Loch Vennachar was an iron-hulled, three-masted clipper ship that was built in Scotland in 1875 and lost with all hands off the coast of South Australia in 1905. She spent her entire career with the Glasgow Shipping Company, trading between Britain and Australia. The company was familiarly called the "Loch Line", as all of its ships were named after Scottish lochs. The ship was named after Loch Venachar, in what was then Perthshire.
In 1892 Loch Vennachar survived being dismasted by a cyclone in the Indian Ocean. In 1901 she was sunk when a steamship collided with her in the Thames Estuary. She was raised, repaired and returned to service. In 1905 she sank again off Kangaroo Island.
In 1976 marine archaeologists found Loch Vennachar's wreck just off West Bay, Kangaroo Island. The Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 protects the wreck. Parts of one of her anchors were recovered in 1980 and are now preserved on Kangaroo Island.
Building
James and George Thomson built Loch Vennachar at Dalmuir[1] on the River Clyde, launching her on 4 August 1875.[2] Her registered length was 250.1ft (76.2m), her beam was 38.3ft (11.7m) and the depth of her hold was 22.4ft (6.8m). Her tonnages were 1,557GRT and 1,485NRT.[3]
The ship was first rigged with fidded royal masts, but this proved to interfere with her stability as there was too much weight aloft. She was then given topgallant and royal masts in one with crossed royal yards over double-topgallants.[citation needed]
Career
Loch Vennachar was always in the wool trade from Adelaide and Melbourne to Britain. Her usual cargo was usually about 5,500 bales of wool. On voyages from Britain to Australia she carried other cargo,[4] and also passengers.[5] When sailing from Melbourne, her wool cargoes were organised by John Sanderson & Co. A book about the firm includes a painting of the ship off Port Phillip Heads.[6]
Captain Francis Wagstaff commanded her on her maiden voyage, leaving Inishtrahull on 6 September 1875. Captain William Robertson succeeded him early in 1876, but died in 1878 after making two voyages in her. Her First Officer, James S Ozanne, was promoted to captain, and commanded her until 1884. He was succeeded by Captain William H Bennett, who retired in 1904.[7] Captain William S Hawkins commanded her on her final voyage in 1905.[8]
Loch Vennachar at Port Louis in 1892, showing cyclone damage
In June 1892 a cyclone dismasted the ship in the Indian Ocean.[9] At about 8pm on 3 June, the barometer shoews a fall in pressure. Loch Vennachar's crew promptly shortened her sail. At dawn, about 5am, terrific head seas driven by a northeast gale hit the ship. Two large waves hit her. She rode the first and sank into the trough beyond. The second wave broke over her deck, breaking all three of her masts. With little left of her masts to steady her, the ship rolled dangerously in heavy seas.[4][8]
After nine days, the weather eased and her crew rigged a spar forward and sail on the damaged mizzen mast. After five weeks she reached Port Louis, Mauritius. She waited there for five months for new spars. When they arrived from England, she was repaired in ten days.[4] The repairs cost £9,071. She left Port Louis in 18 November and reached Port Phillip on 22 December. Lloyd's of London awarded Captain Bennett its Lloyd's Medal for Saving Life at Sea.[8]
On 12 November 1901 Loch Vennachar was anchored in the Thames Estuary off Thameshaven in Essex when at about 4.15am the steamship Cato collided with her starboard bow. Loch Vennachar sank and one seaman suffered a critical head injury, but the crew launched her boats and all 30 members of her crew were saved.[10] Six of her seven ship's cats were lost. She was raised on 9 December, repaired at a cost of £17,000, and returned to service.[2][8][11]
Final voyage
Artist's impression of Loch Vennachar (left) being sighted by Yongala (right)
Late in June 1905 Loch Vennachar left Glasgow for Adelaide, carrying a general cargo including 20,000 bricks. On 6 September 1905 Yongala overtook her about 160 nautical miles (300km) west of the Neptune Islands and the captains exchanged "all's well" signals.[12]Yongala's captain recorded that Loch Vennachar made a pretty sight, speeding along with her sails in full standing.[13] It was the last known sighting of Loch Vennachar.
