Loch Vennachar
Encyclopedia
Loch Vennachar was a three-masted iron sailing ship
(clipper
) that operated between Great Britain
and Australia
between the late 19th century and 1905. The name was drawn from Loch Venachar
, a lake which lies to the south-west of the burgh
of Callander
, in the Stirling
region of Scotland
. It is understood to mean "most beautiful lady" in Scottish Gaelic.
In September 1905, she sank without trace and with all hands. In 1976, her extensively damaged remains were discovered in approximately 20 meters of water in West Bay, Kangaroo Island
by the Society for Underwater Historical Research
.
Shipping Company. She was one of a fleet of iron wool clippers of the well-known Loch Line
. Her registered tonnage and dimensions were: 1,552 tons gross, 1,485 tons net; length, 250 feet 1 inch; breadth, 38 feet 3 inches; depth of hold, 22 feet 4 inches. Her usual cargo was usually about 5,500 bales of wool. She was first rigged with fidded royal masts, but this proved to interfere with her stability as there was too much weight aloft. She was then given topgallant and royal masts
in one with crossed royal yards over double-topgallants. Loch Vennachar was always in the wool trade to Adelaide
and Melbourne
, but when an out wool clipper, she also carried passenger
s and other cargo.
On her maiden voyage, she was commanded by Captain Wagstaff, leaving Inishtrahull on 6 September 1875. In early 1876, Wagstaff was replaced by Captain Robertson, who died in 1878 after only making two voyages on the vessel. The command was then given to her first officer, J.S. Ozanne, but in 1884, Captain Ozanne handed over command to Captain W.H. Bennett. Following Bennett's retirement in 1904, Captain W.S. Hawkins took command until her final voyage in 1905.
Loch Vennachar was considered an unlucky ship narrowly surviving a cyclone in the Indian Ocean
in June 1892. Around 8 pm on the evening of 3 June, the barometer
began to fall ominously and the sail was promptly shortened. At approximately 5.00 am as darkness lifted it showed terrific head seas that swept down upon the vessel, lashed by the North-East gale. Two large waves approached the ship. Loch Vennachar rode the first wave and sank into the trough at the other side. While in this position, the second wave came on and broke on deck with such force that it broke the foremast, mainmast and the mizzen topmast. Without her masts to steady her, the Loch Vennachar rolled dangerously in heavy seas. After 9 days, the weather eased and the crew were able to rig a spar
forward and sail on the damaged mizzen. After 5 weeks of sailing, she arrived at Port Louis
, Mauritius
. Although her stay lasted 5 months while new spars were sent from England, repairs only took 10 days to complete. Captain Bennett was awarded the Lloyd's Medal
for his leadership and bravery at sea.
Loch Vennachar suffered another serious accident on 12 November 1901, after a collision with the SS Cato, in the Thames Estuary. After arriving in the Thames, she anchored off the Mucking Light
. Just before dawn, she was cut down and holed on the starboard bow by Cato, with one hand being seriously injured. She rapidly sank in 40 feet of water, but all hands, along with the parrot and cat, got clear safely. She rested on the bottom of the Thames for a month before being raised and repaired at considerable cost, and again put back into service in the Adelaide and Melbourne trade.
Despite her unlucky reputation, she sailed between Great Britain and Australia for 30 years without further incident, until her final voyage.
Under the command of Captain W.S. Hawkins, Loch Vennachar departed Glasgow in late June 1905 on a routine voyage to Adelaide
. She was carrying a crew of 26 (some reports say 27) and laden with general cargo and a consignment of 20,000 bricks. On 6 September 1905, Loch Vennachar was overtaken by SS Yongala
about 160 miles west of Neptune Island
and the captains exchanged "all's well" signals. The Captain of the Yongala recorded that Loch Vennachar presented a pretty sight with her sails in full standing, she sped along with every apparent prospect of reaching her port safely. It was the last known sighting of Loch Vennachar.
On 29 September, the ketch
Annie Watt arrived in Adelaide and her captain reported picking up a reel of blue printing paper 18 miles North-West of Kangaroo Island. The paper was identified as part of Loch Vennachar's cargo. Three weeks later, the sea began delivering scraps of her cargo to the jagged coast of Kangaroo Island which confirmed the disaster. The steamer Governor Musgrave was sent on two separate occasions to search for the wreck and any survivors. Weeks of searching by government and local fishing boats produced only flotsam and the body of a young seaman, who was never identified. He was buried in the sand hills of West Bay. The search was eventually abandoned on 12 October. Divers eventually discovered the wreck at West Bay, Kangaroo Island in 1976.
