On the night of 12-13 August 1856, the French Naval steam corvette Duroc was wrecked on Mellish Reef about 800kms off the Queensland coast. The Duroc was returning to France from New Caledonia where she had been stationed for the previous three years or so. After the ship ran aground, some seventy people made itContinue reading “The Loss of the Duroc and the rise of la Deliverance”
Tag Archives: Port Curtis
The Sapphire and Marina: Three Months in a Leaky Boat
As you sit down to Christmas lunch spare a thought for the Sapphire castaways who spent 25 December 1859 in a struggle for their lives. Theirs is a remarkable story of perseverance in the face of unimaginable hardship served with a healthy measure of good luck. Christmas Day saw William Beveridge and his men kedgingContinue reading “The Sapphire and Marina: Three Months in a Leaky Boat”
Tales from the Quarterdeck 