Two contrasting shipwrecks seemingly occurred in Australian waters in 1870. One was a steamship in Victorian waters and the other was a sailing ship in South Australian waters. The one in Victorian waters is said to be “one of the worst maritime disasters in Victorian history”. The one in South Australian waters, however, hardly rates a mention and very little is known about it.
So, what is the connection between these two incidents? The
problem is that the Internet gets the two of them confused. An Internet search
for “the ship electric lost at Glenelg 1870” receives the response that “SS Glenelg
is historically significant as one of the worst maritime disasters in Victorian
history, with the deaths of at least 38 people and only three survivors. The
wreck has the potential for archaeological significance with some of the hull
preserved under the sand.”
Even the Microsoft Copilot AI Assistant brought the SS Glenelg
into the discussion. The only connection between the SS Glenelg and the Electric is that the Electric
is said to have been wrecked at Glenelg (30 years earlier). So why the
confusion?
Although I have written about the Electric of 1865 in
the past (“The emigrant ship Electric”), I hadn’t heard the complete
story about it, and I hadn’t heard exactly what kind of ship the Electric was.
This was the first part of “The emigrant ship Electric”:
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(I have also previously written about the SS Glenelg i.e.
“Aquability located the wreck the SS Glenelg on 28th June 2009 after
several attempts. The Glenelg sank 55 miles west of Lakes Entrance, 7
miles offshore, …. on the 24th March 1900.”)
Only one of my SA shipwreck books seems to mention the Electric
at all. It is “South Australian Shipwrecks – A Data Base 1802-1989” by
Peter Cristopher.
I had not previously thought to investigate just why “South Australian Shipwrecks – A Data Base 1802-1989”
was listing the Electric as a shipwreck that occurred on22nd September
1870, particularly when it seemed to mirror the vessel’s near stranding exactly
five years earlier in 1865.
Certainly, I may have been able to query the location of the
wrecking at Glenelg, as opposed to the near stranding at Marino Rocks, or that
the ship was an immigrant ship in 1865, but a Mail Boat in 1870. No further
information is given in “South Australian Shipwrecks – A Data Base 1802-1989”.
It has been suggested that the Electric was actually
wrecked (at Glenelg) in November rather than September 1870. The September date
in “South Australian Shipwrecks – A Data Base 1802-1989” almost mirrors the
near-stranding date from 1865.
If indeed, the Electric really was wrecked off
Glenelg in 1870, why does it not feature in books such as “Shipwrecks in South
Australia (1836-1875) by Ronald Parsons, or “Wrecks on the South Australian
Coast” by Jack Loney?
According to Wikitree,
the Electric was a (sailing ship) of 1106 tons. According to https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57884457
, “The Emigrant Ship Electric …. 1,106 tons, built at Quebec in 1857.”
After some long discussions with the Microsoft Copilot AI
Assistant about the Electric, I was finally able to determine that,
although the Electric is said to have been wrecked off Glenelg, the
wreck was raised and removed.
According to Trove
(Evening Journal Mon 26 Sep 1870), “Wreck Of The Glenelg Mailboat - In Friday's
“Register” we mentioned the sinking of the Electric (Glenelg mailboat) during
the heavy weather of the previous morning. It has since been raised, and now
lies a complete wreck by the side of the Jetty. The boat, like most other small
craft, was uninsured, and much sympathy is expressed for Mr. Pennington, upon
whom the entire loss will fall.”
Glenelg jetty circa 1874
(This picture shows the Landing of the first mail” (1874) . It was from my own collection. The original picture was an engraving which was first published in the “Australasian Sketcher” on 21st March 1874, page 212. That copy of the picture is held by the National Library of Australia in Canberra. A copy of the picture features in the book “The Place of Waters” by Dulcie M. Perry, page 61.)
The fact that the wreck was raised and removed seems to be
the reason that there are no details for the shipwreck on Nature Maps.
When I asked the Microsoft Copilot AI Assistant, “Was the
ship Electric, that was near stranded at Marino Rocks in 1865,
shipwrecked near Glenelg in 1870?
The Assistant’s response was, “Direct Answer: Yes — the Electric
was the same ship. It narrowly avoided stranding at Marino Rocks in 1865, and
five years later, in 1870, it was wrecked near Glenelg.
The Assistant went on to discuss the Electric in 1865,
including as follows:
“In November 1870, the Electric was wrecked near
Glenelg, South Australia. This was a complete loss, unlike the near-miss of
1865. The wreck is recorded in South Australian maritime history databases and
memorials at Marino Rocks and Glenelg.
“Conclusion - The Electric had two major incidents in
South Australian waters:
1865 – Near-stranding at Marino Rocks during its immigrant
voyage.
1870 – Final wreck near Glenelg.”
“The Electric was wrecked near Glenelg in November
1870 after striking a reef during rough weather. The grounding tore open her
hull, and she quickly became a total loss.”
I then told the Assistant, “There is much confusion over the
date in 1870. 22/09/1870, rather than November 1870 has been mentioned.
22/9/1865 is the date given for the Marino Rocks near stranding.”
The Assistant’s response was:
“Direct Answer: The confusion arises because 22 September
1865 was the date of the Electric’s near-stranding at Marino Rocks,
while her final wreck occurred in 1870. Some sources mistakenly conflate the
two events, leading to references to 22 September 1870 instead of the correct
later date.”
The Microsoft Copilot AI Assistant told me that (re the Electric
being lost near Glenelg in 1870) “Some records give November 1870, while others
incorrectly cite 22 September 1870, likely due to confusion with the
earlier 1865 near-stranding date. The Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage
Database confirms the wreck year as 1870, but does not list a precise day.”
But the South Australian
Register 26th September 1870 clearly indicates that the wrecking
did, indeed, happen that month rather than in November that year.
Some accounts mention November 1870, which may reflect the
timing of the inquiry or reporting rather than the actual day of loss.
The Microsoft Copilot AI Assistant later stated that, “Some
accounts mention November 1870, which may reflect the timing of the inquiry or
reporting rather than the actual day of loss.”
