There lie the remains of an old ship on the Southern Great Barrier Reef which holds a fascinating story spanning almost 140 years. The rusting hull now serves as a breakwater protecting the entrance to the boating channel accessing Heron Island, but its history goes back to 1884. Her Majesties Colonial Ship (HMCS) Protector wasContinue reading “HMCS Protector 1884 – 1924”
Category Archives: #Maritime History
William Bryant’s Great Escape – 1791
It is an odd piece of Australian history that the first people to repeat Captain Cook’s voyage up Australia’s east coast were not other intrepid navigators or explorers, but a motley band of prisoners bent on escaping penal servitude. On 28 March 1791 William Bryant, a fisherman by trade, his wife Mary and two childrenContinue reading “William Bryant’s Great Escape – 1791”
The Tryall: Australia’s earliest recorded shipwreck.
Some people might be surprised to read that the oldest shipwreck recorded off Australia dates back to 1622. That is 148 years before Cook plied his way up the east coast. Twenty years before Abel Tasman partially circumnavigated Tasmania. Or just six years after the Dutch navigator Dirk Hartog nailed a pewter plate to aContinue reading “The Tryall: Australia’s earliest recorded shipwreck.”
The Wanderer and a Miraculous Rescue
Far out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a seaman on board a small schooner thought his imagination was getting the better of him. It was daybreak on 5 February 1850. His ship, the 140-ton schooner Wanderer was en route from Sydney to San Francisco and still under storm canvas having just survived aContinue reading “The Wanderer and a Miraculous Rescue”
The Douro and its Piratical Captain
In the 19th Century ship captains were often considered undisputed masters of their domain, especially while they were at sea. Most, to varying degrees, kept a rein on their power, others ruled their vessels with an iron fist, and a few, like Neil Peter Sorensen, went completely rogue. In August 1885 a portion of theContinue reading “The Douro and its Piratical Captain”
Tales from the Quarterdeck 