The Furneaux Group of island, rocks and shoals extends from the Sisters south for 110 kilometres to Clarke Island, at the south-east entrance to Bass Strait. Little wonder that there have been so many shipwrecks here, with some two hundred entries. Politically, they are part of Tasmania. James Cook named the group after Tobias Furneaux who sailed past then on the eastern side in 1773. They came to the notice of the administration at Port Jackson after the loss of the Sydney Cove off Preservation Island on 8 February 1797, with Matthew Flinders and George Bass taking a nautical survey the following year. It was bass who later determined that a strait existed between Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) and the mainland. The Sydney Cove is one of Australia's most signifcant shipwrecks, and has undergone an intensive maritime archaeological survey. Flinders Island is the largest of the group, 64 km long by up to 29 km wide, with a beautiful mountain range to the south, the Strzelecki Peaks. Governor King named the island after Matthew Flindrs. The island, together with Clarke and Cape Barren, were inhabited in the early decades of the nineteenth century by sealers. Rumours persist that more than one vessel was lured onto rocks by deliberately placed lights, in order to plunder her wares. A post WW2 soldier settlement on Flinders Island was not a complete success, but the population of some 2000 exist through agriculture and fishing, particularly crayfishing. The two main towns are Whitemark (with an excellent airport), and Lady Barron. Most of the vessels lost within the group were small ketches, schooners, and later, island steamers. Four of the largest vessels lost were the iron ship Cambridgeshire, 1766 tons, lost near Nite Island, 1875; the iron barque G.W.Wolfe, 1690 tons, which plowed into Prime Seal Island in 1912; the barque Farsund, 1443 tins, still on Vansittart Shoal off Cape Barren Island, 1912; and the barque George Marshall, 1361 tons, lost in Marshall Bay, 1862. The locations of all of these are known.

References.
Broxam and Nash [TS1},[TS2}, and Loney [NF] provide the greater part of information on the island wrecks. Nash [CC] is the definitive work on the wreck of the Sydney Cove. Stone [LI],[DA] adds personal experiences of diving the many wrecks around the group. pe. Lost in Furneaux Group, 1968. [LF] Boxham and Nash state they have found no further reference to this wreck.
[222 records]

Associated links: TASMANIA    KENT GROUP   KING ISLAND

Adventure. HMS. Captain Tobias Furneaux. Discovered and named the Furneaux group in 1773. [NH]

Agnes. Ketch, 8 or 12 tons. Unregistered. Captain George Spiers (or Speers). From Launceston to the Bass Strait islands lighthouses, wrecked on the western side of Badger Island, Furneaux Group, February 1885. No trace of her crew was ever found. Her remains were found by the cutter Ripple on 22 February 1885. [TS1]

Alastor. Barque. Involved in rescue - see barquentine Indiana, lost Furneaux Group, 1894. [TS1]

Alecia. Motor fishing vessel, LFB No. 565 (TR5),  9 tons. Lbd 36.75 x 11.75 x 5.25 ft. Skipper- owner John Lewis McCarthy. Sank after catching fire  east of Babel Island, Furneaux Group, 23 July 1973. Two crew saved. [TS2]

Alexander. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see barque Mary, lost in Furneaux Group, 1845. [TS1]

Alice Maud. Brig, 205 tons. # 64408. Built at the Manning River, NSW, 1872; reg. Sydney 5/1873,  Melbourne 3/1874. Lbd 110.8 x 24.0 x 11.5 ft.  Captain Michael Vincent Hurley.  From Greymouth, NZ, for Melbourne with cargo and six passengers, ran aground on a sand bank off the Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, in a gale, 4 September 1874. With the assistance of two fishing boats, the brig was rfloaated, but capsized and sank within a mile of where she had gone ashore. All crew and passengers saved, landing on Cape Barren Island, and later Goose Island where the SS Southern Cross landed most at Melbourne, and one woman and her child at Hobart. An inquiry found the master guilty of careless navigation, and his certificate was suspended for four months.  He had previously lost the Spray in the Furneaux Group in 1868. [TS1],[LF - barque, inward bound to Launceston]

Alpha. Cutter. Involved in rescue - see barque Mary, lost in Furneaux group, 1845. [TS1]

Amasis. German brig. See brig Foam, lost furneaux Group, 1864.

Amelia J. Three-masted schooner,  404/353 tons. # 133493. Built Hobart, 1919; reg. Hobart 2/1919.  Lbd 153.0 x 30.6 x 14.3 ft. Captain George Atwell. Sailed from Newcastle for Hobart on 21 August 1920 with coal, total crew of twelve, but failed to arrive. She was last seen off Jervis Bay, NSW by the crew of SS Melbourne on 5 September 1920. Her owners arranged for SS Musgrave to conduct a search of the Furneaux Group, beginning what was probably the largest search for a missing vessel yet conducted in Australia, and the first to make use of aircraft. The Government initially refused to send a warship in search of the Amelia J., but the public outcry was so great that HMAS Platypus was sent to investigate the Furneaux Group, considered to be the most likely spot the vessel may have come to grief. On 23 September 1920, two De Havilland 9A biplanes took off to fly over the Furneaux Group.  One of these, flown by Major Stutt, was last seen flying into heavy cloud on the north-western coast of Cape Barren Island before it too disappeared, and the search for the missing schooner had to be extended to cover it as well. The Platypus was later withdrawn to search for survivors of the ill-fated Southern Cross (q.v.) and replaced by the destroyer Swordsman.  Other searches centred on the Furneaux Group were also carried out by the SS Dolphin, the motor launch Toroa, and the SS Melbourne. No trace of either schooner or aircraft was ever found. [TS2]

Amity. Brig, 149 tons. Built at St. Johns, New Brunswick, 1816; reg. Sydney 5/1831, Hobart 26/1842. Lbd 75-6 x 21-5 x 11-5 ft. Owned by the Government of NSW between 1824 and 1831, and during that period had been involved in the settlement of both Moreton Bay (Brisbane) and Albany in Western Australia.  A stationary replica of the Amity was built at Albany to commemorate the 150th anniversary of its establishment, and is on display there. Captain William Marr. Sailed from Hobart for Port Albert in ballast on 14 June 1845, with a crew of nine, and one passenger; encountering a gale while entering Bass Strait and ran aground on a sand-bank twelve miles off Shoaly Bay on the south-east coast of Flinders Island, presumably the Vansittart Shoals, 18 June 1845. As the ship broke up, she was abandoned, all making the island safely but in so doing, both boats were damaged. The castaways came across a party of sealers who loaned them another boat, and all except Captain Marr, who was later picked up by the schooner Letitia, headed for Cape Portland, Tasmania. [TS1],[LF],[AS1]

Anglo Svea. Auxiliary fishing ketch, 23 gross. # 101794. Built at Trevallyn, Launceston, 1913; reg. as registered at Melbourne 2/1913, 2/1925. Lbd 50.9 x 13.0 x 5.3 ft. Blown onto rocks, wrecked, Rebecca Bay, Clarke Island, Furneaux Group, 9 April 1930. Crew rescued by the fishing ketch Myrtle Burgess. [TS2],[LF]

Ann. Schooner. Involved in salvage - see brig Spec, Furneaux Group, 1870. [TS1]

Anne. Schooner, 135 tons.   Stranded in the Furneaux Group, but refloated, 1868 [LF]

Antares. Brigantine, 131 tons.Built at Moulmein, 1839; reg. Hobart 35/1852, later Melbourne. Lbd 72.3 x 18.0 x 11.8 ft. Captain Henry Bull. Out of Melbourne for Hobart, with a crew of nine, four passengers and general, struck a reef without warning some nine miles west of Flinders Island, about two miles south of Little Chalk Island, 19 February 18533. Three crew managed to reach Launceston in the longboat and raise the alarm. Meanwhile, the master, three crew and two passengers were swept away and drowned. The survivors built a small raft, which could only support three, and the three surviving crew headed for Little Chalk Island, promising to return when it was possible to rescue the last two passengers.  They were not seen again, and were presumably drowned when the raft went to pieces. After a further two days the last two survivors, managed to build another raft from drifting wreckage, and on it reached Isabella Island, five miles away, in a totally exhausted state. There being no chance of rescue on Isabella Island, they built a second raft and reached reached Flinders Island where they found a sealer who took them to Launceston in his boat.  From there, after giving their account of the tragedy, they reached Melbourne on board the PS Yarra Yarra. [#TS1],[LF],[#LI]

Apparition. Schooner, 138 tons. Built at Jersey, 1840; reg. Jersey. Captain J.P. Miller. From Newcastle to Hobart stranded on the Vansittart Shoals, near Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, 3 July 1855. All hands saved in the longboat, landing on Babel Island, Vansittart Island and then Goose island where they stayed with the lighthouse staff until picked being up by the schooner Macquarie and landed at Port Albert. [TS1],[LF]

Arawatta. Steamer. Ran down and sank the brig Sea Nymph in Sydney Harbour, 9 June 1882. The Sea Nympth was later raised and disappeared on a journey from Maryborough, Queensland, to Melbourne in 1883. [TS1]

Argo. Vessel, unlisted type. Lost in Furneaux Group, 1968. [LF]
Boxham and Nash state they have found no further refernce to this wreck.

Bella Vista. Barque, 166 tons. # 32461. Built in the USA; reg. Melbourne 14/1860, Hobart 13/1867. Lbd 96.5 x 24.0 x 10.4 ft. Master-owner George Graves. From Hobart for Melbourne with timber, encountered strong north-westerly winds when north-west of Prime Seal Island; struck a rock about two kilometres off shore and sank stern first, 10 June 1872.   The crew landed safely in the jolly and long boats then returned to the ship next day to recover sails and rigging to make tents, and eventually left for Goose Island, remaining at the lighthouse until being picked up by SS Southern Cross and returned to Hobart. [TS1],[LF]

Belle Creole. Barque, 269 tons. Built at Sunderland, UK, 1841; reg. Melbourne, # 135/1853. Lbd 92.0 x 22.6 x 15.7ft. From New Zealand for Melbourne, with a cargo of and  a complement of twenty-three passengers and fourteen crew, stranded, wrecked, on the Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, 7 September 1855. All hands landed safely, reaching Swan Island in the boats.  Here they spent nearly three weeks before the master, mate and passengers were picked up by the schooner Swordfish, and landed at Geelong; the others were later picked up by another vessel.  She was wrecked at the same place within twenty four hour of the schooner Red Rover.  [TS1],[LF]

Berwick Castle. Barque, 342 tons. Built at Berwick, UK, 1842; reg. Dundee. Lbd 98.2 x 26.5 x 17.6 ft. Captain A. Latto. From Hobart for Melbourne with a cargo of timber, wrecked during a gale on Moriarty’s Bank off Clarke Island, Furneaux Group, 26 February 1854. All hands rescued by the schooner Red Rover. [TS1],[LF]

Black Boy. Steamer. Left Melbourne in May 1877 to salvage sales and stores from the ship City of Foochow, lost on the east coast of Flinders Island, 1877.

Black Swan. Schooner, 40 tons. Built at Swanport, Tasmania, 1828; reg. Hobart, 3/1829. Master George Meredith, Jr.  Wrecked on the south-western end of Prime Seal Island, Furneaux Group, January 1830. All hands clung to the wreck, which gradually worked further inshore, and were able to reach safety without much difficulty. The crew reached Preservation Island in the repaired boat. [TS1],[AS1]
Bateson suggests that ‘Prime Seal Island’ could be ‘one of the Seal or Direction Islands to the east of Wilsons Promontory’, but this does not seem likely if the survivors made for Preservation Island.