On 29 September, the ketchAnnie Watt arrived in Adelaide and her captain reported picking up a reel of blue printing paper 18 miles northwest of Kangaroo Island. The paper was identified as part of Loch Vennachar's cargo.[8][14] Three weeks later, the sea began delivering scraps of her cargo to the rocky coast of Kangaroo Island, which confirmed her loss. Twice the steamship Governor Musgrave was sent to search for the wreck and any survivors. Weeks of searching by government and local fishing boats produced only flotsam and the body of a young seaman, who was never identified. He was buried in the sand hills of West Bay.[13] The search was eventually abandoned on 12 October.[citation needed]
At the time, it was incorrectly concluded that Loch Vennachar was wrecked on Young Rocks, a granite outcrop about 20 miles south-southwest of Cape Gantheaume, trying to make the Backstairs Passage.[8]
Crew on final voyage
Captain William Hawkins and Chief Officer James PriestFrom left: D.S.M. Thomson, Thomas Pearce (apprentice) and Joseph Hadley
The first list of people likely to be on the ship at the time of her loss appeared in newspapers late in September 1905. This list, containing 23 names of people who could be either crew or passengers, was compiled from letters waiting for collection by the ship at the offices of George Wills & Co, the ship's agent in Adelaide.[15] A later newspaper article advised that apprentices S.C. Brown and Robert Andrews, whose names had been included in the earlier list, had transferred from Loch Vennachar to Loch Garry and Loch Torridon respectively.[16] Late in November 1905, the following list was published in a number of newspapers in Australia, New Zealand and Scotland. This list which "was received at Fremantle by the English mail" indicates that there were no passengers on the last voyage.[17] In the list, the abbreviations A.B. and O.S. refer respectively to able seaman and ordinary seaman.
William S. Hawkins, master, Glasgow
James Priest, mate, North Shields
Charles Radcliffe, second mate, USA
Fred. W. Lake, third mate, Melbourne
James Reid, carpenter, Dumbarton
W. Molseed, steward, Greenock
W. McLean, cook, Glasgow
R. Simpson, sailmaker, Greenock
Eugen Broberg, A.B., Stockholm
Donald Mathieson, A.B., Skye
A. Anderson, A.B., Kragero
E: McEwan, A.B., Greenock
Thomas Anderson, A.B., Arandel
Hugh Humphreys, A.B., Portmadoc
Alexander Dunlop, A.B., Rothesay
M. Jenson, A.B., Aarhus
David Hanson, A.B., Bergen
E. Holden, A.B., Newark, N.J.
John Bickle, A.B., Edinburgh
William Barry, A.B., Adelaide
Edward McPhie, O.S., Morven
William Turnbull, O.S., Grangemouth
William Martin, O.S., Glasgow
Joseph W. Hadley, apprentice, Wivenhoe
Thomas W. Pearce, apprentice, Southampton
D.S.B. Thomson, apprentice, Melbourne
Horace Eastwood, apprentice, Knottingley
The death of Thomas Pearce received attention in the Australian press because his father, Thomas R Pearce, was well known as one of two survivors of the Loch Ard wreck in 1878, and his step-grandfather, Captain Robert Pearce,[18] died in command of SSGothenburg when she was lost in 1875.[19]
The loss of Loch Vennachar followed that of Loch Sloy in 1899. In 1902 the Marine Board of South Australia had recommended building a lignthouse on Cape du Couedic, but this was not done. The Board considered that such a lighthouse could have prevented the loss of both ships. Building began in 1907 and Cape du Couedic Lighthouse was officially lit on 27 June 1909.[20][21] In 1908 the northern headland of West Bay was named Vennachar Point in the memory of the ship.[22]
Discovery
In February 1976 the Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) searched for the wreck off the west coast of Kangaroo Island. On 24 February conditions were unsuitable for an underwater search, so the shore was searched at the foot of cliffs just north of West Bay. A brick with the letters "GLAS...OW" on one face was found.
