wreckof the joseph scammell - torquay history
TRANSCRIPT
Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 16 May 1891, page 19
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221189176
WRECK OF THE JOSEPHH.SCAMMELL
ALL HANDS SAVED.
GEELONG,Friday,MAY 8.This morninga fishermannamed Felix
Ross,residingat SpringCreek,despatched,
newsof a shipon the coastnearSpringCreek.
When daylightbrokethoseon theshorecouldsee a largewoodenfour-mastedvesselfirm and fast on the reef
about400 yardsfrom PointDanger,whichis nearlya milefromthe mouth
of SpringCreek.The denserain stormspreventedthe signalsfrom the vesselbeingdistinguished
and it was some time before
anyintelligence
was conveyedas to thenameof the ship.The seaswerebreaking
rightover the doomedvesseland fearswere
entertained
that she wouldbreak
up beforeassistancecould be obtained.
Manywillinghandsweresoonin attend
ance,anxiousto renderaid,and thecrewwas broughtsaflyashoreat 7o'clockthis morning.Therewere altog
Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 16 May 1891, page 19 (2)
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221189176
gether21 personson board,comprisingseamen,the
stewardess,
the captain,his wifeand child.The vesselprovesto be the JosephH.
Scammellownedbe a firmin St John,
New Brunswick.
THE CAPTAIN'SSTATEMENT,CaptainChapmanstatedthatthe shipwas
the JosephH. Scammell,1,410tons register,
ownedby ScammellBrothers,of St. John,New
Brunswick, Canada,and a sharebeingheldIn the vesselby
himself.Thiswas hisfirstvoyagein the ship,whichwas six years
old.She leftNew Yorkon 12thJanuary,being
thus114 daysout,withageneral cargo,from
a box ofblacking
to organsandmachinery.
Thereis a largequantityof tobaccoonboard,but no spirits.Contrarywindswereexperienced
fromNewYorkto theCapeof GoodHope,and afterthatfine weatherfavoured
the vesseluntilit was within1,000milesofMelbourne.Then, remarkedthe captain,
"We had 'cussed'weather,blacksquallsanddrivingrain, which obscured everythingwithina ship'slengthfromthe vessel.WemadeCapeOtwayon
Thursday,
and beatupoff the SpringCreekcoastduringthe
evening.
Afterseeinglandwe stoodoff to the S.E.until4
o'clock,as the weatherhad becomeso
Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 16 May 1891, page 19 (3)
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221189176
thickthat everythingwas obscured.Thehazyrainthenblewofffora littletime,andwe thoughtit advisableto keep head-reaching
or beatingoff shorein ordertoawaitthe nextmorninglightbeforegoingonto the Heads.We thenjudgedthe vessel
about15 milesfrom the shoreand per-fectlysafe.The firstofficer,Mr.V.
Bellanger,
and myselfwere on deckabout10 o'clock,when we went below,
as Ithought
it wellto showhimwhereIreckonedwe were located,feelingthat weweresnugand safe.Havinglookedat thechart,the matethenwentout by the fore-cabin,and I,
delayinga few
moments,fol
lowedby wayof thesalooncabin.Justas Igot upondeckI heardthe firstofficergivethe orders,"Putyourwheelhardup, andsquarecrotchetyards.''The matesaidtome, "See the breakersahead."Lookingshorewards I saw a dark volume,whichlookedmorelikea squallthanland.I didnot thinkit was the "darnedland."
Mrs.Chapman(whowaspresent):
I thinkit was verygood"darned"landwhenwegot on shorethismorning,
for I neverlanded
on shorewith greaterpleasurewhenI found
our darling littleone and all the crewweresafe.I justcallit
blessedland.
The captain,smilingat his wife'ssenti
Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 16 May 1891, page 19 (4)
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221189176
right;but it wouldhavebeenbetterif hehad had the shipinsured,as every"blessed
dollar" hepossessed
in the worldwas investedin it.
Then we found ourselvesaground.Shefirststruckas any ship wouldstrike,and a littleswellcomingshe was lifted,andcomingdown remainedhardand fast.It justmademe mad to findat thismomentthatthe
wind droppedquitecalm;for if therehadbeena windfromoff shore,I thinkthe shipwouldhavecomeoff.I tellyou whentheswellset her down,it justdid makethings
kinder rattle round.
At the firstglimpseof daylightwe sawthatthe shorewas about400 yardsaway,
and thattherewerepeoplearounda big fireon the land.Soon afterthis we lowered ourboats,and sent the ladiesashore.By 7o'clockall the peoplehad leftthe vesselexceptingmyself,the firstofficer,and carpenter,who remaineduntilabout10 o'clock.
GEELONG, Saturday.At 4 o'clockthis morningthe
policeand fishermenwho were watching on the shorehearda load crashamidstthe howlingwind and roaringbreakers,and it was correctly surmisedthatat leastthe timbersof the vesselhad given.
It was verydarkat the time,and the
Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 16 May 1891, page 19 (5)
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221189176
watcherscouldnot see what damagehadreallybeen done. When daylightapproachedit was
discoveredthat the after
part of the vesselhadcompletely
disappeared,leavingthe midhouseand forecastle
standingon the reef.Cargowas floating
about everywhere,and the whole coastline for a mile or two was strewnwith
cases of merchandiseand other portions
of the ship'shold.