The Alcairo Wreck

I hadn’t heard about the wreck of the auxiliary schooner Alcairo until I stumbled across the fact that it was wrecked at Marion Bay. When I investigated the wrecking, I found that it was listed in “Shipwrecks of South Australia – A Data Base (1802-1989)” by Peter Christopher as ‘Alcaird’. Mind you, the only other reference that I could find in my book collection was the single one that I had stumbled across by accident – “Australasian Shipping Record Vol.4, No.6” (1973). It doesn’t seem to show up in any of my other books at all. The only way to find out more about the wreck was to go online.

I found that Heritage South Australia had posted about the wreck on its Facebook page in 2019 as part of its #shipwreckfriday posts. The post stated described the Alcairo as a ‘timber auxiliary schooner’ “built in 1911 by John Wilson & Sons at Port Cygnet, Tasmania.”

The post included this photograph of the Alcairo: -

 

(The photo can also be found on the State Library of South Australia’s web page as “Beached schooner at Marion Bay [PRG 280/1/36/316]”)

The Facebook post then described the wrecking as, “On the evening of 10 October 1923, Alcairo was anchored at Marion Bay with a cargo of gypsum bound for a plasterworks at Port Adelaide. Heavy gales lashed the coast causing widespread damage, and Alcairo dragged its two anchors. The crew attempted to beat out of the bay, but was driven ashore about 4 km east of the Marion Bay jetty. The tide was extremely high at the time, and the vessel drove high on the beach where it remained.”

It the described the salvage as, “There were initial thoughts that it could be refloated, but this never eventuated and the vessel was gradually stripped of all timbers by locals. Today the remains consisting of the keel and some frames are located in the shallows, and are occasionally uncovered.”

(Please remember: the site is protected under the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018; it is an offence to damage, destroy, interfere with, or remove any part of the shipwreck or its associated artefacts.)

The Wrecksite web page for the Alcairo gives its location as being Latmax: -35.22 Lonmax: 137.03. 

The “Australasian Shipping Record Vol.4, No.6” (1973) also included a photograph of the Alcairo, along with details about the vessel and its wrecking. Its dimensions are given as being 72 gross tons, 80.7 x 22.9 x 6.3 feet (25 x 7 x 1.9m). Its Official Number was O/N 124547.

The crew of three managed to get to shore and survived the wrecking. With this in mind, I added that there were no casualties to my copy of “Shipwrecks of South Australia – A Data Base (1802-1989)”. I also noted that the vessel was not salvaged, since it could be refloated, the vessel was gradually stripped of all timbers by locals and the remains consisting of the keel and some frames are located in the shallows. I also noted that the vessel is a schooner and not a ketch as suggested in the book. It does not get listed in “Ketches of South Australia” by Ronald Parsons at all.

According to the “Australasian Shipping Record Vol.4, No.6” (by Ronald Parsons), “The Alcairo was a pretty schooner …. She had been engaged in the same trade for Bell & Co. Previously she had been employed in the Commonwealth Lighthouse service and had been originally employed in conveying materials for the service around the northern Queensland coast and to Darwin.”

It also states that its auxiliary engine was 30hp, details of which can be found on Trove: -

“THE ALCAIRO WITH A SKANDIA ENGINE.

The 3-masted schooner Alcairo, which was purchased by the Commonwealth Government some months ago for use in connection with the lights and lighthouses on the Australian coast, is now at Rountrees dock, being fitted with a 30/38 b.h.p. Skandia engine. Messrs. Nelson and Robertson, the agents for the Skandia engine, expect that the Alcairo will be taken for a trial trip in a few days, after which she will load stores for some of the lighthouses.”

The Log Book of the vessel’s master, Captain Jack Sheridan can be found on the History Trust of South Australia web page.