On 26 February conditions were suitable for scuba diving, so three SUHR divers and two local divers searched the sea where the brick was found. They found the wreck at a depth of 12 metres (39ft).[23][24][25] All of her anchors were still in place, which suggested that no attempt had been made to prevent her from hitting the cliff.
After lobbying by the SUHR, the Premier of South Australia, Don Dunstan, announced on 11 December 1976 that the SUHR would mount an expedition in February 1977 to study the site, for which the state government would provide ten police divers, special leave for government employees involved with the expedition, and concessional fares on the government-owned ferry, Troubridge. He also declared the area of the wreck site a historic reserve under South Australia's Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act 1965.[26][27][28]
In February 1977, a team of 34 people set up camp at West Bay for a stay of two weeks. Due to unsuitable diving conditions, the first week was spent diving on the Fides shipwreck on the north coast of Kangaroo Island. The second week was spent at the Loch Vennachar wreck. The SUHR established the location of the wreck site in relation to the land, surveyed the wreck's bow and found its main anchors, photographically recorded the site and recovered a selection of artefacts for conservation. The expedition was funded by member contributions plus the donation of services, goods and cash from four government agencies, 35 private businesses and numerous individuals.[26][29]
The expedition's report recommended conserving one of the bower anchors. This was done in 1980. The SUHR collaborated with the state government and the Kangaroo Island Scuba Club, assisted by 23 government agencies, private organisations and individuals. On 31 March an anchor shank was recovered from the wreck, followed by its stock the next day. Both parts were stored in the water of West Bay until the fishing boat Lady Buick transferred them to Kingscote in April and May 1980 respectively. They were then taken to Port Adelaide; the shank on Troubridge and the stock on HMASBanks.
Amdel in Adelaide conserved the anchor. It was returned to Kangaroo Island where it was put on display at the Flinders Chase Homestead in the Flinders Chase National Park, with a formal ceremony on 26 March 1982 attended by David Wotton, the SA Minister of Environment and Planning.[30][31][32]
Present day
The wreck site has been protected by the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 since October 1980.[33] Its location is officially recorded as 35°52′48″S136°31′12″E / 35.88000°S 136.52000°E / -35.88000; 136.52000.[34] In 1980 the area protected as a historic reserve declared under the Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act 1965 was listed on the then Register of the National Estate.[35] The grave of the unidentified seafarer remains at West Bay, but with a replica wooden cross as the original one made from spars from the wreckage was vandalised in the 1970s.[23][36][37] By 2006 the bower anchor had been moved from the Flinders Chase Homestead to a site next to the visitors' car park on the south side of West Bay.[37][38]
SS Yongala was a passenger steamship that was built in England in 1903 for the Adelaide Steamship Company. She sank in a cyclone off the coast of Queensland in 1911, with the loss of all 122 passengers and crew aboard.
Loch Ard was an iron-hulled clipper ship that was built in Scotland in 1873 and wrecked on the Shipwreck Coast of Victoria, Australia in 1878.
HMAS Banks was an Explorer class general-purpose vessel of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), serving in a range of capacities from 1960 until 1995. She was named in honour of Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist aboard HM Bark Endeavour during the discovery of the eastern coast of Australia in 1770.
RMS Quetta was an iron-hulled steamship that was built in Scotland in 1881 and wrecked with great loss of life in the Torres Strait in 1890. She was operated by British India Associated Steamers (BIAS), which was controlled by the British India Steam Navigation Company (BISN). She was wrecked on a previously unknown rock, which has been called Quetta Rock ever since. The Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 protects the wreck.
Queen of Nations was a wooden-hulled, three-masted clipper that was built in Scotland in 1861 and wrecked on the coast of New South Wales in 1881. She spent her entire two-decade career with George Thompson, Junior's Aberdeen White Star Line.
SS Gothenburg was an iron-hulled sail- and steamship that was built in England in 1854 and sailed between England and Sweden until 1862. She then moved to Australia, where she operated across the Tasman Sea to and from New Zealand until 1873, when she was rebuilt. After her rebuild, she operated in the Australian coastal trade.
