Cutters Wrecked at Glenelg

Two ships are listed in “South Australian Shipwrecks – A data base 1802-1989” by Peter Christopher as having been wrecked at Glenelg on 11^th April 1948. That was the day that a ‘hurricane gale’ storm destroyed the Glenelg jetty aquarium.

The two wrecks concerned are the Renown and the Zephyr. Both are described as being cutters.

According to a Copilot Search, “A cutter ship is a versatile vessel, historically a fast single-masted sailing ship with multiple headsails …. Traditionally, a cutter is a small, speedy sailing vessel with a single mast rigged fore-and-aft, carrying a mainsail and at least two headsails. Its hull is typically deep and narrow, with a raking transom stern, vertical stem, and long bowsprit, designed for speed, agility, and windward performance.”

I don’t know what became of these two shipwrecks, especially location-wise. Going through an old newspaper page, I found this photo of what is said to have been a cutter wrecked at Glenelg during the 1948 storm: -

 

Unfortunately, I cannot make out the name or number on the side of the hull to be able to identify the vessel. The name appears to be short, followed by a number ‘3’.

The Register for Wednesday 17th October 1923 , reported the loss of the cutter Irene on Glenelg beach, near the Glenelg Baths: -

“Lying half-buried in the sand and seaweed near the Glenelg Baths, its stern damaged, counter stern chafed through, and timbers bent and broken, the cutter Irene presents a pitiful spectacle to the man with a liking for the sea and the ships that sail thereon. Last Wednesday's storm found a weakness in the moorings, and this sturdy, little craft, which during its long career as a fishing cutter has weathered hundreds of gales, was dashed against a caisson on the shore front, and in a few hours became a wreck. Thus, another victim was added to the long list of fishing cutters and yachts which have ended their careers on the Glenelg sands. Many yachtsmen at Glenelg have seen their boats smashed to pieces, one owner having lost four boats;”

The Irene is not, however, listed in “South Australian Shipwrecks – A data base 1802-1989”. The Cape Jaffa, listed as a fishing cutter, was wrecked somewhere between Kingston and Port Adelaide in 1973. No other cutters, other than the Renown and the Zephyr, are listed after 1900.

Shipwreck Artefacts in Horseshoe Bay

In 2022, I came across a shipwreck paper with the long title “A New Approach to Investigating Shipwreck Sites in Littoral Environments: Multi-Technique Geophysical Investigations of Port Elliot, South Australia” by Ian Moffat and Jason Raupp.

I sent details of the paper off to Port Elliot local, Alex Wyschnja. Alex’s response was, “Steve – thanks for the article, excellent find and very interesting information.    I find it amazing that such a technique can identify a 1 kg anomaly on the beach at that depth.   In a past life I was a Sirotem (electromagnetic) geophysical surveyor so I have some knowledge of what it all means, and our eldest son is a gravity survey expert as well as an operative at the Port Elliot SLSC.

“I have spent a fair bit of time trolling the beach with my Equinox 800 metal detector and probably have gone over this target, but it may be too deep for the Nox to pick up.  I do see plenty of brass and copper fragments off the wrecks, they are widely dispersed on the beach.

“I don’t know why Jason doesn’t keep in touch as I can advise interested parties when conditions are good to view and survey the wrecks out there.  I used to discuss the wrecks regularly with Terry Arnott when he was alive.   With Colin now gone I’m sort of the defacto “curator” of wrecks in Horseshoe Bay as I live 5 minutes from the bay and swim out there regularly.  My wife Margy swims there every day.  While not spectacular, the artefacts on the bottom of the bay are still interesting nonetheless.”

It appears that I was supposed to write about this topic back in 2022. I can now see that Alex sent me a copy of a paper titled “Realising the Cultural Tourism Potential of South Australian Shipwrecks” by Bill Jeffery at the time.

The Society for Underwater Historical Research published a report titled “The Shipwrecks of Port Elliot 1856-1864” by John Perkins in 2007.

In 2022, I had these details on my PC, but I cannot work out where these comments came from at all. They seem to be regarding this signage on the Port Elliot Maritime Heritage Trail: -

 

These comments probably could be from Alex: -

“Photos are of the Flying Fish, which is probably the most known wreck there, and then the pintle shots are the Harry, a pin or bolt on which a rudder or other part turns.

