Historical information

These bricks are a sample of “5000 house bricks from London” carried by the CHILDREN as ballast, and intended for the Portland Bay settlement of her owners, Henty Bros.

Flagstaff Hill divers recovered the bricks from Childers Cove in February 1974 and noted, “These bricks are the major feature of the wreck site. Subsequent notes indicate “The hull structure has broken up, leaving few visible remains, except for piles of house bricks intended for the Hentys of Portland”.

According to Lloyds Shipping Register 1837-1839, the CHILDREN was built in 1825 at Liverpool and operated by owners Gordon & Co, of London, London registered number 123/1837; James Henty then bought her in 1837 as a three-masted barque of 254 tons, with a hull of “part pitch pine, felt sheathed” and “coppered 1837”. Launceston registered number 6/1837. In 1838, the CHILDREN, under her master Captain H. Browne, completed a successful round trip from Launceston to London carrying wool and whale oil loaded in Portland, returning in late November of that year carrying general cargo, including house bricks.

On the 11th of January 1839, the CHILDREN sailed from Launceston for Adelaide, with 24 passengers, 14 crew, and an awkward mixed cargo, including 1500 sheep, 8 bullocks, 7 horses, farming implements, and six whaleboats with associated whaling gear. One account states that when the CHILDREN “put out from port, it was light and badly ballasted”. The vessel immediately encountered four days of hurricane-force storms, eventually clearing on the early morning of the 14th to “west force 10”, but too late to take accurate measurements of the sun or stars to establish their position relative to the coast.

The CHILDREN collided with a limestone stack at the entrance of Childers Cove, and the seas smashed her into pieces within half an hour. All the cargo and 16 lives were lost (including 9 children). The Hentys contributed £150 towards a fund for the 22 survivors at a memorial service held in Launceston later that year.

It was a major financial setback for the Hentys, but one from which they recovered. In a submission to the Governor of New South Wales dated 24 March 1840, the Hentys summarised their work over the previous six years of settlement: “Six stations have been occupied, one at Portland Bay…three at the open country about 60 miles inland called ‘Merino Downs’…They have erected two houses at Portland Bay and two others at Merino Downs”.

Significance

These bricks are significant as a sample of 5000 house bricks carried from London as ballast by the Children and were intended for the Portland Bay settlement of her owners, James Henty & Co.
The 1839 wreck and recovered artefacts are examples of the construction methods and materials used in that era and can be used to study the evolution of shipbuilding methods and principles.
The wreck of the Children is of state significance as one of colonial Victoria’s earliest and most significant maritime disasters, and one of the first vessels lost in the Western District. This is recognised by its inclusion on the Victorian Heritage Register, VHR No. S116. Little is left on the seabed to mark the tragedy, apart from some of the house bricks intended for the Henty settlement.

Physical description

Five ‘house bricks from London’, some with white marine encrustation, recovered from the wreck of the ship CHILDREN. The bricks are oblong shaped and constructed of a blue-coloured and coarse-grained conglomerate. One brick is higher, shorter and narrower, than the other four bricks.