255). The vessel was one of the last ships to sail the Trade Routes. It is one of the first vessels to have fore and aft lifting bridges. Also, the ship is an example of the remains of an International Cargo Ship and also represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping industry. The wreck is protected as a Historic Shipwreck under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976).

Physical description

A small sample piece of rectangular wood with a ribbed texture and uneven ends. It was recovered from the wreck of the ship, Falls of Halladale. Handwritten inscriptions in dark ink are on the front, and a drawing is on the reverse.

Inscriptions & markings

On the front: " "FALLS OF HALLADALE" "" and "JEAN HOWLEY" and "2/2/17"
On the reverse: "symbol of a (heart ) with an arrow through it from top right to bottom left"