The Ly-ee-Moon steamer runs aground off Cape Green lighthouse in
southern NSW, Australia, killing 71.
The
Ly-ee-Moon was built as a paddle steamer in 1859 by the Thames Shipbuilding
Company of Blackall, London, England. Originally designed for use in the opium
trade, she was also rigged with three masts and sails, and was the fastest
steamer known at that time. In the early 1860s, during the American civil war,
Ly-ee-Moon was used as a blockade runner, running in and out of Charleston,
South Carolina. Following the civil war, the steamer moved to Hong Kong, where
she remained for almost a decade. The steamer was then was sold to the
Australasian Steam Navigation Company Ltd in the late 1870s. After catching
fire whilst being refitted in Sydney and being scuttled to put out the fire,
the ship was refloated and repaired, at a cost of approximately £4,000. The
Ly-ee-Moon returned to service in 1878 and ran the Sydney to Melbourne route.
The Ly-ee-Moon departed Melbourne for Sydney on 29 May 1886 with 55 passengers
and 41 crew aboard, carrying a varied cargo of staple foods, clothing, grains
and alcohol. On the evening of 30 May 1886, the steamer was approaching Gabo
Island, just south of the New South Wales/Victoria border, when it was wrecked
off a reef near Cape Green lighthouse. The lighthouse keepers attempted to
rescue the passengers and crew, but ultimately 71 people died - 41 passengers
and 31 crew. The wreckage of the Ly-ee-Moon remains where the ship sank on that
fateful night.
Showing posts with label nsw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nsw. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
On This Day March 17, 1830.
Sturt's
party reaches the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers on their
arduous journey upstream to Sydney.
Captain
Charles Sturt was born in India in 1795. He came to Australia in 1827, and soon
after undertook to solve the mystery of where the inland rivers of New South
Wales flowed. Because they appeared to flow towards the centre of the
continent, the belief was held that they emptied into an inland sea. Sturt
first traced the Macquarie River as far as the Darling, which he named after
Governor Darling. Pleased with Sturt's discoveries, the following year Governor
Darling sent Sturt to trace the course of the Murrumbidgee River, and to see
whether it joined to the Darling. Sturt followed the Murrumbidgee in a
whaleboat and discovered that the Murrumbidgee River flowed into the Murray
(previously named the Hume).
Sturt continued to trace the course of the Murray southwards, arriving at Lake Alexandrina, from which he could see the open sea of the southern coast, in February 1830. However, the expedition then had to face an agonising journey rowing back up the Murray against the current. The men rowed in shifts from dawn until dusk each day, low on rations, through extreme heat, and against the floodwaters heading downstream. On 17 March 1830, they reached the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers. By the time they reached their depot at Maude on the Murrumbidgee, they had rowed and sailed 3,000 km on Australia's inland rivers, with no loss of life.
Sturt continued to trace the course of the Murray southwards, arriving at Lake Alexandrina, from which he could see the open sea of the southern coast, in February 1830. However, the expedition then had to face an agonising journey rowing back up the Murray against the current. The men rowed in shifts from dawn until dusk each day, low on rations, through extreme heat, and against the floodwaters heading downstream. On 17 March 1830, they reached the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers. By the time they reached their depot at Maude on the Murrumbidgee, they had rowed and sailed 3,000 km on Australia's inland rivers, with no loss of life.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
On This Day March 14, 1790.
Captain
William Bligh arrives back in London a year after the Mutiny on the Bounty, in
which he was cast off his own boat.
William Bligh was born in Plymouth, south-west England, on 9 September 1754. He was only 8 when he first went to sea. At age 22, he was chosen to join Captain Cook's crew on the 'Resolution', and became commander of the 'HMAV Bounty' eleven years later.
The famous mutiny on the Bounty occurred after Bligh left Tahiti on his way to the Caribbean. For reasons undetermined by historical records, Master's Mate Fletcher Christian led the mutiny, with the support of a small number of the ship's crew. On 28 April 1789, Bligh and his own supporters were set adrift on a 7m launch, and given a sextant and enough provisions to enable them to reach the closest ports, but no means of navigation. Bligh chose not to head for the closer Spanish ports, which would have slowed down the process of bringing the mutineers to justice, but used his recollection of Cook's maps to head for Timor on a 41-day journey of nearly six thousand kilometres. From here, he stood a better chance of communicating quickly to British vessels which could pursue the mutineers.