Boundary. Snow, 188 tons. # 31952. Built at Walton, Nova Scotia, 1849; reg. Melbourne 59/1854.  Lbd 89.1 x 22.4 x 12.5 ft.  Master/owner Foster Hempseed. From Newcastle to Melbourne with coal, stranded on the Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, 17 May 1859. The first boat of two boats to be launched capsized within fifteen yards of the ship, drowning the master’s wife and child, the chief officer and three of the crew.  The master refused to leave the ship until daylight, but the rest of the crew decided to head for Vansittart Island, where they received assistance from the local inhabitants.  When they returned to the wreck next morning they found she had parted amidships and was breaking up.  There was no sign of the master, who had apparently been washed overboard in heavy seas and drowned.  A sealer’s boat took the survivors to Goose Island, from where they reached Melbourne on board the General Wool. [TS1],[LF]

Boyer. Tug. Based in Hobart.  Involved in salvage - see motor vessel Quest, Gull Island, eastern Bass Strait, 1950.

Britomart. Barque, 243 tons. Built at Deptford, London, 1808; reg. Hobart, 16/1839.  Lbd 98-3 x 24-8 x 5-8 ft. She had been built as a ten-gun sloop-of-war for the Royal Navy. Captain John Gluyas. Left Melbourne for Hobart on 15 December 1839 and disappeared without trace. The Government cutter Vansittart was sent to search for her. Wreckage indicated she had foundered near Clarke Island, Furneau Group, and there were rumours that she may have been lured ashore by false lights and plundered. When the schooner Sir John Franklin arrived at Hobart from Port Phillip on 17 January 1840, her master James Gill said he had gone ashore to visit a sealer, James Munro, at Preservation Island, and observed a considerable quantity of wreckage on the island, not to mention a quantity of valuables in Munro’s hut, much of it clearly belonging to the Britomart. He also that many of the local sealers appeared to be flush with money. In all likelihood the Britomart was wrecked during a gale, probably while attempting to shelter at Prime Seal or Preservation Island, on one of the many dangerous reefs and islets that lie between them.  No doubt the sealers took every advantage of the situation. [TS1], [LF],[#LI],[LV]
Loney writes:
The govemment of the day seemed strongly disinclined to determine whether the passengers and crew of the ship were drowned or murdered or whether they landed alive or were plundered after beiria washed ashore.  Soon after the vessel disappeared, its log book, register, compass, various pieces of wreckage and a number of personal items were reported in the hands of persons living on the Bass Strait Islands, and sealers well flushed with money boasted openly that they knew the whereabouts of the wreck. Interest also strengthened in a report that a female passenger had fallen into the hands of Gippsland aborigines; police and troopers spent several years searching for a mythical white woman at aboriginal camps throughout Gippsland. [LV]

Brothers. Ketch, 7 tons. # 79297. Built at Leith, River Forth, Tasmania, 1891; reg. Launceston 7/1891. Lbd 31.9 x 9.3 x 4.4 ft. According to her register, dragged her anchors and went ashore at Snug Cove, Clarke Island, Furneaux group, 2 May 1899. [TS1]

Burra Burra. Schooner, collier, 112 tons. # 31679. Built at Kelvin Dock, Lanarkshire, UK,1852; reg. Melbourne 88/1855. Lbd 62.4 x 17.7 x 10.8 ft. Captain Hutchinson. From Newcastle to Melbourne,   drifted ashore with her sails blown out in a gale, on the Sisters Islands at the northern end of Flinders Island, Furneaux Group, 17 May 1859. After surviving for ten days on a bag of flour and shellfish, all hands later reached the Kent Group in the boat, and remained at the lighthouse there for nine days before being picked up by the schooner Kate McWhinney and landed at Melbourne. [TS1],[LF] Loney gives date of loss as 17 June.
Broxam and Nash state:
Contemporary accounts of the wreck incorrectly give the date of departure from Newcastle as 30 May, and consequently the date of loss as 17 June, which is after the castaways arrived in Melbourne!

Busy Girl. Fishing boat. Involved in rescue - see motor vessel Quest, Gull Island, eastern Bass Strait, 1950.

C.C.Funk. Brigantine, 315 tons. Captain Nissan. Wrecked on Beagle Spit off the north eastern coast of Flinders Island during a storm, 30 July 1898. All on board including the captain’s wife and two children took refuge in the rigging, but when the masts collapsed only two out of her complement of thirteen reached shore. [LF],[#LI]
C. C. Funk. # (US) 126052. Three-masted barquentine, 546/513 tons. Built at Coos Bay, Oregon, USA,  1882; reg. San Francisco. Lbd 163.0 x 26.8 x 13.9 ft. Captain Nesson. From Puget Sound, USA, for Melbourne, with eight crew, mostly German and Swedish, the Captain’s wife and two children, and  a cargo of timber, encountered a gale and went broadside onto Beagle Spit, Flinders Island, Furneaux Group, 31 July 1898. Swept by heavy seas, all hands were forced into the rigging.The boats were swung out but were washed away, the second officer being severely injured in the process. The vessel broke up rapidly and when the masts went over the side all were washed overboard.Only two of the crew managed to struggle ashore and were later found by a hunter who led them to the settlement. The steam yacht Nellie and the ketch Lizzie Taylor  were chartered to recover the timber washed ashore. [TS1]

Cambridgeshire. Iron ship, 1766/1691 tons. # 68503. Built at Newcastle on Tyne, England, 1873; reg. London. Lbd 267 x 39.3 x 23.3 ft. Captain J.N. Marshall. Out of Gravesend for Sydney with general cargo valued at £52,000, wrecked on a reef close to Night (Nite) Island, Furneaux Group, 6 September 1875. Soon after she struck, severe westerly gales forced the main and mizen masts over the side; then the hull broke in two.  Fortunately there was no loss of life; all hands left in three boats and reached nearby Preservation Island (which featured in the sinking of the Sydney Cove, 1797); they arrived at the tamar on the ketch Summer Cloud. Salvagers spent many months recovering her cargo, having paid only £2500 for the right to do so. The wreck of the Cambridgeshire became the first to be held under the new Enquiry Into Wrecks Act of 1874.
[LF],[#LI],[ASW6],[#TS1],[DA]
On 3 May 1873, arrived at Melbourne on her maiden voyage, in distress, having been dismasted in the southern ocean. It was January the following year before she could return to the UK.
Also listed:
Arrived in Melbourne under jury rig after being partially dismasted in a gale during a voyage to Melbourne, 1874. Laid up in Williamstown for many months waiting for new masts, yards and rigging to arrive from England. Also damaged in the same gale were the vessels Loch Ard, John Kerr, and Dallum Tower.   [LV]
@ Her site was re-discovered in the 1970s but her remote and often dangerous location makes her a difficult dive. She lies in shallow water hard up against the rocks. [LAH]

Caradog. Barque, steel, 1490 tons. Built at Sunderland, England, 1891. Lbd 233.1x 37.1 x 21.7 ft. Renamed Farsund 1911. Lost Furneaux Group, Bass Strait, 1912. [LH]

Cassina. Barque, 242 tons. # 35265. Built at St. Johns, New Brunswick, 1858; reg.Port Adelaide 8/1870. Lbd 110.4 x 26.0 x 12.6 ft. Captain Lakie. Newcastle for Port Adelaide with 314 tons of coal and 4500 timber spokes, struck Vansittart Shoals while attempting to shelter under Flinders Island from a gale, 20 August 1870.  Coal was jettisoned, but the vessel soon started to make water rapidly and the crew were forced into the boats. [TS1]

Catherine. Brigantine, 188 tons. # 31943. Built at Picton, Nova Scotia, 1849; reg. 57/1854. Lbd 87.3 x 21.3 x 12.7ft  Captain White. Takinmg water fast on a voyage from hobart to Melbourne with timber,   abandoned thirty-five miles off Goose Island, and sank shortly afterwards, 26 January 1856. Crew picked up by SS William Miskin, and taken to Hobart. It was later reported that she was high and dry on Waterhouse Island. [TS1],[LF]

Cito . Barque,  247/226 tons. # 74826. Built at Sonderberg, Germany, 1863; reg. Newcastle 6/1877. Lbd 115.5 x 24.7 x 11.6 ft. Captain Henry Lass. From Port Adelaide for Newcastle in ballast, encountered gales after passing King Island and into Bass Strait, and with some difficulty crossed the Strait to the Furneaux Group; a squall and strong currents put her near Cape Barren Island where she crashed onto a conical rock, 30 April 1879. The boat was lowered and all hands left the vessel, which broke up completely within twenty-five minutes. [TS1],[LF]

City of Edinburgh. Wooden barque, 367 ton. Built at Coringa, India, 1813; reg. London 336/1833. Lb 96-9 x 30-8. Captain Fearson, Fellon, or Fearon. From London to Sydney with a cargo valued at £50,000 encountered a gale in Bass Strait and was found ashore off Settlement Point, Flinders Island, Fureaux Group, 11 July 1840. She had encountered strong gales in bass Strait which had damaged her rigging, and was taking shelter under Prime Seal Island, however she dragged her anchors in the swift tide. The ship’s company of twenty-two all reached Launceston. Here again there were conflicting reports concerning her fate.  Some claimed she was salvaged, but divers have visited the site in recent years and recovered many relics supposed from her and some of these are displayed in the museum at Emita on Flinders Island. [ASW6],[LF],[LI],[TS1 - fully-rigged ship],[AS1 - ship, ashore on Rabbit Island],[DA]
@ The editor has dived what little remains of this vessel, or at least what is generally known as being the City of Edinburgh, off the north-west coast Flinders Island. She lies in about five metres, with nothing of vessel to be seen, however many relics including glassware, cutlery, and clock parts have been recovered. [LAH]
~ Relics may be seen at the Emita museum, Flinders Island.

City of Foochow. Iron ship, 1034 tons. # 48912. Built at Glasgow, 1864; eg. Glasgow. Lbd 213.4 x 32.5 x 21.4 ft. Captain James Tait. Sailed from Newcastle and Sydney for Calcutta via Bass Strait with coal, and a crew of twenty-six, ran gently on to a beach on the north east coast of Flinders Island during the night after dubious navigation in hazy conditions, 17 March 1877. Efforts to move her nearly succeeded but gradually she sank into the sand and became immobilised. A boat was sent off under the second officer but returned after finding no trace of habitation.  It was clear that nothing could be done to save the vessel, so efforts were made to recover her gear and set up camp on shore. Three days after leaving the wreck, the chief officer and three arrived at Settlement Point, with the aid of a hunter; arrangements were made to take most of the crew to Launceston in the ketch Julia. An inquiry found that the mishap was probably caused by a strong south-westerly current which was not reported in the directories the master was using, and that he and his officers were blameless for her loss. On 14 April 1877 the steamer Black Boy left Melbourne to commence salvage operations; in mid-May the schooner Inglis was sent with a salvage team of twenty-three which managed to recover all of the vessel’s gear and spars apart from the lower masts. With optimism, the tug paddle- steamer Williams arrived but the ship had settled. The hull continued to sink into the sand until it completely disappeared, and one of the masts remained upright for over a century to mark the spot until it collapsed in the 1980s. [TS1],[LF],[#LI],[#LH],[LAH],[DA]
A group on Flinders Island was formed to try and save the solitary mast from collapse as a tourist attraction but general lack of interest and funds saw no positive action.

Clarinda. Motor fishing vessel, 31ft. Unregistered. Master-owner Trevor Foster. Whilst heading for Clarke Island, Furneaux Grouyp, with a full load of crayfish, her engine stopped as a result of a leak and she foundered, 13 August 1961. Two crew saved. [TS2]
 the fishing boat Clarinda .  On investigation the crew found that the vessel had sprung a leak and
On 6 June 1959, hit a rock off Clarke Island, beached, repaired, refloated with assistance of fishing vessel Taswegian which towed her to Launceston for repairs.

