KENT GROUP SHIPWRECKS                                             Enter here to bring up frames page with book codes if not already loaded.

The eastern Bass Strait islands of the Kent Group lie 85 km SSE off Wilsons Promontory (Victoria) and consist of four larger islands - Deal, Erith, Dover and NE Isle; and three other smaller exposed rocks. The largest of the group is Deal Island, rising 290 m at the south end near the lighthouse. The island is 5.6 km long and 4 km wide. Erith Island rises to 142 m and Dover to 235 m so they are all quite substantial islands. Erith and Dover are connected at low water via a natural causeway called the Swashway. Murray Pass divides Deal Island from the west isles of Erith and Dover; it is 800 m wide with depths reaching 33 fathoms. They are politically part of Tasmania. Although the group has always been a popular haven for old sailing vessels and modern yachts alike, at least eighteen vessels have been wrecked around the island. Of these, the locations of only three have been positively identified. The islands are the most attractive in Bass strait, and provide safe anchorages in picturesque West Cove (Erith Island) and East Cove or Browns Bay (Deal Island). The magnificent lighthouse, the highest light in the southern hemisphere, was built in 1848. Most of the vessels lost in and around the islands were small schooners, brigs, barques and ketches. The largest vessel lost was that of the steamship Karitane, 1376 tons, which crashed into cliffs directly below the lighthouse on Christmas Eve, 1920. The collier Bulli, 524 tons, is second on the list, sitting upright on the bottom of West Cove. The Buli, in particular, is a popular dive.

Reference.
Broxam and Nash [TS1},[TS2], and Loney [NV] provide the greater part of information on the island wrecks. Stone [LI],[DA] adds personal experiences of diving the wrecks in the group.
(83 records)

Associated links:  FURNEAUX GROUP      TASMANIA      KING ISLAND



Agnes. Schooner, 113 tons. Captain Foyle. Involved in rescue - see schooner Elizabeth Mason, wrecked in Kent Group, 1855. [TS1]

Albert. Victorian Government schooner. Involved in rescue - see brig Oberlin, Hogan Group, 1875.
Opossum. Government cutter. Sent to rescue and salvage - see snow rigged Ionia, wrecked in Kent Group, 1831.

Anglo Saxon. Barque. Involved in rescue -see schooner Boscarne, Kent Group, 1866. [LV]

Ann & Mary. Three-masted schooner, 202/185 tons. # 42578. Built at Quay Back, Cardiganshire, Wales, 1861; reg. Newcastle 3/1886. Lbd 109.4 x 23.1 x 12.0 ft. Captain Campbell. From the Mersey River for Brisbane with potatoes, encountered a heavy south-easterly gale and foundered north-east of the Kent Group, (possibly in Victorian waters), 25 June 1887. Two boats were lunched but the cook was missing, presumed drowned. They made the Gippslandd coast but the surf was high and the master drowned when they were upset. [TS1]

Bitter Beer. Schooner. Disappeared without trace in a gale, Bass Strait,  1866. [LV]

Boscarne. Composite schooner, 63 tons. # 36969. Built at Liverpool, UK, 1852; reg. Melbourne 19/1860. Lbd 67.6 x 16.3 x 7.5 ft. Captain Black. From Hokitika, New Zealand, for Melbourne, encountered gales in Bass Strait and sought shelter under the Kent Group, but when her anchor failed to hold, went ashore at Erith Island and broke up, 26 January 1866. The Deal Island lighthouse boat rescued all hands; taken off by the barque Anglo Saxon and landed at Melbourne.
On 21 July 1862, stranded at the Inglis River, Tasmania, butrefloated.
[TS1],[LV - lost 13 January]

Britannia. A boat believed from the Britannia was later discovered washed up on the beach near Cape Howe. [LV]