After recovering in Timor and being tended to by the inhabitants of the Dutch colony, Captain Bligh finally returned to England, arriving there on 14 March 1790. His men had suffered starvation, scurvy and dehydration. Whilst some of the died from the ravages of the journey, many of them survived to serve in the Royal Navy once more. Bligh himself was honourably acquitted in a London court, and later assigned as Governor to the fledgling colony of New South Wales.
William Bligh was born in Plymouth, south-west England, on 9 September 1754. He was only 8 when he first went to sea. At age 22, he was chosen to join Captain Cook's crew on the 'Resolution', and became commander of the 'HMAV Bounty' eleven years later.
The famous mutiny on the Bounty occurred after Bligh left Tahiti on his way to the Caribbean. For reasons undetermined by historical records, Master's Mate Fletcher Christian led the mutiny, with the support of a small number of the ship's crew. On 28 April 1789, Bligh and his own supporters were set adrift on a 7m launch, and given a sextant and enough provisions to enable them to reach the closest ports, but no means of navigation. Bligh chose not to head for the closer Spanish ports, which would have slowed down the process of bringing the mutineers to justice, but used his recollection of Cook's maps to head for Timor on a 41-day journey of nearly six thousand kilometres. From here, he stood a better chance of communicating quickly to British vessels which could pursue the mutineers.
After recovering in Timor and being tended to by the inhabitants of the Dutch colony, Captain Bligh finally returned to England, arriving there on 14 March 1790. His men had suffered starvation, scurvy and dehydration. Whilst some of the died from the ravages of the journey, many of them survived to serve in the Royal Navy once more. Bligh himself was honourably acquitted in a London court, and later assigned as Governor to the fledgling colony of New South Wales.
Monday, February 27, 2012
On This Day February 27, 1788
The first convict is hanged in the colony of New South Wales.
The First Fleet of convicts to New South Wales assembled in Portsmouth, England, and set sail on 13 May 1787. They arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. After determining that Botany Bay was unsuitable for settlement, Captain Arthur Phillip led the Fleet northwards to Port Jackson, arriving on 26 January 1788.
Conditions in the new colony were tough. The English tools could not stand up to the hard work of tilling the Australian soil, and they broke easily. The convicts were disinclined to work hard, many of them not being used to manual labour, and the heat and humidity of the Australian climate only added to their discomfort and lack of motivation to work. In addition, rations had to be meted out very carefully until farms could start producing crops. Many convicts were hungry enough to steal food, and punishment for theft was severe, ranging from lashing with a cat o' nine tails, or even death by hanging. Governor Phillip could not afford for any rations to be lost to theft, so he felt compelled to enforce harsh disciplinary measures.
The first convict to be hanged in New South Wales was seventeen year old Thomas Barrett. Less than a month after the colony was established, Barrett was found stealing "butter, pease and pork". In a ceremony which all convicts were forced to witness, Barrett was hanged, on 27 February 1788.
The First Fleet of convicts to New South Wales assembled in Portsmouth, England, and set sail on 13 May 1787. They arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. After determining that Botany Bay was unsuitable for settlement, Captain Arthur Phillip led the Fleet northwards to Port Jackson, arriving on 26 January 1788.
Conditions in the new colony were tough. The English tools could not stand up to the hard work of tilling the Australian soil, and they broke easily. The convicts were disinclined to work hard, many of them not being used to manual labour, and the heat and humidity of the Australian climate only added to their discomfort and lack of motivation to work. In addition, rations had to be meted out very carefully until farms could start producing crops. Many convicts were hungry enough to steal food, and punishment for theft was severe, ranging from lashing with a cat o' nine tails, or even death by hanging. Governor Phillip could not afford for any rations to be lost to theft, so he felt compelled to enforce harsh disciplinary measures.
The first convict to be hanged in New South Wales was seventeen year old Thomas Barrett. Less than a month after the colony was established, Barrett was found stealing "butter, pease and pork". In a ceremony which all convicts were forced to witness, Barrett was hanged, on 27 February 1788.
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