“And last 4 are of the Lapwing/Josephine L’Oizeau - I get confused as to which ones they are as there is wreckage that overlaps. I know of 3 anchors out there and there are large link anchor chains running in from the sisters (rocks about 300m out in the bay) which were once mooring chains for the ships.   My mate has swum along one of them a fair way underwater, but we need to get back there sometime and have a good look at them and get pics, even though they are heavily encrusted. The biggest issue here is poor vis, especially this year as the Murray has been flowing. I installed the swimmers’ pontoon moorings out from the jetty and do regular inspections of the facility on behalf of Port Elliot Surf Lifesaving club, which I'm a member of.  It can get spectacularly clear out in the bay when conditions are right, there are many small reefs and whalebones as well. I've dived all around Commodore Point, but there's no evidence of wrecks there. To (be able to) see anything needs the sand to shift, and that usually happens around May when the first winter swells gouge the bottom. The Josephine/Lapwing has good artefacts to see - copper bolts, lead pipes, anchors, bricks, pottery pieces, sail rings, and I spotted a deck prism one day but haven’t seen it for years. The Lapwing rudder is a very rare pic, possibly the only one in existence as I've only seen it once when the sand shifted in 25 years of diving the bay. It must have hit very hard as the pintles are snapped off. One of the surf club stalwarts, Colin Sibley, who was a local historian, wrote a book titled "On the Wings of the Flying Fish" describing the sinking of the Flying Fish and rescues, etc. She lies in waist deep water down near Commodore Point and is a real hazard to swimmers as, when exposed, the ribs stick up ready to impale the unwary feet. Colin showed me the wrecks many years ago but sadly he is no longer with us to help with further wreck information.”

Alex has previously sent me lots of photos of diving the wrecks in Horseshoe Bay: -

This is the cover of the Port Elliot Maritime Heritage Trail pamphlet showing the rudder and pintle from the Harry and the Flying Fish off Sydney heads in 1846: -

I wrote about the anchors on display at Port Elliot at https://stevereynolds.wixsite.com/website/post/the-anchors-on-display-at-port-elliot . I wrote about the Horseshoe Bay shipwreck trail at https://stevesshipwrecksite.blogspot.com/2009/08/horseshoe-bay-shipwreck-trail.html.

The York Wreck

The 1920s wreck of the 89.63 gross-ton iron-hulled lighter York at Port Pirie doesn’t seem to be listed in any of my shipwreck books at all.

This Heritage SA information sheet about the wreck can be found at https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/york.pdf

 

(Source: https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/york.pdf )

According to Bing, “The York wreck is a significant historical site located off the southern shore of Weeroona Island, approximately 240 kilometres northwest of Adelaide. It was once a lighter used at Albany in the late 1870s and later became a mallee stumper carrier. The wreck is best viewed at low tide, when it is exposed on the beach.

“Weeroona Island, connected to the mainland by a causeway, features sandy beaches, coastal shacks, and a rich history, including its use as a munitions dump during World War II. The island’s connection to the mainland is maintained by a 300 m-long causeway spanning mangroves and tidal flats.”

These details were sourced from Weekend Notes. According to Weekend Notes, “The little of her that remains can be seen on the beach at low tide.

“Built in Scotland, the York measured 23 metres in length, 5 metres in breadth and 2 metres in depth. She somehow made her way to Western Australia and was used as a lighter at Albany in the late 1870s under the ownership of P&O Company. In 1877, she was purchased by Adelaide Steam Boat Company for lightering work at Port Adelaide. She had a long life with them until 1925 when she was sold to William Pillberg to carry mallee stumps from Whyalla to Port Pirie. However, being too large, she was eventually beached at Weeroona Island.”

This Facebook photo of the York was taken by Matthew Diggens on 13-04-2006: -

 

(Source: Facebook)

According to comments made by John Biggs on the Facebook post, “The lighter York was built c.1862 in Scotland for the P&O Company’s King George’s Sound coaling station at Albany, WA. The iron hulled vessel, measuring 75.5 feet (23.0 m) length, 18.2 feet (5.5m) breadth, 7.0 feet (2.1 m) depth and 89.63 gross tons, was shipped to Australia in pieces, probably by one of the sailing vessels supplying the coal depot. In 1877, when ships no longer needed to refuel in WA and P&O’s operations were being scaled down, the lighter was sold to the Adelaide Steam Tug Company on the condition that P&O was given preference for its use when one of their mail vessels was off Glenelg. For its delivery to South Australia the vessel was jury-rigged as a cutter, but in September was declared unseaworthy by the WA marine authorities and prohibited from departing. The events of the next few months are uncertain, but it is known that the vessel eventually departed Albany on 13 November 1877 under unusual circumstances:

The York, which broke through the rules of the Port on Thursday by running in without being boarded, accounts for the circumstance by the want of ground tackle. She reports leaving King George’s Sound on the 13^th, and for a couple of days had light winds. (Register, 30 November 1877)

Although no documentation has been found to support the theory, the absence of ‘ground tackle’ suggests that the captain had decided to ‘cut and run’ – leaving King George’s Sound illegally by cutting the vessel’s anchors and setting sail without authorisation. By 15 December 1877 the York was engaged in lightering work for the Adelaide Steam Tug Company. In 1920, after many years lightering in Port Adelaide and Glenelg, the barge was transferred to Port Pirie to act as a coal lighter to the tugs.

In 1922 the York was sold to Captain William Pillberg and was largely employed carrying  mallee stumps from the Whyalla area to Port Pirie. It proved too large for that purpose and was beached at nearby Weeroona Island. For some time, the abandoned vessel was used as a wharf or loading platform for barges carting stone from the island to Port Pirie.

The York’s registry was closed on 20 January 1925 with advice received from the owner that it was to be broken up.”

 

(Source: https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/york.pdf )

Matthew Diggens has allowed me to share his photos of the wreck from Facebook here: -

Many thanks Matthew.