Brothers. Schooner, 40 tons. Captain William H. Hovell. Built Sydney by James and William Jenkins, 1809. First recorded loss on the Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, 25 June 1816. Bound for Sydney from Kangaroo Island and van Diemen’s Land, caught by an easterly gale in West Cove, Erith Island, and drifted ashore. One seaman drowned. In an attempt to escape their isolated island, Hovell made a coracle, a basket covered with seal skins. The castaways reswere cued by the brig Spring.. It was Hovell who joined Hamilton Hume on their epic land journey in 1824 to WesternPort and Port Phillip, during which they used a coracle to cross the Murray. [LI],[TS1],[ASW1],[JM],[LG]

Bulli. Iron screw steamer, collier, 524/337 tons. # 64409. Built at Greenwich, London, 1872; reg. Sydney 6/1873 in the name of The Bulli Coal Mining Company. Lbd 180.1 x 23.2 x 15.9 ft. Captain Randell. From Bulli, NSW for Point Lempriere, River Tamar, encountering southerly gales in Bass Strait, and dropped anchored at West Cove, Erith Island in the Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, 28 June 1877. With apparently improved conditions, the steamer left its anchorage briefly, but on returning, and struck an unchartered rock, causing a major leak in the bow. She was anchored again in West Cove but sank rapidly. All twenty-seven hands landed on Erith Island; the following day SS Tararua answered their signals of distress and landed them at Melbourne.  In 1879 Mr. E. H. T. Bottrel of Sydney formed a company to refloat the vessel, and after over two years of work, was reported to have been close to success when a gale in March 1882 destroyed the lighters brought to the Kent Group for the purpose.
[TS1],[LV],[LI],[LV],[LAH],[DG],[LG]
@ In 1977 on the anniversary of her sinking, the author tracked down the owners off the Bulli and attempted to purchase the wreck, to avoid indisciminate damage due to over zealous wreck scavengers. The offer was refused with legal advice in that had it been accepted, the ‘alleged’ owners would have thus been liable for any litigation in the future, should the sale have fallen through - in other words, they denied ownership. The vessel was subsequently protected under the Historic Shipwreck Act. The wreck was an excellent dive in only 20 metres maximum, sitting upright on a sandy bottom, until the RAN dragged an achor through her in the early 1990s, causing considerably damage. So much for the protection of the Act.

Burra Burra. Coal carrier. Wrecked on the Sisters Rocks near the Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, June 1859.The crew managed to repair the ship’s boat and row across to Deal Island, and safety. [LV]

Cavalier. See Karitane, lost on Deal island, 1921.

Christina Fraser. Steamship. Left Newcastle for Geelong  and was last sighted hove to in a strong gale about six miles south of Gabo, 1933. An extensive sea and air search failed to find any trace of her, but wreckage washed ashore near Lakes Entrance. [LV]

Circassian. Schooner. Reported sighting wrecked General Jessop, Kent Group, 1863.

Coral. Ketch. Ashore at Deal Island, Kent Group, 1882. Refloated. [TS1]

Daphne. Brig, 151 tons. Built at Java; arrived Australia in 1814. Owned by William Campbell of Sydney.  Captain John Howard. Left Port Jackson on 10 October 1819 bound for India; took shelter from a gale in the Kent Group, eastern bass Strait, but was driven ashore and lost. The survivors camped near the wreck while the master set out for the Tasmanian mainland, their objective being Port Dalrymple, but strong winds forced them down the east coast of Tasmania and they finally made Hobart on 14 November. The sloop Governor Sorell set out to rescue the survivors, but disappearing without trace.  Meanwhile, the brig John Palmer had rescued the castaways, but was also wrecked when she missed stays, so it was several months before all the survivors were rescued. [LV],[LI],[TS1],ASW1]

Dew Drop. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see schooner Pedlar, Kent Group, 1848. [TS1]

Dorothea. Auxiliary shark boat, 33 ft. Unregistered sailed from Deal Island for Port Albert on 15 August 1936, with three crew, and when she had not arrived a few days later, an air-sea search commenced.  No trace was reported. [TS2]
 

Dorset. Brig, 82 tons. Built at Liverpool, UK, 1838; reg. Melbourne, 7/1852. Lbd 70.8 x 15.8 x 9.2 ft. Captain Birdwood. Left Hobart for Melbourne on 21 May 1852 with twenty-nine passengers; was wrecked on the Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, 28 May 1852. All hands landed safely, and recovered much of the cargo.  Some of her complement arrived at Geelong on board the brigantine Margaret and Mary; others at Melbourne on board the schooner Lady Leigh. [TS1],[LV]