Colliboi. Involved in rescue - see auxiliary schooner Joseph Sims, lost Furneaux Group, 1930. [TS2]

Courier. Brig, 184 tons. Lb 82-1 x 23 ft. Built at Onslow, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1822; reg. Sydney. Captain Muggridge. From Sydney to Hobart with a valuable cargo, ashore on Gull Island, Furneaux Group, 4 July 1833. All hands, and fourteen of the sixteen horses on board, managed to swim ashore safely, and when the weather moderated much of the cargo was also recovered. The captain and five reached Port Arthur in the longboat, whilst the mate and two other crew were  picked up by the schooner Prince Regent and were landed at Launceston. A salvage operation was organised using the schooner Defiance, but after loading much cargo, her cables parted in heavy weather and she drifted ashore on Cape Barren Island opposite Gull Island, and within half an hour was a total wreck. Again all hands landed safely, but the salvaged cargo was lost. Some of the cargo was finally salvaged by the schooner Governor Bourke which arrived at Launceston on 18 October 1833. No lives were lost in both wrecks. [TS1 - 177 tons],[AS1],[LF]

Dauntless. Involved in rescue - see brigantine Zephyr, Furneau Group, 1882.

De Witt. Ketch, 15 tons. # 57599. Built at Port Davey, 1878; reg. Hobart 3/1879, Launceston 12/1883. Wrecked on Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, 28 September 1904.
In November 1878, stranded at Howrah Beach, Tasmania.
On 9 July 1883, stranded Trial Harbour on west coast Tasmania.

Defiance. Schooner, 75 tons. Lbd 57 x 17-10 x 6-8 ft. Captain Kenneth McKenzie. Built at Twofold Bay, NSW, 1832; reg. Sydney.  Drifted ashore  in heavy weather, wrecked, on Cape Barren Island opposite Gull Island, Furneaux Group, 27 July 1833. All saved. She had been charted by Captain Muggridge of the brig Courier to salvage the cargo of the brig wrecked on Gull Island, Furneaux Group, 4 July 1833. No loves lost. [TS1],[LF],[AS1 - wrecked 26 July 1833]

Despatch. Victorian government steamer.
On 16 December 1882, sent to search for the missing brig Louisa, lost after leaving Hobart for Melbourne.
In 1883. Involved in the search for the missing brig Sea Nympth, and schooner John & Jane, in eastern Bass Strait, without success. [TS1]

Devon. Steamer.  Involved in rescue - see brigantine Zephyr, Furneau Group, 1882.

Diana. Sloop, 24 tons. Stranded on Babel Island, Furneau Group. Refloated and renamed Surprise. [TS1]

Dolphin. Steamer. Involved in the search for the misssing schooner Amelia J, vicinity Furneaux Group, Bass Strait, 1920.  [TS2]

Dora Dale. Motor fishing vessel, 5 tons, 27.5 ft.  Built before 1952; unregistered. Skipper-owner David William Cox. Hit a rock and sunk off Preservation Island, Furneaux Group, 28 April 1955. Refloated. Renamed Jason in 1960. [TS2]

E. H. Purdon. Auxiliary ketch, 23/22 tons. # 57618. Built Hobart, 1886; reg. Launceston 1/1913. Lbd 46.6 x 13.2 x 6.8 ft. Originally 17 gross, lbd  46.0 x 13.4 x 4.7 ft., extensively modified in 1902 for fishing in Bass Strait. Captain Abrahamson. Parted her cables in a storm and blown to sea, on 13 December 1938, finally beached at Sellers Point, near Babel Island, Furneaux Group. Crew saved. Vessel lost; cutter Falcon assisted in salvage of fittings. [TS2]

Eclipse. Schooner. Captain Calder. Involved in rescue - see schooner Jane & Ellen, lost Furneaux group, 1860. [TS1]

Eliza. Decked long boat, 10 tons. Captain Archibald Armstrong.  A private vessel, permitted by Governor Hunter at Port Jackson to find and salvage the Sydney Cove, lost in the Furneau Group, 1797.  Left Sydney on 30 May 1797 in company with the Government schooner Francis, arriving at the wreck site on 10 June. Both vessels sailed for Port Jackson on 21 June, however they became separated in heavy weather and the Eliza was never seen again. She probably foundered in a gale that developed the day after their departure, with the loss of some ten men.  [LF],[#NH],[TS1],#CC]

Eliza. Two masted wooden schooner, 98 tons. Built by convicts at Port Arthur for the colonial government, 1834; reg. Sydney 23/1847. Master William Daniel Chard. From San Francisco to Hobart, ran ashore on Flinders Island, eastern Bss Strait, 16 September 1849. No loss of life. She eventially got off, and arrived Hobart 23 October 1849. [AS1]

Elizabeth. Cutter, 20 or 35 tons. Captain Charles Browne Hardwicke. Reported to have been wrecked on ‘Seal Island’ on 25 April 1816, without loss of life.  Although Bateson speculates the location was Seal Island off Wilson’s Promontory, it may also be Prime Seal Island in the Furneaux Group. [TS1]
Endeavour. Schooner. Involved in rescue and salvage -see L’Enterprise, lost 1802 in the Furneaux group. [TS1]

Elizabeth. Schooner. Involved ion rescue - see schooner Lionees, lost Furneaux Group, 1854. [TS1]

Elizabeth. Ketch, 17 tons. # 61071. Built at Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, 1874; reg. Launceston 2/1877. Lbd 47.1 x 13.0 x 5.1 ft. Wrecked in a gale at Cape Barren Island, 7 May 1882. [TS1]
In September 1878, stranded at Swan Island.

Elsinore. Schooner, fishing vessel, 36 gross. # 70337. Built Auckland, NZ, 1875; reg. Melbourne 3/1891. Lbd 55.0 x 16.6 x 6.5 ft. Register closed in 1929 with comment ‘lost at sea some years ago near Babel Island’ (Furneaux Group),  although no contemporary account of the mishap has been located. Possibly lost south of Babel Island, Furneaux Group, 1919. The mast and bulwarks of a small vessel was seen by the master of the SS Kyogle, and although not identified, may have been the Elsinore. [TS2]

Ennovy. Auxiliary motor fishing vessel, L.F.B. 488 (T71), 25 tons. Built 1961. Lbd 46.2 x 14.3 x 7.3 ft. Skipper-owner Paul Morton. Foundered after filling due to a leak, around Clarke and Cape Barren Islands, Furneaux Group, 21 March 1974. Crew safe. [TS2]

Essie Black. Vessel of 281 tons. Disappeared after leaving Newcastle for Adelaide; probably lost in the vicinity of eastern Bass Strait 1876 or before. [LF]

Euphemia. Schooner, 150 tons. # 31939. Lbd 89.3 x 22.9 x 8.5 ft. Built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1849 as the Marion; reg. Hobart 7/1853. Captain Sheppard.  From Newcastle for Melbourne with 250 tons of coal, in hazy conditions, wrecked ashore on the Sisters Islands at the northern end of Flinders Island, 19 July 1858. All sixteen on board, including the master’s wife, two children, niece and servant, landed safely on the island, from where they were picked up about seven hours later by the schooner Twins and landed at Port Albert. [TS1],[LF]

Evergreen. Ketch, 17 tons. Disappeared near the Furneaux Group during a gale, 1898. Wreckage recovered on Cape Barren Island. [LF]

F.W.Tucker. Schooner. Involved in rescuee - see barque Planter, Furneaux Group, 1877.

Falcon. Cutter, mutton-birder. Involved in salvage - see loff of Auxiliary ketch E.H.Purdon, Furneaux Group, 1938.  [TS2]

Falthalmein. Birg. See Governor Phillip.

Farsund. Barque, steel, 1443/1351 tons. Built at Sunderland, England, 1891 as the Caradog; reg. At Farsund, Norway. Lbd 233.1x 37.1 x 21.7 ft. Renamed Farsund 1910 when purchased by A. Theisen of Farsund, Norway. Captain E.A.Abrahamson. Was fifty-nine days out from Buenos Aires when she was driven by a gale on to the Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, 10 March 1912. On the 13th the SS Warrentinna, under the command of George Madden, arrived on the scene, but being short of coal could not assist.  However, the Farsund’s master was taken on board and landed at Launceston.  The steamer was coaled and went back to the stranded barque, but adverse winds prevented any attempts to haul her off. The Wybia took off the  sixteen crew. In 1917-18, with tonnage scarce and at a considerable premium as a result of the First World War, the Farsund was sold to a Melbourne syndicate who apparently managed to float her off, only to have her go aground again.  This time she was stuck for good, although as recently as 1981 an American syndicate investigated the wreck for possible salvage and preservation.  By this time the hull above the waterline was little more than a lace-work of rust, and part of her teak decking had been burnt by idiots having a bar-b-que on the deck.
 [LF],[LI],[#LH],[TS2],[LAH],[DA]
~ The wreck is visible from Vinegar Hill above Lady Barron on Flinders Island. It is possible to visit the wreck which sits high and dry, but only on a very calm day - which is rare.

Flying Fish. Schooner. Captain John Clinch. Involved in rescue - see Isabella, lost Furneaux Group, 1844.  [TS1]

Foam. Brig, 203 tons. # 32096. Built at Emden, Germany, as the Amasis; reg. Hobart 12/1861. Lbd 94.6 x 23.7 x 12.5ft. Captain Ledwell. From Melbourne for Hobart in ballast, in a gale missed stays and went onto the rocks, south-western end of Clarke Island, Furneaux Grpup, 27 September 1864. She quickly sank in water deep enough to leave only the topmasts above the surface.  All hands saved; taken on to George Town by the cutter Water Witch. [TS1],[LF]

Francis. Government schooner. On directions from Governor Hunter, left Port Jackson on 30 May 1797 in company with the the sloop Eliza,  to salvage whatever from the wreck of the Sydney Cove, lost in the Furneaux Group 1797. They arrived at the wreck site on 10 June. Both vessels sailed for Port Jackson on 21 June, however they became separated in heavy weather and the Eliza was never seen again. The Francis arrived back in Sydney on 6 July 1797. [TS1],[LF - sloop],[#NH]

Frances Gertrude. Brigantine, 98 tons. # 61073. Built at Penguin Creek, Tasmania, 1874; reg. Launceston 11/1875, Melbourne 11/1875. Lbd 93.6 x 25.0 x 7.9 ft. Captain J. Phillips. From Westport, New Zealand, for Melbourne, drifted ashore at Goose Island, Furneaux Group, and ended up high and dry on the rocks with several holes in her bottom, 20 October 1877. After a fast passage across the Tasman, the brigantine sought shelter from a storm under Preservation Island. A flag of distress was seen flown from Goose Island, and on standing in it was found that the superintendent Captain Napper had died; arrangements were made to take the body to Melbourne. Unfortunately one of the flukes of the anchor snapped and she drifted on to rocks.  All hands, and the body, were picked up by the SS Southern Cross.  [TS1],[LF]

Free Trader. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see ketch Hawkesbury Lass, lost off eastern Flinders island, 1852. [TS1]

Freelance. Motor fishing vessel, LFB TFX, 13 tons, 28 ft. Unregistered. During a gale, driven ashore at Pascoe Island, Furneaux Group, and wrecked, 25 August 1968. [TS2]

G. V. H.  Ketch, 14 tons. # 79279. Built at Formby, River Mersey, Tasmania, 1886; reg. Launceston 1/1887. Owned by William Holyman & Son.  (The initials stood for Grace Victoria Holyman, Thomas Holyman’s wife). Lbd 48.0 x 12.8 x 4.4 ft.  A double-ended vessel, she had been notable in her original form in having a two-bladed screw, turned by hand, to propel her through calms. Captain Milligan. Sailed from Launceston for the Furneaux Group with stores, mails, three passengers, two crew, but last sighted off Cape Barren Island, 13 October 1895. On the following day the wreck of the vessel, including three bodies, was found strewn along the western coast of the island. All on board were lost. [TS1],[RW],[LF]
In September 1891, stranded near Table Cape, Tasmania.

