The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-05-01 00:00:00

WRECK OF AN AUSTRALIAN
STEAMER.

The Port Denison Times of March 5, in a special supple
ment, gives full details of the wreck of the Australian
steamer Gothenburg on February 21, a brief account of which
has already been received by telegraph. The vessel was on
her way from Port Darwin to Melbourne, and there were 125
persons on board of her, including Mr. Justice Wearing;
Mr. Pelham, the Judge's Associate; Mr. Whitby, Crown
Solicitor; M Durand, French Consul. Mr. M'liay, Govern-
ment surveyor, 8.7 c. Of these only 22 persons are known to
have been saved. The following account of the catastrophe
Is given by a survivor, Mr. P. J. Hogan one of the pas-
sengers :

The steamship Gothenburg, *left Port Darwin on Feb.
16, bound for Melbourne viii. Newcastle, with a crew of
37 a.nd 88 passengers, and arrived at Somerset on the 19th
after a fair weather passage. Stayed on Saturday to take
in ballast, intending to start on Sunday. Most of the pas-
sengers went on shore, buying shells of the pearlers.
About two o'clock it eame on to blow, and we lost both
anchors. Fortunately they kept up steam, or we
should have run ashore. There were two of the pas-
sengers—the Hon. J. Reynolds and Mr. Shoebridge—
on shore at the time, who were near being left behind.
It would have been a mercy if they had been. We,
sailed about seven miles and anchored for the night.
Next day we had a fair wind, making over eleven
miles an hour. We had fair winds from leaving
Somerset. Passed Coolttown about two o'clock on Tues.
day. On Wednesday the wind increased after passing
Cape Cleveland, with misty showers. We were expect-
ing to be in Newcastle on Sunday evening. We had
been running with jib, foresail, topgallantsail, forete-
sail, maintrysail, and mizk..'
when the topgallantsail was .
and seven it was blowing hard
a great deal, when it got stet
left off rolling. It was remarx liare—Eair
smooth it was getting. In less ten minutes
after getting in smooth water she ran on to a reef,
the course she was steering" at the time being E.
by S. S. The sails were at once taken in and
the passengers all ordered aft, the engines working
astern, but could not move her. Captain Pearce
told me she w.ould come off all right at eleven
o'clock (high water) ; it was low water when she
struck. A lot of casks were taken out of the fore-
hatch, and brought on the quarter-deck to lighten
her forward. About three on Thursday morn-
ing the captain ordered the two port boats to be
lowered and taken to the starboard side into smooth
water. Four of the crew got into each of the boats.
At this time it was blowing a gale, and the boats were
near being stove in. One of the boats broke the.
painter, and was carried away; the other was let go,
and neither reached the ship. In the meantime the
vessel had swung round and got broadside on the reef,
bumping heavily with a strong list to windward, the
sea breaking over her side, washing off sheep, dogs,
and everything not fast on deck. The starboard boats
were swinging in the davits, containing food and
water, to receive the women and children; but the
ship heeled over so much that they could not lower
then. Shortly after daylight she went over some
more, and the sea washed right over her, clearing all
passengers off her. Mr. Justice Wearing was the first
who was washed over. M. Durand, French consul
and agent for the boat, had got his money under
his arm. He said he would go on the mainmast, but
as he got in the rigging the sea carried him over
with the others. At the time the sea came there were
about fifty people in the boats. The boats were
washed into the water amongst the men. Both boats
were turned over at once. Five men and one woman
got on her keel, but the woman was taken off and
drowned. The other men succeeded in turning up the
boat again, but having no oars they drifted away. In
the meantime fourteen of us succeeded in reaching the
masts. One of the boats that capsized was fast by the
painter to the davits. And here I must not pass with-
out speaking of the gallant men—namely, J. Cleland
and J. Fitzgerald, passengers; and R. Braze!, fireman,
in the way they risked their lives to secure the boat,
when Fitzgerald got his leg very badly cut. We
lashed ourselves to the masts, and remained there
during that day and night, the rain pouring and blow-
ing a gale, until Sunday morning, when we bailed out
the boat, and started for the mainland; but finding
that we could not make it we made for an island we
saw to the leeward. When we got there we found four of
the seamen that left the ship tbe night she struck. The
boat they were in went to pieces, and they were making
a raft with two spars they found on the beach. The place
abounded with fish, birds, and eggs. We stopped
there for one day to repair boat, and started to make
another island further scuth, when we fell in with one
of the Port Denison boats looking for us. We arrived
in Bowen the same evening. We had left the wreck the
same morning that the Leiehhardt picked up the first
boat. The Bowen people sent out three boats to look
for us, and Townsville the steamer Bunyip. We were
treated very kindly by the residents, who made us as
comfortable as we could wish. There were only twelve
of the crew and ten of the passengers saved, all the
officers and stewards being drowned. It was some-
thing frightful to see men, women, and children drown-
ing close to you, and to be powerless to help them.
The men and women met death fearlessly—there was
not a murmur from any person aboard. When they
were struggling in the water they were wishing each
other goodbye, as if they were leaving for a short
time, .