E.H.Purdon. Ketch. Imvolved in rescue. See fishing ketch Mary, lost Flinders island, 1900. [TS2]

Elizabeth Mason. Schooner, 79 tons. Lbd 72.4 x 21.5 x 6.6 ft. Built at Dorchester, Maryland, USA, 1847,  as the Sardina; reg. Melbourne, 36/1854. Captain McIntyre. From New Zealand to Geelong with potatoes, wrecked on the Kent Group, 1 June 1855. All hands saved.  The master and two crewmen were eventually picked up by the schooner Agnes, while the remainder were picked up by the barque Nautilus. [TS1],[LV - lost 15 June]

Enterprise. Schooner, wood, 84 tons. Built 1866. Wrecked in the Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, August, 1881. Ashore in East Cove (Deal Island, Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait) after parting her cables. No lives lost. In 1877, a schooner of this name was stranded at Lakes Entrance, Gippsland coast. [LG],[LV]

Essie Black. Barque, 281 tons. # 51710. Built at Bordeaux, France as the Gironde, 1856; reg. Sydney 39/1869. Lbd 110.6 x 26.0 x 13.8 ft. Captain Thomas I. Sivier. From Newcastle to Port Adelaide with coal, wrecked on or foundered in the vicinity of the Kent Group, on or about 1 December 1875. All hands lost. After a gale lashed the Kent Group, the lighthouse staff found large quantities of wreckage washed ashore, including her stern with name legible. [TS1]

Euphemia. Schooner. Lost on the Sisters Rocks near the Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, July 1858. [LV]

Evergreen. Ketch. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, 1906. [LV]

Fear Not. Schooner, 22 tons. # 64804. Built at Williamstown, Victoria, 1875; reg. Melbourne 22/1875. Lbd 53.3 x 14.8 x 5.1 ft. Master-owner H. Dunkley. From Lakes Entrance to Melbourne with timber, anchored off the Hogan Group in a squall but parted her cables and went ashore, wrecked,  on the north-eastern point of Big Hogan Island, 25 July 1882. Crew crawled along the boom and dropped onto the rocks. After spending some days subsisting on penguins and fish, the weather moderated enough for the crew to reach the Latrobe Island lighthouse in the dinghy. [TS1],[LV]

General Jessup. (General Jessop). Barque, 193 tons. # 41475. Built at Philadelphia, USA, 1848; reg. Melbourne 287/1854. Lbd 99.4 x 23.4 x 8.0 ft. Captain Hodge. Sailed from Hobart for Port Albert on 25 June 1863; encountered a gale and bore up to the Kent Group to shelter, however when anchored off Deal Island, dragged her anchors and went broadside onto the beach, July 1863. All hands landed safely and recovered much of the vessel’s gear, before most were picked up by the schooner Vibilia. A month later the master of the schooner Circassian reported that the wreck had been washed high up on the beach. The gale claimed six vessels on the Victorian coast. [TS1]
Loney states:
General Jessop. Barque, 194 tons. Built 1848. Was riding out a gale in West Cove, Erith Island, Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait,  when she parted her cables and went ashore, becoming a total wreck, 1863. [LV],[LI],[LPA],[LG - General Jessop].
In 2001, the Maritime Archaeology Association of Victoria found ship’s timbers off Erith Island, Kent Group, believed to be those of the General Jessup.