G. W. Wolfe. Iron barque, 1690/1586 tons. # 78107.  Built Belfast by Harland and Wolff, 1878; reg. Swansea, Wales. Lbd 257.1 x 38.3 x 23.1 ft. Captain James W.Thomas.  From Buenos Aires in ballast for Newcastle, wrecked on the central  west coast of Hummock Island (Prime Seal Island), Furneaux Group, 8 August 1912. She drove bow first on to the rocks under full sail.  All the crew, except the master reached safety.  Pieces of the bow, five of her anchors and other scattered wreckage remain today marking the site of the wreck.
[LF],[#LI],[#LH - iron ship],[TS2 - fully rigged ship],[LAH],[DA]
@ Iron ribs, covered in kelp, are all that remains close in to shore.
~ In June 1985 a RAAF Chinook helicopter recovered a capstan and two anchors from the rocks for conservation and display at the Emita Museum on Flinders Island.
Broxam and Nash indicate she went in stern first. This is not likely considering the anchors and capstan well up on the rocks.

Gauntlet. Cutter. Involved in salvage -  see ship George Marshall, lost Furneaux Group, 1862

Gaurdelette. Barque, collier, 277 tons. Struck rocks near Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group,  and was abandoned as she filled and broke up, 1865. The crew landed on a small island and existed for a week on wallabies, lizards and snakes before crossing to the Swan Island lighthouse. [LF]

George Marshall. Ship, 1361/1208 tons. #26496. Built at Shields, UK, by her owner George Marshall & Co.,  1854; reg. London. Lbd 179.8 x 34.8 x 28.0 ft. Captain John Davison. From London to Sydney, encountered heavy gales after entering Bass Strait, hit a rock off the Kent Group, beached in a bay that now bears her name on the west coast Flinders Island, Furneaux Group, 14 January 1862. Even though badly holed, the master elected to search for a more suitable place to beach her. All hands, including sixty passengers, landed safely and set up camp using sails recovered from the wreck.  The boats were used to recover the vessel’s gear and some cargo.The Captain headed for Launceston in a sealer’s boat, where the SS Titania was chartered to rescue the passengers and take a surveyor to report on the wreck; he  condemned her as a total loss. Shel had been carrying 1,800 tons of general cargo valued at £70,000, much of it later recovered, although water damage had taken its toll.  Over the next four months the salvage teams used the steamer Titania, schooners Jane Elizabeth, Mercury, Ira and Governor Wynyard, and cutters Lucy and Gauntlet to freight salvage to Launceston.  A diver from Sydney was engaged to recover cargo from the lower holds.  For quite some time there was hope that the vessel might be refloated, but the hull sank into the sand, and after the greater proportion of the cargo, gear and fittings were recovered, it was abandoned.  It still remains there to this day with the stump of a mast showing above the sand into which the hull has completely disappeared.  Some interesting artefacts, used by the castaways and later the salvagers, have been recovered from the camp sites around the wreck.
[TS1],[LF],[#LI],[ASW6],[LAH],[DA]
On 8 June 1859, stranded at Gellibrand’s Point, Hobson’s Bay; refloated.
~ The stump of the mast may be seen at low tide.

Glencie. Barque. Involved in rescue - see brig Sir William Wallace, Furneaux Group, 1858. [TS1]

Glenturk. River steamer. Assisted in refloating the fishing boat, Iolanthe, Tasmania, 1917. [TS2]

Gold. Three-masted schooner, 312 tons. # 88948. Built at Forked River, New Jersey, USA, 1858 as the D. S. Williams; renamed, registered at Melbourne 2/1887. Lbd 137.0 x 32.7 x 10.7 ft. Captain Edwin J. Lusher. From Grafton on the Clarence River, NSW for Melbourne with ironbark piles, encountered strong north-westerly winds after passing Wilsons Promontory, and took water, and headed for the Furneaux Group for shelter; abandoned when off the Sisters, 27 March 1887. She sank in  deep water off East Sister Island. Crew made Flinders Island safely, then went on to Goose Island where they were picked up by the SS Southern Cross. It was Captain Lucher’s first mishap in fifty years at sea, and was exonerated of all blame for the loss of the schooner.
[TS1],[LF - indicates foundered off Franklin Island, Furneaux Group]

Golden Age. Barque, 381 tons. # 53966. Built at Eastport, Maine, USA, 1856, as the Theoda; reg. Melbourne 54/1863. Lbd 123.4 x 27.0 x 14.6 ft. Master-co owner Captain James McIntyre. From Newcastle for Melbourne with coal, however encountering several heavy squalls, decided to seek shelter under Swan Island, north-east Tasmania; struck the Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, wrecked, abandoned, 26 July 1871. Two boats made Cape Barren Island with little food.The crew island hopped, to Chappell island, then Goose Island where they were picked up by the SS Southern Cross and taken to Hobart. Governor Sir Charles du Cane, who was travelling on board the steamer, opened a subscription to provide for the crew, who had lost all their possessions. [TS1]
Loney reports:
Golden Age. Barque, 581 ton. Built at Newport, USA, 1856. [LF],[#LI]

Goliath. Bulk carrier. Involved in rescue - see fishing vessel Halcyon, lost Furneaux Group, 1989. [TS2]

Governor Bourke. Schooner. Involved in salvage - see brig Courier, lost Furneaux Group 1833. [TS1]

Governor Hunter. Schooner, 35 tons.  Registered Sydney 18 January 1805. Master William Rook. Stranded in the Furneaux Group, off Badger Island, 1 April 1809. Later refloated. Wrecked near Port Stephens, 1816. [LF],[AS1]

Governor Phillip. Teak-built brig, 177 tons. Built at Rangoon, Burma, 1821, as the Fathalmein. Purchased by Governor Ralph Darling in 1827 for the New South Wales Government and renamed.  Following the transfer of the administration of Norfolk Island to Van Diemen’s Land, nominal ownership of the vessel passed to that colony. Captain Cobbam. Government owned vessel.  From Norfolk Island to Hobart Town with a complement of seventy-four, wrecked on a reef off Gull Island, just east of Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, 27 October 1848.   Holding fast and soon pounding on the rocks, the forty convicts imprisoned below immediately panicked, fearing they would be left below to drown, however they were soon released and their chains removed.  Sixteen lives lost; four convicts, seven guards, and five crew. The survivors remained on Gull Islind for a few days before moving on to Clarke Island.  Eventually, the prisoners among them were transferred to Preservation Island until PS. Kangaroo arrived to take them all on to Hobart Town.
[LF],[#LI],[#JH],[#TS1],[#AS1],[LAH]

Governor Sorell. Sloop , 33 tons. Wreckage recovered on Vansittart Island, Furneau Group, may have come from the sloop which disappeared while returning to Hobart after salvaging cargo from the vessels Daphne and John Palmer which had both been lost on the Kent Group in Bass Strait. However, some reports indicate that she was not lost and continued. to seal in the straits for many years. [LF]

Governor Weld. Ketch, 49 tons. Built on the Huon River , Tasmania, 1877. Lbd 68.3 x 19.0 x 6.6 ft. See auxiliary ketch H.J.H. In 1899 was extensively altered at West Devonport to become one of Australia’s first auxiliary ketches, being fitted with a 40 hp oil engine made by the Union Oil Engine Co. of Chicago, USA.  [TS2]

Governor Wynyard. Cutter. Involved in salvage -  see ship George Marshall, lost Furneaux Group, 1862

Grace Victoria Holyman. See ketch G.V.H.

Grecian Queen. Brig, 178 tons. Disappeared between Melbourne and Newcastle, July 1863. Some wreckage from her washed up on the Furneaux Group. [LF]

Guadalete (often incorrectly spelt Guardelette). Barque, 277 tons. Built at Wells, Norfolk, UK, 1854; reg. Port Adelaide 16/1864. Lbd 119.5 x 24.3 x 12.7 ft. Captain Emanuel Underwood. From Newcastle for Melbourne and Hobart with coal, met with bad weather all the way down the New South Wales coast went up on the rocks, evidently off the east coast of Cape Barren Island, 18 July 1865. All hands saved, and reached Swan Island they were picked up by SS Alhambra which took them to Melbourne. [TS1]
In the early 1980s a wreck, believed to be that of the Guadalete, was discovered on the northern side of rocks about a kilometre offshore from Harley Point on Cape Barren Island..

Gull Island was the- scene of two wrecks during this year. [LF]

H. J. Holyman. Ketch, 49 tons.  Dragged her anchors and went ashore, wrecked, on Badger Island, Furneaux Group, 16 june 1917. [LF]

H. J. H.  (Helena Jane Holyman). Auxiliary ketch, 73/44 tons. # 57582. Built on the Huon River , Tasmania, 1877 as the Governor Weld; reg.. Launceston 1/1899, Melbourne 13/1910. Lbd 84.4 x 19.9 x 6.2ft. In 1899 was extensively altered at West Devonport to become one of Australia’s first auxiliary ketches, being fitted with a 40 hp oil engine made by the Union Oil Engine Co. of Chicago, USA. Captain Henderson. From Launceston for the Furneaux Group with four crew, nine passengers, livestock and general cargo, dragged ashore at Badger Island, Furneuax Group, 21 June 1917. By the time the steamer Koomeela arrived to assist, the H. J. H. was a total wreck, but much of her gear and fittings were salvaged. Al crew and passengers saved and taken aboard the Koomeela.  [TS2]
On 27 September 1878, as the Governor Weld, capsized off Battery Point, Tasmania.

Halcyon. Steel motor fishing vessel, 158/87 tons. # 355010. Built Portland, Victoria, 1979; reg. Portland 3/1979. Lbd 25.03 x 6.34 x 3.03 metres. Skipper Robert James McCallum. Foundered  eastern side of East Sister Island, Furneaux Group, 1 July 1989. Crew of four took to the life-raft.  Bulk carrier Goliath assisted in their rescue. [TS2]

Harbinger. Brig.  Captain John Black. Named King Island. Second vessel (after Lady Nelson) to sail through Bass Strait from the west, Decemeber 1799.  [NH],[CWR]

Hawkesbury Lass. Ketch, 13 tons. Lbd 32.7 x 11.0 x 5.4 ft. Built at Portland Head, Broken Bay, NSW, 1848; reg. Sydney 66/1848, 11/1852. Captain Liardet. From Sydney for Melbourne was attempting to shelter under Babel Island, Furneaux Group, when driven ashore, 11 August 1852 .  The crew landed safely, but spent fourteen hungry days subsisting on penguins until being rescued by the schooner Free Trader, and taken to Hobart. [TS1]

Henry. Schooner, 34 tons. Built launceston 1827. Lbd 43 x 14-1 x 6 ft. Reported ashore in April 1828 at Cat Island, forty miles east of Preservation Island, but there is no such place. One man drowned. She was subsequently refloated and reached Launceston late July. [AS1]

Henry & Edward. Schooner. Reported to have been wrecked on a rock near Preservation Island, between Cape Barren and Clarke Islands, Furneaux Group, sometime late December 1849 or early January 1850. No lives lost. The vessel Clarence reported the wreck and took on the passengers and crew. [AS1]
Bateson was unable to trace a vessel of this name, but noted that a schooner, 83 tons,  called Henry edward was built on the Huan River, Tasmania, 1849; reg. Hobart, then Launceston .

Henry Edward. See Henry & Edward.

Hugh Roberts. Vessel, unlisted type. Involved ion rescue - see schooner Lionees, lost Furneaux Group, 1854. [TS1]

Idle Hour. Schooner-rigged fishing vessel, LFB No. 221. Built at West Arm, River Tamar, 1930. Lbd 42 x 11 x 4.5 ft. Probably wrecked on Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group,  and subsequently burnt. No date, but post 1962. [TS2] .