The Loch Line of Glasgow, Scotland, was a group of colonial clippers managed by Messrs William Aitken and James Lilburn. They plied between the United Kingdom and Australia from 1867 to 1911.
Loch Sloy was a Scottish sailing barque that operated between Great Britain and Australia from the late 19th century until 1899. Her name was drawn from Loch Sloy, a freshwater loch which lies to the north of the Burgh of Helensburgh, in the region of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Ships Captains: 1877 - 1885 James Horne, 1885 – 1890 John McLean, 1890 – 1895 Charles Lehman, 1895 – 1896 James R. George, 1896 – 1899 William J. Wade, 1899 Peter Nicol.
Peter Christopher, OAM, is an Australian author and photographer who writes about shipwrecks and riverboats. He is also a Director of the not for profit organisation, Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Ltd (CSCOAL), set up to save the 1864 clipper ship, City of Adelaide.
HMS Swallow was a brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Richard Symons, Little Falmouth as the packet ship Marquis of Salisbury for Captain Sutton, launched in 1819 and acquired by the Royal Navy in July 1824.
SS Clan Ranald is a steamship wreck off the coast of South Australia that is of unique historic importance. She is the only example in Australian waters of a turret deck ship: a type of steel-hulled cargo ship with an unusual hull shape that was built in the 1890s and 1900s.
The Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) was an amateur maritime archaeology organisation operating in South Australia (SA). It was formed in 1974 by recreational scuba divers and other persons to pursue an interest in maritime archaeology and maritime history. The SUHR was renamed as the South Australian Archaeology Society in March 2012 as part of a plan to expand its activities beyond maritime archaeology to include other archaeological disciplines.
Ellen was a steamship that was launched in 1883 and whose career involved coastal shipping firstly in the Colony of Queensland and then in the Australian state of South Australia. It was wrecked in Gulf St Vincent in South Australia at Morgan's Beach near the town of Cape Jervis on Saturday, 12 December 1908 during its return from fishing in waters around Kangaroo Island to a destination on the mainland.
The HMS Investigator Anchors are the two anchors that jettisoned from HMS Investigator on the morning of Saturday, 21 May 1803, by her commander, Matthew Flinders, in order to avoid running aground on Middle Island in the Archipelago of the Recherche on the south coast of New Holland. In 1973, the anchors were located and recovered by members of the Underwater Explorers Club of South Australia (UEC). The recovered anchors became the subject of an ownership dispute between various governments, particularly those of South Australia and Western Australia due to their historic significance as artefacts of a major voyage of European exploration. The dispute was resolved with the ownership of the anchors going to the Australian Government who subsequently gifted one of the anchors to the South Australian Government. The pair of artefacts is also known as Flinders' Anchors.
Water Witch was a single-masted vessel rigged as a cutter built during 1835 in Van Diemen's Land and sunk in 1842 whilst moored in the River Murray at Moorundie, south of Blanchetown in South Australia (SA). Her wreck site was discovered in 1982 and received statutory protection as a historic shipwreck in 1983. The wreck site was the subject of an underwater survey in March 1984. She was the first European vessel to enter the River Murray via its mouth, her role in the charting of the lower reaches of the River Murray including Lake Alexandrina whilst under the command of William Pullen and her association with Edward John Eyre.
Lady Kinnaird was a three masted barque which was built in 1877 at Dundee, Scotland by Brown & Simpson for W.B. Ritchie. She operated between the United Kingdom and the Australian colonies. She was lost after running aground in Spencer Gulf south of Cape Burr on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia early on 21 January 1880. Her main anchor was recovered from her wreck site in 1979 and was placed on display in the nearby town of Port Neill in January 1880 as part of the commemoration of the centenary of her loss.
Maupertuis Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-west coastline of Kangaroo Island.
Coonatto, was a British three-masted clipper that was built in 1863 and wrecked in 1876. She traded between London and Adelaide for 12 years. She was wrecked in the English Channel in February 1876.