Governor Sorell. Sloop. Built Hobart, 1819. Unregistered. Sailed from Hobart for the Kent Group on 18 November 1819, under charter to Captain John Howard of the brig Daphne that had been wrecked there on 26 October.  After a lengthy passage the sloop arrived at the scene of the wreck on 27 November, loaded most of the Daphne’s gear which Howard intended to fit on a new hull he was building in Hobart, rescued those survivors still remaining with the wreck, and set off back to Hobart. She was never seen or heard from again. Wreckage found on  Gun Carriage (later Vansittart) Island was identified as being from the sloop by one of the crew of the Governor Sorell left behind to look after the salvage. [TS1],[LV],[ASW1]

Gratitude. Barque. Involved in rescue - see brig Mary, lost in the Kent Group, 1852. [TS1]

Grecian Queen. vanished between Melbourne and Newcastle; believed lost in Bass Strait, 1863.  [LV]

Handa Isle. Three-masted schooner. Destroyed by fire about midway between Cape Schanck and Wilson’s Promontory, October 1919. [LV]

Harlech Castle. Ship. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, 1870. [LV]

Ida. Wooden schooner, 50 tons. Lbd 56.5 x 14.5 x 8.6 ft. Built and reg. at Launceston, 11/1849, 6/1850. Captain James Anderson. From Melbourne for Launceston in bad weather, forced to run before the wind, the master decided to seek shelter at the Kent Group, and dropped anchor off Deal Island;  dragged her anchors and went ashore, breaking up within two hours,  27 April 1850. All hands landed safely and were later taken to Launceston by the barque Victoria Packet, which was also forced to shelter in the Kent Group by the gales. [TS1],[LV],[ASW1],[LG]

Ida N. Fishing vessel, 25 tons. Built Hobart, 1929; unregistered. Captain Busk. After sheltering from a gale off Erith Island, Kent Group, was leaving when her engine failed at a critical moment and she drifted ashore, January 1930.  The crew of three escaped in the motor dinghy with a small quantity of provisions, and remained three days on the island until the lighthouse staff saw their smoke signals.  A wireless message was sent to the Victorian Government steamer Lady Loch which came to their rescue. [TS2],[LI]

Ionia. Snow brig, 226 tons. Built at Chepstow, England, 1813; reg. London. Lb 86-5. x 24-7 ft. Captain C.L.Buck. On a voyage from Mauritius to Sydney with a cargo of sugar, wrecked in the Kent Group, Bass Strait, 2 September 1831. Reported in the press that three lives were lost, in fact the captain reported officially that her crew of nine Europeans and seven Lascars, and the one woman passenger, landed safely.. The long-boat was stove, and took some time to repair before the captain and six crew left for Launceston. The Government cutter Opossum was immediately sent to assist, but returned with only an anchor, cable and sails salvaged from the wreck, the remaining castaways having previously been taken off by another vessel.
[TS1],[LI - listed as Iona, incorrect],[ASW1],[LG]

Irene. Double-ended fishing cutter, 40 ft.  Possibly the registered Shamrock, # 61040,  auxiliary cutter, 13/9 tons, built Cape Barren Island, reg. Launceston 2/1870, lbd 36.2 x 11.4 x 4.8ft. Extensively rebuilt shortly before her loss. Master-owner William Young. Out of Inverloch, whilst anchored at Deal Island, Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, dragged ashore in strong westerly winds, wrecked, late May or early June 1938. Some gear and crayfish were salvaged, much of it stolen by other fishermen at Port Welshpool; the rest was lost when the fishing boat Senna, which was bringing it back to Port Welshpool, was wrecked at Wilson's Promontory on 7 October 1938.

John Bull. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see schooner Pedlar, Kent Group, 1848. [TS1]

John Palmer. Brig/schooner, 37 tons. Built at Cockle Bay, Sydney, 1814; reg. Sydney.  Captain Bastian. Had rescued the eight survivors from the brig Daphne, lost in the Kent Group, when she herself was wrecked on rocks on East Island, November 1819. She is believed to hold a modest treasure, a bag of 400 dollars rescued by Captain Howard of the Daphne, but which went down with the John Palmer. All saved. [LV],[LI],[TS1],[ASW1],[LG]