Indiana. Schooner. Loaded with guano, struck a rock near Gull Island, Furneaux Group, and eventually foundered, 10 July 1894. No loss of life. [LF]
Indiana. Barquentine/brigantine (both listed by Broxam and Nash), 265/252 tons. # 102266. Built at Prince Edward Island, Canada, as the Douglas, 1884; reg. Auckland 4/1894. Lbd 114.0 x 25.0 x 13.0 ft. Captain John Curran. From Surprise Island for Launceston with a cargo of guano,  ran into heavy south-westerly gales after passing Cape Howe; the cargo began to shift, headed for the Furneaux Group but struck an apparently uncharted sand-bank east of Cape Barren Island, 29 June 1894. She drifted off with the rising tide, but was making water freely, so beached on the south-eastern side of Cape Barren Island between Cone Point and Gull Rocks. All hands saved, assisted by the barque Alastor. [TS1]

Inglis. Schooner. Salvaged ship’s gear and spars from the the ship City of Foochow, lost on the east coast of Flinders Island, 1877. [TS1]

Investigator. Matthew Flinders. Left Sydney 22 July 1802 to circumnavigate Australia, returning 9 June 1803. On arrival back in Sydney her timbers were so rotten that she was condemned and saw no further service. Flinders attempted to return to England on the Porpoise (qv) but was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef, 17 August 1803. [NH]

Iolanthe. Fishing boat, 5 ton. Unregistered. Length 42.5 ft. Wrecked on 28 October 1948, Tasmanian waters, possibly Furneaux Group.
In June 1917, sunk at White Rock, South Arm, Tasmania;  refloated by the river steamer Glenturk. [TS2]

Ira. Schooner. Involved in salvage -  see ship George Marshall, lost Furneaux Group, 1862.

Isabella. Full-rigged ship, 423/221 tons. Built at Leith, UK, 1833; reg. at Alloa, Scotland.Captain John Hardie. Dragged her anchors in a gale, wrecked ashore, Chappell Island, Furneaux Group, 22 June 1844. No lives lost. She had left Williamstown for London four days earlier with a valuable general cargo, twenty-five crew and fourteen passengers.  Heavy weather in Bass Strait hindered her progress and after the captain was left in a towering rage when critcised for his sloppy navigation, a deputation declared him insane and relieved him of command, placing Chief Officer Legg in command. By this time the vessel was too far down the constricted channel between Badger and Chappel Islands in the Furneaux Group to be extricated, and the Isabella was brought up by her anchors within a few yards of the rocks.  The anchors dragged as a gale increased to hurricane proportions, and the ship struck the rocks stern first, later breaking in two. News of the wreck reached the aboriginal settlement at Wybalena, Flinders Island; schooner Flying Fish, Captain John Clinch, picked up the castaways and returned them to Melbourne. On 23 July 1844 the Flying Fish and Abeona sailed from Hobart for the wreck to salvage whatever they could from the wreck.
[TS1], [ASW6],[LF],[AS1]

Isabella. Barque, 195 tons. # 32419. Built at Baltimore, Maryland, USA, as the Isabel, 1844; reg. Hobart 86/1852. Lbd 95.1 x 21.9 x 11.2 ft.  Captain P. McFarlane. From Bird Island, Queensland, to Launceston with guano, six passengers and a crew of ten, struck a reef near Cape Barren Island, 1 December 1869.  All landed safely on the island. During the night the barque slipped off the reef and sank in deep water. All proceeded south in the boats, but they had not gone far when rescued by the ketch Seymour, which landed them at Hobart. [TS1],[LF]

Jane & Ellen. Schooner, 35 tons. # 32045. Built at Swanport, Tasmania, 1852; reg. Hobart. Lbd 49.5 x 14.3 x 5.9 ft. Captain J. Strettel. On a guano expedition out of Hobart, went broadside on to the rocks near Babel island, Furneaux Group, and soon wrecked, 23 April 1860. The boat was launched and the crew of five were picked up by the schooner Eclipse. [TS1],[LF]

Jane Elizabeth. Schooner. Involved in salvage -  see ship George Marshall, lost Furneaux Group, 1862.

Jane Moorhead. Schooner, 49 tons. Lost on Lion Reef, Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, 1914. [LF]

John & Jane.  Schooner, 30 tons. # 48412. Built at Williamstown, Victoria, 1863; reg. Melbourne 57/1863, 3/1871. Lbd 56.1 x 15.4 x 6.2 ft. On 28 February 1883, sailed from Melbourne for Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, eastern Bass Strait, where she was to pick up tin ore samples, but failed to arrive. She was last seen off Cape Schanck, Victoria, on 16 April. A boat was found on Badger Island that was believed, although not confirmed, to have come from the missing schooner, which was thought to have been wrecked when nearing her destination.  At the time the Victorian Government steamer Despatch was searching Bass Strait for traces of either the John & Jane or Sea Nymph, but found no trace of either. [TS1]

John Bull. Brigantine, 71 tons. # 32307. Built at Mercury Bay, New Zealand; reg. Melbourne, 154/1853.  Lbd 56.4 x 17.0 x 10.0ft. On a voyage from Sydney to Melbourne, foundered north-east of Flinders Island, December 1857. After a hard pull of some one hundred miles all hands landed at Swan Island in the boat, where they were later picked up by the schooner Goldseeker, and landed at Melbourne. [TS1]
In 1848, involved in rescue - see schooner Matilda, lost Furneaux Group, 1848. [TS1]

John Dory. Fishing vessel, scallop boat, 30 tons. Built 1945. Lbd 15.24 x 4.88 x 2.13 metres. Skipper Bruce Godden. Vessel abandoned when she caught fire off Babel Island, Furneaux Group, 30 November 1983. Four crew saved. [TS2]

John Pirie. Schooner, 106 tons. Built at Aberdeen, UK, 1827; reg. Hobart, 21/1848.  Until June 1848 she had been on the Sydney register. Lbd 62-3 x 20-1 x 10-5 ft. Captain Edmund Lacey.  Sailed from Hobart for Port Albert on 25 August 1848, loaded livestock to return to Hobart, but failed to arrive. She was reported overdue on a voyage from Melbourne to Hobart, but there is no trace of a visit to Melbourne after Port Albert.  Finally, on 3 October 1850 a sealer named James Williams found wreckage on the south-western side of Prime Seal Island including the stern of a long boat bearing the name of the "Sir John Pirie of Sydney". [TS1]

Joseph Sims. Two-masted topsail auxiliary schooner, 99/74 tons. # 106171. Built Brisbane Water, NSW, 1898; reg. Hobart 2/1928. Lbd 88.0 x 23.0 x 7.4 ft.  Captain N. P. Foreness.Struck Passage Island, Furneaux Group, 1 June 1930. She was, apparently, a quite beautiful craft, one of the last sailing vessels to ply the eastern islands of Bass Strait. She was on her way from Melbourne to St.Helens, Tasmania with general cargo and sheep, a crew of seven and two passengers, when she grounded on the rocky islets south of Prime Seal Island. All hands landed safely, picked up by SS Colliboi, but all sheep were lost. There is a local story of an old A-Model Ford being raised from the vessel, and after a good hosing down, was used on Flinders Island for many years.
[LF],[#LI],[LAH],[TS2],[LSS],[DA]
Loney indicates: Captain Farness.
On 21 April 1914, suffered considerable damage at Burnie when blackwood logs were washed off the wharf and onto her decks during a severe gale.  She had to undergo extensive repairs at Devonport.
@ The author has dived the site - there is very little to identify a vessel. Glassware has been recovered.

Julia. Sealing boat. Involved in rescue - see brig Spec, Furneaux group, 1870.

Julia. Unknown type. After a heavy gale raged through Bass Strait on 4 May 1876, large quantities of wreckage from at least one ship were found around the islands of Bass Strait.  Much of it was believed to have come from the Essie Black which had foundered with all hands on or near the Kent Group during the previous December, but Captain C. Hinds of the cutter Rose reported finding a quantity of wreckage on the Sisters, north of Flinders Island, which included a virtually undamaged ship’s longboat branded “Julia, N. B. Cape St. John” according to one reference and “Julia of Shoalhaven: according to another. The vessel was never identified. [TS1],[LF]
Broxam and Nash add that: No vessel was reported missing around the time, and it is possible that the boat was one from some vessel, possibly obtained from another ship named the Julia and not renamed, that had been lost overboard during the gales.

Julie Burgess. Fishing boat.  Involved in salvage - see motor vessel Quest, Gull Island, eastern Bass Strait, 1950.

Kangaroo. Paddle steamer. Involved in rescue - see brig Governor Phillip, 1848. [LF]

Koh-I-Noor. Barque. Captain Thomas Allen.  Newcastle to Wallaroo struck the same rock which had brought disaster to the Bella Vista a month earlier, but was beached on Flinders Island before she sank, 3 July 1872. She was later refloated and reregistered at Launceston.  On being surveyed the obstruction was named the Koh-I-Noor Rock. [TS1]

Lady Nelson. Brig, 60 ton. Lieutenant James grant. First to sail through Bass Strait from the west, closely followed by Captain John Black in the brig Harbinger, December 1799. [NH]

Lawrence. Barque, collier, 309 tons. # 25864. Built at Harrington, Cumberland, England, 1832; reg. Sydney 40/1864. Lbd 115.3 x 24.8 x 16.8 ft. Captain Barneson. From Newcastle to Port Adelaide, ran onto shoals about twelve kilometres east off the east coast of Flinders Island, Furneaux Group, 29 August 1865.  The crew heaved coal overboard and she managed to float free twice, only to have the current carry their vessel ashore again; she finally filled, sank in shallow water and was abandoned, 31 August 1865. All hands saved. [TS1],[LF - Laurence, lost 29 July 1865]

Leederry. Auxiliary ketch, 124 tons. Built 1943. Saw service with the Australian Army, then followed periods in the timber industry and fishing trade.  Sold as a tender for scallop boats in Port Phillip she was on her delivery voyage when lost on Clarke Island, Furneaux Group, 1968. [LF]

Letitia. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see brig Amity, lost Furneaux group, 1845. [TS1]

Lily. Brig, 248 tons. # 28520. Built at Whitby, England, 1862; reg. Port Adelaide 8/1866. Lbd 100.3 x 25.4 x 15.2 ft. Captain James Malone. Ten days out of Newcastle for Port Adelaide with coal, encountered heavy westerly gales north of the Furneaux Group,  hit a rock, which the master believed to be uncharted, between Craggy Island and the Sisters, 23 December 1873.  She foundered in about three and a half fathoms within fifteen minutes of being abandoned. All hands landed safely on the Sisters, from where they were soon picked up by the schooner William, and landed at Melbourne. [TS1]

Lioness. Schooner, 58 tons. Lbd ? x 18.6 x 11.3 ft., Built at Prince Edward Island, 1849; reg. London.  Captain T. Ramsden.  After striking Moriarty’s Bank off Clarke Island, Furneaux Group, without warning, drifted onto rocks off South Head, Clarke Island, 21 March 1854. The mate and two of the crew crawled along the bowsprit and dropped onto the rocks, only to be washed away and drowned. The master, his wife and the four remaining crewmen reached safety via a line, but a passenger lost his grip and drowned.
The schooner Elizabeth and the vessel Hugh Roberts assisted in the return of the crew to Hobart. [TS1],[LF]

Litherland. Barque, 305 tons. Built at North Birkenhead, England, 1834; reg. Hobart, 36/1849, 15/1853. Lbd 101-8 x 25-10 x 16-10 ft. Formerly a whaler, refitted for general trade during the gold rush. Master and part-owner Captain James Smith. From Newcastle to Hobart Town with coal, wrecked amongst reefs off west point of Clark Island, Furneaux Group, 23 June 1853. The master, his wife and child, and crew of ten cleared the vessel in the boat before she sank.  All hands landed on Clarke Island, from where they were picked up by the schooner Scotia and landed at Hobart. The wreck was rediscovered in 1983, readily identifiable from the try-pots that had evidently not been removed.
[TS1],[LF]

Loch Lomond. Fishing vessel, 45 tons. Built Queenscliff, Victoria, 1945. Lbd 63 x 16.5 x 6 ft. Skipper-owner Noel Lade. Crew abandoned burning vessel when 10-12 miles west of Clarke Island, Furneaux Group, 23 July 1983. Vessel sank. Crew rescued by  fishing vessel Sea Hound.   [TS2]

Louisa. Whaling brig, 142 tons. # 32011. Built at St. Peters, Guernsey, Channel Islands, 1824; reg. Hobart  2/1855, 6/1863. Lbd 74.4 x 20.2 x 13.8 ft. Captain C. W. Bartlett. On 16 December 1882 the Louisa sailed from Hobart for Melbourne with a cargo of timber, but failed to arrive. She was last  seen off Bicheno on the evening of 17 December, from the ketch Starling. Victorian government steamer Despatch sent to search, without success. Was reported by the mate of the barque Victoria to have been a capsized vessel seen off Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, 5 March 1883, but  not positively identified. The captain had, in July, lost the brigantine Zephyr off Craggy Island, Furneaux group, but commended for his efforts in saving his crew. [TS1]

Luana. Auxiliary ketch-rigged fishing vessel, LFB 368 (TXB), 15 tons, 45.5 ft.  # 139361. Sank about eight miles east of the Pot Boil, Flinders Island, after a crypot line fouled the propeller, 23 August 1972. [TS2]

Lucy. Cutter. Involved in salvage -  see ship George Marshall, lost Furneaux Group, 1862

Lyena. Fishing vessel, 30.5 ft. Built Lady Barron, Flinders Island. Wrecked on rocks ashore, Flinders Island, late May 1958.