The hero of the Loch Ard
disaster, Tom Pearce, lost one of his sons when the Loch Vennachar was wrecked.
At the time, it was incorrectly concluded that Loch Vennachar was wrecked on Young Rocks, a granite outcrop about 20 miles S.S.W. of Cape Gantheaume
, trying to make the Backstairs Passage
.
Crew of the Loch Vennachar 7th September 1905
William Stevenson Hawkins, 53, Sorbie, Wigtownshire – Ships Master
James Priest, 35, Tynemouth, North Shields, Chirton – First Mate
Charles Radcliffe, 21, Michigan, USA - Second Mate
Fred Ward Lake, 23, Melbourne – Third Mate
James Reid, 49, Cromarty, Scotland – Ships Carpenter
William Molseed,31, Greenock – Steward
William McLean, 39, Glasgow – Ships Cook
Richard Simpson, 50, Greenock – Sailmaker
Oskar “Eugen” Broberg, Stockholm, Sweden - Able Seaman
Donald Mathieson, 49, Broadford, Skye, Invernessshire - Able Seaman
Anders Anderson, 50, Kragero, Norway - Able Seaman
Edward McEwan, 40, Greenock- Able Seaman
Hugh Humphreys, 28, Portmadoc, Wales - Able Seaman
Alexander Dunlop, Rothesay – Able Seaman
Max Jenson, Aarhus, Denmark - Able Seaman
David Ranson, Bergen, Norway - Able Seaman
Edward Holden, 38, Newark, New Jersey, USA, Able Seaman
John Bickle, 20, Edinburgh - Able Seaman
Thomas Anderson, 23, Able Seaman, Greenock, Renfrewshire
William Clifford Barry, 20, Port Adelaide - Able Seaman
Edward McPhie,15, Kiel, Lochaline, Morvern – Ordinary Seaman
William Turnbull, 16, Grangemouth, Stirlingshire - Ordinary Seaman (Deck Boy)
William Martin, 21, Glasgow - Ordinary Seaman
Charles Muir, 19, Kilmarnock, - Ordinary Seaman
Joseph William Hadley, 20, Wivenhoe, Essex – Apprentice
Thomas William Pearce, 19, Southampton – Apprentice
Dairmid Stewart Barclay Thomson, 18, Melbourne – Apprentice
Horace Eastwood, 15, Knottingley – Apprentice
Vennachar Point, located on the extreme west coast of Kangaroo Island, was named after the ship. Loch Vennachar Historic Reserve was also named after the ship. The reserve, including the shipwreck, is a registered historic site
(place ID #7455) under the National Estate.
The grave and wooden cross (made from the wreckage) of the unidentified seaman can still be seen to this day at Vennachar Point.
Loch Vennachar's official location is defined as the area of seabed enclosed by a circle of radius 250m, centred at latitude 35deg 53` 05" south and longitude 136deg 32` East.
In 1980, the bower anchor
was raised and put on display in the Flinders Chase National Park
on Kangaroo Island.
Sailing ship
The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...
(clipper
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
) that operated between Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
between the late 19th century and 1905. The name was drawn from Loch Venachar
Loch Venachar
Loch Venachar is a freshwater loch in Stirling district, Scotland, situated between Callander and Brig o' Turk...
, a lake which lies to the south-west of the burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
of Callander
Callander
Callander is a burgh in the region of Stirling, Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the former county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands....
, in the Stirling
Stirling (council area)
Stirling is one of the 32 unitary local government council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about 87,000 . It was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Stirling district of the former Central local government region, and it covers most of the former...
region of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is understood to mean "most beautiful lady" in Scottish Gaelic.
In September 1905, she sank without trace and with all hands. In 1976, her extensively damaged remains were discovered in approximately 20 meters of water in West Bay, Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
by the Society for Underwater Historical Research
Underwater archaeology
Underwater archaeology is archaeology practised underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras...
.
History and description
Loch Vennachar was built in 1875 by Thomson's on the Clyde for the GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Shipping Company. She was one of a fleet of iron wool clippers of the well-known Loch Line
Loch Line
The Loch Line of Glasgow was a group of ill-fated colonial clippers that belonged to Messrs William Aitken and James Lilburn. Together, they operated a line of sailing ships between the United Kingdom and Australia between 1867 and 1911.-History:...
