The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-25 00:00:00

DREADFUL SHIPWRECK

REMARKABLE PRESERVATION OF THE CREW
(From the Moreton Bay Courier.)
Last Tuesday night a boat, schooner-rigged, and
a smaller boat, rigged as a cutter, arrived in the
Brisbane River, having on board the master, officers,
passengers, and seamen of the barque Jenny Lind,
which vessel had been wrecked on a coral reef, called
Kend's Reef, in latitude 21.15 13 S., longitude
155.49 E. (Norie lays down Kenn's Reef in lati-
tude 21.9 O. The difference in calculation may be
easily accounted for. The longitude agrees.)
The particulars, as we have gathered them from
various sources, are /13 follows :—The Jenny Lind,
484 tons, Captain Joseph Taylor, left Melbourne for
Singapore, on Tuesday, the 3d of September last,
being chartered to proceed from Singapore to London
or Liverpool. The ship's company consisted of Cap-
tain Taylor, Mr. Masters, chief mate ; Mr. Harpur,
second mate; and sixteen seamen and apprentices. The
passengers were Mr. Beal, Mr. Noble, Mr. Acker-
man, Mrs. Harpur, and Mr. and Mrs. Somerset, and
three children. Mr. Beal, Mr. Noble, and Mrs.
Harpur, were passengers to London : the others had
taken their passage to Singapore.
of
tT untilhe et
watchhweather
21sta
tot
fes
nese
September,.
seems
minutes
to u
bt haveeesr
pn
a: t been
fo observation
ur ivery
n t 3
e variable
hmavohaving
been f
no
ft atkheen2flosrttwo
and days
en
enjoined
nr previously, otuhsel ym, in consequence
on
the
fore-
castle the s
otffiiincearwoafsthwe.wbaytchSs.a,
aobssheaurpredlooiTc-hoeutc,hinesf mthaetesutonokhadcharngoet
been taken for two days
untobkeeinegp
directed the man at the helm to keep the ship N. by
Theaf
afterwards
adr
dast
the
ee
ship going nine knots- through the water. Imme-
diatelything black a-head, and asked the look-out man what
it was, and he answered that it was the reflection of
a heavy black cloud that was hanging over head. A.
quick glance over the gang-way
. seems to have shown
the mate better, and he immediately had the helm put
hard up, and all bands called fore and aft. The vessel
Wr.
wore off to the wind, but before the braces could be
touched she struck aft, and immediately afterwards
lay broadside on to the reef, the sea making breaches
over her. The masts were cut away, but the vessel
continued to lurch heavily upon the reef, and it was
plain that she must soon break up. An attempt was
made to launch the pinnace, but this was unsuc-
cessful, and the master got his leg hurt in the
attempt. After great difficulty the jolly-boat was
launched, and two hands being placed in her,
she was taken to a rock at a short distance, inside
the reef, and there secured. The safety boat was
then launched, and the difficulty of this process
will be understood when it is remembered that the
vessel was nearly on her beam ends, and that the
boats had to be hoisted to the davits
on the upper
quarter, and thence launched into the sea. When
the second boat was launched, the women and children
were first taken off in her to the jolly-boat, which
served as a temporary depot. In this way all hands
were got out in three trips, some of the seamen jump-
ing overboard from the jelly-boat when she was get-
ting overloaded, end holding her on ; the water being
shoal near the rock. When all had left the ship, the
people were divided in the two boats, and made for a co-
ral bank, partly covered with sand, which lay about half
a mile away. This place they all reached in safety.
The islet on which they landed was about 150 yards
long, by 40 wide. In the course of the afternoon
some provisions and about four gallons of water were
procured from the wreck, and about half a gill of
water was served out to each person. Next day some
sails were procured, also some provisions, and a small
keg containing limejuice. The master had saved some
of his charts and nautical instruments, and got them
away when the boats left the wreck. A search was
made for the mail, but it could not be found,
as the vessel was completely bilged, and fast
breaking up.. . On Monday a copper boiler and
some lead '::ping, together with a cistern, having
been procured troin the wreck at low water, Mr. Phi-
lip Beal (a son, we understand, of the Rev. W. Beal,
of Exeter, and lately surgeon of the ship Rajah)
succeeded in distilling fresh water from the sea water,
and half a pint was served to each person that even-
ing, the fuel for the purpose being procured from the
wreck. On the lac xt day, after consultation, it was
resolved to attempt the building of a boat large enough
to carry all hands in safety to some port, and, ac-
cordingly, three divisions were made of the men ; one
portion to assist in saving necessary articles from the
wreck, another to assist Mr. Beal in distilling water
for their sustenance, and the third in building the boat.
Some carpenters' tools were procured from the wreck,
and timber from time to time, and in this way the
;udicious arrangements that had been made were

