In the early hours of Friday, 2nd April 1852, a band of villains climbed aboard the barque Nelson while moored in Hobson’s Bay and made off with over 8,000 ounces of pure gold. The heist was as simple as it was audacious and ranks among the greatest robberies in Australian history. Only a fraction ofContinue reading “The Nelson Gold Heist – 1852”
Tag Archives: Australia
The Foundering of the S.S. Alert – 1893
Around 11 o’clock in the morning on Friday, 29 December 1893, two ladies out for a stroll on the Sorrento Back beach discovered the unconscious body of a man. He would prove to be the sole survivor of the steamer Alert, which sank during foul weather. The S.S. Alert had left Bairnsdale at 4 PMContinue reading “The Foundering of the S.S. Alert – 1893”
The Banshee’s Terrible Loss, 1876.
The Banshee steamed out of Townsville at 6 o’clock on the morning of Tuesday, 21 March 1876, bound for Cooktown, some 240 nautical miles (450 km) up the Queensland coast. Captain Daniel Owen had command of the 58-ton steamer and its crew of ten men. On this trip, the Banshee was carrying 42 passengers, 12Continue reading “The Banshee’s Terrible Loss, 1876.”
Capture of the Harrington, 1808
During Australia’s dark convict past, scores of vessels, large and small, were seized or stolen and taken out to sea by convicts determined to escape. Many were never heard of again and were thought to have been lost at sea. One lesser-known escape was that made by Robert Stewart and a gang of convicts whoContinue reading “Capture of the Harrington, 1808”
The Invercauld shipwreck, 1864.
In recent years the loss of the Invercauld and its tragic aftermath have been held up as an example of what can go horribly wrong when leadership fails. In contrast to the Grafton, where all five men stranded on Auckland Island survived, only three of the Invercauld’s 25-man crew lived through the ordeal. The hugeContinue reading “The Invercauld shipwreck, 1864.”
Tales from the Quarterdeck 