. Her registered tonnage and dimensions were: 1,552 tons gross, 1,485 tons net; length, 250 feet 1 inch; breadth, 38 feet 3 inches; depth of hold, 22 feet 4 inches. Her usual cargo was usually about 5,500 bales of wool. She was first rigged with fidded royal masts, but this proved to interfere with her stability as there was too much weight aloft. She was then given topgallant and royal masts
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
in one with crossed royal yards over double-topgallants. Loch Vennachar was always in the wool trade to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, but when an out wool clipper, she also carried passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
s and other cargo.
On her maiden voyage, she was commanded by Captain Wagstaff, leaving Inishtrahull on 6 September 1875. In early 1876, Wagstaff was replaced by Captain Robertson, who died in 1878 after only making two voyages on the vessel. The command was then given to her first officer, J.S. Ozanne, but in 1884, Captain Ozanne handed over command to Captain W.H. Bennett. Following Bennett's retirement in 1904, Captain W.S. Hawkins took command until her final voyage in 1905.
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
in June 1892. Around 8 pm on the evening of 3 June, the barometer
Barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...
began to fall ominously and the sail was promptly shortened. At approximately 5.00 am as darkness lifted it showed terrific head seas that swept down upon the vessel, lashed by the North-East gale. Two large waves approached the ship. Loch Vennachar rode the first wave and sank into the trough at the other side. While in this position, the second wave came on and broke on deck with such force that it broke the foremast, mainmast and the mizzen topmast. Without her masts to steady her, the Loch Vennachar rolled dangerously in heavy seas. After 9 days, the weather eased and the crew were able to rig a spar
Spar
In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a...
forward and sail on the damaged mizzen. After 5 weeks of sailing, she arrived at Port Louis
Port Louis
-Economy:The economy is dominated by its port, which handles Mauritius' international trade. The port was founded by the French who preferred Port Louis as the City is shielded by the Port Louis/Moka mountain range. It is the largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean and can...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. Although her stay lasted 5 months while new spars were sent from England, repairs only took 10 days to complete. Captain Bennett was awarded the Lloyd's Medal
Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea
The Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea is one of the four Lloyd's Medal types bestowed by Lloyd's of London. In 1939, with the coming of World War II, Lloyd's set up a committee to find means of honouring seafarers who performed acts of exceptional courage at sea, and this resulted in the...
for his leadership and bravery at sea.
Loch Vennachar suffered another serious accident on 12 November 1901, after a collision with the SS Cato, in the Thames Estuary. After arriving in the Thames, she anchored off the Mucking Light
Mucking
Mucking is a hamlet and former Church of England parish adjoining the Thames estuary in southern Essex, England. It is located approximately 2 miles south of the town of Stanford le Hope in what is now Thurrock unitary authority.-Early history:...
. Just before dawn, she was cut down and holed on the starboard bow by Cato, with one hand being seriously injured. She rapidly sank in 40 feet of water, but all hands, along with the parrot and cat, got clear safely. She rested on the bottom of the Thames for a month before being raised and repaired at considerable cost, and again put back into service in the Adelaide and Melbourne trade.
Despite her unlucky reputation, she sailed between Great Britain and Australia for 30 years without further incident, until her final voyage.
Final voyage
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. She was carrying a crew of 26 (some reports say 27) and laden with general cargo and a consignment of 20,000 bricks. On 6 September 1905, Loch Vennachar was overtaken by SS Yongala
SS Yongala
The passenger ship SS Yongala sank off Cape Bowling Green, Queensland, Australia on 23 March 1911. En route from Melbourne to Cairns she steamed into a cyclone and sank south of Townsville...
about 160 miles west of Neptune Island
Neptune Island
The South Neptune Islands sit on the Southern aspect of the Australasian Continental shelf, at a distance of 70 kilometres South by South~East of Port Lincoln, in South Australia. The depth of water on the Eastern side of the islands is 40 metres. Water depth increases to 95 metres on the southern...
and the captains exchanged "all's well" signals. The Captain of the Yongala recorded that Loch Vennachar presented a pretty sight with her sails in full standing, she sped along with every apparent prospect of reaching her port safely. It was the last known sighting of Loch Vennachar.