L’Enterprise. French schooner, 90 tons. From Bordeaux; rReg. Mauritius. Master Alexander le Corre. Left Port Jackson on 4 October 1802; while sealing, wrecked in a gale on one of the Sister Islands, off the northen end of Flinders Island Furneaux Group,  27 October, 1802. Master and several of the crew of twelve, possibly eight,  drowned.   Schooner Endeavour involved in rescue and salvage. Attempts to refloat her failed although most of her gear was salvaged and auctioned in Sydney. [LF],[TS1],[CF],[AS1]
Bateson states that “through some unexplained error”, she was entered into the NSW shipping register as Surprise. O’May states that some aaccounts claim she was refloated and sailed under the name Surprise.

Macquarie. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see schooner Apparition, lost in Furneaux Group, 1855.
Margaret. Sloop, 40 tons. John Ebden. From Hobart for Launceston, met heavy weather and sheltered under the lee of Clarke Island in the Furneaux group, and was driven from there on to a sandbank off Kent Bay, Cape Barren Island. The crew made safety on the island, but in attempting to save cargo, a boat was upset and one crew member drowned. It appears that the vessel was later ref;loated and repaired. [AS1]

Margaret Anne. Ferro-cement ketch-rigged motor fishing vessel, 54/32 tons. # 355455. Lbd 15.8 x 5.18 x 3.66 metres. Built Launceston, 1970. Skipper-owner Kelvin Wayne Cripps. Wrecked having run bow first onto a submerged reef off  Prime Seal Island, Furneaux Group, 23 April 1985. Three crew saved. [TS2]

Margaret Therese. Fishing vessel, scallop boat, LFB (N.S.W.) No. 6322. Lbd 18.28 x 5.79 x 2.43 metres. Skipper E. A. Turner. The Margaret Therese and the Mary Bernadette were working the scallop beds off West Sister Island in the Furneaux Group when their scallop dredges became entangled. In the process of separating them, the vessels collided and srung a plank on the Margaret Therese causing her to sink stern first, 5 July 1983. Four crew saved.

Mary. Barque, 368 tons. Built at Ipswich, UK, 1811; reg. London 75/1835, reg. Sydney on 8 October 1836, 3/1845. Lbd 106-6 x 28-2 x 5-9 ft. Captain R. H. Newby. Wrecked in Furneaux Group, 24 May 1845. From Sydney for London on 19 May 1845 with forty passengers and a valuable cargo, encountered heavy weather in Bass Strait, the captain deciding against his original intention to proceed via the Cape of Good Hope, and now torun with the wind for Cape Horn instead. However breakers were seen dead ahead and the barque crashed onto rocks off the north-western end of Flinders Island, probably Craggy Island Reef.  Although reports are contradictory, it appears that an infirm woman and least some of the children in steerage were drowned below decks and another woman was killed when crushed between two floating tallow casks. Other women and children were killed when the main-top fell. Although the entire crew had survived, four women and thirteen children, including the master’s three daughters, had been drowned either in the wreck itself or by the sinking of a whaleboat. The captain’s wife appears to have been saved. The dangerously overloaded long-boat, with forty-two survivors, headed for Flinders Island, landing eighteen miles from the wreck the following day. Captain Newby headed for the Tamar in the boat, and arrived at George Town.  The Government promptly engaged the cutter Alpha to rescue the remaining survivors, returning with twenty-four, while the schooner Alexander rescued the remainder. [TS1],[LI],[AS1]
Date of registration in Sydney and registration number do not seem to agree.

Mary. Schooner. When loading stores at Hobart for Port Arthur, was seized by a party of five convicts who headed for Victoria, but wrecked the vessel on the east coast of Clarke Island, Furneaux Group, December 1851. One drowned. The survivors robbed a local settler and stole a small boat; they apparently made the mainland as some were reported to have been recaptured in Victoria, and later hanged. [TS1]

Mary. Ketch, 26 tons. Originally built as a steamer. Dragged her anchors and went ashore at Bligh’s Point, Flinders Island, Furneaux Group, 26 June 1890. The captain, his wife and crew all reached safety. [LF]

Mary Bernadette. Scallop boat.  The Margaret Therese and the Mary Bernadette were working the scallop beds off West Sister Island in the Furneaux Group when their scallop dredges became entangled. In the process of separating them, the vessels collided and  spung a plank on the Margaret Therese causing her to sink stern first, 5 July 1983.

Matilda. Schooner, 47 tons. Built at Port Cygnet, Tasmania, 1846; reg. Hobart, 35/1846. Lbd 55.1 x 14.2 x 7.0 ft. Was loading guano at Babel Island, off the east coast of Flinders Island, when she went ashore, 2 September 1848.  The crew landed safely and after salvaging some gear, were rescued by the schooner John Bull (which had previously picked up the master of the wrecked Pedlar). [TS1],[AS1]

Melbourne. Steamship. Involved in the search for the misssing schooner Amelia J, vicinity Furneaux Group, Bass Strait, 1920.  [TS2]

Mercury. Schooner. Involved in salvage -  see ship George Marshall, lost Furneaux Group, 1862.

Merilyn. Wooden auxiliary ketch-rigged motor vessel,  239/98 tons. # 150164. Built Sydney, 1921; reg. Sydney 26/1921, Melbourne 2/1933, and Port Adelaide 5/1948. Lbd 110.0 x 26.8 x 9.2 ft. Originally built as the cargo steamer Narrabeen for use on Sydney Harbour, for many years she had been owned by William Holyman & Sons Pty. Ltd. and engaged in the Bass Strait Islands trade until sold to Adelaide interests in 1948, when converted from a steamer. Captain Frederick R. Angelin. Sailed from Altona, Victoria, for Hobart; in fog, ran into rocks at the north-eastern end of Goose Island, Furneaux Group, 24 November 1958. Crew of seven had landed on Goose Island. The cargo included 18 tons of explosives (gelignite), and as it was considered too dangerous to even attempt to salvage the vessel, she was blown up on 4 December 1958 by the Department of Mines.
[TS2],[LF],[#LI][LAH],[DA]
In July 1938, stranded at Whitemark, Flinders Island, Furneaux Group.
In November 1938, stranded at Hunters Island, Tasmania.
On 10 December 1955, on a voyage from Melbourne to Currie, hit rocks off the New Years Islands (western Bass Strait), and arrived at Currie with her decks almost awash.  After temporary repairs were made, she returned to Melbourne for repairs.
@ As could be imagined, there is little left of the vessel on the seabed. But the site, right close to shore, is excellent for marine life.

Missionary. Barque, 217 tons. # 24166. Built at Wallace, Nova Scotia, 1852; reg. Melbourne 7/1860. Lbd 132.1 x 25.2 x 9.2 ft. Captain W. Simpson. Left Hobart for Melbourne on 18 December 1860 with a cargo of timber, abandoned when on fire under the cabin deck, and sank about thirty miles west of Prime Seal Island, Furneaux Group. Crew made Prime Seal Island, then Goose Island, where they obtained additional provisions from the lighthouse staff, and continued on to Launceston. [TS1]
Moorean. Motor cray-fishing vessel, LFB No. 152 (T67), 11 tons. Built 1957; unregistered. Lbd 38.33 x 12.0 x 4.5 ft.  Skipper Edwin France. A craypot line fouled the propeller and the vessel drifted onto the rocks, wrecked, western point of Passage Island, Furneaux Group, 24 April 1975. Crew safe. [TS2]

Myrtle Burgess. Fishing ketch. Involved in rescue - see fishing ketch Anglo Svea, lost eastern Bass Strait, 1930. [TS2]

Narabeen. Steamer. See motor vessel Merilyn.

Nellie. Sailing boat. Broke her mooring line when at Babel Island, Furneaux group, and drifted off into the sunrise, literally, never to be seen again. [TS1]

Norfolk. Sloop, 25 ton. Built Norfolk Island. With Matthew flinders and George Bass, sent by Governor Hunter from Port Jackson on 7 October 1798, to “penetrate behind Furneaux’s Island and, should a strait be found, to pass through it...”. Although not passing all the way along, Bass and Flinders indeed ‘discovered’ Bass Strait. Governor Hunter was encouraged to seek out a strait after reports from the survivors of the Sydney Cove, lost in the Furneaux group, 1797. [NH]

Ocean Queen. Barque, 268 tons. Built Whitby, UK, 1831. Master (probably) Wilson. From London to Launceston,  hit a rock in a gale, under Isabella Island, Furneaux Group, and beached on the Flinders Island coast nine miles north of Gun Carriage Island, 11 July 1840.  After sundry repairs she was refloated on the 28th, and reached Launceston without further incident. No loss of life. [TS1],[LF],[AS1]

Orion. Steamship, 214/114 tons. # 101782. Built at West Devonport, Tasmania, 1900; reg. Launceston, reg. Melbourne 8/1904. Lbd 123.9 x 21.5 x 10.2 ft. Captain Arthur Lloyd. Sailed from Smithton for Melbourne on 6 May 1908, with master and 11 crew, 15 passengers, and a cargo of general produce; disappeared in an unknown area, possibly  somewhere west of Long Island, eastern Bass Strait. Wreckage of a vessel, possibly the Orion, was found scattered throughout the Furneaux Group, and she probably went down in a gale. Several vessels went in search of her:  tug Wybia was sent to search the coast of King Island, the Victorian Government’s steamer Lady Loch was sent to investigate the Victorian coast as far east as Wilson’s Promontory and the Bass Straits islands as far south as the Hogan Group. After several ships had unsuccessfully searched for her a resident on Flinders Island reported seeing rockets to the west at about the time she disappeared and some wreckage from her was eventually recovered on Long Island. Until the wreck of the Orion is located, any reconstruction of her final hours can only be speculative. [TS2],[LF]

Orson. Schooner. Involved in a collision with the ketch Phantom off Long Tom’s Nose, off George Town on the River Tamar. Both vessels suffered minor damage. [TS1]

Phantom. Ketch, 19 tons. # 78051. Built at Battery Point, West Tamar, 1877; reg. Launceston 16/1877. Lbd 46.8 x 14.1 x 5.6 ft. Master P. Loone. Drifted onto rocks in a gale, wrecked,  having completed loading a cargo of guano at Cat Island in the Furneaux Group, 11 February 1894. Crew rescued with the assistance of the ketch Florence. [TS1]
On 9 May 1882, involved in a collision with the schooner Orson off Long Tom’s Nose, off George Town on the River Tamar. Both vessels suffered minor damage.