Karitane. Steel steamship, 1376/847 tons. # 118012. Built at Sunderland, UK, 1903 as the Cavalier; reg: Dunedin, 7/1905. Lbd 247 x 36.5 x 16.8 ft. Union Steamship Company of New Zealand Ltd. Captain Spain. Out of Devonport for Sydney with a valuable cargo of copper, crashed bow-on into cliffs at the base of the Deal Island lighthouse, Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, Christmas Eve, 1920.  Crew of twenty-nine all saved. A fog was given as the cause of the wreck.As the vessel was not equipped with wireless, news of the mishap had to be taken to the lighthouse, from where it was relayed to the passing SS Ceduna which took it to Melbourne.  The tug Eagle was dispatched to assist, but was withdrawn before arrival as the steamer was clearly a total wreck. The ship may have been salvageable had not the captain backed her off, allowing her to sink bow first in shallow water in Squally Cove. A salvage crew headed by the Australian diver Johnno Johnstone recovered all of the copper. At some stage she was called Cavalier.  [LV],[#LI],[#LH],[TS2],[LG]
On 15 January 1907, stranded  near Bonnet Island, Macquarie Harbour, and severly damaged.
On 24 March 1907, having just been repaired from her pevious stranding, did the same thing, same location.
On 13 December 1915 , hit rocks  off Cape Sorell lighthouse, Tasmania.
@ Very little of the vessel remains. A small part of the bow lies on shore, but underwater only the propeller shaft is recognisable. [LAH]

Kendall. Schooner of 157 or 180 tons, (perhaps 180/157 tons).  Captain Romeyn Mead. Returned from Calcutta to Melbourne on 16 June 1856, then Newcastle. From Newcastle on 25 August 1856 for Melbourne with coal, wrecked on the Kent Group. crew were later picked up by the brig River Chief and taken to Twofold Bay. [TS1]

Lady Leigh. Schooner. Brigantine. Involved in rescue - see brig Dorset, lost Kent Grouo, 1852. [TS1]

Lady Loch. Victorian Government steamer. Involved in rescue - see fishing vessel Ida N, lost Kent Group, 1930.

Leven Lass. Disappeared off the Victoria west coast, 1854. [LV]

Lily. Lost on Craggy Island a few miles to the south of the Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, December 1873.  [LV]

Louisa Lamont. Topsail schooner. Disappeared with all hands, Bass Strait, March 1901. [LV]

Mandarin. Barque. Disappeared without trace in a gale, Bass Strait, 1866. [LV]

Margaret and Mary. Brigantine. Involved in rescue - see brig Dorset, lost Kent Grouo, 1852. [TS1]
Dunkeld. Barque. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, 1870. [LV]

Mary. Wooden ship, 368 tons. Built Ipswich, UK, 1811. Left Sydney for London but struck a reef near Sloop Rock, Kent Group, 22 May 1845. The whaleboat was lowered from the wreck, but it capsized and seventeen occupants, including women and children, were drowned.  The survivors fell in with sealers who eventually passed the news on to the authorities. [TS1],[LV],[LAH]

Mary. Brig, 308 tons. Lbd 85-8 x 23-9 x 17-8 in. Built at Whitby, UK, 1835-36; reg. London. From Newcastle to Melbourne with coal, parted from her cables and went ashore in the Kent Group, 1 August 1852.  All hands landed safely, two passengers reaching Melbourne on board the barque Gratitude and eight others on board the schooner Spy, which had also stranded nearby but was soon refloated. The  master, chief officer and four of the crew remained to co-ordinate salvage until the vessel broke up, and reached Melbourne on board the Victoria Packet on 7 September. [TS1],[LG]

Mary. Fishing ketch, 26 tons. # 83743. Built North Sydney, 1882; reg. Sydney, 38/1883.  Lbd 60.5 x 13.9 x 5.6 ft. Originally a steamer of 26/17 grt/net. Master-owner Charles Young. Was anchored at Blyth’s Point on the north coast of Flinders Island when she dragged ashore and went on to the rocks, 26 June 1900. All four on baord saved, although Mrs. Young and a deckhand both suffered considerable injuries, and were later taken to Launceston by the ketch E. H. Purdon for medical attention. [TS2]
On 11 January 1897, under Captain Young, stranded on Badger Island, Furneau Group, while fishing for porpoise and dolphin skins; suffered considerable damage but later reached Hobart for repairs.  Her steam engine was removed some time after this incident.