On 29 September, the ketch
Ketch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
Annie Watt arrived in Adelaide and her captain reported picking up a reel of blue printing paper 18 miles North-West of Kangaroo Island. The paper was identified as part of Loch Vennachar's cargo. Three weeks later, the sea began delivering scraps of her cargo to the jagged coast of Kangaroo Island which confirmed the disaster. The steamer Governor Musgrave was sent on two separate occasions to search for the wreck and any survivors. Weeks of searching by government and local fishing boats produced only flotsam and the body of a young seaman, who was never identified. He was buried in the sand hills of West Bay. The search was eventually abandoned on 12 October. Divers eventually discovered the wreck at West Bay, Kangaroo Island in 1976.
The hero of the Loch Ard
Loch Ard (ship)
The Loch Ard was a ship which was wrecked at Muton bird Island just off the Shipwreck Coast of Victoria, Australia in 1878. The name was drawn from Loch Ard, a lake which lies to the west of the village of Aberfoyle, and to the east of Loch Lomond...
disaster, Tom Pearce, lost one of his sons when the Loch Vennachar was wrecked.
At the time, it was incorrectly concluded that Loch Vennachar was wrecked on Young Rocks, a granite outcrop about 20 miles S.S.W. of Cape Gantheaume
Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area
Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area is located on Kangaroo Island, South Australia.-External links:* - Department for Environment and Heritage...
, trying to make the Backstairs Passage
Backstairs Passage
Backstairs Passage is a body of water lying between Cape Jervis on the Australian mainland and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It disappeared under the rising sea around 13,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene era....
.
Crew of the Loch Vennachar 7th September 1905
William Stevenson Hawkins, 53, Sorbie, Wigtownshire – Ships Master
James Priest, 35, Tynemouth, North Shields, Chirton – First Mate
Charles Radcliffe, 21, Michigan, USA - Second Mate
Fred Ward Lake, 23, Melbourne – Third Mate
James Reid, 49, Cromarty, Scotland – Ships Carpenter
William Molseed,31, Greenock – Steward
William McLean, 39, Glasgow – Ships Cook
Richard Simpson, 50, Greenock – Sailmaker
Oskar “Eugen” Broberg, Stockholm, Sweden - Able Seaman
Donald Mathieson, 49, Broadford, Skye, Invernessshire - Able Seaman
Anders Anderson, 50, Kragero, Norway - Able Seaman
Edward McEwan, 40, Greenock- Able Seaman
Hugh Humphreys, 28, Portmadoc, Wales - Able Seaman
Alexander Dunlop, Rothesay – Able Seaman
Max Jenson, Aarhus, Denmark - Able Seaman
David Ranson, Bergen, Norway - Able Seaman
Edward Holden, 38, Newark, New Jersey, USA, Able Seaman
John Bickle, 20, Edinburgh - Able Seaman
Thomas Anderson, 23, Able Seaman, Greenock, Renfrewshire
William Clifford Barry, 20, Port Adelaide - Able Seaman
Edward McPhie,15, Kiel, Lochaline, Morvern – Ordinary Seaman
William Turnbull, 16, Grangemouth, Stirlingshire - Ordinary Seaman (Deck Boy)
William Martin, 21, Glasgow - Ordinary Seaman
Charles Muir, 19, Kilmarnock, - Ordinary Seaman
Joseph William Hadley, 20, Wivenhoe, Essex – Apprentice
Thomas William Pearce, 19, Southampton – Apprentice
Dairmid Stewart Barclay Thomson, 18, Melbourne – Apprentice
Horace Eastwood, 15, Knottingley – Apprentice
Present day
Protected areas of Australia
Protected areas of Australia include Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas managed by the Australian government, as well as protected areas within each of the six states of Australia and two self-governing territories , which are managed by the eight state and territory...
(place ID #7455) under the National Estate.
The grave and wooden cross (made from the wreckage) of the unidentified seaman can still be seen to this day at Vennachar Point.
Loch Vennachar's official location is defined as the area of seabed enclosed by a circle of radius 250m, centred at latitude 35deg 53` 05" south and longitude 136deg 32` East.
In 1980, the bower anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
was raised and put on display in the Flinders Chase National Park
Flinders Chase National Park
Flinders Chase is a national park on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 213 km southwest of Adelaide. It is a sanctuary for endangered species and home to a few geological phenomena....
on Kangaroo Island.
See also
- List of disasters in Australia by death toll
- List of clipper ships
- Maritime archaeologyMaritime archaeologyMaritime archaeology is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged...
- Protected areas of AustraliaProtected areas of AustraliaProtected areas of Australia include Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas managed by the Australian government, as well as protected areas within each of the six states of Australia and two self-governing territories , which are managed by the eight state and territory...