The. Wreck on Long Island

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Reginald Bennett
5 years ago
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1 The Wreck on Long Island The Google Earth satellite photograph application (for PC) is a great navigation aid. It has the facility of not only showing clear images as seen from space, but of being able to turn a flat image into a 3D profile. This works best when there is a range in elevation, such as a mountain, as flat country stays flat when looked at in profile. In the Spring 2007 Upstreampaddle magazine, we ran an article about the Spanish Galleon in 18 Mile Swamp on North Stradbroke Island, and when I took a look at the Stradbroke Island Galleon webpages, written by Greg Jeffreys, I saw a link to Long Island, and another mystery ship. Greg tells the story in detail, but the interesting watercolour drawing of the wreck in Happy Bay on Long Island (Whitsundays) made from the deck of the visiting HMS Fly in 1843, with the profile of 3 hills, made me wonder if Google Earth could find the same viewpoint watercolour by Edwin Augustus Porcher, HMS Fly. Image courtesy G. Jeffreys 2009 Google Earth profile view, Happy Bay Upstreampaddle 43

2 L ong Island is that, just over 9 km long, 1.5 km at its widest, and barely 100 metres wide at its neck. In 1843, the watercolour drawing showed a flat area between a grassy hill and the left of three knolls. Today that low area is occupied by a Club Crocodile resort. The wreck is commonly believed to be the Valetta, a merchantman trading Bengal rum, and new season China tea, with the penal settlements of Tasmania and Sydney, shipwrecked in Inconsistencies between the Valetta's Masters description of beaching the holed and sinking vessel on a beach at Cape Gloucester, (80 km north) and the wreck located at Long Island, as well as descriptions of the Long Island wreck as having been a warship with gunports, have given rise to the mystery ship legend. Certain aspects of the scenario are lost to us in time, but we are fortunate that with the digitalisation of historical records, we can read, online, the weeky newspaper from Sydney of 1825, the Sydney Gazette, and its account of the events. The text is fairly clear, and while the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software on the website has trouble with the old type, the newspaper can be read. To save you the trouble, a transcript, of the full article, is below. The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. Thursday 15 September, 1825 LOSS OF THE VALETTA This ship sailed out of our Port for Manilla on the10th of July, intending to go through Torres Straits. She went on her passage safe for a month, when misfortune overtook her, which ended in the wreck of this other fine vessel, as will be seen on perusing the following account that has been kindly put into our hands. July Anchored off an island near Cape Hillsborough; during high water, the extent of the reef was not perceived, but at little water it shews. This Island is one of the Cumberland Isles, and marked L. in Flinders' Chart. July Weighed with the weather tide, but the wind suddenly shifting, and having a long heave (26 fathoms) before the anchor could be hove up, the ship struck on the rocks, and continued beating very hard all the night, till the tide left next morning. July The wind off shore, which enabled us to land most of the provisions, the ship at high water filled, when more than half the rice was was damaged before it could be landed. During the night the ship lightened and came off; ran her without a rudder, and the lower hold full of water, into 25 fathoms and anchored; people employed at both pumps, but did not gain on the leaks; not even, next day. July At 4 pm got her dry; one pump keeping her free, and we had hopes of yet being able to reach India; having a good blacksmith on board, got new pintals for the rudder made, and on the 22nd having every thing re-shipped, sailed for the first port. Upstreampaddle 44

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. Thursday 15 September, 1825 LOSS OF THE VALETTA July 23 --- At 6 p.m. anchored at the entrance of Whitsunday Passage, a heavy swell running, obliged us as at 9 p.