The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Wikipedia's articles on recreational dive sites. The level of coverage may vary:
Thomas Richard Pearce (1859–1908), born Thomas Richard Millett, was an Irish ship master in the UK merchant marine. He served his apprenticeship on sailing ships with Aitken & Lilburn's Loch Line, and then rose through the ranks on steamships with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (RMSP).
↑ Scrope, Stephen, 71, The Drive, Hove, 8 October (10 October 1931). "`". Letters to the Editor. The Times. No.45950. London. col B, p.8.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) "In the year 1896 I left Glasgow in the Loch Vennachar for Melbourne, and had a wonderful run. Captain Bennett, who was a fine sailor, was in command, and taking the time from when we passed Ailsa Craig, in the Firth of Clyde, to Kangaroo Island, just outside Adelaide, we did the journey in 81 days. When we were "running our Easting down" in the Southern Ocean we on one occasion averaged 15 knots an hour for a period of over 24 hours. Her registered tonnage was 1,500, and the cabin accommodation and food were excellent."
↑ Gillison, Joan (1958). Wool and Ships: The Story of John Sanderson and Co. Melbourne: John Sanderson & Co. p.3.
↑ Say, G.B., Chief Assistant Secretary. The Imperial Merchant Service Guild, Liverpool, 16 October (20 October 1931). "`". Letters to the Editor. The Times. No.45958. London. col B, p.10.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) "Sir, – With reference to the interesting letters which have appeared in your columns recently regarding the sailing ship Loch Vennachar and the master, that fine seaman Captain W. H. Bennett, no doubt your readers will be interested in the following extract from a letter which I have received to-day from his son, Mr. J. W. Bennett, who resides in London:- "My father was 85 years of age at his death, and left the Loch Vennachar in Melbourne in 1904,..."
↑ "`". The Times. No.36611. London. 13 November 1901. col D, p.6.
↑ "`". The Times. No.45953. London. 14 October 1931. col E, p.8.
↑ "Shipping Disasters". The Times. No.37824. London. 28 September 1905. col F, p.4. Quoting a telegram received through Lloyds: "Loch Vennachar was passed on 6th 35 21 south, 133 east; she signalled all well; several gales since from north, changing west south cyclonic."
1 2 Gleeson, Max (1987). S.S. Yongala: dive to the past. Sydney, NSW: Turton & Armstrong Publishers. p.19. ISBN0-908031-31-9. OCLC27579405.
↑ "`". The Times. No.37825. London. 29 September 1905. col F, p.4. "Messrs. Aitken, Lilburn, and Co., managers of the Loch Line, have received a telegram from their Adelaide agents confirming the discovery of wreckage, including paper and tinned fish with the same trade-marks as that shipped in the Loch Vennachar."
1 2 Christopher, Peter (1979). "Some South Australian Shipwrecks". The Journal of the Historical Society of South Australia (6). North Adelaide: Historical Society of South Australia: 9.
↑ Council for Nautical Archaeology (May 1979). "'". International Journal of Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Exploration. 8 (2). London: 169–178. ISSN0305-7445. OCLC1037043.
↑ Reschke, W (14 March 1976). "Lady in a rocky coffin: the finding of Loch Vennachar". The Sunday Mail. Adelaide. pp.46, 115.
1 2 Marfleet, B; Hale, A (1977). "Logistics of Loch Vennachar Expedition 1977". Loch Vennachar expedition report. Kent Town, SA: Society for Underwater Historical Research. p.2.
↑ Reschke, W (12 December 1976). "High risks for divers". The Sunday Mail. Adelaide. p.5.
Chapman, Gifford D (2007). Kangaroo Island shipwrecks: an account of the ships and cutters wrecked around Kangaroo Island. Kingscote, SA: Gifford Chapman. ISBN978-0646477794.
McKinnon, R (1993). Shipwreck sites of Kangaroo Island. Adelaide: State Heritage Branch, Department of Environment and Land Management. ISBN0730826929.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United Kingdom 
