Dangerous Waters

One of the most significant maritime archaeology items found on the Mid North Coast is this bronze name plate fragment believed to have been attached to the engine of the Paddle Steamer, PS Prince Of Wales, which sank in 1862. Built in Britain in 1861, the Australasian Steam Navigation Company’s new iron vessel, PS Prince Of Wales was considered a superior vessel, combining great speed, carrying capacity and light draft of water, advantages absolutely necessary for trade on the New South Wales coast. However she would be in service for only a few months.

The PS Prince Of Wales left Sydney for Brisbane on October 2nd, 1862, with a cargo of horses, rum, ale, brandy, wine, tobacco, cigars and 12 passengers and 11 crew. At 3 p.m. the following day while passing inside Mermaid Reef off Crowdy Bay, she grazed on a detached rock, northwest of the reef. With water pouring into the hold it became evident they would not stay buoyant for much longer and the decision was made to beach her at Camden Haven. Fortunately the weather was fine and seas calm. All the passengers and stores were landed safely.

By the time the iron paddle steamer PS Diamantina arrived on the scene the following Sunday, the seas had risen and the PS Prince Of Wales was found to be a total wreck on the beach. A boat was sent ashore but while returning through the surf it capsized on the Camden Haven bar. The engineer of the PS Prince Of Wales and two seamen from the PS Diamantina drowned.  The mound grave of those drowned can be found near Prince of Wales Point (Dunbogan).

The PS Prince of Wales remained fast on the shore, eventually breaking in two and leaving only her bow jammed between rocks. Today nothing remains visible apart from the wreck mound covered in seaweed in 3m of water some 50m offshore. The name plate was recovered during a scuba dive at the wreck site in 1989.

This round entrée plate featuring gold edging and transfer badge is from the schooner Wanderer, wrecked whilst attempting to enter Port Macquarie after suffering damage during a severe gale in November 1851.

The Wanderer owned by Scotsman Ben Boyd was once a unit of the Royal Yacht Squadron and its fine appointment and luxurious fittings were enjoyed by members of the British Royal family before the yacht sailed to Australia in 1842.

Boyd arrived in Australia with grand business ambitions matching his opulent yacht, and for a time found great success however his less than straight forward business practices and financing arrangements resulted in his financial demise in the late 1840s. Like many others Boyd then tried his fortunes in the Californian gold fields and this too failed. His attempts to establish business in the Pacific Islands resulted in his death; reportedly murdered by natives. Following the loss of its captain the Wanderer was sailing back to Sydney when it struck bad weather and was subsequently wrecked.

Local reports suggest that the Wanderer attempted to enter the Hastings River despite advice not to do so and speculation remains about why the crew decided to make the fateful attempt. The Wanderer is one of several ships wrecked at the Port Macquarie entrance between 1821 and 1879.

The PS Ballina was one of many ships operating on the NSW North Coast during the 1860s and 1870s. Owned and operated by the Clarence and Richmond Rivers Steam Navigation Company, the largest shipping company operating on the north coast at that time it carried freight and passengers to Sydney on a regular basis stopping at ports along the way including Port Macquarie on a needs basis.

On the morning of February 14 1879, the vessel became grounded on the Port Macquarie bar and was entirely swamped and broke in two. Her cargo had already been thrown overboard in an attempt to float the vessel. No passengers or crew were lost.

In 1908 the Ballina’s funnel was regarded as shipping hazard as it was sticking out above the water however attempts to remove the wreck from the river entrance by detonation proved unsuccessful. The wreck remained in the Hastings River entrance and during 1978 was ‘rediscovered’ in the process of building the new North Breakwall. The wreck began to be looted and in order to protect it the PS Ballina was proclaimed a Historic Wreck by the New South Wales government on 12 April 1979, the only local wreck listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.

A number of relics from the wreck were retrieved under permit in 1979 and are now held in the collections of the Port Macquarie Historical Society and Mid North Coast Maritime Museums. The port paddle wheel and engines remain in the wreck and are believed to have the potential to provide valuable information about the maritime technology of the 1860s.

This 1: 48 inch scaled model depicts the wreck of the P.S .Ballina, a 299 tons and 65 metres long paddle steamer now lying at the bottom of the Hastings River. The Ballina is the only local wreck on the NSW State Heritage Register. This model also reflects the community’s growing interest in maritime history which culminated in the opening of the Mid North Coast Maritime Museum in the late 1980s. The model was made by Maritime Historian, Mike Richards based on photographs provided by the Mid North Coast Maritime Archaeology Association.

This engraved brass ship’s bell is from the Elmtree built at Cardiff UK in 1916, and renamed the Iron Chief in 1922. Ships bells are considered to be iconic and to have a spiritual association with their ship. As is tradition, despite the ship’s name change, the Iron Chief retained her original bell, indicating the year and place the ship was launched.

Ships bells were used to indicate the time aboard a ship and to regulate the sailors’ duty watches, to warn other boats, generally mark the passage of time, as a fog signal, audible alarm in poor weather, to raise the attention of the crew and to call the passengers and crew to formal services

The Iron Chief regularly sailed in the waterways of the Mid North Coast and also carried cargo to various parts of Australia.  On the 1st of April 1928 the Iron Chief left Port Stephens bound for Coffs Harbour but struck Mermaid Reef near Crowdy Bay and put ashore south of Diamond Head. There was however sufficient time to retrieve the cargo, equipment and ship’s crew before the ship sank.  Despite the bell’s age it is intact, complete and in almost original condition.

This lifebuoy is associated with the XLCR, an offshore fishing trawler that was based in Port Macquarie from 1926 to 1962. She was owned by the Radley family who were well known and highly regarded not only for their role in the development of the local the fishing industry, but also their involvement in many local community events.  The crew members of the XLCR were often called upon to utilize the trawler as a safety boat at sailing regattas held on the Hastings River and at surf carnivals conducted on the local beaches.  She was also used on numerous occasions as a rescue boat when there were accidents at sea, or when vessels got into difficulties whilst crossing the notorious bar at the Hastings River entrance.

The XLCR rose to national prominence on 29 April 1943 when Claude Radley and his crew, Mervyn, Tom and Russell Radley, and Arthur Beatie and Raymond Smith rescued five crew members from the SS Wollongbar II after she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off Crescent Head.

It appears that this lifebuoy was retrieved from the XLCR before the Radleys sold her in 1962.  After some time in Victoria, a group of marine enthusiasts brought the XLCR back to Port Macquarie in 1997.  She was relaunched in September 2005 and is now used as a training vessel and floating classroom helping senior high school students learn skills and crafts associated with the marine industry.