The Thomson, or Thomsons, or Thompsons, Shipwreck

According to “Shipwrecks of South Australia – A Data Base 1802 – 1989” by Peter Christopher, the 37-ton wooden cutter Thompsons (or Thomsons, or Thomson) was wrecked 5km south of Robe on 9^th October 1849. The wreck is said to have been built in Sydney in 1837, with 22 casualties. The vessel’s dimensions are given as being 46 feet in length, 14 feet in breadth and 8 feet in depth (46.0 x 14.3 x 7.7 according to “Shipwrecks in South Australia (1836-1875)” by Ronald Parsons. These dimensions were also given in Jack Loney's books.)

Parsons says that the main mast of the vessel may have torn away during a gale, “making the cutter unmanageable, and that she swamped, and the heavy seas broke her into pieces.” Only parts of the vessel were found washed ashore. Peter Christopher’s book says that there was no salvage of the vessel, probably because it was discovered to be completely in pieces. Jack Loney said in two books that “the beach (was) littered with wreckage” and “only a few pieces of the vessel came ashore”.

“The Sixth Eleven Tales of Robe” by Pro Kathleen Bermingham gives the ship’s name as Thompson. Jack Loney’s “Wrecks at Robe” uses both Thomsons and Thomson. 

What is not clear is just how the name of the cutter was determined. It was presumably determined by broken parts of the vessel's name and put together like a jig saw puzzle

i.e. THOM   (P)  SON (S)

Although Jack Loney also used Thomsons in “Wrecks on the South Coast of South Australia” (1971-1975), he had changed it to Thompsons by 1993 in “the updated version titled “Wrecks on the South Australian Coast”. He had also changed the death toll from 21 lives to 22 lives for the updated version. The updated version is presumably the most accurate.

Both versions tell how Captain Wilkinson, his wife and child were amongst the victims. This is the grave site itself: -

 

Note that the plaques at the grave site use both Thomsons and Thomson: -

 

“Wrecks on the South Australian Coast” says that a woman’s body was found on the shore near the wreckage. This grave site plaque engraved for an “Unknown Drowned Female” is apparently for that woman (see further below): -

 

According to the Monument Australia web page for the Thomson Shipwreck Memorial, “The memorial plaques, were erected at the site of the unnamed grave, which contains the remains of some of the victims of the Thomsons Shipwreck, which occurred in 1849 with the loss of 21 lives*. The plaques were erected by the Women in Black Group from their cemetery tours.”

* (Rather than the 22 suggested in “Shipwrecks of South Australia – A Data Base 1802 – 1989”)

Further, “Perhaps one of the saddest stories belongs to the small plaque which reads: "Unknown drowned female, presumed from the wreck Thomson, 1849.'' In 1849, a woman was buried in the cemetery after sailors pulled her lifeless body from the shoreline, drifting among casks of wine and luggage. The woman was one of 21 people who drowned after the cutter Thomson ran aground in heavy seas. She remained nameless and without a memorial until the Women in Black group raised enough money from their tours to put a plaque over her remains.”

One of the plaques on the grave site is marked “The Highlander’s Grave”:  -

 

(Is a ‘Highlander’ just someone from the highlands somewhere or other, or does it mean something like a person from Scotland?)

“The Sixth Eleven Tales of Robe” says, “the cutter “Thompson” was wrecked half-way between Rivoli Bay and Guichen Bay with the loss of twenty-one men; seven of these were Highlanders, whose identity was marked by a simple wooden cross with the word “Highlander” on it in the Robe Cemetery.” (If there are 7 Highlanders, why was the more singular “Highlander’s” engraved on the plaque, rather than “Highlanders’”?” This plaque also gives the death toll as being 21 and suggests that there may be 6 or 7 Highlanders at the site. Perhaps this is part of the 21 or 22 dilemmas?

Both “Wrecks on the South Coast of South Australia” and “Wrecks on the South Australian Coast” says “The cutter Thompsons went ashore about 3 miles south of Guichen Bay during a heavy gale on the night of 10^th September 1849, as opposed to 9^th September.

So, there have been issues over the actual name of the vessel, the number of lives lost and the actual date of the wrecking. Ronald Parsons covered the whole issue in his book “Shipwrecks in South Australia (1836-1875)” when he used words and phrases such as:

“About September 10”, “the cutter THOMSON(S)”, “Thomson (frequently shown as ‘Thomsons’)”

“Wrecks on the South Australian Coast” says that local residents found wreckage from the ship the following morning, and the day after that too. The only actual pieces of the vessel that were recognisable were “the mast from the step to the level of the deck and her pump”.

Mr & Mrs Baxter and sister are said to have been amongst those who lost their lives in the wrecking. This plaque on a grave site for the victims of the shipwreck at Robe Cemetery is engraved for the "father, mother and daughter" from the "Baxter family": -

So, this is another small issue. Should it be the sister or the daughter? And 1847 is given as the year of the vessel being built in Sydney, as opposed to 1837. There clearly are several discrepancies and contradictions in this story.