Pilot. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see brig Wanderer, lost Furneaux Group, 1861. [TS1]

Planter. Barque, 263 tons. # 23410. Built at Dundee, Scotland, 1853; reg. Port Adelaide 12/1872. Lbd 99.0 x 24.8 x 15.5 ft. Captain Storey. From Newcastle for Port Adelaide with coal, encountered a gale on entering eastern Bass Strait, struck  a bank about five kilometres north of the Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, 15 June 1877. After bumping heavily for several hours the vessel drifted off, leaking severely; the master made Babel Island off the east coast of Flinders island where she was beached. The crew were picked up by the schooner F. W. Tucker, also sheltering under Babel Island, and taken to Melbourne. [TS1],[LF]

Platypus. HMAS. Involved in the search for the misssing schooner Amelia J, vicinity Furneaux Group, Bass Strait, 1920.  [TS2]

Quest.  Motor launch, twin-screw game-fishing vessel, 58 tons. Lbd 80.3 x 16.1 x 9.3 ft. Based on the British Harbour Defence Motor Launch design. Master Bern. Cuthbertson, Sr. Ashore under full power on the reef off Gull Island, just east of Cape Barren Island, eastern Bass Strait, 13 July 1950. The master with one of the crew rowed 20 miles to Lady Barron to raise the alarm. Rest of crew rescued by Victorian fishing vessel Busy Girl. The vessel was lost, however gear was salvaged by  fishing boat Weerutta II  and the tug Boyer from Hobart, the  Sheerwater from Launceston, and the fishing boat Julie Burgess.  [TS2], [LF]

Rebecca. Barque, 261 tons. # 43321. Built at Williamsburg, New York State, USA, 1854; reg. Melbourne 4/1863. Lbd 113.5 x 25.0 x 11.9 ft.Captain Robert Adams. Having left Port Albert for Dunedin on 13 February 1863 with twelve passengers and a cargo of cattle, encourtered heavy weather in Bass Strait and ran onto a reef off the south-western point of Clarke Island, 17 February 1863. She drifted off, and grounded closer to shore but soon broke up. All hands saved, but mot of  the cattle were lost.  The American barque Theoda, Melbourne to Dunedin, picked up the passengers and took them on to their intended destination. The cutter Stormbird asssisted rescue of the crew and later returned for salvage. [TS1,][LF]

Red Rover. Schooner, 65 tons.Built at Exeter on the Tamar River, 1849; reg. Launceston 10/1848; reg.  Hobart, 44/1854.  Lbd 61.0 x 17.8 x 9.5 ft. Captain Brown. Wrecked ashore during a thick fog, on Cape Barren Island, Furneau Group, 8 September 1855 - within twenty-four hours of the loss of the barque Belle Creaole nearby. The captain and crew of six  reached Swan Island, from where they were soon picked by the schooner Euphemia and landed at Hobart. They were on their way to Warrnambool, out of Hobart, with timber. [TS1],[LF]
In 1854, involved in rescue - see barque Berwick Castle, lost in Furneaux Group, 1854. [TS1]

Rembrandt. Barque, 481 tons. Built at Bremen, Germany, 1858; reg. Bremen. Captain Ficke. From Newcastle to Melbourne with coal, encountered a gale at  the eastern entrance to Bass Strait, and sank, 16 April 1861. Only one boat, containing the master, chief mate and two crew, managed to clear the wreck before she went down, taking with her the one passenger and ten of the crew. [TS1]
Broxam and Nash indicate that most reports of the sinking put her off the Ninety Mile Beach, eastern Victoria, however the master’s last given position places her loss off the north-east coast of Flinders Island, Furneaux group, between the Sisters and Babel Islands.

Result. Barque, 724 tons. # 66553. Built at Medford, USA, 1852 as the full-rigged ship Polar Star, but was renamed on registration as a British ship in 1873; when lost was registered at Melbourne 19/1878,  in the name of Huddart, Parker & Co. Lbd 146.6 x 30.2 x 22.8 ft. Captain McMaster. On 26 September 1880, sailed from Newcastle for Melbourne with 1100 tons of coal, and full complement of fourteen, plus the master’s wife and chiild, but last seen at the eastern entrance to Bass Strait by the barque Sydney Griffiths on 4 October 1880. HMCS Victoria left Melbourne to search the Victorian coast and the Bass Strait Islands for any trace of the missing ship, without success. In 1972 abalone divers discovered a wreck off Point Hicks, Victoria which was speculated to be the Result, but this was never confirmed and she could just as easily have come to grief anywhere in eastern Bass Strait. [TS1]
On 2 July 1875,  stranded at Port Stephens while on a voyage from Newcastle for Port Adelaide with coal, but after being abandoned as a total wreck was later refloated and repaired.

Ripple. Cutter. Captain J. Armstrong. Found the wrecked ketch Agness on Badger Island, Furneaux Group, 22 February 1885.

Robin Hood. Brig, 297 tons. Bound from New Zealand to Adelaide with timber, struck a rock while taking shelter under the eastern side of Hummock Island, Furneaux Group, 27 December 1884. She broke her back, then quickly filled.  Some time later the hull was apparently refloated and towed to Hobart Town where an unsuccessful attempt was made to repair her. [LF]

Romp. Fishing cutter. Possibly 11 tons, built Hobart 1892. Wrecked at Cone Point on Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group,  30 July 1931. Owner-crew, Frank Le Terre and Bob Tonas.  [TS2]

Ronald John. Crayfishing vessel, 24 tons, 50 ft. Unregistered. Skipper-owner Reginald Morris. Engine seized in a gale eight miles off Babel Island, Furneaux Group, foundred, 27 August 1968.  Two crew rescued. [TS2]

Royal William. Cutter. Involved in salvage - see brig Sir William Wallace, Furneaux Group, 1858. [TS1]

Ruby. Ketch, 20 gross. # 78059.  Built on the Mersey River, Tasmania, 1877;  reg. Launceston, 15/1877. Lbd 48.6 x 13.6 x 5.6 ft. Captain James A. Dargaville. Dragged her anchors, ashore, wrecked,  Kangaroo Island (probably East Kangaroo Island, south-west of Whitemark), Furneau Group, 12 November 1902.  She had left Launceston for the Furneaux Group with four passengers and general cargo on 25 October 1902.  The crew landed safely and reached Launceston in the cutter Shamrock. [TS2]
On 20 January 1881, under master-owner Anderson Dargaville, stranded at Whales Head on west coast Tasmania; refloated four weeks later.
In August 1878, stranded on the bar at St. Helens, Tasmania.

Sandy. Fishing vessel, scallop boat, LFB U9E, 16 tons. Built 1981. Lbd 12.43 x 3.79 x 1.6 metres.  Master and part-owner John Stavrinos. Sank in 34 fathoms about twelve miles east of Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, 10 August 1987. Two crew safe. [TS2]

Sans Souci. Ketch-rigged auxiliary yacht. See Windcall.

Sarah Ann Blanche. Schooner, 16 tons. # 61047. Built at Sulphur Creek, Tasmania, 1871; reg. Launceston 3/1871. Lbd  44.8 x 14.6 x 5.3 ft. Master-owner John Burgess. Was at anchor under Chappell Island, loading mutton-bird oil for Launceston, when she parted from her moorings in strong winds and drifted offshore on the south-western end of Flinders Island, 6 April 1872. The only person on board was the owners young son Richard, who crawled along the bowsprit and dropped onto the rocks. He was later rescued by searchers looking for the missing vessel. Ricahrd Burgess was to become one of the best-known operators of fishing vessels in Bass Strait. [TS1],[LF]

Scotia. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see barque Litherland, lost Furneaux Group, 1853. [TS1]

Sea Hound. Fishing vessel. Involved in rescue - see fishing vessel Loch Lomond, lost Furneaux Group, 1983. [TS2]

Sea Nymph. Brig, 289 tons. # 50399. Built at Shoreham, UK, 1865; reg. Sydney 101/1882. Lbd 119.0 x 26.5 x 14.9 ft. Captain John Moreton. Sailed from Maryborough, Queensland for Melbourne on 10 February 1883 with a cargo of cedar but failed to arrive. In April the Victorian Government steamer Despatch was sent out in search of the Sea Nymph and the schooner John & Jane, missing on a voyage from Melbourne to Cape Barren Island, but found no trace of either.  It does, however, appear possible that she capsized west of the Furneaux Group and her upturned hull was mistaken for the Louisa, (qv), missing late the previous year. On 27 April 1883 the lower mast of a large sailing vessel was reported off Eddystone Point from the Allenshaw, and may also have been a relic from either the Louisa or Sea Nymph.[TS1]
On 9 June 1882, was run down and sank in Sydney Harbour by SS Arawatta, but later refloated and repaired

Seymour. Ketch. Involved in rescue - see barque Isabella, lost Furneaux Group, 1869.

Shamrock. Cutter. Involved in rescue - see ketch Ruby, lost Furneaux group, 1902. [TS2]

Shanidar. Ferro-concrete motor fishing trawler, 73/49 tons. # 355470. Built at Portland, Victoria; reg. Melbourne 9/1974. Lbd 56.8 x 18.5 x 7.9 ft. Skipper Robert Bedford. Foundered, north-east of Flinders Island, 27 June 1982. Crew safe.

Sheerwater. Fishing boat.  Involved in salvage - see motor vessel Quest, Gull Island, eastern Bass Strait, 1950.

Sir John Pirie. The stern of a wrecked longboat, with the name “Sir John Pirie”, was found by a sealer on Prime Seal Island, Furneaux Group, 3 October 1850. It possibly came from the schooner John Pirie which disappeared after leaving Port Albert for Hobart on 25 August 1848.

Sir William Wallace. Brig, 225 tons. Built at Bombay, India as the Bengal pilot brig Guide, 1817; reg. Hobart 1/1845. Lbd 31,995 78.1 x 21.5 x 16.5 ft. First arrived at Hobart on 22 June 1848 from Mauritius with a cargo including sugar and rum.  She was sold and converted into a whaler, in which capacity she operated for many years. Captain Smith. From Melbourne to Hobart Town, ashore in a fog when her anchors parted, Fawcetts (Forsyth) Island, Furneaux Group (near Moriaty’s Bank, off Cape Barren Island), 18 March 1858. Some crew rescyed by the barque Glencoe; cutter Royal William sent to recover the salvage. [TS1],[LF]

Siroc. See brig Williamstown, lost Furneaux Group, 1858.

Skipjack. Fishing vessel, double-ender. Built mid 1940s. Said to have been wrecked on Preservation Island, Furneaux Group, after parting from her anchors while the crew were on shore. [TS2]

Southern Cross. Steamship.
Involved in rescue - see barque Golden Age, 1871. [LF]
Involved in rescue - see brigantine Francis Gertrude, Furneau Group, 1877.
Involved in rescue - see schooner Gold, Furneaux Group, 1887. [LF]

Spec. Brig, 258 tons. # 43328. Built at Stockholm, Sweden, 1856; reg. Melbourne 22/1863. Lbd 101.5 x 26.5 x 14.6 ft. Captain R. Adams. From Lyttleton, New Zealand for Melbourne with a cargo of produce, called at Hobart on 30 October for further orders before continuing on for Melbourne;  well into Bass  Strait encountered gale-force winds, struck an uncharted bank when attempting to seek shelter under Preservation Island, 29 November 1870. She came off the following day but  was leaking badly so beached on Clarke Island, where she boke up. Crew reached Launceston on board the sealing boat Julia, and the salvage was picked up by the schooner Ann. [TS1],[LF]
Just prior to being lost, the brig offered assistance to the barque Eucalyptus in Bank’s Strait but not required, as the barque was abandoned as she broke up.

