In 1854 the Dutch ship Bato, rescued not one, not two, but three separate parties of shipwreck survivors whose ships had come to grief in separate encounters with the Great Barrier Reef. In the space of a few weeks, these three ships all ran aground trying to negotiate the dangerous reef strewn waters leading toContinue reading “Bato to the Rescue – 1854”
Tag Archives: Raine Island
The Loss of the Enchantress: A first-hand account.
On 24 July 1850, the 146-ton brig Enchantress was wrecked while trying to pass through the Great Barrier Reef using the Raine Island passage. Navigating the tricky passages leading to Torres Strait could prove challenging in those days. Between 1791 and 1887 no less than 37 ships came to grief near Raine Island. Many more wereContinue reading “The Loss of the Enchantress: A first-hand account.”
The Bourneuf’s Tragic Last Voyage
On 3 August 1853, the 1500-ton emigrant ship Bourneuf sank in Torres Strait as she was returning to England after bringing a human cargo of migrants to Australia. It proved a tragic end to a grim final voyage. The Bourneuf had sailed from Liverpool in mid-July 1852 with more than 800 impoverished migrants keen toContinue reading “The Bourneuf’s Tragic Last Voyage”
Tales from the Quarterdeck 