effectively carried out. The men employed at the
wreck succeeded in savingmanynecessaryarticles, in-
cluding some clothing; the boat-builders' department,
under the superintendence of the ship's carpenter, as-
sisted by some persons who had a slight knowledge
of shipbuilding, were actively employed; and Mr.
Beal and his assistants were continually engaged in
sustaining the lives of the people by distilling sea
water. An attempt had been made to find fresh water
by digging, but the diggers only came on the coral,
which afforded to them no more relief than they
could- get by sucking from it the fresh mois-
ture that bad exuded through the sand.
During their stay at this solitary place some re-
lics of former wrecks were found. A rusty chain
was discovered on the reef, and some boat boards
and other pieces of timber in other places, also some
cinders, as if a firs had been made on one of the
banks. By the 25th of September, Mr. Beal had so
far improved his machinery, by means of articles pro-
cured from the wreck, that he was enabled to main-
tain twenty-five gallons of fresh water that day, and
thenceforth the supply to the people was more liberal.
The provisions, however, began to get short, and the
allowance was reduced to half a pound of flour a day,
which had to be made into pudding, with salt water.
The little biscuit they had was preserved for a sea
stock, as was also all the water that could be put by.
At length, on the 26th of October, the boat upon
which all their hopes depended was launched success-
fully. It was found that she sat well on the water,
but leaked considerably, and two days more were oc-
cupied in repairing that defect, and getting her rigged
and stowed. These operations being completed, the
adventurers got under weigh on the 29th of October,
22 persons being in the craft that had been built, and
six in the safety boat. They made for Moreton Bay,
and the wind was favourable until Saturday last,
when it blew from the southward, and they bad
to cast anchor in a small bay to the southward of
Wide Bay, where they saw some natives, but, not
liking their manner, they refused to allow them on
board. When the wind again shifted they
Brisbane, and after some difficulty in discovering the
u he
tei
ehs
,a d
and
dt
supplied
mouth of the river, succeeded in reaching within
and a
few miles of the town on Tuesday night,
ar-
rived in Brisbane next morning ; all of them, includ-
ing women and children, being comparatively well
days on a
and hearty, after having been thirty-seven
The preservation
desolate coral bank in the Pacific.
All persons
of these people is most( remarkable.emselves in an
ap-
pear to have exerted h extraordinary
condition
manner to remedy their ; but made sail for
there can be
no doubt that to Mr. Beal is due the credit of every
tohabsea
been
posaved,
irfodri
fiii te'
them with water when there was scarcely a hope of it,
the hot sun of that latitude, and the burning sand
which they were encamped, would have maelrh oat
work with them. Cciptain Wickham, on behalfe
of short
Government, supplied the shipwrecked the
lodgings and rations ; the females aid life
science that
mariners...
havewith
been quartered with the matron of
thch.ildre.n
t.
depot, and we believe that the inhabitantseimmigra.ion
. generally
have exerted themselves to • assist the sufferers. Mr.
Smith, of the Victoria Hotel,
supplied provisions to
the men while their rations were b •
prepared. 'Ye
.eing
are informed that the reef on which the Jenny Lind
struck was not laid down on the chart of the Australian
coast (dated 1849) with which
the ship was provided.
The cargo of th Jenny Lind
e
small quantity of flour and beef. We understand that
she was partly insured.

NIT DNESDAY.-A
COURT-MARTIAL.—DEVONPORT, vv E
day on board the
anadpuparito
be
discharged the service with
court-martial assembled at 9, A.M., this
Impregnable, Commander Lord John
Thomas LB. pre'ident ;
Maitland, C.B.
ick, members; Mr.
Captains Lord George Pawlett, Sir
poj,sn former
bnat withand robbingdesert i
nagn.
and Josh. Nias, with Commander 3.ll.Camoren:: Neal and Edward
Eastlake, Judge-Advocate ; board the Retribution
Ponton of the Marine Artillery, on
steam-frigate, Captain Warden,an
d deserting; the latter with
t o .
ttsrhyi
officer of wearing
when the Court ntenced Neal to
taking the
leaving
They
gt olatrd his ship, then tolee sent to Exeter
receive 50 lashes on
t2e
first
both o hist
h pleadedpost
nine at hard labour; at the ex-
gaol for 18 monthsm
_nabs
Oration cf the 18 0
six months' hard labour, and then to re-
Pon:on,
disgrace.
turn to duty.
MAnaito RV'
B or LO
`;D v ARD.—Yesterday forenoon,
the marriage of Lord Ward, so well known as being one of
~ rietors 'th • • • l' C
in
the largest Pro
oph e empire, with Miss Se ina on-
De Burg . eldest daughter of Huber De Burgh, Esq.,
stance
was celebrated
at St. George's Church, Hanover-square, in
the presence of a select circle of the friends of both parties.
The ceremony was conducted in a comparaive priva'e man-
ner, owing to the recent demise of a member of the De_
Burgh family. The Rev. Mr. Legh Cloughton, Vicar 01
Kidderminster, and brother-in-law to Lord Ware, officiated..;
Shortly alter nine o'clock the bridal party entered theacibscu n
1 ()Nun,
Mr. De Biagh gave his daughter away. Lady
ViHawke,
the ILin. Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Ward, Mr. and Mrs.ad other
the Hen. Mrs. Blake, the Dowager Lady Ward,heConclusion of
friends of the families, were present. 41,
ttotthe residence of
the ceremony the bridal party repaired
Mr. De Burgh, in Grosvenor- crescent, and there partook of
breakfast. The happy pair subsequently left town for Sand-
gate, to pass the honeymoon.
—The Medina, found for
PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE.
Quebec, having hauled out to
the centre of the river, on Sa-
turday, preparatory to sailingi five men, passengers, were
boa
proceeding across in a n
order to go on board, when,
of the two boatmen, who were
owing to the awkwardness of
all were precipitated into the
drunk, the boat capsized
fortunatelyl picked up by other boats,
river. They were all
lost
a quantity of provisions and
but the poor emigrants
other necessaries, the
greater portion of their sea 4ock.—
Waterford Mail.