May Jennings. Schooner. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, 13 August 1890. [LV]

Melbourne. Brig, 125 tons. # 32026. Built at Hobart, 1851; reg. Melbourne 41/1857. Lbd 85.2 x 20.0 x 9.9 ft. Captain Shelton. Ashore in a gale when she dragged her anchors whilst at East Cove, Deal Island, Kent Group, 15 August 1859. The gale at the eastrn entrance to Bass Strait virtually crippled the brig, with her decks swept and her boat washed away. All hands were rescued by the lighthouse boat and later taken to Melbourne by the schooner Pilot. [TS1],[LI - barque],[LV][LG],[LPA]

Minora. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, 1875. [LV]

Myrmidon. HMS. A lone grave, well attended over the years by the annually visiting Murray-Smith family, lies overlooking West Cove, Erith Island, Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait. The cross is inscribed: In Memory of George Phillpots, seaman. Died December 23, 1886. Aged 18 years, HMS Myrmidon.

Nautilus. Barque. Involved in rescue - see schooner Elizabeth Mason, wrecked in Kent Group, 1855. [TS1]

Oberlin. Brig of 259/242 tons. # 50870. Built at at Miramichi, New Brunswick, 1865; reg. Port Adelaide 14/1869, 5/1871. Lbd 110.5 x 26.0 x 12.8 ft.  Captain T. Anderson. Newcastle for Port Adelaide with  coal, encountered a thick fog after entering Bass Strait, ran ashore without warning, wrecked, on Hogan Island, south-east of Wilsons Promontory, 10 January 1875.After spending a few days living on seals, the captain and four men set off in one of the boats for Deal Island to seek assistance.  While they were away a passing vessel saw signals of distress on Hogan Island; the Victorian Government schooner Albert being sent from Port Albert to rescue the castaways. [TS1],[LV]

Orion. Steamship. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, 1908. [LV]

Paringa. Steamship, freighter. Disappeared when towing the old tanker Vincas to Japan, 1935. Thirty- one lives lost.  [LV]

Pedlar. Schooner, 19 tons.Built at Mount Direction Creek, River Tamar, 1844; reg. Launceston, 9/1844, 7/1846.  Lbd 41.4 x 11.7 x 6.0 ft. Master Clement Powell. From Melbourne to Port Albert,  driven off course in a gale and forced to seek shelter in the Kent Group, however her anchor cables parted and she was swept onto the rocks, rapidly going to pieces, 2 September 1848. Travelling with three passengers, all hands landed safely,  the master being picked up soon afterwards by the schooner John Bull, and the remainder by the schooner Dew Drop. Hr cargo of sugar and tea was lost. On 28 July 1845, sank on the Tamar after hitting a rock near the Shear Beacon; refloated with relatively little damage some weeks later. [TS1],[ASW1]

Peternell. Ketch. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, 1898. [LV]

Pilot. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see brig Melbourne, lost in Kent Group, 1859. [TS1]

Reindeer. Schooner, 104 tons. # 31979. Lbd 91.0 x 21.4 x 7.9 ft. Built at Belfast, Maine, USA, 1848; reg. Hobart 14/1855. Captain James Morris. Left Melbourne for Hobart with livestock on 14 September 1862; cleared Port Phillip Heads in company with the schooner Caroline, then disappeared in heavy weather. A search was organised of the Bass Strait Islands and Victorian coast by the HMCS Victoria, without success. One spot that the Victoria apparently failed to investigate was the Kent Group, where dead sheep and wreckage were found by the family manning the Deal Island lighthouse on 19 September. The vessel, which could only have been the missing Reindeer, had evidently foundered near the Kent Group or been wrecked on one of the outlying reefs and islets. On 31 May 1863 part of one of the Reindeer’s boats, complete with name and port of registry, came ashore at Bondi Beach near Sydney, NSW.  [TS1],[LV - mentions wreck at Cape Liptrap]
Broxam and Nash add:
In 1901 the wreck of a vessel found on Cape Liptrap, Victoria, was suggested to have been the missing Reindeer, although from press reports of the discovery this appears to have been little more than idle speculation.

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],[LV]
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.