3 The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. Thursday 15 September, 1825 LOSS OF THE VALETTA July At 6 p.m. anchored at the entrance of Whitsunday Passage, a heavy swell running, obliged us as at 9 p.m. to release more cable, the jerking of which, it appears, caused a broken piece of coral rock to fall out of her bottom for the ship commenced leaking most alarmingly; all hands to the pumps, and could scarcely keep her free. July Weighed and made sail for the first place that appeared sheltered, for the purpose of laying her on shore, as her people could not possibly much longer continue at the pumps; near Cape Gloucester we found a good harbour, and smooth water; after hard pumping for several days, and landing everything we could, the ship was laid on the ground, on a bed of mud and sand, the people being so fatigued, they could not for another day have kept her free. At low water found the keel brake in two places, the scarf of the stern tore asunder, and two large holes in her bottom, and pieces of coral fortunately sticking in them; had they fallen out; the ship must have gone down before even a boat could have been in readiness. After getting the ship on the ways of fir wood, and working for three weeks in the hopes of repairing her, that we might proceed to the nearest port, found it useless, and began decking the long-boat, which Captain Dacre had proffered to proceed in to Sydney. Having lost the greater part of the rice on the 10th and 11th July there remained little to subsist on; and, for the present, half a pound of rice per man per diem, is served as the ration; at this ration they have 2 months stock ; 11 persons proceed in the launch, and 46 remain; the live stock mostly all drowned. The longboat, under the command of Captain Dacre, with the second mate and 9 hands arrived late on Friday night, all well after a passage of 21 days from the leaving of the wreck A week after the long boat arrived in Sydney, ( 22nd September, 1825) the wreck and stores was advertised as for sale by auction. Note the Long Boat was "as she lies in the Cove" (Sydney Cove) The sloop Brisbane sailed north on the 24 September to the Valetta to salvage goods, and the ship Prince Regent also on the 30 November For the next six months or so, salvaged marine stores from the Valetta would appear in the Sydney Gazette's classified advertisements. Upstreampaddle 45

This referred to laying logs on the sand, cross-wise under the keel, for support.

4 In 1983 the Maritime archaeology section of the Queensland Museum excavated the Long Island wreck site (photo above). Readers may recall the description in the Sydney Gazette, of " getting the ship on the ways of fir". This referred to laying logs on the sand, cross-wise under the keel, for support. The Museum excavation found logs of she-oak (casuarina) under the keel remnants of the Happy Bay wreck.. image: Courtesy Queensland Museum Happy Bay, Long Island, Whitsundays. photo: anthony maw Upstreampaddle 46

Ray Blackwood, in his book Whitsunday Islands: an Historical Dictionary mentions that in 1815 HMS Kangaroo under the command of Lieutenant Charles Jefferys visited the area, and named the water

5 above: Queensland Museum workers use a taped grid to excavate, sift and record the Long Island site, at low tide. image: Courtesy Queensland Museum Is the declaration that the wreck in Happy Bay, Long Island is that of the Valetta, definitive? Ray Blackwood, in his book Whitsunday Islands: an Historical Dictionary mentions that in 1815 HMS Kangaroo under the command of Lieutenant Charles Jefferys visited the area, and named the water immediately west of Happy Bay, Port Molle. No mention was made of a wreck nearby. As for the description by Captain D'Acre of the ship being beached at Cape Gloucester? On his return to the ship in the sloop Brisbane, he wrote that the sloop was " off Cape Conway at 10 am, on Friday 28 October, and entering the inner passage (or sound) at 2:00 pm." That is a fair time for 26 kilometres sailing to Long Island, but impossible for Cape Gloucester over 80 kilometres away. And yet, like all good mysteries, some things remain unaccounted for. A treasure hunter with a metal detector, who bought the location of the wreck to the attention of the Queensland Museum in 1983, found a copper coin while searching along an animal trail on one of the hill tops to the north of the resort (the grassy hill in the watercolour). The coin was identified as a Spanish dinero of the Kingdom of Aragon , embossed on one side with ":Ferdinand" and "Aragonum UH" on the other. Greg Jefferys found several lead musket balls in 2003 in the same general location as Andy Peregrina found his coin. Many thanks to Greg for the use of photos. Upstreampaddle 47

Wooden Model kit by Artesania Latina

SPECIAL ISSUE # 10 AUGUST 2018 All photographs and articles published remain the copyright property of the contributor and SMSC unless released. HMS Endeavour - Bark 1768 Wooden Model kit by Artesania