Recent from talks
SS Admella
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
SS Admella
SS Admella was an Australian passenger steamship that was shipwrecked off the coast of the colony of South Australia in 1859. It broke up after striking a submerged reef near Cape Banks, off the coast near Carpenter Rocks, southwest of Mount Gambier, in the early hours on 6 August 1859. Survivors clung to the wreck for over a week and many people took days to die as they glimpsed the land from the sea and watched as one rescue attempt after another failed.
With the loss of 89 lives, mostly due to cold and exposure, it is one of the worst maritime disasters in Australian history. Admella disaster remains the greatest loss of life in the history of European settlement in South Australia. Of the 113 on board, 24 survived, including only one woman, Bridget Ledwith. Of the 89 dead, 14 were children. The 150th anniversary of the disaster was marked in August 2009 by events across the south east of South Australia and at Portland, Victoria.
SS Admella (so named for her circuit Adelaide, Melbourne, Launceston) was built by Lawrence Hill and Co. at Port Glasgow, Scotland in 1857. She was an iron, single-screw steamer nearly 60 metres long and eight metres at her widest and displaced about 395 tons. At the time she was one of the fastest and most luxurious ships on the Australian intercolonial trade routes. On the regular Adelaide–Melbourne run, her fastest voyage had once been made in 42 hours.
In 39 voyages between Adelaide and Melbourne there had never been cause for alarm aboard Admella, with no need for life boats or life belts. The vessel's only captain, Hugh McEwan was a cautious and capable master mariner. Admella had been built with watertight bulkheads, riveted to the hull. These were designed as a special safety feature, but were ultimately the cause of a catastrophic break up of the ship into three exposed sections in the first 15 minutes of the disaster.[citation needed]
Under the command of Captain Hugh McEwan, Admella left Port Adelaide for what was to be her final trip early on 5 August 1859, on her usual run to Melbourne with 84 passengers and 29 crew. Her cargo consisted of 93 tons of copper, flour for the Victorian goldfields, general merchandise, and four racehorses. Due to the heavy swell, one of the horses fell over. To right it the ship changed course slightly, while the horse was put on its feet.[citation needed]
At four o'clock next morning, when the vessel was approaching the Cape Northumberland light, the captain believed himself to be far from land. In reality, however, the ship was close to a dangerous reef at 37°52′47″S 140°21′3″E / 37.87972°S 140.35083°E, probably from a current that carried the vessel shorewards.
Suddenly she grated on a reef and, keeling over, lay broadside on to the heavy seas. An effort was made to lower the boats, but two of them were smashed and the third broke adrift. The swell lifted her further on to the reef, impelling her with such force that she lay on the summit of the ridge, with her starboard side high out of the water. In less than 15 minutes Admella broke into three parts and several passengers were washed overboard. A few rockets were found and fired in the hope of attracting the attention of lighthouse-keepers at Cape Northumberland, 13 nautical miles (25 km) away, but they were damp and failed to ignite correctly.[citation needed] The wreck site is around 4 km (2.5 mi) from Cape Banks.
Daylight revealed a deserted coast about 1,100 yards (1 km) away interrupted by raging surf, and plans were being formulated for an attempt to reach shore when a steamer was seen in the distance. Signals were hurriedly erected on the remaining mast and rigging, and the ship's bell rung, but the vessel, Admella's sister ship Havilah, passed without seeing them. On the second day the sea was calmer and two seamen, John Leach and Robert Knapman, succeeded in reaching the shore with the aid of a raft. Exhausted, they hurried through the night to alert Cape Northumberland lighthouse.[citation needed]
Hub AI
SS Admella AI simulator
(@SS Admella_simulator)
SS Admella
SS Admella was an Australian passenger steamship that was shipwrecked off the coast of the colony of South Australia in 1859. It broke up after striking a submerged reef near Cape Banks, off the coast near Carpenter Rocks, southwest of Mount Gambier, in the early hours on 6 August 1859. Survivors clung to the wreck for over a week and many people took days to die as they glimpsed the land from the sea and watched as one rescue attempt after another failed.
With the loss of 89 lives, mostly due to cold and exposure, it is one of the worst maritime disasters in Australian history. Admella disaster remains the greatest loss of life in the history of European settlement in South Australia. Of the 113 on board, 24 survived, including only one woman, Bridget Ledwith. Of the 89 dead, 14 were children. The 150th anniversary of the disaster was marked in August 2009 by events across the south east of South Australia and at Portland, Victoria.
SS Admella (so named for her circuit Adelaide, Melbourne, Launceston) was built by Lawrence Hill and Co. at Port Glasgow, Scotland in 1857. She was an iron, single-screw steamer nearly 60 metres long and eight metres at her widest and displaced about 395 tons. At the time she was one of the fastest and most luxurious ships on the Australian intercolonial trade routes. On the regular Adelaide–Melbourne run, her fastest voyage had once been made in 42 hours.
In 39 voyages between Adelaide and Melbourne there had never been cause for alarm aboard Admella, with no need for life boats or life belts. The vessel's only captain, Hugh McEwan was a cautious and capable master mariner. Admella had been built with watertight bulkheads, riveted to the hull. These were designed as a special safety feature, but were ultimately the cause of a catastrophic break up of the ship into three exposed sections in the first 15 minutes of the disaster.[citation needed]
Under the command of Captain Hugh McEwan, Admella left Port Adelaide for what was to be her final trip early on 5 August 1859, on her usual run to Melbourne with 84 passengers and 29 crew. Her cargo consisted of 93 tons of copper, flour for the Victorian goldfields, general merchandise, and four racehorses. Due to the heavy swell, one of the horses fell over. To right it the ship changed course slightly, while the horse was put on its feet.[citation needed]
At four o'clock next morning, when the vessel was approaching the Cape Northumberland light, the captain believed himself to be far from land. In reality, however, the ship was close to a dangerous reef at 37°52′47″S 140°21′3″E / 37.87972°S 140.35083°E, probably from a current that carried the vessel shorewards.
Suddenly she grated on a reef and, keeling over, lay broadside on to the heavy seas. An effort was made to lower the boats, but two of them were smashed and the third broke adrift. The swell lifted her further on to the reef, impelling her with such force that she lay on the summit of the ridge, with her starboard side high out of the water. In less than 15 minutes Admella broke into three parts and several passengers were washed overboard. A few rockets were found and fired in the hope of attracting the attention of lighthouse-keepers at Cape Northumberland, 13 nautical miles (25 km) away, but they were damp and failed to ignite correctly.[citation needed] The wreck site is around 4 km (2.5 mi) from Cape Banks.
Daylight revealed a deserted coast about 1,100 yards (1 km) away interrupted by raging surf, and plans were being formulated for an attempt to reach shore when a steamer was seen in the distance. Signals were hurriedly erected on the remaining mast and rigging, and the ship's bell rung, but the vessel, Admella's sister ship Havilah, passed without seeing them. On the second day the sea was calmer and two seamen, John Leach and Robert Knapman, succeeded in reaching the shore with the aid of a raft. Exhausted, they hurried through the night to alert Cape Northumberland lighthouse.[citation needed]
Recent media