Stun Sail Boom River
Encyclopedia
The Stun Sail Boom River (or variants Stunsail Boom River and Stuns'l Boom River) is located on the rugged south coast of Kangaroo Island
, a large island off the South Australia
n coast. The southern and western coast of this island is notorious for its shipwreck
s as it lies directly on the path of ships that were bound for South Australia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The wreck of the Loch Vennachar, on 6 September 1905 with the loss of all hands, is an example.
located on the outside of the square rigging of a sailing ship, after Robert Fisher and others found a stun'sail boom at its mouth on 7 November 1836.
not far from shore. One brave sailor, Louis Yrebot, swam at great peril with a small line to shore. Increasingly stronger lines followed and a flying fox
was established between a large boulder on the shore and the mizzen mast of the stricken ship. All the remaining crew, including a badly injured sailor from an earlier accident, were transferred safely to shore via the flying fox.
Five of the French sailors then made there way through remote and wild countryside and stumbled upon Tilka Hut. Here they were almost immediately found by local lad Percy May, a wallaby trapper, who happened to be passing while delivering a letter to one of the two Tilka sisters, Carlina and Christina, on Stunsailboom Station. The Tilka Sisters looked after the sailors while Percy May made a dramatic 100 mile journey on horseback, that required swimming two rivers, to raise the alarm in the town of Kingscote
.
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...
, a large island off the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n coast. The southern and western coast of this island is notorious for its shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s as it lies directly on the path of ships that were bound for South Australia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The wreck of the Loch Vennachar, on 6 September 1905 with the loss of all hands, is an example.
Name
The river was named after the boom of the stuns'l, sailors slang for studding sailStudding sail
A studding sail or studsail is a sail used to increase the sail area of a square rigged vessel in light winds. Traditionally pronounced stuns'l.It is an extra sail hoisted alongside a square-rigged sail on an extension of its yardarm...
located on the outside of the square rigging of a sailing ship, after Robert Fisher and others found a stun'sail boom at its mouth on 7 November 1836.
Montebello wreck
The river's name came to some prominence when the French merchant ship Montebello went aground near the Stunsailboom Station in the early hours of Sunday, 18 November 1906. The ship collided with a reefReef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
not far from shore. One brave sailor, Louis Yrebot, swam at great peril with a small line to shore. Increasingly stronger lines followed and a flying fox
Flying fox (cablecar)
A flying fox is a small cable car, often propelled by gravity, and used as an item of children's play equipment and more rarely for other purposes. The term flying fox is Australian English and New Zealand English. In other countries, it can be called a zip-line. Similar toys are known as death...
was established between a large boulder on the shore and the mizzen mast of the stricken ship. All the remaining crew, including a badly injured sailor from an earlier accident, were transferred safely to shore via the flying fox.
Five of the French sailors then made there way through remote and wild countryside and stumbled upon Tilka Hut. Here they were almost immediately found by local lad Percy May, a wallaby trapper, who happened to be passing while delivering a letter to one of the two Tilka sisters, Carlina and Christina, on Stunsailboom Station. The Tilka Sisters looked after the sailors while Percy May made a dramatic 100 mile journey on horseback, that required swimming two rivers, to raise the alarm in the town of Kingscote
Kingscote, South Australia
- Facilities :Kingscote has a school offering years 1 to 12, a hospital, supermarket, post office and Government offices. It is the administrative centre for the Kangaroo Island Council, whose offices have recently undergone a significant upgrade....
.