In September 1858 the French ship Saint Paul was wrecked off Rossel Island east of New Guinea with as many as 370 people on board. Of those, fewer than a dozen men escaped with their lives. One of whom was Narcisse Pelletier who escaped to Cape York and lived with the Uutaalnganu people for theContinue reading “The Loss of the Saint Paul and its Horrific Aftermath– 1858”
Tag Archives: Hong Kong
Narcisse Pelletier: An Extraordinary Tale of Survival.
In April 1875 the pearling schooner John Bull’s crew happened upon a man clearly of European heritage living with a group of Aborigines on Cape York Peninsula. Mistakenly thinking that the man was being held against his will, they took him onboard their vessel and delivered him to the Government outpost at Somerset. His nameContinue reading “Narcisse Pelletier: An Extraordinary Tale of Survival.”
HMS Torch and the rescue of the Ningpo castaways
While Lieutenant William Chimmo was preparing HMS Torch to return to survey work in the South Seas, he was unexpectedly tasked with an urgent mission. Word had just reached Sydney that nearly 20 people had been marooned for two months on a remote island far out in the Coral Sea. By chance, his paddle steamerContinue reading “HMS Torch and the rescue of the Ningpo castaways”
Mutiny on the Ariel
In 1845 the trading schooner Ariel was seized off the coast of China while carrying a valuable cargo worth millions of dollars in today’s money. This act of piracy was unusual because it was not carried out by a band of desperate cutthroats but by two of the ship’s own officers. The schooner Ariel wasContinue reading “Mutiny on the Ariel”
Tales from the Quarterdeck 