Rita. Auxiliary fishing vessel. Unregistered. Destroyed by fire off the Kent Group, December 1940.
On 4 November 1936, stranded between Vansittart Island and Cape Barren Island; refloated a week later.

Sappho. British brig, HMS. Some gratings which could have belonged to a vessel of her type washed up on FlindeRs Island in 1859.  [LV]

Sardina. Schooner. Renamed - see Elzabeth Mason.

Secret. Ketch. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, 1898. [LV]

Senna. Fishing boat. Involved in salvage - see fishing cutter Irene, lost Kent Group, 1936 - herslef being wrecked on the way back to Victoria, off Wilsons' Promontory, 7 October 1938.

Spring. Brig. Rescued the castaway sailors from schooner Brothers, lost in the kent group, eastern bass Strait, 1916. [LI]

Spy. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see brig Mary, lost in the Kent Group, 1852. [TS1]

St. Nicholas. Steel twin-screw motor vessel, shark boat, 45 tons, 76ft. Built at Williamstown, 1945, as a navy supply vessel, she was not commissioned. Unregistered. Early in 1961 she was fitted out to freight fish from Tasmanian and Victorian coastal ports to Melbourne. Although not a fishing vessel as such, she was licensed as one for Tasmanian waters, no doubt to allow her to carry cargoes of fish.  Making her maiden voyage to Fortesque Bay in May 1961, the sixteen-odd year-old vessel was wrecked after an operational career of barely five weeks. Whilst sheltering from gales in the Kent Group, her cables parted in heavy weather and she went ashore at West Cove (or Bulli Bay), Erith Island, 1 July 1961. Crew of four landed safely. [TS2],[LI],[LH],[LC]
~ Her rusted remains are still visible, although not for much longer.

Star of Mallacoota. Ketch. Disappeared without trace, Bass Strait, May 1893. [LV]

Surprise. French schooner. Reported lost on the Sisters, eastern Bass Strait, 1802. Several lives lost. [LV]

Surprise. Ketch. Disappeared without trace in a gale, Bass Strait, 1866. [LV]

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

Vibilia. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see barque General Jessup, Kent Group, 1863.

Victoria Packet. Barque.
Involved in rescue - see schooner Ida, Kent group, 1850. [TS1]
Involved in rescue - see schooner White Squall, lost Kent group, 1851. [TS1]
Involved in rescue - see brig Mary, lost in the Kent Group, 1852. [TS1]

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

Victory. Schooner. Disappeared without trace in a gale, Bass Strait, 1866. [LV]

White Squall. Schooner, 104 tons. Built at Dorchester, Maryland, USA, 1840, as the Zaine, and, having been purchased at San Francisco by Thompson & Co., arrived at Launceston on 14 April 1851, where she was registered and renamed, 8/1851.  She was then sent to Melbourne, reg. 13/1851, and sold at auction to George Swanston; was on her first voyage under new ownership when lost. Lbd 87.5 x 21.4 x 8.6 ft. Captain Richard Chattock.  Wrecked on  rocks at the extreme northern end of East Cove, Deal Island, Kent Group, 15 June 1851. Having left Melbourne for Sydney on 5 June 1851 with a general cargo and twenty-nine passengers, encountered a gale that impeded her progress, and then drove her back across the straits; short of water, put into the Kent Group to replenish, entering East Cove, Deal Island. In southerly winds, her cable parted and she struck heavily on the starboard side, and lost her rudder. Taking water, she was abandoned. With difficulty, all saved. Two days later she had completely broken up. Some crew and a passenger were picked up by the schooner Yarra and landed at Hobart. The Victoria Packet picked up some of the castaways, and the brig William, he rest, with the addition of another - a baby born on Deal Island to one of the survivors, a Mrs Keys. [TS1],[LV]

William. Brig. Involved in rescue - see schooner White Squall, lost Kent group, 1851. [TS1]

Yarra. Schooner. Involved in rescue - see schooner White Squall, lost Kent group, 1851. [TS1]

Zaine. Schooner. See White Squall.

Zephyr. Brigantine. Lost on Craggy Island near the Kent Group, eastern Bass Strait, July 1882. [LV]



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