Spray. Brigantine, 103 tons. # 33439. Built at Gaysborough, Nova Scotia, 1851;  reg. Melbourne 16/1866. Lbd 81.2 x 20.5 x 10.4 ft. Master-owner Michael Vincent Hurley. From Circular Head for Brisbane with potatoes, wrecked at Prime Seal (Hummock) Island, 31 August 1867. All hands saved. [TS1]

St.Kilda. Iron three-masted schooner, 189 tons.  Captain John Connor. From Greymouth, New Zealand, for Melbourne, collided with the collier barque Sea Gull off Babel Island, eastern Bass Strait, 27 December 1879. The St. Kilda continued on her way to Melbourne with survivors from the barque, signaling news of the mishap when passing Wilson’s Promontory on 1 January 1879, and arriving safely on the following day. [TS2]

Stag. Barque, 312 tons.  Stranded in the Furneaux Group, but refloated, 1882 [LF]

Starling. Ketch. Last to see the missing brig Louisa when off Bicheno, 17 December 1882.

Stormbird. Cutter. Involved in rescue and salvage - see barque Rebecca. Lost Furneaux Group, 1863.
Summer Cloud. Ketch, 7 tons. # 61061. Built at Launceston, 1873; reg. Launceston 6A/1873. Lbd 36.0 x 10.1 x 3.8 ft. Parted her cables in a gale and driven ashore, wrecked,  Woody (now Anderson) Island, Furneaux Group, 11 November 1875. [TS1]
In 1875, involved in rscuee - see ship Cambridgeshire, lost Furneaux Group.

Surprise. Fishing boat. Lost in Bass Strait, part of the wreck being reported found at Babel Island in December, 1929. [TS2]

Swan River Packet. Schooner,  79 tons. Built at Bombay, India, 1801, as something other than that reg,. Hobart, 11/1837, 37/1853. Lbd 65.8 x 17.0 x 7.5 ft. Apparently renamed in 1831. Captain William Wylie.From Hobart to Melbourne, aground on Rabbit Island, presumably the one in the Furneaux Group, end August 1853. The crew took to the boat and headed for the Tasmanian mainland, landing just south of Four Mile Creek, near Falmouth.  Unfortunately there has been a recent breakout of convicts, and a party of police  mistook them for their quarry and opened fire, two being killed and a third fatally injured. Despite calls for an inquiry, none seems to have been held, or at least not reported in the press. [TS1]

Sydney Cove. Believed to have originally been built in India as the snow Begum Shaw, and was engaged in the trade in Indian and south-east Asia, 1796.  She was then acquired by Calcutta merchants Campbell, Clark & Co., refitted as a full-rigged ship, and renamed Sydney Cove for the Port Jackson trade, with  Guy Hamilton remaining as captain. Bound from-India to Port Jackson, via southern waters, the ship leaked badly and was eventually beached on a small island now known as Preservation Island in the Furneaux Group, eastern Bass Strait, 8 February 1797.  While her cargo was being unloaded, five Europeans and twelve Lascars set out for Port Jackson to secure help.  They were driven ashore to the south of Cape Howe, far eastern Victoria, on 2 March 1797. The launch capsized in the surf and was badly damaged, but all hands reached the shore and after resting, commenced the trek overland to Sydney. Two white sailors and all the Lascars died during the two months' journey, but the survivors were picked up by a fishing party near Botany Bay and taken to Sydney. When word of the loss of The Sydney Cove reached Sydney, the sloop Francis and the decked long boat Eliza, 10 tons, were sent to the wreck.  After loading cargo both set out to return to Sydney.  The Eliza, carrying, a crew of seven or eight was not seen again, being presumed lost in a heavy gale which sprang up without warning shortlv after both vessels sailed. Of the remainder of the crew at the wreck, twenty five were rescued in July by the schooner Francis  and make Port Jackson safely. Divers discovered the remains of the Sydney Cove on 1 January 1977, and it is now protected as an Historic Shipwreck.The loss of the Sydney Cove is important in Australia’s maritime history. The vessel represented the beginnings of trade with the outside world, thus enabling Australia to move from its limited status as a convict outpost, to a colony of settlement and eventually a nation.  That the ship did not make it to Port Jackson does not diminish its significance, even though she is now known as the first merchant vessel to be wrecked in Australian waters after the establishment of the colony. In addition, the various sea journeys associated with the wreck of the Sydney Cove contributed to the recognition of Tasmania as an island and the discovery of Bass Strait. The discovery of fur seals on the islands of Bass Strait led to the establishment of Australia’s first export industry, and to the unofficial settlement of Tasmania.
 [LF],[LI],[#NH],[#ASW6],[TS1],[#CC],[AS1],[LWP],[LAH],[LG],[DA]
@ Her wrecksite was discovered in 1977, resulting in the recovery of a canon and other artifacts, and several archaeology surveys. What little remains lie in only six metres, covered in sand.
Several reports indicate that the ship's boat was cast up on the Ninety Mile Beach, which is considerably west of Cape Howe.

Sydney Griffiths. Barque. Last to see the lost barque Result, at the eastern entrance to Bass Strait, 4 October 1880. [TS1]

Tasman. Cutter, 12 tons. Under tow, was crossing the Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, when she capsized, March 1891. No lives lost. [LF]

Tasmania. Steamer.  Involved in rescue - see brig Wanderer, lost Furneaux Group, 1861. [TS1]

Taswegian. Fishing vessel. Assisted in salvage - see fishing vessel Clarinda, Furneaux Group, 1959. [TS2]

Theoda. American barque.  Involved in rescue - see barque Rebecca. Lost Furneaux Group, 1863.
Titania. Schooner. Involved in rescue and salvage - see ship George Marshall, lost Furneaux Group, 1862.

Togo. Cutter, 27-9 ft. Sank near Cape Barren Island with a party of ten mutton-birders, 9 May 1948. All saved.  [TS2],[LF]

Tommy. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see brig Williamstown, lost Tasmania, 1859. [TS1]

Toroa. Motor launch. Involved in the search for the misssing schooner Amelia J, vicinity Furneaux Group, Bass Strait, 1920.  [TS2]

Toroa. Steel coastal steamship, 388/174 tons. # 37119. Built Preston, UK, 1899; reg. Melbourne, 9/1908. Lbd 140.0 x 24.2 x 10.0 ft. Union Steamship Company of New Zealand Ltd; sold 1908 to William Holyman & Sons Ltd., who had acquired her as a replacement for the Orion (qv). At one time was supply vessel to the Mawson Antarctic Expedition to Macquarie Island with Thomas Holyman as master. Master George Cartwright. From Launceston for the Furneaux Group with passengers and sheep, struck a reef about a quarter of a mile west of Rabbit Island, 11 April 1916. Forty-one crew and passengers saved. Tug Wybia sent from launceston to refloat the vessel but it was too late - the Toroa had parted amidships and was a total wreck. The tug took the vessel’s crew and passengers on board, and returned them to Launceston.   [TS2],[LF],[RW],[TS2]
In May 1910, ashore at Ulverstone, Tasmania; refloated, undamaged.
Some reports say she was an iron vessel, and struck 12 April 1916.

Twins. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see schooner Euphemia, Funeaux Group, 1858. [TS1]

Union. Brigantine, 251 tons. # 46168. Built at Hamilton, West Canada, 1857;reg. Melbourne 22/1864. Lbd 133.3 x 26.4 x 11.0 ft. Captain Andrews. Sprang a leak and foundered about ten miles from Babel Island, Furneaux Group, 26 October 1868.  All reached Swan Island safely in the boat, and were picked up by SS Southern Cross. [TS1]

V.J.P.  Auxiliary fishing ketch, 21/18 tons. # 159558. Built Launceston, 1935; reg. Melbourne 2/1936. Lbd 42.15 x 13.85 x 6.3 ft. During a gale, wrecked ashore,  south-east coast of Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, April 1938. [TS2]

Vansittart. Government cutter. Searched in vain for the lost barque Britomart, 1839. [LF]

Victoria. Barque. Captain Shimmons. On 15 March 1883, reported the capsized hull of a vessel when well east of vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, and reported it as possibly that of the losst brig Louisa, but it was never positively identified. [TS1]

Victoria. HMCS. Searched the Victorian coastline for the lost barque Result, without result, literally, 1880.

Wanderer. Brig, 140 tons. # 31781. Built at Sydney, 1850; reg. Sydney 64/1852. Lbd 84.4 x 22.0 x 9.4ft. Captain J. B. Smith. From Newcastle to Port Adelaide with coal and maize, in a gale ran bow-first onto a small island at the south-eastern end of Cape Barren Island, possibly Gull Island, wrecked, 8 July 1861.  As the long-boat broke up on deck, the crew landed on the island with great difficulty in a smaller boat; after four and a half days subsisting on two pumpkins that washed up from the wreck, were picked up by the schooner Pilot, transferred to the SS Tasmania and landed at Hobart. [TS1],[LF]

Water Witch. Cutter. Involved in rescue - see brig Foam, lost Clarke Island, Furneaux Group, 1964. [TS1].

Weerutta II. Fishing boat. Involved in salvage - see motor vessel Quest, Gull Island, eastern Bass Strait, 1950.

William. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see brig Lily, lost eastern Bass Strait, 1873.

Williams. Paddle-steamer, tug. Sent to Flinders Island to try and refloat the ship City of Foochow stranded on a beach on the west coast, but was not successful as the ship had gradually buried itself in the sand. [TS1]

Williamstown. Brig, 140 tons. # 31767. Built at Eastport, Maine, USA, 1836 as the Siroc; reg. Melbourne, 9/1854. Lbd 82.2 x 22.2 x 9.7ft. Captain D. S. Rich. Abandoned in a leaking condition during heavy weather, forty miles off Babel Island, Furneaux Group, 25 November 1858.  After much difficulty, the boat landed on Babel Island with the eight crew, and when the weather improved, continued on to Prime Seal and Goose Island. The schooner Tommy assisted in the rescue. [TS1],[LF]

Windcall. Ketch-rigged auxiliary yacht,  32ft. Originally named the Sans Souci.  Master-owner Lionel Smith. Left Dunally for Melbourne on or about 10 September 1952 with only the master on board, disappeared in a gale. A search was conducted and on the 22 September the vessel was found stranded on the spit between Babel and Flinders Islands, with her owner safe on the beach. [TS2]

Wybia. Tug. Out of Launceston, went to the assistance of the steamer Toroa, lost off Rabbit Island, Furneaux group, 11 April 1916, but was unable top prevent her loss.  [TS2]

Yarra Yarra. Paddle steamer. Involved in rescue - see brigantine Antaries, lost in Furneaux Group, 1853. [TS1]

Zephyr. Brigantine, 90 tons. # 48403. Built at Apenrade, Denmark, 1846, as the Anna Catherina; reg. Melbourne 41/1864, Hobart 11/1868. Renamd in 1864. Lbd 74.4 x 20.4 x 10.5ft. Refitted as a whaler in 1868. Captain C. W. Bartlett. From Melbourne for Hobart with general cargo, wrecked in a gale on Craggy Island, north-west Furneaux Group, 14 July 1882. Master and the five crew headed for the Kent Group in the ship’s boat and with great difficulty, landed in a small cove on the south-east side of Deal Island after 36 hours of heavt toil. The vessel Dauntless took the Zephyr’s crew to George Town; then to Launceston on SS Devon. [TS1],[LF - indicates  driven on to the Beagle Reef off Craggy Island and wrecked]. Broxam and Nash indicate she cleared Beagle Reef, passed Wright’s Rock and hit Craggy Island.
In 1874, given up as a total wreck after stranding at Port Davey on 4 November 1877.
On 28 April 1866, stranded at Stewart Island, N.Z.

UNIDENTIFIED.

Unknown. 1876. Wreckage found on the Sisters, eastern Bass Strait, 1876. See vessel Julia.

Unidentified. 1880. Tasmanian coaster. Sank at Cape Barren Island, Furneaux Group, August 1880. Two loves lost. The vessel may have been refloated. [TS1]

Unidentified. 1882. The capsized hull of a large copper-sheathed vessel was found well east of Vansittart Shoals, Furneaux Group, by the barque Victoria on 5 March 1883. It was reported as being, possibly, that of the brig Louisa, which sailed from Hobart for Melbourne on 16 December 1882 but failed to arrive. The derelict could equally well have been the Sea Nymph (qv) which was not realised to be missing at the time. [TS1]